There’s no denying that movies (and TV shows, and books…) can be a big influence on how we view people who are different from us. It’s why Jared, the robot dentist in writer Simon Stephenson’s new comedic and speculative science fiction novel Set My Heart To Five (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook), decides to become a screenwriter to tell his story, to tell his people’s story. In the following email interview, Stephenson — a screenwriter himself — discusses what inspired and influenced what he calls a “misstopian” sci-fi story.