High Plains Library District’s Writer In Residence brings science fiction scenarios to Greeley, drawing inspiration from Elon Musk’s idea to build a hyperloop

Rob Walker presents Utopia! as part of the High Plains Library District Writer in Residence Program. Photo courtesy of Dana Buckignham with The Greeley Creative District.

By Dan England

Rob Walker grew up on the Western Slope, and sometimes he found himself longing for something like a Star Trek transporter. 

That way, his mother wouldn’t have to drive five hours to see a specialist for her arthritis. 

He was reminded of that dream a few years ago, when the pre-Twitter Elon Musk talked about building hyperloops. Greeley, of all places, seemed to be in the running to get one. 

Walker is now 40, but the dream of a tunnel that could whisk us from the slope to, say, Denver in an hour would drastically change lives in our comparatively rural community as well, not just those in the big cities. But Walker couldn’t think of a futuristic story that depicts a smaller area such as Greeley. It’s always the big cities. This is why he wrote “Utopia!”

“What’s it like for the rest of us?” Walker said. 

What would happen if, say, a robot factory came to Weld County? Walker explores that issue in a play he wrote during his year as the writer in residency for the High Plains Library District. 

Walker got a degree in theater at the University of Northern Colorado and has  used it to produce and write a couple scary radio dramas (he will put on another one of those in February). Walker gave a similar radio-style reading of his play last week, but he hopes to put on a production, maybe next year. There’s audio of the hour-and-a-half play on YouTube if you’re interested. 

“Live radio was cost effective,” Walker said, “and because of podcasts, everyone is primed for it now.” 

The residency could not have come at a better time for Walker. He quit his job when he realized his oil field office work required a lot more of him than he realized he could do. He was happy to watch his two young children at home, aged 8 and 2, but the residency gave him $1,000 a month to do something he loved to do. 

“This year was as close as I’ve ever been to being a professional writer,” Walker said. 

The futuristic comedy has some serious undertones, he said, and centers on a robot factor that makes at-home caretakers (like Rosie in “The Jetsons”). It explores what happens to a town when a giant industry moves into it, and what happens when it leaves. 

His residency winds up at the end of the year. He would like to stay at home with kids, but they can’t afford that. So he’s looking for a job. He will likely write in between his work hours. But he’s happy he had a year to write, and he loved working with the library staff: They even offered suggestions when he was stuck a few times. 

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I felt like I was collaborating with friends.” 

To listen

Here is the Youtube link to the audio of the show and here is the Soundcloud podcast link as well.