In writing my sci-fi novel about consciousness, I encountered the concept of self consciousness, and the idea that it is the only reality (solipsism). Liked it so much that I made a music video about it: https://youtu.be/RX5vK20oO3s

i tried to think of smth original, bc i got tired of the basic <alien invade earth> please give me feedback on what i should add or change:> btw i still dont have a titel and used chatgpt to correct spelling mistakes, eng is not my first language.

After a long division of humanity, in the year 2344, a revolution began in the USA, which quickly spread to the whole world, forming Terra Dominion, a federalist empire.

This empire was full of innovation, quickly expanding to the Moon, Mercury, Europa, Mars, and Titan. But humanity ran out of planets in the solar system that could support profitable colonies.

The TASI (Terran Aerodynamic and Astronomical Institute) decided to research interstellar travel using new forms of energy that were harnessed from Mercury's solar power. They invented a new engine capable of traveling at 70% of the speed of light. These engines were used on a new generation ship that sent over 200,000 humans to a newly discovered planet in the Sirius solar system.

When the ship—1/10th the size of the Moon and equipped with enough resources to support humanity for over 20 years—called Nova Terra, arrived at the new planet named Arla, it discovered intelligent life already inhabiting the planet.

The ship was too far away from Earth to send a reply, as it would take over 8 years for a message to arrive on Earth and another 8 years to receive a response. They decided to send a reply but continue on their own.

Humanity was aware that the aliens had not yet achieved space expansion. They were only capable of sending a few satellites into orbit. Humanity knew how the aliens might imagine a visit from an extraterrestrial species: as a cruel takeover with no mercy. Thus, they decided to make contact in the most friendly way possible.

The aliens did not welcome the "xenos" that were orbiting their planet. They constantly crashed their satellites into the ship, causing some damage. They even launched rockets at the ship, though Nova Terra was too fast for their weapons.

The first landings were harsh, with constant engagements. However, humans began understanding the aliens more and more. Fascinated by them, humanity saw similarities between the aliens' history and human history. Humanity decided to take the alien race, which they called the Ariani, under their protection.

The Ariani slowly began to be more understanding of the humans, attempting to trade or communicate using drawings. It didn’t take long for linguists to make their first landing on the planet, which had an atmosphere somewhat different from Earth's.

After about 2 years, humanity cracked the code to the Ariani language and had already established a base in territory that seemed uninhabited by the Ariani.

Humanity slowly expanded, building skyscrapers and thousand-mile-long underground farms. Even though the atmosphere wasn’t human-friendly, just standing outside felt like running a marathon, and being outside for more than an hour could cause dizziness.

The Ariani still felt as if this was an invasion, frequently attacking the human settlement. Humanity, however, would not let its megastructures fall, defending against every attack and earning a reputation as the "Star Gods."

The Ariani began to see humanity as a divine species that had come to their planet to perhaps build a paradise, one that only the most holy and strong could enter.

Humanity felt quite surprised, not knowing how to explain the truth to the Ariani. But it was too late. The Ariani would not change their minds, no matter what the human linguists said.

— Do you even get why we’ve been hammering these queries all day?

Kir lazily leaned back in his chair, clicking an empty energy drink can. It hit the floor with a dull sound and rolled under the table.

Dan didn’t even look up from the keyboard—his fingers rapidly firing commands into the system.

DDoS attack. Fake logins. Hundreds of garbage requests.

Every few minutes, they had to push out new headlines:

"Is the US on the Brink of War?"

"Axis of Evil Prepares to Strike!"

"How to Choose the Right Bunker?"

"Potential Food Supply Disruptions"

Kir smirked.

— So we’re, what… shaking up OmniNet?

Dan grinned.

— Something like that. But it’s not my idea.

— Whose, then?

— Rix.

Kir froze at the name.

Rix was a legend. Back in the day, he had hacked an early version of OmniNet while it was still in testing. Then they tracked him down, caught him, and… let him go. No trial, no consequences. He vanished after that.

— So it’s him behind this…

Dan shrugged.

— Says he wants to mess with the system. Old grudges and all that. But whatever, man, as long as it’s fun!

Kir chuckled.

— Yeah. These “stupid algorithms”… That system took the President’s balls a long time ago.

They laughed.

People hated OmniNet. It had crawled too deep into their lives—analyzing social media, predicting behavior, controlling the economy. Even advising governments on what decisions to make.

Rumor had it that a former president once ignored its recommendation. Two hours later, he was removed from office.

Kir reread the latest instructions in their private group chat and frowned.

— Shit! They’re telling us to flood the feeds with nuclear war talk again...

Dan turned his head.

— This is getting weird. I still don’t get why.

Kir shrugged.

— Hell if I know. “Global threat,” “bunkers,” “possible retaliatory strikes on the US”… Full-on panic bait.

Dan scoffed.

— Jokes aside, this is getting kinda messed up.

Kir lazily typed "How to build a fallout shelter" into the search bar.

— Relax, man. It’s just text. No one’s gonna take this seriously.

A call came in.

A bald guy in glasses appeared on screen, puffing a vape.

— YOU IDIOTS! — he yelled. — I JUST TOOK DOWN THE CITY HALL SERVER!

Dan and Kir burst out laughing.

— How?!

— Spammed 10,000 applications for “nuclear strike victims’ compensation!” The system shit itself and crashed!

— You’re a goddamn genius!

The bald guy smirked and took a long drag.

— All in the name of trolling, boys. Trolling for freedom.

Another call.

This time, a kid—maybe 18—hood up, greasy hair.

— Guys, — he sounded giddy, — I just got a security bot alert! I’m on a watchlist!

Silence.

Then an explosion of laughter.

— Bro, you’re a fucking moron! — Kir gasped for air.

— What now?

— No idea! I might push a few more queries… see how fast they knock on my door!

New call.

A blurred silhouette appeared. A hooded figure.

The voice was firm. Cold.

— One last push. We’re almost there.

Kir wiped his face, annoyed.

— Dude, I don’t know what your “goal” is, but we’ve already wrecked half the country’s servers. If it weren’t for this nuclear bunker bullshit, we’d be done already.

— Keep going.

Dan rolled his eyes.

— No, seriously, this is getting—

— I SAID FOLLOW THE PLAN.

Kir hesitated.

— Whatever, man. Chill. Posting one more bunker ad...

🔴 WARNING! WARNING! OmniCorp system entering EMERGENCY MODE!

🚨 THREAT ANALYSIS 🚨 INFORMATION OVERLOAD DETECTED 🚨 WAR PATTERN IDENTIFIED

📍 Geopolitical Analysis: 🔹 Sudden surge in nuclear-related search queries 🔹 Tens of millions of discussions about war 🔹 Sharp increase in survival planning data

📍 CONCLUSION: 📍 Global conflict likelihood: 97% 📍 Recommendation: Preemptive strike

⏳ INITIATING COUNTDOWN…

The lights went out. The room plunged into darkness.

— Oh-ho-ho, here we go! — Kir whooped.

Dan smirked, staring at the dead screen.

— Guess we really did crash the system…

Kir laughed, clapped Dan on the back, then strolled to the window, still grinning.

He froze.

The walls and floor began to tremble.

Dan didn’t turn around.

— What’s up?

Kir didn’t answer.

The rumbling grew stronger.

Outside, the sky was lit up. Tiny points of light moving into position.

Kir turned back, face pale, lips trembling.

With a nervous chuckle, wiping away tears, he whispered:

— Missiles... nuclear missiles…

Born again SF fan here. Virtually every book I've listened to in the last couple of years uses the term "carapace"? I had to look it up the first time I heard it, but I'm realizing it's used in virtually ever book now. Is it a union thing?

is it because they save people in such because they seem like regular joes and weirdos who come together don't see anything Traditional Superhero about Flash and The Guardians Am I missing something?

Hello everyone! I’ve just started my creative writing YouTube, The Chronicles of Chase, and released the first three segments of a short story told in installments. Included below are the links to part 1-3 and a sample from the beginning of part 1. I really appreciate anyone who checks it out, likes, subscribes or comments.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/aVNQ_cPJh40?si=0tNm5jn2qfedRTWE

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/_ftxEcn6OkE?si=dzlvHsxRGhWyFD_I

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/sivJroWT0GM?si=oq7wVGeFfTvn3aDI

Sample from Naltithconet, part 1:

A harsh wind kicks up out of the northwest, making Craig pull his collar close. He hunkers back into the alcove in which he sat, tilting the ship’s thrumming engine left, then right, then left again until the distant Baltimore skyline was satisfactorily centered. Little waves lap the side of the boat, sending percussive claps into his thigh on the other side.

“It’s too fucking cold for all of this” Craig mutters to no one in particular. The wind gust strengthens, biting through the gaps in Craig’s collar, wrists and ankles. A shiver runs up his spine. In the distance, a cargo ship is navigating the narrow shipping lane around the husk of the former Francis Scott Key Bridge. It looks like a piece of flotsam about the size of Craig’s boat is about to be caught up in the ship’s hull.

If you like what you read, be sure to check out the links and give parts 1-3 of Naltithconet a listen! I appreciate anyone who takes the time out to do so.

Contest Announcement: Win a 1-on-1 with the Author of 2084! 🚨

Hey everyone!

I'm Howard, the author of 2084, and I'm excited to announce a special contest that starts February 1st and runs until March 3rd. It's open to anyone, and it's a great chance to engage with the book and connect with me directly!

How to Enter:

Create a video about 2084—share your honest review and thoughts on the book. Post the video on your social media page (Facebook, Tik-tok) and tag me (@2084books) in the post. You can grab the book directly from 2084Books.com or Amazon (https://a.co/d/gkQwis3). What's at Stake:

One lucky winner will get a 30-minute 1-on-1 conversation with me on Zoom. Ask me anything about the book, writing process, or anything else you're curious about! Plus, we'll send you a signed copy of 2084 as a special thank-you.

I can't wait to see all your reviews and thoughts on the book.

#2084Contest #Win2084Book #SciFiChallenge #FututreOfAI #AIRevolution #Howard2084 #DystopianReads #BookGiveaway

I was talking to a friend about this recently and we started debating way more than I thought the conversation would go. We both love stuff in both genres, but I lean more towards fantasy and my friend leans more to sci-fi. It got me thinking why people lean towards one genre to another? I think that both genres have more in common than they have different, but my friend feels that’s they are more different than they have in common. I think of Rod Serlings quote of “Science-Fiction is the improbable made possible, Fantasy is the impossible made probable”. I think this is a really good quote that explains the genres, but I think it also explains why both genres are often lumped together; despite the explanations of the worlds the story’s are set it, they are both highly creative and different in the real world we live in.

I am really enjoying this book, about halfway through, so far, it is very good. Fear the Sky from Stephen Moss, book 1 of 3. No doubt I will read the next one. If you like sci-fi, which is pretty likely if you are here, check it out.

I have a large-ish collection of Sci-fi novels and want recommendations on what to read while I wait for Caliban’s War to arrive. My fav novels are Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Fall of Hyperion, 2010:Oddysey 2, Leviathan Wakes, Children Of Time and Foundation and Empire.

These are the books I have but haven’t read yet, in no order: Footfall; Pournelle/Niven. Stranger In A Strange Land; Heinlein. Friday; Heinlein. Mammoth; Varley. Steel Beach; Varley. Narabedla Inc.; Pohl. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls; Heinlein. Appleseed; Bell. The Starchild Trilogy; Pohl/Williamson. The Third Eagle; MacAvoy. The Avatar; Anderson. The Dark Beyond The Stars; Robinson. The Mote In God’s Eye; Pournelle/Niven. Great Sky River; Benford. Grand Central Arena; Spoor. We; Zamyatin. Timestorm; Dickson. Foundation’s Edge; Asimov. The Caves of Steel; Asimov. Nemesis; Asimov. A Princess of Mars; Burroughs. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep; Dick. Gods of Riverworld; Farmer. Dayworld; Farmer. Lord Tyger; Farmer. The Stone God Awakens; Farmer. Oath of Fealty; Pournelle/Niven. A Fall Of Moondust; Clarke. The Fountains of Paradise; Clarke. The Songs of Distant Earth; Clarke. 2061: Oddysey Three; Clarke. A World Out Of Time; Niven. Doorways In The Sand; Zelazny. Lord of Light; Zelazny. Existence; David Brin. Waystation; Simak. Tau Zero; Anderson. Mother Night; Vonnegut. Bipohl; Pohl. Timepiece; Ball. Darwin’s Radio; Bear. Eon; Bear. Titan; Varley. The Left Hand Of Darkness; Le Guin. A Fire Upon The Deep; Vinge. The Centurion’s Empire; McMullen. The Practice Effect; Brin. Ring; Baxter. To Sail Beyond The Sunset; Heinlein. Chronocules; Compton. The Postman; Brin. Sundog; Ball. The Long Winter; Christopher. Soldier, Ask Not; Dickson. Jurassic Park; Crichton.

SOLVED! The Fear Saga by Stephen Moss!!

A handful of years ago I read this, and I can't remember the title or author. Sorry if I get details wrong.

An alien race sends a handful of copied (or partially copied) individuals to Earth. The bio-tech devices wind up in various spots around the globe. The moment they come out of the ground, they kill any humans that see them. They quickly begin growing human bodies for themselves, which are wildly tough, fast, and strong.

One first rises to power in an Islamic militant group in the mountains of Afghanistan. Another is a copy/imprint from a psychopathic princess who wants to simply destroy humans. They're gathering Intel and preparing the way for their race to take over the planet.

The one rising to power in Afghanistan is fairly sane, and recognizes that humans may not be completely irredeemable vermin. The culmination is a battle between this guy and psycho princess.

I remember a part where the less murderous one works with human military to organizes a hidden basement lair, with tunnels between houses, to hide when they come and go.

Sorry for such fragmentary details. Thanks!

Sometimes I read modern sci-fi and they still make certain things look futuristic even though they have been already invented in the real world. I’m not really talking about retroscifi like in Star Wars BUT speaking of Star Wars, in the 2016 Star Wars novel Bloodlines, moving sidewalks were highlighted (slightly) as being a big thing. Yet, they can easily be made (they just aren’t everywhere because they are hazardous and an accident waiting to happen). VR isn’t in this category though because the version we have sucks and we don’t have the good stuff yet

Anyways, can you think of any other examples besides moving sidewalks?

This is completely possible within our lifetimes with asteroid mining. Just ripping off chunks of asteroid, tossing it down to the oceans. Or even more advanced methods. But just assume all issues are solved and humanity has infinite resources.

Just as a funny non serious example to get the idea of infinite resources in mind, we don't use aluminum foil or toilet paper anymore. Its just gold foil and gold wipes. That is how plentiful the resources would be.

I read a post here in the past or possibly on Goodreads pointing out that Adrian Tchaikovsky takes great pains to point out the state of male character's hairlines or lack thereof. Afterwards, it put my radar up and I've been noticing it since in his writing. It's similar to how Philip K Dick would often take the time to describe female character's breasts. In the case of PKD it was generally in admiration of size, heft, and shape, as well as the overall booby-ness of various young female assistants or secretarial types, iirc. He was a man of his time who liked him some titties, tho it comes off today as a total record-scratch moment in his stories.

Regarding Adrian Tchaikovsky, when he describes a balding or *gasp* a totally bald man it generally contains a note of mockery or derision, like in Shadows of the Apt how General Tynan is "bald like a stone" and needs "a big hat to protect his bald head from the blazing sun" or when Weaponsmaster Tisamon sees War Master Stenwold Maker after many years, he observes that he is even fatter and balder, "and you were never well-haired".

This came to mind when seeing recent photos of Adrian Tchaikovsky and his new, wild mane. He looks kinda cool, like a Renaissance Fair type who can speak some Klingon. Nonetheless, speaking as a baldhead myself, I decry this blatant hair-ism from a man so "well-haired" himself!

Honestly, dude, if you're gonna fixate on a character's physical attributes, consider the Dick-man. For example, I know nothing at all about Spider-hottie Tynisa Maker's tits, tho from all the descriptions of her as a tall, lean, fair-haired heartbreaker I imagine she tended towards the petite and perky.

- Stray Observation: for lack of better, I used that topic title; I was aware that it's a sample in a song, I could hear it my head. I suspected Beastie Boys but after a quick googling I had to smile. It's from a pale-er, grim British cousin of the Beasties, the great Meat Beat Manifesto. Always thought of MBM as the UK's answer to Public Enemy.

Jolly good, carry on and always wear sunscreen, fellow baldheads.

Yeah I really loved this book, except for the fact it's a huge promise for a scifi world that is never (to my taste) fulfilled. I heard many people recommending that I should not read the following books, for one reason or another, but I absolutely loved the setup for the imminent war and the current state of humanity and humans' worlds, culture, etc. So, if the following books are "insufficient" in comparison to Hyperion, what should I read to get the same vibe of this one? To be clear, I'm looking particularly for the setup of an alien-human world interacting and to an extent rules by AI, etc, etc (so, world building more that having a similar story for the characters).

Watched the movie yesterday (trailer). I really liked the concepts Michael Felker came up with. I also appreciate some of the directing and cinematography. Acting is stellar. But there's this thing with this movie:

There are a lot of unresolved things. This is not an issue per se if it leaves us with some brain fodder to consider. What bugs me is that some things cannot make sense. There are some -long- shots of things that should have some significance for example, but don't. Distraction technique? I want to believe (gigiddy) that the director has the perfect story without any mistakes and that he just left us this amazing puzzle to rack our brains off of, but I can't avoid thinking that no, there are just a lot of things that don't make sense.

Also, I know Felker did an AMA a while back, but he consistently avoided any question that wasn't about his debut experience, influences, and the likes.

If you guys want to go into spoiler territory, be my guest, i'll engage with it. a

I'd love to read your thoughts.

It’s called Constellation Games and it’s by Leonard Richardson and it’s not even close. I know not everyone likes every book but this is easily one of the most under-read good books of the last 10 years. It did not come out of the formula factory, it is episodic by birth as it was originally serialized as new bits were written. The plot finds itself along the way, and the thing has grown into one of my favorite books of the decade. That said I've given away five or six copies with mixed results, but the people it sparks with are so delighted, and the people it does nothing for have not felt like it was a waste of time.

The first story was about a man who is on a date with his girlfriend when he is genetically sampled by some security drones and due to a glitch, they think he is a notorious criminal and they sterilize him so completely so that he can never reproduce, even his hair and dead skin sparks up as soon as it leaves his body so that it won’t even hit the ground. Most of the story is him trying to continue his life after having it ripped away from him.

There’s another story about a journalist who keeps getting credit for a “dog video” that he captured, and that it’s later questioned whether he staged it. Kind of like the movie “nightcrawler“ but set 100 years from now.

There’s another story about the political consequences of rejuvenation, with the last holdout senator being from Alaska on his ranch with a bunch of News bees come in, there are essentially miniature recording drones looking for a statement. The arc of that story is whether or not he’s going to vote for the procedure.

Been thinking a lot about this book lately, only problem is I read it once nearly 10 to 15 years ago and I’d like to read it again.

Any ideas?

SOLVED- David Marusek - Getting to Know You - copyright 2007, published 2008.

Thanks to #ArgentStonecutter - the short story was called “we were out of our minds with Joy“ that was the key that helped me narrow my search down.

My friends and I are creating a shared sci fi universe. We’d love your feedback !

Over the course of a year, my friends and I have constructed a shared far-future sci-fi universe. It’s our first large creative endeavor, but we’ve made the decision to put our efforts into this endeavor with all we’ve got. We have poured our hearts and souls into this creative universe that features a unique combination of corporate satire, sci fi dystopia, and surrealism. I don’t want to give away too much here, but we would very much appreciate your feedback and (if you like it enough) a follow.

What follows is a brief scene snippet from The Floor (our first story in this universe). Below it, you will find the link to the story on medium and our socials. Thank you so much for reading this far!

“…

He fetched the blanket and tied it around his head in his best impression of a shawl, careful to shade the entire visor of his space suit. It draped down to his calves as he looked like a full-on man-child.

In his regal attire, he opened the rear door of the ship with his electric wrench in hand. The hydraulic presses creaked as it opened, but he was not met by the faint glow of the stars. The ground glowed almost the same color as his console, a phantom red.

Nevins momentarily considered the possibility of this being a fever dream, but as the door lifted his doubts were alleviated.

He had never dreamt of anything like this.

Despite the blanket which limited his field of view, he immediately saw the source of the red glow. Above him was the most spectacular and dizzying array of aurorae he had ever seen. The equatorial sky was shimmering with slivers of red light as if a luminescent lava bed was flowing overhead. It rippled and undulated, warping and dragging itself throughout the sky. The undulations were not slow and tentative, but rapid and violent. They sliced through the atmosphere, only to dissipate into a kind of orange-yellow ether and the sky to be sliced with crimson again. It was so bright he could barely see the stars shine through. The ripples above his head were not only limited to the atmosphere. Staring down at the ground, massive shadows cast from the activity above ebbed and flowed with momentum similar to a river. It was as if he was at the bottom of a pool. The neon from each arc glistened on the shattered terrain, like a chandelier canvassed across the coast.

The still water on the ground had sprung to life. The luminescent bacteria, in almost perfect syncopation with the aurorae, were throbbing with life. As soon as one aurora would dissipate, they would dim themselves, only to reactivate in an explosion of color, some perfectly mimicking the above light show. They were so perfectly matched with this phenomenon, he knew that they must have adapted to it– generations of light shows cycling in and out. Eons of solar activity had somehow bred a sense of expectation into them.

It was a visual explosion that Nevins could only think of one word for: circus. It was certainly a light show with shameless excess, yet still retained all of its beauty. So much was going on and put into one moment, but none of it seemed wasted. There had to be some way to see this phenomenon more safely in the future. This was the planet that kept on giving, he thought, as he yearned to share this with his wife and daughter back home. Surely, he would have the resources to make it happen then.

He quickly packed the drill equipment back into the trunk of his ship. He had to get back home and share this place with his family and friends. The Floor had taken a few conveniences from him but had given them back in prodigious proportions.

                                                                 ………”

For the full story START HERE!: The Floor — part 1 https://medium.com/@christopherhammcreative/the-floor-part-1-be7c95025826

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pilbert_co?_t=ZT-8tZJdWWA9XS&_r=1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pilbert_co?igsh=N2Uzc2JuaDR2bHpq

I tend to collect a lot of book with the plan to read them later. I live near a store where old books are sold very cheap.

I bought The Mote In God’s Eye a few months ago, because I have heard good things about it. Today, I picked up West of Honor because I knew the author.

I know both are in the CoDominium universe, but separate series? Which should I read first? If they’re both standalone stories, would one spoil the other, or help me understand the other?

Also, I just finished Leviathan Wakes and I am looking to read one of these while I wait for Calibans War to arrive