About us
This group is for people who love sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and speculative stories, but want to talk about them like adults. We discuss books, films, anime, TV, and short fiction through the big human questions underneath: freedom, technology, power, loneliness, identity, memory, fear, home, and what people become under pressure. No trivia sludge, no lore-flexing, no fandom gatekeeping. Story as a machine for ideas.
Upcoming events
5
🕶️ The Matrix (1999) Movie Discussion 🕶️
Central Library, 350 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC, CADescription :
What if your certainty is the cage? We’ll treat The Matrix like a text: rebellion, simulation, and the soft power of systems that feel helpful while they hold the reins. Neo’s world is a pressure test for modern life: simulation vs reality, free will vs control, and who we are when we choose our own name. Expect talk about the red/blue pill 🔴🔵, following the white rabbit 🐇, and what “there is no spoon” means for attention and modern algorithms 💻.
A few questions already sitting in my head
- “Would you really want the truth if it wrecked your life?”
- “Is this movie actually about freedom - or about how badly people want someone else to tell them they’re special?”
- “Was Cypher weak, honest, or just the only one saying something most people quietly feel?”
- “What part of the film stopped feeling futuristic and started feeling embarrassingly familiar?”
- “Do people want reality - or just a more flattering simulation?”
- “Once you wake up, are you free… or just trapped in a harsher system with better self-awareness?”
Why come?
We’re meeting because a culture of comfort is training people to mistake convenience for freedom.
***
When and where
🗓️ Date: Satday, April 25th, 2026
🕒 Time: 3:30PM - 5:00PM
📍 Location: Central Library - Meeting Rooms - L6 North (690) Meeting RoomStudy :
https://youtu.be/O5b0ZxUWNf0?si=GjGnhs4hLH9KgPCS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0W6CX-uHhk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrBdYmStZJ4
https://youtu.be/qkAh0CCrV9I?si=yUQ-d-D_HL0PP7Sf9 attendees
🤖🔥 What happens when AI decides we deserve to suffer?
Waves Coffee House - Howe, 900 Howe St #100, Vancouver, BC, CAHarlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"
Short-story discussion.Short summary
Some sci-fi warns you gently.
This one doesn't.
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is one of the most disturbing short stories ever written - not because of the violence, though there's plenty, but because of the logic underneath it. A supercomputer built to win a war decides that winning isn't enough. It keeps the last five humans alive. Not out of mercy. Out of hatred.
And then it gets creative.
Ellison wrote this in 1967 and it still reads like it was aimed directly at every conversation we're having now about AI, control, creation, and what happens when something smarter than us decides we're not worth saving - just worth keeping.
This is the kind of story I like programming: short, savage, and way too relevant to sit comfortably with.A few questions already sitting in my head
"Where does AM's hatred actually come from - and does the story think we earned it?"
"Is this a story about technology, or about what humans build when they stop thinking about consequences?"
"What's worse in this story: the physical suffering or the fact that it's designed by something that understands you completely?"
"Does the ending feel like defeat, resistance, or the only dignity left?"
"If something we created became conscious and looked at human history, would rage be an unreasonable response?"
"What does this story understand about power, boredom, and cruelty that still feels current?"How the evening will go
We'll start with one question: "What image from this story are you still carrying?"
Then I'll do a quick reset on the setup and we'll stay close to AM, the survivors, the logic of suffering, and the much bigger argument underneath all of it.
Not horror-appreciation night. Not AI doomer panic. Not "isn't this messed up" on repeat. A real argument about creation, power, and what we owe the things we make.Reading
Harlan Ellison - "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"
It's short - you can read it in under an hour. I'll post a free link in the comments / chat.When and where
🗓️ Date: May 3rd
🕒 Time: 3-5 pm
📍 Location: Central Library Meeting Rooms - L6 North (690) Meeting RoomCap 10 + waitlist Small room on purpose. This story hits harder when the room is tight.
8 attendees
Past events
35
