This edition of Simon Reads is inspired by this week’s episode of The Future With Friends, where we explored the future of power – who holds it, how it shifts, and what it means for the world ahead.
From Ben Elton’s eco-satire This Other Eden, to Douglas Rushkoff’s nonfiction Survival of the Richest, and Zoë Routh’s Terra Blanca – Insurrection, each book offers a different lens on control, leadership, and the choices we make in times of crisis.
…in work hours
There’s something fascinating about how the people shaping our future on Earth often seem least interested in living in it.
That’s the unsettling premise of Douglas Rushkoff’s non fiction book – Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires. Invited to speak with ultra-wealthy tech leaders, Rushkoff finds they don’t want to fix the world – they want to survive it. Underground bunkers, private islands, apocalypse-proof compounds. They call it “resilience.” But really, it’s escape.
Like the bio-domes in This Other Eden, their fantasy is insulation – that with enough wealth or technology, we can outrun the consequences of our own systems.
Wry, sharp and a little terrifying, Survival of the Richest reminds us that the future won’t be built by those planning their exit, but by those who choose to stay.
…after hours
I’ve always had a soft spot for stories that hold up a funhouse mirror to our present — those speculative tales that don’t invent the future so much as slightly exaggerate now.
Ben Elton’s This Other Eden is one of those. Written in 1993, it imagines a world so consumed by environmental guilt and bureaucratic overreach that “saving the planet” becomes the ultimate excuse for control. Reading it today feels less like satire and more like a prophetic documentary — the kind of future quietly forming while we’ve been busy sorting our recycling.
Uncomfortable, funny, and a little too close for comfort – This Other Eden isn’t about a distant dystopia. It’s about us, and how quickly “doing the right thing” can morph into doing what we’re told.
…read at anytime
On a man-made island designed to shelter climate refugees, leadership isn’t just a skill – it’s a matter of survival. Terra Blanca – Insurrection, the tense prequel in Zoë Routh’s Gaia series, explores exactly that. Zoë is a longtime friend, leadership expert, podcaster, and acclaimed author of speculative fiction with a techno-thriller edge. She’s also this week’s guest on The Future With Friends podcast.
The story follows Rylie Addison, suddenly thrust into leadership under the watchful eye of Gaia Enterprises, tasked with turning Terra Blanca into a model of sustainable governance. As the island’s fragile systems unravel, and a covert threat emerges from within, Rylie is forced to make choices that test the very foundations of their experiment.
What makes Zoë’s work unique is that the leadership lessons aren’t hidden between the lines – they’re right there, explicit and front and centre. Her fiction bridges into nonfiction, offering a powerful exploration of leadership, power, and decision-making. And just to be clear (as we joked on the podcast)… it’s definitely not a parable.
THE FUTURE WITH FRIENDS PODCAST
Ep 15: The Future of Power
In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by Zoë Routh, author of Terra Blanca – Insurrection. They explore The Future of Power, weaving together her leadership expertise and speculative fiction storytelling. Their conversation examines how power might evolve, how cultural clashes could unfold, and what new models of leadership and collaboration could look like in the decades ahead.
Possibly our most overqualified guest on the podcast – this one is a must listen.
Simon
