Karl Schroeder is a Canadian science fiction author and futurist who is currently writing about blockchain technology, next-gen economics and the future of government. Karl is best known for novels such as the award-winning YA space opera Lockstep, but he uses narrative tools in his foresight work as well, blending fiction with rigorous futures research in “scenario fictions” for government and corporate clients. Examples of this approach include Crisis in Zefra and Crisis in Urlia, two short novels commissioned by the Canadian Defense Department as study and research tools.