ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nnedi Okorafor - Science fiction writer
Nnedi Okorafor weaves African cultures into the evocative settings and memorable characters of her science fiction work for kids and adults.

Why you should listen

Nnedi Okorafor is an award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy and magical realism. Born in the US to Nigerian immigrant parents, Okorafor is known for weaving African cultures into creative settings and memorable characters. Her books include Lagoon (a British Science Fiction Association Award finalist for best novel), Who Fears Death (a World Fantasy Award winner for best novel), Kabu Kabu (a Publisher's Weekly best book for Fall 2013), Akata Witch (an Amazon.com best book of the year), Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature) and The Shadow Speaker (a CBS Parallax Award winner).

Her 2016 novel The Book of Phoenix is an Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist, while the first book in the Binti Trilogy won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella. Her children’s book Chicken in the Kitchen won an Africana Book Award. The final installment of the Binti Trilogy, titled The Night Masquerade, will be released in September 2017, and the sequel to Akata Witch (titled Akata Warrior) is was published in October 2017. Meanwhile, her book Who Fears Death has been optioned by HBO, with Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin as executive producer.

Okorafor is a full professor at the University at Buffalo, New York (SUNY).

More profile about the speaker
Nnedi Okorafor | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2017

Nnedi Okorafor: Sci-fi stories that imagine a future Africa

Nnedi Okorafor: HIstórias de ficção científica que imaginam uma futura África

Filmed:
1,047,804 views

"Minha ficção científica tem ancestrais diferentes -- africanos", afirma a escritora Nnedi Okorafor. Entre trechos de sua série "Binti" e de seu romance "Lagoon", Okorafor discute a inspiração e as raízes de seu trabalho e como ela, por meio de sua escrita afro-futurista, acaba abrindo estranhas portas.
- Science fiction writer
Nnedi Okorafor weaves African cultures into the evocative settings and memorable characters of her science fiction work for kids and adults. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
What if an African girl
from a traditional family
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E se uma garota africana
de uma família tradicional,
00:16
in a part of future Africa
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em algum lugar da África no futuro,
00:18
is accepted into the finest
university in the galaxy,
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fosse aceita na mais renomada
universidade da galáxia,
00:21
planets away?
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a planetas de distância?
00:24
What if she decides to go?
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E se ela decidisse ir?
00:27
This is an excerpt
from my "Binti" novella trilogy:
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Este é um trecho
da minha trilogia "Binti":
00:32
I powered up the transporter
and said a silent prayer.
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"Liguei o transportador
e fiz uma prece em silêncio.
00:35
I had no idea what I was going
to do if it didn't work.
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Não tinha a menor ideia
do que fazer se ele não funcionasse.
00:38
My transporter was cheap,
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Meu transportador era barato,
00:40
so even a droplet of moisture
or, more likely, a grain of sand,
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mesmo uma gota de umidade
ou, mais provavelmente, um grão de areia,
00:43
would cause it to short.
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poderia causar um curto.
00:45
It was faulty, and most of the time
I had to restart it over and over
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Era capenga e quase sempre
era necessário reiniciá-lo várias vezes
00:49
before it worked.
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para que funcionasse.
00:50
"Please not now,
please not now," I thought.
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'Por favor, agora não', pensei.
00:53
The transporter shivered in the sand
and I held my breath.
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O transportador sacolejou na areia,
e segurei minha respiração.
00:57
Tiny, flat and black as a prayer stone,
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Minúsculo, plano e preto
como um amuleto,
00:59
it buzzed softly and then
slowly rose from the sand.
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zuniu baixinho e lentamente saiu da areia.
01:03
Finally, it produced
the baggage-lifting force.
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Por fim, produziu a força
para levantar a bagagem.
01:06
I grinned.
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Sorri.
01:07
Now I could make it
to the shuttle on time.
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Agora conseguiria chegar à nave a tempo.
01:11
I swiped otjize from my forehead
with my index finger and knelt down,
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Afastei otjize da minha testa
com meu dedo indicador e me ajoelhei,
01:15
then I touched the finger to the sand,
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toquei a areia com o mesmo dedo,
01:17
grounding the sweet-smelling
red clay into it.
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grudando a lama vermelha
de cheiro doce nele.
01:20
"Thank you," I whispered.
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'Obrigada', sussurrei.
01:23
It was a half-mile walk
along the dark desert road.
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Era uma caminhada de 800 metros
pela estrada escura e deserta.
01:26
With the transporter working
I would make it there on time.
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Com o transportador funcionando,
eu chegaria a tempo.
Endireitando-me, parei e fechei os olhos.
01:30
Straightening up,
I paused and shut my eyes.
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01:32
Now, the weight of my entire life
was pressing on my shoulders.
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Agora, o peso da minha vida toda
repousava em meus ombros.
01:36
I was defying the most traditional
part of myself for the first time
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Eu desafiava a parte mais tradicional
de mim mesma pela primeira vez
01:40
in my entire life.
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em toda minha vida.
01:41
I was leaving in the dead of night,
and they had no clue.
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Eu partia na calada da noite,
e ninguém fazia a menor ideia.
01:45
My nine siblings, all older than me
except for my younger sister and brother,
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Meus nove irmãos, todos mais velhos,
exceto meu irmão e minha irmã mais novos,
01:49
would never see this coming.
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jamais esperariam por isso.
01:51
My parents would never imagine
I'd do such a thing in a million years.
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Meus pais jamais imaginariam
que eu faria algo assim.
01:55
By the time they all realized
what I'd done and where I was going,
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Quando todos percebessem
o que eu havia feito e para onde ia,
01:59
I'd have left the planet.
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já teria deixado o planeta.
02:02
In my absence, my parents
would growl to each other
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Na minha ausência, meus pais
rosnariam um para o outro
02:05
that I was never
to set foot in their home again.
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que nunca mais permitiriam
minha entrada em casa.
02:08
My four aunties and two uncles
who lived down the road
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Minhas quatro tias e dois tios
que viviam na mesma rua
02:11
would shout and gossip amongst themselves
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gritariam e fofocariam entre eles
02:13
about how I had scandalized
the entire bloodline.
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sobre como eu havia escandalizado
toda nossa linhagem.
02:16
I was going to be a pariah.
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Eu me tornaria uma pária.
02:19
"Go," I softly whispered
to the transporter,
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'Vá', disse suavemente ao transportador,
02:21
stamping my foot.
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batendo meu pé.
Os pequenos anéis de metal em torno
dos tornozelos balançaram ruidosamente,
02:23
The thin metal rings I wore
around each ankle jingled noisily,
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02:26
but I stamped my foot again.
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mas bati o pé mais uma vez.
Uma vez ligado, o transportador
funcionava melhor quando eu não o tocava.
02:29
Once on, the transporter worked best
when I didn't touch it.
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02:32
"Go," I said again,
sweat forming on my brow.
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'Vá', disse novamente,
o suor se formando na minha testa.
02:36
When nothing moved,
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Quando nada se moveu,
02:37
I chanced giving the two large suitcases
sitting atop the force field a shove.
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arrisquei dar um empurrão nas duas malas
grandes sobre o campo de força.
02:42
They moved smoothly,
and I breathed another sigh of relief.
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Elas se moveram suavemente,
e respirei novamente com alívio.
02:45
At least some luck was on my side.
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Pelo menos um pouco de sorte
estava do meu lado".
02:50
So, in a distant future part of Africa,
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Assim, num lugar
num futuro distante na África,
02:53
Binti is a mathematical genius
of the Himba ethnic group.
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Binti é um gênio da matemática
do grupo étnico Himba.
02:57
She's been accepted
into a university on another planet,
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Ela foi aceita numa universidade
de um outro planeta,
03:00
and she's decided to go.
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e decidiu ir.
03:02
Carrying the blood
of her people in her veins,
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Carregando o sangue do seu povo nas veias,
03:04
adorned with the teachings,
ways, even the land on her very skin,
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ornada pelos ensinamentos, maneiras,
e até pelo solo na própria pele,
03:09
Binti leaves the earth.
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Binti deixa a Terra.
03:12
As the story progresses,
she becomes not other, but more.
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À medida que a história avança,
ela se torna não outro, mas mais.
03:16
This idea of leaving but bringing
and then becoming more
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A ideia de partir, mas de levar,
e então se tornar mais
03:19
is at one of the hearts of Afrofuturism,
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está num dos cernes do afro-futurismo,
03:22
or you can simply call it
a different type of science fiction.
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ou podem simplesmente chamá-lo
de um tipo diferente de ficção científica.
A diferença entre ficção científica
clássica e afro-futurismo fica mais clara
03:26
I can best explain the difference between
classic science fiction and Afrofuturism
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03:31
if I used the octopus analogy.
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se usarmos a analogia do polvo.
03:34
Like humans,
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Como os seres humanos,
os polvos são das criaturas
mais inteligentes da Terra.
03:35
octopuses are some of the most
intelligent creatures on earth.
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03:39
However, octopus intelligence evolved
from a different evolutionary line,
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No entanto, a inteligência do polvo
veio de uma linha evolucionária diferente,
03:44
separate from that of human beings,
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separada da dos seres humanos,
03:46
so the foundation is different.
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por isso a base é diferente.
03:49
The same can be said about the foundations
of various forms of science fiction.
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O mesmo pode ser dito sobre a fundação
das várias formas da ficção científica.
03:54
So much of science fiction speculates
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Muito da ficção científica especula
03:57
about technologies,
societies, social issues,
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sobre tecnologias, sociedades
e questões sociais,
o que há além do nosso planeta,
o que há dentro do nosso planeta.
04:00
what's beyond our planet,
what's within our planet.
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04:03
Science fiction is one of the greatest
and most effective forms
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A ficção científica é uma das formas
melhores e mais efetivas
04:06
of political writing.
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de escrita política.
04:08
It's all about the question, "What if?"
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Tem a ver com a pergunta: "E se?"
04:11
Still, not all science fiction
has the same ancestral bloodline,
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Ainda assim, nem toda ficção científica
tem a mesma linhagem ancestral,
04:16
that line being Western-rooted
science fiction,
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sendo a linha de origem ocidental
04:19
which is mostly white and male.
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em sua maioria branca e masculina.
04:22
We're talking Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne,
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Estamos falando
de Isaac Asimov, Júlio Verne,
04:25
H.G. Wells, George Orwell,
Robert Heinlein, etc.
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H. G. Wells, George Orwell,
Robert Heinlein, etc.
04:30
So what if a Nigerian-American
wrote science fiction?
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Mas e se uma nigeriano-americana
escrevesse ficção científica?
04:35
Growing up, I didn't
read much science fiction.
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Cresci sem ler muita ficção científica.
04:38
I couldn't relate to these stories
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Eu não me identificava com histórias
04:40
preoccupied with xenophobia,
colonization and seeing aliens as others.
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preocupadas com xenofobia, colonização
e que veem alienígenas como os outros.
04:46
And I saw no reflection of anyone
who looked like me in those narratives.
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E não via nem sombra de alguém
parecido comigo nessas narrativas.
04:50
In the "Binti" novella trilogy,
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Na trilogia das novelas "Binti",
04:52
Binti leaves the planet
to seek education from extraterrestrials.
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Binti deixa o planeta para procurar
educação com extraterrestres.
04:56
She goes out as she is,
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Ela vai embora como é,
04:58
looking the way she looks,
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com a sua aparência,
05:00
carrying her cultures,
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carregando sua cultura,
05:01
being who she is.
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sendo quem ela é.
Minha inspiração
para escrever essa história
05:04
I was inspired to write this story
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05:05
not because I was following
a line of classic space opera narratives,
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não estava nas narrativas
de óperas espaciais clássicas,
05:10
but because of blood that runs deep,
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mas no sangue que corre fundo,
05:12
family, cultural conflict
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na família, nos conflitos culturais
05:15
and the need to see an African girl
leave the planet on her own terms.
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e na necessidade de ver uma garota
africana deixar o planeta a seu modo.
05:20
My science fiction
had different ancestors,
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Minha ficção científica
tinha ancestrais diferentes:
05:23
African ones.
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africanos.
05:26
So I'm Nigerian-American.
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Assim, sou uma nigeriano-americana.
05:28
I was born to two
Nigerian immigrant parents
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Nasci de pais imigrantes nigerianos
05:31
and raised in the United States,
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e cresci nos Estados Unidos,
05:33
one of the birthplaces
of classic science fiction.
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um dos berços da ficção
científica clássica.
05:36
However, it was my Nigerian heritage
that led me to write science fiction.
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No entanto, foi minha herança nigeriana
que me levou a escrever ficção científica.
05:41
Specifically I cite those family trips
to Nigeria in the late '90s.
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Cito especialmente as viagens em família
para a Nigéria no fim dos anos 1990.
05:47
I'd been taking trips back to Nigeria
with my family since I was very young.
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Viajo com a minha família
para a Nigéria desde muito pequena.
05:51
These early trips inspired me.
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Essas viagens me inspiraram.
05:54
Hence the first story that I ever
even wrote took place in Nigeria.
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Por isso, a primeira história
que escrevi teve lugar na Nigéria.
05:58
I wrote mainly magical realism and fantasy
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Escrevi principalmente
realismo mágico e fantasia,
06:01
inspired by my love of Igbo
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inspirada por meu amor a Igbo
06:03
and other West African traditional
cosmologies and spiritualities.
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e a outras cosmologias e espiritualidades
tradicionais da África Ocidental.
06:08
However, in the late '90s,
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No entanto, no fim da década de 1990,
06:11
I started noticing
the role of technology in Nigeria:
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comecei a notar o papel
da tecnologia na Nigéria:
06:15
cable TV and cell phones in the village,
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TV a cabo e celulares nas vilas,
06:18
419 scammers occupying the cybercafes,
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419 golpistas ocupando cibercafés,
06:21
the small generator connected
to my cousin's desktop computer
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o pequeno gerador conectado
ao computador do meu primo,
06:25
because the power
was always going on and off.
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pois a energia elétrica vivia oscilando.
06:28
And my Americanness othered me enough
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E eu era americanizada o suficiente
06:31
to be intrigued by these things
that most Nigerians saw as normal.
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para ficar intrigada por coisas que
a maioria dos nigerianos via como normal.
06:36
My intrigue eventually
gave birth to stories.
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Minha curiosidade acabou
gerando histórias.
06:40
I started opening strange doors.
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Comecei a abrir estranhas portas.
06:44
What if aliens came to Lagos, Nigeria?
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E se alienígenas chegassem
a Lagos, na Nigéria?
(Risos)
06:50
This is an excerpt
from my novel, "Lagoon."
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Este é um trecho do meu romance "Lagoon".
06:56
Everybody saw it,
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"Todo mundo viu,
06:58
all over the world.
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o mundo todo.
07:00
That was a real introduction
to the great mess happening in Lagos,
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Aquilo foi uma verdadeira introdução
ao grande caos que reinava em Lagos,
07:04
Nigeria, West Africa, Africa, here.
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Nigéria, África Ocidental, África, aqui.
Como muitos em Lagos tinham
aparelhos portáteis, recarregáveis,
07:10
Because so many people in Lagos
had portable, chargeable,
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07:13
glowing, vibrating, chirping, tweeting,
communicating, connected devices,
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brilhantes, vibratórios, pipilantes,
tuitantes, comunicantes e conectados,
07:17
practically everything was recorded
and posted online in some way,
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praticamente tudo, de alguma forma,
era gravado e postado on-line,
07:21
somehow,
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de algum jeito,
07:23
quickly.
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rapidamente.
07:25
The modern human world
is connected like a spider's web.
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O mundo humano moderno
está conectado como uma teia de aranha.
07:30
The world was watching.
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O mundo estava assistindo.
07:32
It watched in fascinated horror
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Ele assistia com horror cheio de fascínio
07:34
for information,
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para se informar,
07:36
but mostly for entertainment.
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mas a maioria para se divertir.
07:39
Footage of what was happening
dominated every international news source,
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Imagens do que estava acontecendo
dominaram as notícias internacionais,
07:42
video-sharing website, social network,
circle, pyramid and trapezoid.
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sites de compartilhamento de vídeos, redes
sociais, círculo, pirâmide e trapézio.
07:47
But the story goes deeper.
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Mas a história vai mais fundo.
07:50
It is in the mud,
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Está num lamaçal,
07:51
the dirt,
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no solo,
07:53
the earth,
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na Terra,
07:55
in the fond memory of the soily cosmos.
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na doce memória do cosmos terrestre.
07:58
It is in the always mingling
past, present and future.
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Está no contínuo entrelaçamento
do passado, do presente e do futuro.
08:02
It is in the water.
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Está na água.
08:04
It is in the powerful spirits
and ancestors who dwelled in Lagos.
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Está nos espíritos poderosos
e ancestrais que viviam em Lagos.
08:08
It is in the hearts and minds
of the people of Lagos.
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Está no coração e na mente
do povo de Lagos.
08:12
Change begets change.
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Mudança gera mudança.
08:15
The alien Ayodele knew it.
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O alienígena Ayodele sabia disso.
08:17
All her people know it.
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Todo o povo dela sabia."
08:21
So, this is a voice of Udide,
the supreme spider artist,
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Bem, essa foi a voz de Udide,
a suprema aranha-artista,
08:25
who is older than dirt
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que é mais velha que a terra
08:26
and lives in the dirt
beneath the city of Lagos,
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e vive nos subterrâneos de Lagos,
08:29
listening and commenting
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ouvindo, comentando
08:31
and weaving the story
of extraterrestrials coming to Lagos.
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e tecendo a história
de extraterrestres vindo a Lagos.
08:35
In the end, the great spider
who was the size of a house
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No final, a grande aranha,
que era do tamanho de uma casa
08:38
and responsible for weaving
the past, present and future
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e responsável por tecer
o passado, o presente e o futuro,
08:41
decides to come forth
and be a part of the story.
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decide emergir e participar da história.
08:45
Like Udide, the spider artist,
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Como Udide, a aranha-artista,
08:47
African science fiction's blood runs deep
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o sangue da ficção científica
africano flui profundo,
08:51
and it's old,
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é antigo
08:52
and it's ready to come forth,
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e está pronto para emergir
08:55
and when it does,
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e, quando o fizer,
08:56
imagine the new technologies, ideas
and sociopolitical changes it'll inspire.
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imaginem as novas tecnologias, ideias
e mudanças sociopolíticas
que vai inspirar.
09:03
For Africans, homegrown
science fiction can be a will to power.
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4000
Para os africanos,
ficção científica feita em casa
pode significar um desejo de poder.
09:08
What if?
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E se?
09:10
It's a powerful question.
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Essa é uma pergunta poderosa.
09:12
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
09:13
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Raissa Mendes
Reviewed by Denise Pelusch

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nnedi Okorafor - Science fiction writer
Nnedi Okorafor weaves African cultures into the evocative settings and memorable characters of her science fiction work for kids and adults.

Why you should listen

Nnedi Okorafor is an award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy and magical realism. Born in the US to Nigerian immigrant parents, Okorafor is known for weaving African cultures into creative settings and memorable characters. Her books include Lagoon (a British Science Fiction Association Award finalist for best novel), Who Fears Death (a World Fantasy Award winner for best novel), Kabu Kabu (a Publisher's Weekly best book for Fall 2013), Akata Witch (an Amazon.com best book of the year), Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature) and The Shadow Speaker (a CBS Parallax Award winner).

Her 2016 novel The Book of Phoenix is an Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist, while the first book in the Binti Trilogy won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella. Her children’s book Chicken in the Kitchen won an Africana Book Award. The final installment of the Binti Trilogy, titled The Night Masquerade, will be released in September 2017, and the sequel to Akata Witch (titled Akata Warrior) is was published in October 2017. Meanwhile, her book Who Fears Death has been optioned by HBO, with Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin as executive producer.

Okorafor is a full professor at the University at Buffalo, New York (SUNY).

More profile about the speaker
Nnedi Okorafor | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

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