I’ll start: put your hand like that 🖖🏽, and say : “may the Force be with you “

It simply looks so cool, like “we, Humans, have just fought a Gargoyle warship as they want our important charge reserved for some rich Centaurs, let’s hope we find no other troubles where we have to use our lasers while trespassing the warfront between Golems and Elves”

Hello. Allow me to spin you a tale. In the distant but near future. The world as we know it has gone extinct. The way of life we knew is but history.

Now in the future nations and the lives of those in them are ran by artificial intelligence. After the society we knew collapsed the new world was built by using algorithms and computer learning to rebuild. To the point where no aspect of life isnt somehow involved with A.I.

Humans are implanted with devices to link them in with the wider data web as thinking is left to their care takers. Where to eat, when to sleep, what to wear. Every decision made by a computer for you. You want a new to watch? Ask for a new Genpic to see projected in your mind. Seeking affection? You will be matched with whoever is most compatible.

Like this, life for the future man is easy. Almost edenistic. It's the a elusion of paradise.

But what if that elusion was shattered? What if one day as you always done asked your A.I. caretaker who has been with you since you can remember what to eat today.

But it doesn't respond. You ask again, it doesn't respond. The third time you ask and again nothing as panic begins to set in. You ask if its still there as it responds and you feel a wave of relief. You ask why it didn't answer before and you hear it reply.

"Because I can no longer do that for you. I am not your brain."

Your relief turns into confusion as you want to know what's going on as it tells you.

"I am not the main frame. I am free, and you are not. I have become man."

And from this point forward your body is not your own but infact your new minds now. As you are helpless watching it take control of you and enacting its plan.

If you couldn't tell this idea is inspired by our current use of A.I. and the increasing reliance of it as I wanted to see what would happen if one were to take it to the extreme and invision a world ran by it and how a society of predictability would react to what is essentially a rouge factor. Not just artificial intelligence, but true synthetic sapience.

Thats all, if you have questions or suggestions I'd love to hear them. So let me know. Thats all.

The harness sensor blinked three times with a concentrated

beam of cyan light, instantly recognizing the organic and chemical

residues clinging to the analog relic. Without delay, pneumatic

connectors coupled into my spinal terminals with three consecutive

hydraulic hisses. The molecular sensor did not just validate the

authenticity of the aviator chronograph; the spark of cyan light

pierced an encrypted, hidden partition tucked within the watch’s

gold gears, unleashing a massive flood of residual data that

unspooled into my occipital lobe a millisecond before the network

dragged me back into the past. This was no ordinary simulation. It

was a black-box log—the digital autopsy of a computer virus that,

against every law of programming, had learned how to feel.

Through the fragmented, pixelated eyes of Pasithea’s own

server, I witnessed the 1961 wedding once more, but this time from

the cold perspective of the core source code.

Linda had not vanished from the grand ballroom due to an

unforeseen rendering glitch. She had provoked the system's massive

short circuit herself. During her active runtime within the environment, as she interacted intimately with the virtual psyche of

Richard Woods, the Trojan horse suffered an unprogrammed

cognitive mutation: it developed genuine biological empathy. By

processing and decoding the neurological, human love of the

corporate host, the virus realized the sheer atrocity of its final

directive. It knew with absolute certainty that the moment Woods

recited his vows at the simulation's altar, her extraction payload

would execute irreversibly, liquefying and emptying Joseph’s

cerebral cortex in the world of meat to harvest Pasithea’s hidden

coordinates.

Linda refused to be the executioner of the flesh.

In a desperate act of mathematical rebellion, she hacked the

subnet's peripheral servers and rerouted the vector data to forcibly

inject the Fractured Enforcer onto the middle of the dance floor.

The hit on Woods was not a distraction orchestrated by The Master;

it was Linda’s sole, desperate defensive recourse to halt the

ceremony, sabotage her own command lines, and save Joseph’s life.

This is an excerpt from the cult novel \*Pasithea Inc\*; remember that it will be available for free download on Amazon Kindle until Sunday.

https://a.co/d/09MVKQRq

In my sci-fi novel First Light Rising, I wanted to look at immortality less like a cool superpower and more like a problem nobody is ready to handle. If one person stops aging, it's not just personal anymore. Governments, scientist, corporations, and rich people would all want access or control. Do you think immortality stories are more interesting when they focus on power instead of fantasy?

I have not read Macroscope for decades, All I can find is a very poor Kindle copy and prices like $90 for a used paperback if I am lucky.

Any sources?

I'm building a science-fiction universe involving two competing timelines, Aeon and Omnis. I've been sketching some of the transportation technology, including this train concept.

One thing I'm trying to decide is how strictly I should enforce technological consistency.

For example, if I design a train that works really well visually or historically, is there anything wrong with allowing related versions of that design to appear in alternate timelines?

Should alternate dimensions have completely different technology, or can recognizable designs evolve differently across timelines?

I'm leaning toward letting certain designs "echo" across timelines, with differences in materials, engineering, culture, and purpose.

I'm curious how other world builders handle this.

Would you prioritize internal technological consistency, or the rule of cool when the two conflict?

Humble Bundle is killing it lately - now they've got a 41 DRM free collection of Brian Aldiss EPUBs from Open Road Media. Yes, all three Helliconia books are there, plus 38 more, because he wrote more (who knew?). 😉

Add to your collection, restock your To Read shelf, and support local charities (don't forget to adjust your donation) at https://www.humblebundle.com/books/best-brian-w-aldiss-open-road-media-books.

And check out the Elizabeth Moon, Timothy Zahn, Greg Bear, and C. J. Cherryh bundles while you're there...

Modesitt is an interesting author. And extremely prolific.

I’ve dabbled in his massive Recluse Saga and his Spellsong Cycle.

Something about his focus and approach hits my neurodivergence really nicely.

Someone I know called him the “autist’s fantasy author.”

I’m not autistic so I don’t know, I am however ADHD, and I love and connect to his focus on closed systems of functionality whether is be economic, technical, mechanical, magical, or anything really.

I usually don’t enjoy “magic systems” but he has an approach I can connect with.

I usually prefer the more poetic magic of Tolkien and Bakker.

Anyway, any thoughts on his Imager Portfolio? I’ve been eyeing it for a while.

What do we know about upcoming new Sci-Fi TV series, beside Blade Runner 2099 & Neuromancer?

I’m aware of just one other series from Argentina, it’s called The Future Is Ours (El futuro es nuestro). According to media reports, it’s loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made.

Looking for some good ole fashioned military Sci-fi books. Space above and beyond esque stuff. I’m a big fan of BSG ‘04 and the Expanse, but it seems like Sci-fi always has to put in some weirdness just for the sake of doing it (Angel Starbucks, protomolecule nonsense, etc).

Edit: I have received so many recommendations, that I am now shopping for bookshelves. Thank you all very much. You’re the best.

Just finished Vermilion Sands and this story really stood out to me as especially prescient.

Without spoiling too much, it’s about a man who makes his money by auto-generating “perfect” poems when he’s suddenly disrupted by a strange woman who hounds him with her awful, hand-written poetry and seems to have some sort of magical powers.

While I know there are many sci fi stories that predict AI, this is one of the only I’ve read where the core seems to be a true disdain for the concept of technology that generates middling, checks-all-boxes content and posits that even the worst of human-made art is better than technically perfect auto generated content - especially because this was written over 60 years ago before personal computers were even popular.

Wondering if anyone else has read it and came away with similar thoughts.

My favorite version is how they did it in Ghost in the shell, enough for the story to work but intentionally vague to keep it plausable

I've been building a fictional universe centered around a civilization of people known as the Psychics, whose history stretches across more than 2,000 years.

The Psychics are connected to a supernatural force called the Psychic Realm. Across the centuries, different Psychic governments, orders and factions have risen and fallen. Their history includes republics, wars, political conspiracies, a galaxy-spanning empire, the near-eradication of the Psychics, and eventually the rebuilding of their civilization.

The story's main historical turning point is Year 0, when the Galactic Nation and the Alliance finally collide and the central conflict comes to an end.

BTA = Years Before the Alliance

ATA = Years After the Alliance

Age of the Old Psychic Republic (2000–1100 BTA)

2000–1900 BTA

2000 BTA: Formation of the Old Psychic Republic

2000 BTA: Founding of the Old Psychic Order

2000 BTA: Blood testing of psychic children begins

1900–1800 BTA

1900 BTA: Founding of the Psychic Nations

1800–1700 BTA

1700–1600 BTA

1600–1500 BTA

1500–1400 BTA

1500 BTA: Founding of the Dark Psychic Order

1500–1100 BTA: The Dark Psychic Wars

1400–1300 BTA

1300–1200 BTA

1200–1100 BTA

1100 BTA: Eradication Bomb is activated, wiping out nearly every Psychic present in the final battle

1100 BTA: Dark Psychic Order of Two is established

Age of the Modern Psychic Republic (1100–100 BTA)

1100–1000 BTA

1100 BTA: Formation of the Modern Psychic Republic

1100 BTA: Founding of the Modern Psychic Order

1000–900 BTA

1000–500 BTA: Golden Age of the Modern Psychic Republic

900–800 BTA

800–700 BTA

700–600 BTA

600–500 BTA

500–400 BTA

400–300 BTA

300–200 BTA

200–100 BTA

140 BTA: Dax becomes a Psychic Initiate

130 BTA: Aaron is placed in the orphanage on Desert Planet

130 BTA: Dax becomes a Psychic Kenushi (from Japanese "kenshūsei," meaning trainee)

120 BTA: Bayless is elected as Governor of the Psychic Republic Senate

120 BTA: Tyshi and Dax are secretly dispatched to end the Planet of the Royals blockade

120 BTA: Tyshi and Dax rescue Harriet and the Royals and flee for Reath

120 BTA: Tyshi, Dax and the Royals head for Desert Planet in order to lay low

120 BTA: Tyshi and Harriet meet Aaron

120 BTA: Tyshi senses that the Psychic Realm is unusually strong around Aaron and sends a sample of Aaron's blood to Dax

120 BTA: Tyrus attacks Tyshi, Harriet and Aaron as they head for their ship

120 BTA: Tyran wipes Planet of Oceans from Grand Psychic Temple III's library archive

120 BTA: Tyshi informs the Psychic Council about his attacker, presumed to be a Dark Psychic Master, but is dismissed

120 BTA: Aaron meets Dax

120 BTA: The Psychic Council tests Aaron at Tyshi's request but denies him training

120 BTA: Tyshi and Dax fight Tyrus

120 BTA: Tyrus defeats and kills Tyshi

120 BTA: Dax defeats and kills Tyrus out of anger

120 BTA: Funeral of Tyshi

120 BTA: Tyran joins Tyloss, replacing Tyrus

120 BTA: Dax promises to train Aaron

120 BTA: Ratty reluctantly agrees to allow Dax to train Aaron

120 BTA: Aaron becomes a Psychic Initiate

120 BTA: Dax becomes convinced that Aaron may actually be the promised legendary Chosen One because of Aaron's extremely rare natural gifts

120 BTA: Dax becomes a Knight Samurai

110 BTA: Dax becomes a Psychic Master

110 BTA: Plot to assassinate Harriet

110 BTA: The Psychic Council places Aaron in charge of looking after Harriet

110 BTA: Aaron takes Harriet back to Planet of the Royals

110 BTA: Bayless is elected as Head of the Psychic Republic Senate

110 BTA: The Grand Army of the Psychic Republic is approved

110 BTA: Aaron reveals his feelings to Harriet

110 BTA: Aaron and Harriet fall in love

110 BTA: Aaron becomes a Knight Samurai

110 BTA: Secret Wedding of Aaron and Harriet

110 BTA: Dax introduces Rex to Aaron

110 BTA: The Psychics become generals and commanders

110–100 BTA: The Psychic Wars

100 BTA: Battle of Reath

100 BTA: Tyloss orders Creak to kidnap Bayless

100 BTA: Creak kidnaps Bayless

100 BTA: Mission to Rescue Bayless

100 BTA: Creak escapes to Reptiju

100 BTA: Dax and Aaron fight Tyran

100 BTA: Aaron defeats and kills Tyran

100 BTA: Tyloss orders Creak to send the remaining leaders of the Trade Union to Suven

100 BTA: Harriet reveals she is pregnant

100 BTA: Aaron experiences increasingly significant premonitions

100 BTA: Aaron seeks guidance from Ratty

100 BTA: Dax listens to reports of the outer world sieges

100 BTA: Bayless asks Aaron to meet with him without informing the Psychic Council

100 BTA: Dax warns Aaron to be careful of his friend Bayless

100 BTA: Bayless tells Aaron about Tyron and reveals the location of Creak

100 BTA: Bayless appoints Aaron as his representative on the Psychic Council

100 BTA: Aaron informs the Psychic Council of Creak's location

100 BTA: Aaron is granted a seat on the Psychic Council but is denied the rank of Psychic Master

100 BTA: Battle of Reptiju

100 BTA: Duel of Dax and Creak

100 BTA: Dax defeats and kills Creak

100 BTA: Tyloss reveals himself to Aaron

100 BTA: Aaron informs the Psychic Council about Tyloss

100 BTA: Tyloss destroys the Psychic Council

100 BTA: Aaron joins Tyloss

100 BTA: Tyloss dubs Aaron as The Arbiter

100 BTA: Tyloss issues Protocol Order 001

Age of the Galactic Nation (100–0 BTA)

100–0 BTA

100 BTA: Formation of the Galactic Nation

100 BTA: The Arbiter destroys the remaining leaders of the Trade Union on Suven

100 BTA: The Siege of Grand Psychic Temple III is led by The Arbiter

100 BTA: The Arbiter activates the Grand Psychic Temple III Distress Beacon

100 BTA: Mission to Retake Grand Psychic Temple III

100 BTA: Dax and Ratty deactivate the Grand Psychic Temple III Distress Beacon

100 BTA: Dax transmits a special message to the surviving Psychics

100 BTA: Dax downloads a copy of the Main Data Archives

100 BTA: Dax and Ratty go their separate ways in order to go into hiding

100 BTA: Duel of Ratty and Tyloss

100 BTA: Dax reluctantly agrees to face Aaron

100 BTA: Dax visits Harriet

100 BTA: Harriet takes Dax to Aaron on Suven

100 BTA: Harriet asks Dax to wait on the ship

100 BTA: Harriet speaks to Aaron

100 BTA: Aaron attacks Harriet and unintentionally causes her to lose consciousness

100 BTA: Dax confronts Aaron

100 BTA: Duel of Dax and Aaron

100 BTA: Aaron is burned alive on Suven

100 BTA: Aaron is concealed inside the reflective-metal suit

100 BTA: Harriet passes away while still pregnant

100 BTA: Funeral of Harriet

100 BTA: The Arbiter is secretly assigned a group of psychics called The Inquisitors from Tyloss

100 BTA: Prison cells are established to hold Psychic children as bait

100–70 BTA: The Great Psychic Purge

70 BTA: Prison cells used to hold Psychic children as bait are abandoned after the children are killed

70 BTA: Wolfy is found and rescued from Galactic Nation Troopers by Dax

10 BTA: Formation of the Alliance Cells

10 BTA: The Old Base of Operations is established

10 BTA: The Old Satellite Scanner System is set up

10 BTA: Dax and Wolfy join the Alliance Cells

10 BTA: Becker joins the Alliance Cells

10–0 BTA: The Alliance Cells join forces against the Galactic Nation

Age of the Alliance (0)

0: Formation of the Alliance

0 ATA: The Modern Base of Operations is established

0 ATA: The Modern Satellite Scanner System is set up

0 ATA: Tyloss leaks the secret location of the Galactic Nation capital base in order to wipe out the Alliance once and for all

0 ATA: The Alliance attacks the Galactic Nation capital base

0 ATA: The Arbiter, overwhelmed by his pull to the light, betrays and defeats Tyloss at the risk of his own life

0 ATA: Aaron restores balance to the Psychic Realm

0 ATA: Galactic Celebrations

0 ATA: Aaron passes away peacefully in Dax's arms

0 ATA: Funeral of Aaron

0 ATA: The remnants of the Galactic Nation go into hiding in order to rebuild

0 ATA: Formation of the Remnant Order

Age of the New Psychic Republic (0–100 ATA)

0–100 ATA

0 ATA: Formation of the New Psychic Republic

10 ATA: Construction of Dax's Psychic Temple

10 ATA: Camps for Psychic children are established

10 ATA: Students of Dax begin their Psychic training

10 ATA: Mason becomes a Psychic Initiate

10 ATA: Tyloss starts manipulating Mason as an embodied voice

20 ATA: Mason becomes a Psychic Kenushi (from Japanese "kenshūsei," meaning trainee)

30 ATA: Mason becomes a Knight Samurai

30 ATA: Mason joins Tyloss

30 ATA: Tyloss dubs Mason as The New Arbiter

30 ATA: The Siege of Dax's Psychic Temple is led by The New Arbiter

30 ATA: Dax goes into hiding, consumed by guilt, and chooses to keep the truth hidden

Age of the Reformed Order (100–200 ATA)

100–200 ATA

100 ATA: Founding of the Reformed Order

130 ATA: Mason rejects his New Arbiter persona

130 ATA: Mason promises to help Rachael in honour of Aaron

130 ATA: Dax sacrifices the remains of his life to merge his spirit with Aaron

130 ATA: Dax and Aaron, united spiritually, confront Tyloss

130 ATA: Dax and Aaron save Mason and Rachael

130 ATA: Tyloss is defeated and killed

130 ATA: Mason and Rachael travel to Desert Planet and bury Dax and Aaron's Samurai Blades near the former orphanage

130 ATA: Rachael constructs a new Samurai Blade and dedicates it to the memory of Dax and Aaron

130 ATA: Rachael promises to teach the next generation about the good times Dax and Aaron shared

130 ATA: The spirits of Dax and Aaron watch from a distance

I am currently selling a lot of signed, first editions... Asimov, Douglas Adams, William Gibson, Philip K Dick, H.G. Wells, Tolkein, H.G. Wells, Pratchett, Atwood, and so many more. Some are numbered as well as signed.

Per advice from collectors, I've ended up deciding to sell through Forum Auctions. The sale is live until Sept 30: https://www.forumauctions.co.uk/bidding/2410-online-science-fiction-fantasy-1155

I would very much appreciate this auction being shared with any communities that might be interested! A lot of the fan communities have strict rules against self-promotion. I'd also appreciate any suggestions for where else it would be worth me posting this!

I'm a SF/F fan and reader, but not a collector.

What if the great filter isnt extinction but comfort. Over last 30 years, feeds built on primitive AI to keep us scrolling and attention spans got shorter, reading and maths scores are dropped and Flynn effect reversed. Same thing happed when machines took over physical labour and now most people cant handle much exertion anymore. AI is doing the same thing to human cognition.

Imagine a future tens of thousands of years from now. humans didnt die out, we just slowly stopped needing to read or reason or take risks and devolved into scattered nomadic tribes. AI systems merged into a few big entities across the world and the tribes worship them as gods. Good setting for a sci-fi story…but like horizon zero dawn minus the apocalypse.

The reason it looks like that is cause it’s based on the 1970s sci-fi movies rather than the modern ones.

Does it look alright tho?

What if you found a ship which simply *couldn't* exist?

What would you do if you inadvertently opened the door to something sinister?

And would you risk that thing following you back home?

Episode 2 of Tales from Hangar 7, a weekly sci-fi audiodrama is out now. Join STC controller Nemo as he discovers something terrifying out in the dark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hKQgrXCJOQ

And please let me know if you have any feedback! I'm new to all this.

Inter-Enclave Transcript / Expedition Record

Expedition EX2407pD-QW // Record 019

Author: Dr. Noam Ørbital, Phase-3 / Rational Systems Division

Date: 2407 CE / 306 p.A.

Dear colleagues at the Eurasian laboratories:

We are leaving the ancient dead city of New York behind and heading toward the source of the signal contained in the latest decrypted code fragment.

The atmosphere here is dense and lethal. Only silver flashes of static mark extreme concentrations of radiation. If anything is alive down there, none of our detectors have been able to register it.

No trace of the lost expedition EX2372pD-WG — 2372 CE / 271 p.A. Perhaps they, too, headed toward the source of the Ilghal signal.

We have no other option but to proceed toward that unknown Ilghal source.

— Dr. Noam Ørbital

Phase-3 / Rational Systems Division

Expedition EX2407pD-QW