Tag / Heaven on Earth

by Fadi Zaghmout

Janna Ala Al Ard is getting an Italian translation by Future Fiction


I am happy to share this good news by the end of this year. I just signed an agreement with Italian SF publisher Future Fiction for the rights to translate and publish Janna Al Ard (Heaven on Earth) from Arabic into the Italian language.

On their website, Future Fiction writes:

We give voice to stories from the future, inclusive narratives from over 30 countries and 10 different languages, which explore the ambiguous relationship between human beings and technology, the transformations of personal identity and social organization, the encounter between humanity and the scarcity or abundance of resources: visions that peer into every possible future.

I admire what Francesco Verso, co-founder of Future Fiction, has been doing in bringing voices of the future from all over the world together, and I feel more than proud to be one for these voices.

Future Fiction is a home for many of us who try to imagine the future.

Janna will be my second book to come out in Italian, after Arous Amman (The Bride of Amman) which is planned for Jan 2022 release by MReditori.

Janna was first released in Arabic by Dar Al Adab in 2014, translated to English by Sawad Hussain and published by Signal 8 Press in 2018. 

About Heaven on Earth:

The year: sometime in the 2090s. The location: Jordan. Aging is reversible thanks to major advances in bioscience and nanotechnology. But in a world where eternal youth has become a reality, complications arise. Journalist Janna Abdallah is at the forefront of these changes: her brother Jamal contributed to many of the medical advances that have brought such profound changes to humanity over the past few decades, yet he has chosen to forego age suppression in order to experience a natural death. Because reproduction is strictly regulated, the opportunity to create new life throws the Abdallah family into turmoil. Fadi Zaghmout’s best-selling debut novel The Bride of Amman was groundbreaking for its intimate, sympathetic treatment of women’s issues, homosexuality, and marriage in the Middle East. Heaven on Earth is no less revolutionary, at once a searingly personal account of one family’s struggle to embrace the future that is now, and also a look at the way Jordanian society has had to reimagine itself at the end of the twenty-first century.

More on Future Fiction:

Future Fiction is a cultural association of social promotion founded by Francesco Verso and Francesco Mantovani. Our project aims to disseminate and promote an interdisciplinary approach to the idea of ​​the future, using science fiction and speculation as bridges between today and tomorrow: a multicultural and transmedia laboratory of narratives that explore the ambiguous and symbiotic relationship between man and technology.

With the ambition of mapping the other “tomorrows” declined by every culture and tradition, Future Fiction organizes and participates in seminars, workshops, conferences, and congresses in Italy and around the world on highly topical issues related to innovation, anticipation, and speculation, thus contributing to the debate with articles, essays, novels, and anthologies, both printed and digital.

After more than 160 digital publications and 50 paper books, the project has become an excellent aggregator of content and a place of discovery for anyone who sees tomorrow, not only dismal dystopias and unlikely apocalypses but also an analysis and entertainment tool to find orientation. , among the incredible transformations that are increasingly impacting humanity at all levels, from the technological to the biopolitical, social, economic, and environmental.

by Fadi Zaghmout

A reward and punishment VR system – imagining the future Black Mirror style


The future might be both, beyond our wildest dreams, and so much familiar where it manifests many of our beliefs and traditions. With the exponential advancement of AI and technology, it would be near impossible to predict what is coming our way.


But understanding the power of human beliefs and imaginations and how persistent it can be, and coupling that with the powers of our future technologies of AI, VR and censoring, let’s imagine the following scenario:


For those who still believe in heaven and in hell, who believe in reward and punishment in a world where aging does no longer exist and death is far more rare. You don’t have to worry!


I have a solution.


We can run a mini experiment and create the world you think is fair and true. To assist the angels on your left and right shoulders, we will create artificial invisible angels, planted on your shoulders to log whatever action you do. They will be ran by an advance AI that can asses every single action, collect data from your body and brain activities, and determine if the action should be logged in your deeds or sins records.


This can start any moment, from the day of your birth, or the day you subscribe to our service. It will also have a time limit. We recommend 100 years. After which, your judgement day will arrive. But don’t worry, we can do it in groups, or patches, so it can feel real, with a real judgment day for all. And we can keep the date a secret that no one knows.


On your judgment day, the AI will measure your balance and how it tips. It will determine if you have been a good person or a bad one. And accordingly, it will channel you to one of our afterlife chambers; the VR chamber of Hell or the VR chamber of Heaven.


In Heaven, you will be seated comfortably in a perfect room and you will delve into an experience of joy that you have never thought of. Your body will be monitored all the time to ensure your safety. Your mind will be constantly induced with happy hormones. And your imagination will be living the Heaven you always dreamt of and longed for. You will not feel time, because there is not time in Heaven.


In Hell, we will burn you “virtually” to atone your sins. You will be tortured to the highest levels your body can endure. We will repeat that constantly, every time till you lose your consciousness, and reset once you wake up again. All in a safe environment, with your body tightened into a comfortable chair and sensors that can guarantee you would never die.
Who is up for this? Add your name in the comments!


– This can either be a Black Mirror episode or a blue print for a sequel for my Heaven on Earth

by Fadi Zaghmout

“Heaven on Earth” Book Launch Event


My second book “Janna Ala Al Ard” (Heaven on Earth), is finally out in English after three years of its original release in Arabic by Dar Al Adab in November 2014. Translated By the brilliant Sawad Hussain and published by Signal8Press (same publisher of “The Bride of Amman”).

On Saturday 25th November, we had the launch event of the book at Literaturhaus at Nadi on 25 November, 4PM, in Nadi Al Quoz (Al Serkal Avenue). My close friend Hani Yakan (whom I admire and appreciate a lot) moderated the session, and gave a great introduction for me and for the book. He has planned good questions around the theme of the book which triggered a very thoughtful and interesting discussion (Thank you Hani).

During the event, we talked about the writing process and the jump in genre from my previous feminist novel into a science fiction novel. We discussed the themes presented in the book from the current scientific trend of considering ageing to be a disease, and the promise of new technologies and research to bring defeat ageing and grant us a longer and healthier life span. We discussed the effect of the golden pill (full of nanobots to clean cellular damage and keep our cells healthy and young) on our social systems and how longer lifespans would affect our life styles and moral codes.

It was a really nice and engaging discussion, talking about the future at a time many experts deems to be the cusp of exponential development unprecedented in human history.

Writing the book helped me explore the concept of happiness; what is heaven and what is hell? Releasing a new book and having an audience to discuss it with, is certainly a line from heaven… on earth..

You can order your copy now from Jamalon.com.

Here are some photos from the event:

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by Fadi Zaghmout

6 blurbs from distinguished figures for Heaven on Earth


My 2nd book Heaven on Earth is finally out in English and I am very thankful for the endorsement of these distinguished people, two of whom are leading the global efforts in combating ageing: Aubrey de Grey and Ira S. Pastor.

1. Aubrey de Grey, Chief Science Officer, SENS Research Foundation

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2. Ira S. Pastor, CEO BioQuark Inc., Rejuvenation Biotechnology Company

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3. Lara Matossian, founder and CEO of Sci Fest Dubai

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4. Zaid Bawab, Jordanian filmmaker, part-time lecturer, and music curator

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5. Batir Wardam, Jordanian writer and social-media activist

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6. Fadi G. Haddad, Jordanian film director and writer

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by Fadi Zaghmout

Author’s note – Heaven on Earth Book


In 2010, while I was visiting Chicago, a friend of mine asked me to get him that month’s copy of GQ magazine. I remember flipping through the copy in my hotel room, reading the headlines, when I noticed an article with a title that said human beings may soon be able to live up to 1000 years and beyond. It was an interview with Aubrey de Grey, the famous English gerontologist who came up with a roadmap for how to defeat aging. The possibility hit me hard, as dying from old age has always been a given, something that is impossible to change. It gave me hope. Thus believing Aubrey’s words, I started to imagine: What will life be like when this happens? How will it affect our lives, our morals, and our society? Would be really like heaven when we push death away from us?

What will life be like when this happens? How will it affect our lives, our morals, and our society? Would be really like heaven when we push death away from us?

A few years later, I finished the story, and it was published in Arabic by Dar Al Adab. And I moved to Dubai, where one day Aubrey de Grey was hosted for a talk at Cafe Scientifique in the city. It was like a dream for me to meet the man who promising us a longer life. There was no way I would have missed that event. I went there and met him and told him how he inspired me to write the book. I emailed him few months later when the English translation was ready and asked him if he would be interested in writing me a book blurb, and he did.

It was like a dream for me to meet the man who promising us a longer life.

I would like to dedicate this book to him, to thank him for his efforts towards saving humanity from the horrors of old age.

I would also like to dedicate this book to my parents, stating my ultimate dream, my grand wish to see both of them getting back their youth when this technology is materialized.

And a special dedication to everyone in my life, my family members and close friends. I want you all to stay here with me for a long long time. Love you all.

I want you all to stay here with me for a long long time.

I may not have painted in this book the heaven we dream of, but I hope that the premise of a longer life may give some happiness to all of those who love living and who enjoy their lives here on this planet.

Kindle version of the book is available now on Amazon. Download it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WGF87H/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506305353

eBook is available also on Smashwords for $8.99. Download it here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/749722

by Fadi Zaghmout

De-aging, my new obsession


Ending Aging

I have always took death for granted. Hated it, had a deep sadness for the fact that it is inevitable, and panicked over it for many many times. Not until last year, when I stumbled upon an article on GQ magazine where in a published interview with a scientist, Aubrey De Grey, he said that he believes that we are pretty close to defeat aging.

Hope filled my heart back then. For, defeating aging means a much longer life, one that won’t just end in a blink of an eye. It also means, and if arrived soon enough, to have the chance to see my parents young again and healthy for ever (fingers crossed).

It wasn’t just hope that filled my heart, but also many ideas occupied my head, for the impact of defeating again would turn the human societies upside down with lots of new beliefs, values and perception of life. It is a major change in the life we know and  a drastic shift in the core of  human societies we had for thousands of years. Those ideas turned into a new obsession, obsession to examine what life would be when death from aging becomes part of our history. How would people react initially? what would be its impact on our current belief systems and religions? and what is it like to live for 1000 year or even 10000?  Continue reading →