A man is waiting for a friend in a bar. The guest, however, does not appear, nor does he announce what happened in the following hours. From one day to the next, just disappear. The protagonist, who is not named, goes to the office where the other works in an attempt to discover his whereabouts and is surprised by the response of the employees there: no one knows him.
In the plot of As Formigas Pensam na Vida, the writer Francisco Zunica Dias goes through several theories. Could the friend, named Soão, have been abducted? Could there be life on other planets? If so, what would be the interest of these species in any human? These questions involve the mind of the main character, who needs to confront one of his greatest beliefs. Atheist, he does not believe that deities are real.
His convictions, however, fall to the ground when he faces the Creator. The two maintain constant dialogues, and the protagonist is suspicious of his relationship with the so-called “Big Him”. Despite this, the divine being gives advice and raises reflections on existence.
Gradually, the character finds out what happened to his friend. Between humanity’s inexplicable mysteries, mathematical theories and concrete evidence, he questions everything he believes. “I want to make the reader think about a numerical possibility for the world and that perhaps we are not alone in the universe”, comments Zunica. It is an invitation for the public to realize that, like ants, human beings can also seem small when compared to other possibilities of life in the universe.
Born in the capital of São Paulo, Francisco Zunica Dias lives in Peruíbe, in the metropolitan region of Baixada Santista. At the age of 63, he began investing in his career as an author and wrote the book As Formigas Pensam na Vida, a new way of perceiving the world and seeking a logical sequence for a subjective reality – which became a personal commitment. Check out the interview!
Could you share more details about the inspiration and process of creating the plot of “As Ants Think of Life”? What was the initial idea that gave rise to the story and how did you develop the characters and plot over time?
Before, I had the numbers and codes, but I needed a way to present them. Hence the need to create a story that was thought from the duality between religion and faith versus science and skepticism. This discussion would be brought to a draw. As for the characters, each one carries a part of me. Skeptical man I was introduced to the Creator. Eager for knowledge, I sought in other beliefs something that I already knew, but that was forgotten.
In his book, the main character goes through a journey of questioning his beliefs. Do you believe that art can be a tool to provoke this kind of reflection in readers?
All art is transformation because it changes people and enhances their sensitivity. Nowadays, what good is a thousand words without a good argument? The writer’s keenness is a path with several meanings that lead to a single outcome, but who closes the book is the reader.
The book addresses topics such as alien abduction and the possibility of life on other planets. Are you a science fiction enthusiast? If so, what are your favorite authors or works?
The first and revolutionary for his time, for me, was Jules Verne. Then Isaac Asimov and, finally, the memorable Arthur Clarke with his work “The nine trillion names of God”.
Although his book is fiction, it naturally brings some elements that are realistic, such as the beginning of the plot, where a friend waits for the other in a bar. What are the main difficulties of writing about this genre and how to measure how far a fiction can reach?
Fiction only asks for one thing, which is creativity to unveil the unknown, even if that unknown is inside a box of matches. As lovers say: waiting is always torment. Some start a book at low tide, I prefer the storm. For me, the best divider is always an absent person, because we’ve all waited for someone at least once in our lives. The best fiction is the one that mixes reality with fantasy and who decides its limits is the imagination.
During the narrative, your character is put in different theories about what could have happened to his friend, even reaching the abduction by aliens and the questioning of life on other planets. Such a theme makes light references to the study of ufology, in addition to religion. What made you want to explore this topic?
There is no one-man religion when he seeks his self-knowledge. The controversial subject of ufology leaves open the possibility of a mathematical communication, because that is the most rational. Different themes, it is true, but both make us look to the sky. Whether searching or worshiping, we will always look to infinity for answers.
Precisely for starting to follow his beliefs, the protagonist who was an Atheist, not believing in deities, ends up facing the Creator maintaining constant dialogues. What was it like to promote this “break” with your character?
A: It was something that happened to me. For personal reasons, I lost faith. A free man, I won in questions, because I had complete freedom to think, but as the poet says: reason ends when the door closes. Walking between two worlds, someone introduced me to a divine force, which I came to call the “Big He”. I asked and He answered, and so began our friendship.
During the dialogues that his book promotes, the protagonist becomes suspicious of his relationship with the so-called “Big He”, and despite this, the divine being opens up reflections on existence. In the midst of this unfolding of events, what is the main message that led you to write this book?
In the beginning, it was about showing the existence of a logical sequence that determines the facts that will still happen, but later I realized that this does not matter. The objective of the game is not to know who is the winner, but the emotion of the match. I believe that no one would go to a football stadium knowing the result. Thinking about it, I took some things out and decided to talk about the “highest”, because, in the end, He is the only one who hears our prayers.
As we said a little in the previous questions, one of the main questions of the work is related to the fact that we are not alone in the world and that, like ants, humans can also seem small species. In his opinion, what leads human beings to disbelief about other lives? (Religion, ignorance…)
The main factor is fear. We are terrified of what we don’t understand and, even with the sightings, we cover everything up with clouds. Now it’s late and we already know that we are no longer alone. The difference is that we can still choose who we would like to have as company in the search for information. The main alien being is us, who came from water, because it did not exist on this planet. Come to think of it, who’s really out there?
Since you were 63 years old, you started to dedicate yourself to the development of your book as a way of perceiving the world and seeking a logical sequence for the subjective reality we live in, which became a personal commitment. What made you take on this mission?
I wouldn’t say mission, but the salvation of myself, because, through the book, I saw things that I will never forget in my life and I still carry with me the certainty that there is something greater.
As an author, what did the experience of creating and writing “As Formigas Pensam na Vida” represent in your career? In the same way that causes readers to reflect, did writing also make you feel impact?
It represented the doubt of writing, because I have a different life, like that of the thinker who asks for solitude when I’m in the middle of a crowd. The strange thing is that the best ideas for writing the book came to my mind when I was going over a hundred kilometers per hour on a motorcycle. And that’s a wonderful feeling, because I was going against the wind, since everything is fleeting, even the flowers of the field.