This books provides a good overview of what to consider what trying to publish your work. To some extent it is applicable to any genre as much of the writing and publishing process is the same, it is of course looked at from a science fiction perspective. Although there is the inclusion of fantasy and horror; SF has a rather broad definition anyway. One key point to note is that the book was written in 99/00, so while some of the information is timeless there are some sections that are quite dated in 2012.

There are many important topics covered such as contracts, agents and taxes. This is perhaps some of the more boring stuff that you need to do once you have written your ”masterpiece” but it is even more important than the writing itself. The authors do a good job of presenting the information in an easy to digest and actually non-boring way. The occasional humour is also welcome.

The section near the end on promoting your material is a little bit dated when they review the electronic forms of promotion. Yes, it mentions websites but there is no mention of social media which is currently a dominant form of advertising. Facebook is obviously popular but Twitter seems to be awash with aspiring writers and their myriad spam posts to buy their wares. There are more self-publishing websites than they mentioned too, such as Lulu and now Amazon via the Kindle Direct Publishing.

I think speculative fiction will always be a strong selling genre, perhaps the authors should consider an update.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

This story follows a gambler’s chain of thoughts through a game which will sound like a mix of chess and poker. There is some inspiration drawn from Iain Banks, which is despite my criticism of his works. There is some overlap in what he has written and what I link to think about. My complaint of his work would be the execution rather than a complaint of his underlying ideas.

For those that have read my collection of sci-fi short stories may also be pleased to know that this one is set in the same Universe.

Convexity

The Light was quiet this evening, despite the fact that it was hosting the big game. Space junkers still punted their wares; guards still patrolled; drinkers still drank; and those of us who gambled vast fortunes still lost. No one cared about the big game. No one, except the gamblers and even we gamblers were a rare species on the Light these days. Where was the crowd? Tonight saw half of the galaxy’s top players, all of whom staked big on great and terrible hands alike, congregate at Armon’s bar for what ought to be the most exciting game in years.

Despite losing three crates of steel no one said “oooh” or “ahhh”. Popularity had dwindled to the point where “King” Darsam lost his planet, and three billion inhabitants in a single hand, it had only been witnessed by the players and the four drunks who propped up the bar. Who knows if the drunks were paying attention or just grunting at random intervals?

A view-screen behind the bar showed the other big game of the evening. Perhaps the drunks were watching Magball? But what was the appeal in watching 40 adults running around a maze throwing a metallic ball at each other? Sure there was skill involved but the outcomes were too predictable – the same teams always won the league.

Kerval could count five teams that had won the league in the last twenty series. The amateur leagues were more exciting, greater randomness, but their appeal was far more niche and only a few people talked about them. Joining an amatuer Magball appreciation club was beyond Kerval’s interest. He admired them, the amateurs, they played with heart and local rivalries were always fierce. Another problem with the big leagues was the player churn — Blitzer Zal had played for ten teams in the last eight series. Where was the loyalty, the dedication and passion to and for one team and one set of fans?

Three hammers, two daggers and five coin cards. Shit. Kerval had let his mind wander again. His brow unconsciously furrowed, but he caught himself. Give no signals. He wanted to scratch the itch at the end of his nose but feared this would signal that his hands were empty. This was only the beginning and already it felt like a rout.

He looked at his cards again and hoped they had changed. A card of four coins, the best he held, but the other two coin cards weren’t charged. They were blank; no coins. He guessed that a single card of four wouldn’t be enough to overturn the five separate coin cards of his nearest opponent. The first player was strong; Kerval was second in line to play but he was empty. Four sets of eyes to his left waited for him to make his move. If he could play the three plus the two empty coins then he might be able to bluff a defence.

The first player had a good hand and knew it. This gentleman had played his cards face up and was notably smug about it. Kerval cringed. No signals. Unfurrow that brow. Keep those lips straight. It was a mantra for Kerval. The face-up placement of cards was bold but not wholly arrogant. He saw it as a confident move with much merit. Such moves often ward off bluff attacks that can bleed a player before a large assault later in the game. Kerval had been, and had often partaken in, double teaming a number of opponents. Everyone at this level knew it would happen several times in a series.

There was a chance that if Kerval placed his hand face down he could pretend to have untold power. It wasn’t common for players to place very powerful cards face down in order to lure opponents into a trap. It can work wonders: an opponent’s ten card power play can be demolished in a single hand. Kerval smiled, almost laughing. What was he going to do with a backwards planet with a population of three billion primitives? Darsam had practically handed him the keys to the palace. Although Kerval knew that he might be forced to wager all of that in this game. He’d lose the planet but stay in the game. You win some, you lose some.

[More to come! Watch this space]

Also posted on the Shroud of the Avatar forums.

Now available as spoken word (free!) at The Caverns.

The Lion and The Goose

A soft candescent light brushed against the lion’s cheek. Glimmering rays on paths unknown; down from the sun and through the hills and glens. Wandering, lost; the rays would roam and fill the world.

Night encroached as the sun descended to rest. The sky appeared as bloodied and torn; clear of cloud to reveal the sparkling diamonds upon the blackened velvet of the beyond. The palette of colours still held the ocean blue of daylight. A dash of white and grey appeared to have been dropped on the canvas without thought or reason. In the twillight the wind did not know if it should rest or blow.

In the lion’s mind it was still day; he danced under the sun upon the golden fields of the Vale.

Here. There. Everywhere. All would become night.

Quietness abounded. Silence spread as fire to leave the lion in solemnity.

The walls, charred. Windows, dusted and barred. Crops, ashen. All now cold. All was darkened afore the lion.

“Was I not magnificent?” boasted the lion. His barrel chest protruded towards the mirror.

“You were the most magnificent m’lord, yet no cheers,” chided the goose.

“Do you not see the makings of a king?”

“I see a goose,” said the goose.

“Yet it was I, the lion, who was victorious. It was I, the lion, who destroyed their homestead and tore their walls asunder,” the lion raised his voice, a sonorous rumble that nailed the goose where he stood, “it is I who shall rule Novia.”

“Yet here you are, a goose, pouting before a fallen mirror. A figure within a ruin, hidden away on the Vale.”

“I am a lion from a great house of lions. My crest, a lion; my family, all lions. I am courageous, as a lion.”

“My lord, you have forgotten yourself. You are a goose. I see it true for I am a goose too.”

The sun no more atop its perch. The room passed to unrelenting darkness, yet through the crack in the roof a wandering lunar light peaked through upon the lion and the goose.

Here. There. Everywhere. Fragments of light

Silence and solemnity. Once more.

The lion started back at the goose. No movement, naught a twitch; no sound at all. A lick of wind brushed through the door and whipped the dust along the floor like scurrying mice.

“Is this madness?” whispered the lion.

“This is madness,” whispered the goose.

The door creaked ajar. A soft patter of footsteps followed after the wind. Who was there? Another goose?

“My love what have you done to yourself?” that voice. It was familiar feminine voice. Sweetness; a dulcet and soft warmth of concubinal love.

“Nothing… I’m here. I became caught in a dream. Nothing more.”

“Why is there broken glass upon the floor?” the feminine voice became charged. She gasped. “The mirror! It’s broken. What have you done?”

“I did not choose it. I was told to do it.”

“Did you gaze once more upon the moon? You cannot, must not, let the shattered moonlight shine upon your soul for it will be reflected within you.”

“Do you see a lion?” asked the man.

“I see a man who should be my husband; a man, a lord and a leader of people… but who is troubled by the moon.”

(557 words – also, now available as spoken word (free!) at The Caverns)

Shroud of the Avatar

Journey to the world of Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues, a computer role playing game created by the legendary Richard “Lord British” Garriott, creator of the genre defining Ultima series of computer role-playing games, Starr Long, director of Ultima Online, and Tracy Hickman, author of the Dragonlance series. It combines a rich story like those of the single player Ultimas with deep and varied multiplayer experiences like Ultima Online.

I cannot find a link to an article I read that stated (roughly) that Krugman (?) said that sci-fi was all about economics and was the reason he became interested in economics. Unfortunately, without a link to the source I can’t verify the exact wording. I’m not wishing to put words into his mouth as it would seem underhanded. I have to admit that I am not fond of Professor Krugman (not worth discussing here), but I will at least agree that many great works of sci-fi can be seen as economic parables. That said, I do not believe that any consideration of economics is the prime impetus for writing sci-fi. I believe that economics adds flavour to sci-fi, and in many cases it is a core theme, but that isn’t what makes it sci-fi.

Classic sci-fi is based upon what-if scenarios. Spaceships, laser guns and little green men were the props necessary to illustrate the author’s chosen scenario. Sci-fi grants a freedom to go beyond the confines of physics, and everyday life, but consequently the logic within a sci-fi story is contradictory. This is also true of fantasy. Sci-fi has evolved from simple what-if scenarios to become a large meta-genre that covers a multitude of (sins) plot styles.

An interesting question would be: do all sci-fi writers sit down with a what-if scenario and then try to construct a plot around? No, I don’t believe this is the case. I think many have an idea for a plot or a character than try to create a story from their seed idea. Whether it is by intended or unconsciously decided a what-if scenario is likely to emerge.

• What if Victorian Britain actually had powerful steam-powered devices?
• What if we could go back in time?
• What if we could journey to Mars or live in the stars? (unintentionally poetic )

First and foremost, any story should have interest characters. Readers can identify with characters they like and / or enjoy reading about. The fact that a love story is set on Mars as opposed to Earth is mostly irrelevant. Readers who appreciate a love story will enjoy that aspect; they want to read about interesting characters. That’s what keeps them reading, but it doesn’t make it sci-fi. Not even setting the love story on Mars would really do that (some debate there, sure). The defining aspect of a sci-fi love story would be: what if the love between two characters can’t work because of a technological or scientific difficulty?

The man is from Mars yet the woman is from Venus, and due to different physiologies they can’t reproduce. The what-if aspect here is how can these characters life together, and should they want to try living together if they can’t reproduce? The meta-scenario of difficult love isn’t new, nor restricted to sci-fi, but the use of different planets and species gives it that sci-fi flavour. The interplay between science, the characters, and the core scenario is what defines a story as sci-fi.

On top of this simple plot there could also be economic concerns. An extension could be that the couple in the story could eventually find out that there is a way to reproduce but in order to do it would cost vast quantities of money (or resources) which are beyond their means. To re-iterate a previous statement: sci-fi can grant the freedom to take this scenario to extremes without being contradictory.

A difficult love story is familiar to us Earthling writers and readers. We can understand and empathize with the characters. Using a sci-fi setting allows the writer to appeal to extremes in order to create a grand illustration of “how can this relationship work if there are extreme difficulties?”

The appeal to extremes is also in fantasy, so naturally, there is shared ground there. I find that fantasy is less interested in the what-if scenarios but more on the themes of what makes life worth living. Sci-fi questions wants us to question existence and “why should we bother? Why do we exist?”

While fantasy doesn’t necessarily ask us “why bother?”, I think that the genre accepts that we do exist and then ponders “how could we live better?”

Caveats:

Yes, I’m simplifying but the overall direction is something I believe to be correct. The criteria I suggested in this article are not the only considerations but I believe they are common across many work of science fiction, particularly the great ones.

I’ve been writing for years and wandered aimlessly through the self-publishing (killing?) fields without actually pulling the trigger. In 2013 I created a new Twitter account for my creative writing and have engaged in some writing chatter. After year of wandering I decide that I should get something published. Anything. I enjoy writing and I think that the universes I’ve created are interesting and intriguing. Eventually, I came across Smashwords and decided that was the best way to go. And now I can present my first finished published work (excluding my PhD thesis of course, does that even count?):

Smashwords link: Terosan Tales

Four short stories set in the same universe which are the beginnings of a larger tapestry of interwoven stories.

For a brief summary of each story click on “Continue reading”:

General background

Terosan Prime is a planet-spanning city that sits at the heart of the Terosan Galactic Republic. A democratic power that spans numerous star systems with majority control of their galaxy. Their power is only rivaled by the large consortium of corporate planest who are collectively known as Kyopix. The latter were once wealthy Terosan merchants but broke away to form their own “civilization” with a set of rules that’s less restrictive. Trade between the two is prosperous and the hostility is mostly confined to heated negotiations.

The gaps between these two powers is full of independent star systems; they are the unconquered, the resistive, the destroyed, or the unknown. Living free but sandwiched between two super-powers does not make for easy living.

This is a universe of empires, computer hackers, gamblers, merchants, nomads, killers and faster-than-light travel.

Further background reading in a previous blog post: Terosan background details.

Stories in this volume: “Deck 20″, “Fallen Gods of Cheam”, “The Pirate Queen”, “Gnir’s Raid”.

Deck 20

Terosan is a sprawling planet-wide city. It is the centre of the Terosan Galactive Republic and therefore the major seat of power in the galaxy. The military of the TGR is arguable the strongest in the galaxy and Terosan Prime, the capital planet, is clearly the most populated with the largest economy. It dominates all.

In this modern metropolis everything is monitored. Security begets stability. Crime is low and the citizens can live in peace. As can be expected in such conditions, crime isn’t absolutely zero. The areas with the highest crime rares are at the bottom of the sky-scraping towers where the power people live. Deck 20 is a story of a boy who ventures outside to play in the streets, against his father’s wishes and ends up on the wrong side of the law.

Fallen Gods of Cheam

Cheam is a backwards planet by Terosan standards. Sentiment life exists but the civilizations are primitive. Although on a world covered in ice it shouldn’t be a surprise. Survival is the highest priority and nothing else even comes close. Despite such harsh conditions life is able to exist but not exactly flourish.

The Cheamans are primitive and superstitious but not stupid. This story concerns a hunting expedition of a tribal leader and his closest companions who eventually confront the twilight of their gods.

The Pirate Queen

Being born poor doesn’t mean that you have to die poor. This pirate queen lives in the gaps between Terosan and Kyopix. She plays against the both of them and raids who she pleases to make a comfortable but risky living for herself. She doesn’t work alone, of course, but rather she commands a small fleet of ships filled with a loyal crew.

If anything, life seems too easy. Luck faltered when this queen was eventually captured but she was given an opportunity of a lifetime, one that would allow her to walk free and make more wealth than she ever had before. With great rewards comes great risk.

Gnir’s Raid

Hacking. It ain’t easy. Few people can do it, even fewer can do it without getting caught. In a world where everything is tagged and closely monitored then escaping the surveillance isn’t easy. One of the most prolific hackers thinks he’s found a secret but disused government owned information stash. Is he right and what can he do about it?

(note: Long read. Actually ended up longer than intended.)

Technical – work

On the creative side of things I haven’t to write anything fresh since Nanowrimo (Nov 2013), although I managed to type up some short stories earlier this year that I’ve had on paper for the last year or two. Nanowrimo was unfortunate but life got in the way and I had to abandon much of my free time. It all worked out in the end so no complaints.

Since January I’ve been engaged in mostly technical writing for work, this is only part of my job but it is a necessary part of the role. The documents should be concise and easy to read, include pictures / tables / diagrams as necessary, such that someone can pick it up read it (mostly) independent of other documents. Obviously there is always some minimum level of required knowledge but I need to be clear where I’ve assumed something and be sure that I’ve defined everything.

I’m reluctant to share the details of those documents so the above is slightly contextless. However, one thing that I can do which I’m not sure that others in my workplace can is to compare the technical writing process with that of the creative writing process.

I’m not saying that technical writing is completely devoid of creativity but rather it is much more constrained and often well defined that the outcome (the final document) in advance of starting the document. In some ways this makes writing such a document easier, and can be a case of just sitting down and writing it.

The process benefits from the fact that I’m writing about something I know a lot about, and in all cases this year the details have not been complicated. Naturally, I didn’t write any document without flaw in the first attempt but rather each document underwent numerous revisions. Feedback (from coworkers) is a necessary part of the process and part of the “formal” procedure which makes it easier to revise something when it has been agreed what needs to change: no need to second guess your own decisions.

All of the above points are why I find technical writing easier, admittedly it hasn’t been the hardest technical writing, but it also helps to get paid. The document gets finished because it’s part of my job hence I’m paid to do it.

Technical – PhD

An example of hard(er) technical writing was my PhD. While I was an (or became) expert in the area of research my thesis didn’t have a known structure before I started it. Nor was the outcome of my research known at the point I started.

As such a document takes a long time to write I figured it was best to start it well in advance. I actually started my thesis before some older people (who were due to graduate a couple of years before me) actually started theirs. What can I say? I was keen to get writing it and put my ideas on to paper.

While the research was tricky and vacillated between fun / interesting and “damn it this doesn’t work”, writing the thesis was mostly fun. Removed from the research I actually enjoyed talking and writing about my subject. The main motivation was graduating with an advanced degree as well as getting it done so I could move on with life.

Discursive – blogging

Despite creating my website back in 2009 and that most of the content is “blogging”, I still loathe the word. For me, the word has connotations of (melo)drama: people open up on their blog and provide a stream of consciousness about their daily routines. My desire to text-dump my daily routine isn’t anywhere on my priority list. Sure I’ve made the odd rant status on Facebook but I’ve mostly weaned myself off of that. My modestly contrarian views on life and the universe are often met with hostility. ^_^

While I try to avoid outright contention I can’t help but write with an overly cynical or critical tone when it comes to discursive writing. That is my perspective of my own writing, I’m not sure how it sounds to readers. That said, I’ve tried to be less contentious or confrontational. I’ve found that avoiding forums and not participating in the comments section of newspapers (etc) helps to stay calm (and sleep well at night ).

On discursive writing itself, as a process, I do find it easier. The reasons for this are corroborative with my comments above on technical writing. I’m not paid but generally the outcome is well known before I start; I already have an idea of what I want to say and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel before I start. All of my discursive writing pieces are sub-5000 words (iirc) which also helps for staying focused.

Creative

… and finally on to creative writing, and for clarity: writing fiction. Of all the types of writing mentioned here this is the most fun but also the hardest. Creating a universe isn’t the hard part, but writing believable characters that exist in that universe is. Keeping the momentum going to write a full length story in a universe that you create with little or no structure has been tough.

The motivation for creative writing isn’t there in the same way either: if I complete my work and get it published then I might make make some money. A huge if with much uncertainty. Unlike writing technical documents at work where the writing is a part of my job, the structure is clear and I’m paid to do it.

Creative writing was something I did at school in English classes, I always avoided discursive but I didn’t know how to tackle that. Most (all?) of what I wrote at school was either sci-fi or fantasy (no surprise!) but all of the pieces were short (a couple of pages of A4 at most).

Outside of school I eventually started to create various SF&F universes as games. In some cases I created games around well-known universes such as StarTrek and StarWars. I created ships, planets and species and wrote a brief backstory of how they would fit together and also consistently with a universe that already existed. This part of writing is always the most fun but in many ways also the most distracting. As I’ve got older I always promised myself that I would eventually get something published. In order to focus on writing I had to work with a universe that I had already created and try to cut down the distractions.

As I probably discussed in a previous blogpost it wasn’t until I left high school that I actually tried to write a full length SF&F novel. In those days I disdained short stories as an “improper” use of time; how could something be exciting and also grand in scale if it was sub-10,000 words? That was roughly my line of thinking but the counter-side to that is that writing a full length novel is a lot of work.

The fantasy novel that I started circa 2002 (can’t quite recall) was first written and basically complete (structurally) and circa 50k words. Quite far short of what I thought a real novel should have. Not long after I started to write my sci-fi novel which eventually stalled at 30-40k words with about half of the plot written. That sci-fi novel is based upon notes that I created at high school and is the same universe in my newly completed collection of short stories.

The fantasy book was eventually re-written in 2009 / 2010 and is now at 100k words with approximately 95% of the structure complete. It has dangled there at the end point since. I’ve lack the motivation to finish it. Partly because I couldn’t figure out how to make it end and partly because I couldn’t figure out what I’d do with it was it was finished. My initial goal was to write and then publish it to lulu (I’ve also considered going the traditional route, that can be another post). I didn’t quite get there.

Motivation is tough, pay is currently non-existent, the structure is chaotic and inevitably the writing stalled. However, I did eventually get something published. Next post coming up!

Main thread
The centre stage for the Universe is actually a particular galaxy and even more particular is the main federation that I have tentatively named Terosan (I created the name years ago but it seems other have used a similar name — try Googling). This federation is the majority power in its galaxy who dominate at least half of the map. Their capital world bears the same name and is a Corsucant (see StarWars) inspired planet that is almost entirely covered by buildings. The system of government is democratic with something similar to the US senate house. There are obvious parallels with the real world that I hope will be familiar and hence help to ease the reader into immersion better. As you may be already expecting this government also has a large military with several hundred starships, if we include the small ships then probably tens of thousands would be a more accurate number. Influence / power is derived some such a large active military, one which is well organized and cohesive too. Naturally, this ought to conjure up the idea of a “democratic imperium”.

The major relationships in this galaxy are between Terosan and the large consortium of corporate planet who are collectively known as Kyopix. The latter were once wealthy Terosan merchants but broke away to form their own “civilization”. Their rules are less restrictive, as they see it. There is still a lot of trade between the two and hostility is mostly confined to heated arguments diplomacy. Kyopix has a less powerful military but they do maintain influence through their wealth and resources. Within the ‘borders’ of these two ’empires’ control is near 100%, outside the borders are a slew of independent planets that haven’t been conquered. They survive by being far enough away from Terosan Prime (the capital world) that their capture would be expensive or difficult to manage the taxes etc. Kyopix are less about conquering and more about trading, so they are keen to trade with the independent planets rather than attack. This covers the main dynamic of the galaxy.

There is one more civilization to consider and that is the mysterious Hayf Empire who I alluded to in my previously posted short story “Pirate Queen”. Not much information has been given about them, and little is given away in the novel either. They are mostly reclusive and defensive, but have a military power beyond any other. In the novel, the Terosans have managed to strike a deal with the Hayf for the purchase of an inter-galactic propulsion system. This allows a starship to travel not from star to star but galaxy to galaxy. This technology is rare, complex to build and expensive to buy / maintain. Intra-galactic is mainly via jump-gates, which are big metal rings that bend space and propel craft to their destination (another jump-gate). Most ships are not powerful enough to carry their own faster-than-light drive, only the biggest ships can do that. This creates a dynamic where the ability to travel grants power. The novel already assumes that the trade between Terosan and Hayf has happened, it also assumes that Terosan has visited the nearest galaxy and that things a new tension has arisen.

The short stories I’ve presented on my blog are prequels. They create the back-story and so provide a flavour or what is to come.

Sub-threads
The sub-threads all relate back to the main thread in one way or another. The link isn’t always obvious at first but it is definitely there. Some of the links may not be apparent in the novel, and so will only be revealed in a later book. I’m still figuring that all out.

Hackers: this sub-thread occurs on the capital world: Terosan Prime. Given that most of the planet is urbanized, and that this is sci-fi, then clearly there is going to be a vast network like the internet. It needs to be more advanced than our current internet too, but I’ve struggled to capture the correct balance of realistic and fantastical. Basically, the planet’s inhabitants can put on visors and tap away at futuristic keyboards that take them into an online world. One which is a replica of the one they live in, but one which is also enhanced by rich meta-data. Oddly, the offline is also enriched by excessive electronics and connectivity. This story follows a small group of societal rejects who have begun notorious online trouble makers, they hack for fun and attempt to discover how their world is works. They explore the connections and relationships in order to gain a new insight on life. However, such a life is not without peril and people are easily lead astray when they believe themselves too powerful. On top of this, I suggest to my readers that hyper-connectivity may have consequences: how does a brain cope under the stress of excessive excitement?

“Pirate Queen”: See my untitled short story posted here. The “Queen” is someone who grew up in independent space and after a rough and tumble childhood she grew to be a captain on a starship and command her own fleet. She’s often rude and obnoxious but commands a crew who is fiercely loyal, partly because they are well rewarded.

Note: “Short” is relating to the concept of running a short position where a financial instrument is borrowed and sold. It is mostly a metaphor here.

Apocalypse Short

The deal was in the bag, they hung on his every word. Money would flow from the decision maker and from not the pen pushing, policy making, aides that sat at either side. James had a good feeling about this one. He was feeling smug that he had ignored their local customs and sense of fashion but still managed to sign the deal. Almost sign the deal, he corrected himself. Their fashion of shirt and tie which is considered old school on James’s planet, it hadn’t been used for at least a hundred years. Sure, ties were popular once, James didn’t deny that and admitted that they carried an air of old wealth in his part of the galaxy but they are less practical and less functional than today’s one piece bodysuits.

  The hover lanes were packed with cars, as they were every day at lunch time, the hustle and bustle distracted James from listening to his clients. The coffee hadn’t been strong enough either. Who made it? They needed a lesson in preparing the good stuff. Was weak coffee another tradition of this backwater planet?

  How old is that tie style anyway? James had completely zoned out from what the female aide was saying. Something about policy documentation for transfer of public funds. Yawn. His mind fondly wandered back to the holo-image on his desk, it was taken his grandfather’s house when he was a young boy wearing a suit to his own great grandfather’s funeral. A sombre image, no doubt, yet a peaceful one that kindled a warm feeling of familiarity and comfort. That was a long time ago when his planet still wore ties.

  “…and yes the returns are impressive.” James’s attention came back into the conversation. Returns, someone said returns. Money, investment, profit, returns, oh yes lovely returns. Steak for lunch? He bit his knuckle to prevent from yawning again, he thought he got away with it the first time. Why didn’t they wear name badges? How was he supposed to remember their names?

 “Mr Swannick?” her voice was soft, mesmerizing.

 “Yes? Sorry, what? Oh, and please, call me James.”

 “We were just saying that while your evidence is compelling, and your arguments are convincing, we still need more time before we can reach a decision.”

 “I see, but otherwise you are ready to sign the documents?” James asked.

 “I think we are ready but the decision has to go to the cabinet,” the decision maker spoke up. This is the one James needed to work on.

 “Well, as I’ve shown in my presentation, our company has demonstrated considerably returns on all investments with steady profits every year… and of course when I say steady I mean steady growth. Chart 31, as you probably remember, showed the increase of profit per year on the last planet where we sold our proprietary investment solutions. We were aiming to replicate the same strategy on this planet, we’ve contacted your government first, but we’d be willing to work with any government. Given the size of your nation versus the others, it makes sense to pitch our products to the largest first. Charts 36 and 37 showed the projections of revenues and profits that we expect for your pension pot based upon our models. We’ve never failed.”

  “Yet.” Her voice was smooth yet feisty, James wished that she had forgone wearing a business suit.

 “What was this on page 53 about fee structure, I didn’t quite understand the statement ‘typical fee structure of five-fifty’. What does that mean?” the third delegate spoke up, this one was the smart quiet type, he might be harder to convince. His voice was quieter than the others and yet his gaze was more penetrating. James felt intimidated. Did this one even blink?

 “Oh that,” James almost laughed,”it is off-world talk for how we apply fees to your investment. Unfortunately our services are not free, we are not but humble yet gifted off-worlders who have come in search of opportunities. Fortunately, the profit will easily cover the fees as you saw in the projection graphs. It does not matter if the markets are up, down or sideways; we will make money whatever the conditions and, therefore, so will you.” James smiled.

 “Yes, you said,” the female interjected again, “but we’ve never seen such strategies before so we are hesitant about investing our nation’s pension pot into an untested scheme.”

 James looked back to the man sat in the middle, the decision maker, “let’s talk investment sizes, what do you think would be a fair amount?”

 “Well we don’t have an exact figure-”

 “But something? What is it roughly going to be?”

 “I-I coul- couldn’t give… an exact amount, no, it would be something around… well, I don’t know-”

 “Around?” James pushed.

 “Perhaps a trillion notes or so.”

 “So about one percent of the total pension pot?” James asked.

 “Closer to two percent,” the female aide said, “which is a lot more than I am comfortable with.”

 “I think two percent sounds like a perfectly reasonable start,” James countered.

 “Mr Swann… uh, James, sorry, you didn’t clarify the fee structure well enough,” the quiet aide spoke this time.

 “Five percent up front then fifty percent of the profit each year. It might seem steep but it keeps our programmers incentivized to do well… you know how they are, they speak to each other in computer riddles and don’t always shower…” James drifted off and then realised he probably shouldn’t have said that,”but they do a fantastic job and you won’t find a better product in the galaxy, probably not even in the next galaxy over either,”

 “Fifty percent? That’s far too high,” the female responded.

 “I’d say we deliver good value for money, no company will provide the returns we do. Our company has the best off-world technology combined with our proprietary trading software, it will literally blow your socks off.” James smiled although feared the conversation was slipping into dangerous territory again. It was safe, it was secured, all he needed was a signature. “Perhaps you’d like to see our server room? Ok, not really, only joking, no one wants to see a grey room full of boxes but I would like a signature on this document I prepared.” James brought out a computer pad and showed it to the man in the middle.

 “Can we meet your team?” the quieter male asked.

 James felt stuck for words. The programmers weren’t the most polished group of people, there was no telling if they had even groomed themselves this morning.

 “Oh, not a problem, let’s send around some messages later this week after I’ve had time to check our calendar. I’m sure we can schedule something…” after the documents have been signed, James wanted to say the last part but shut his mouth in time. He remembered to smile again. He knew his lips looked like plastic but it was better to smile than frown. Make sure they never doubt. Keep smiling. Don’t let them see doubt. Make them believe. He continued to recite sales aphorisms to himself.

 “How about now? We have spare time, the cabinet won’t meet until late afternoon,” the quiet one spoke up. James looked at him and then the female on the other side. The pair of them, the two aides, were the bane of the conversation. Adding only the most unnecessary prattle; questions upon questions upon questions, and that was before and after the complaints.

 “Uh… well… I, y’know… I wouldn’t recommend that.” James nodded to agree with himself, “they stare at graphs all day, not really the most extroverted group of people. I mean these guys look at graphs just for fun, can you believe it? They bring me graphs all day long but I tell them ‘guys, this has to stop, you can’t just come into my office every time the green line crosses the blue line, after crossing the red line and the black line,’ you catch my drift? They once brought me a graph of computer power consumption, they tried to tell me that the power usage of our servers had a significant pattern to it. Look, their conversation is dry, but you might get lucky and they might talk about opportunities in the new commodity markets that we are bringing to your world but don’t hold your breath for much else. Did I mention the new market that we would bring here? The Ferro-plasti compounds from Vost?”

 “You did, perhaps an hour ago,” the female informed him.

 “Yes, of course, how silly of me to forget. I mentioned the new electronic currencies too? Proof-of-work, it is all the rage off-world.”

 “The legislation came in the same bill.”

 “Meeting the investment team sounds exciting,” the deal maker said.

 “More of a programming team than an investment team,” James corrected,”I shall inform them to tidy up be we arrive.” James sighed and lead the three politicians out of his office and towards the elevators.

  “In this office we have our product designers and analysts, they also do lots of programming but less so than our strategy team.”

 “Let’s meet the programmers shall we?” the decision maker asked.

 “Yes, let’s,” James feigned happiness, the elevator ride was paradoxically too short to prevent the politicians meeting the team yet far too long to listen to their annoying voices. “As a reminder we cover every market; all the old ones that your world already had, plus some new alternatives based upon the existing infrastructure, such as high frequency permit option trading and collateralized future-policy structured insurance products. Then there are the wide range of cryptocurrencies, cyptobonds plus a whole set of options, futures and forwards priced in the new myriad currencies.”

 “What is it that options provide?”

 “Optionality,” James replied, “and this is our programming team. We had best not stay long, their work is invaluable and they don’t need the distraction.” James lead the politicians into the programmers’ office.

 “Is that a graph of power consumption?” the decision maker asked, he looked at the nearest computer screen and directed his question to the seated user.

James could tell that a little knowledge could be dangerous here. The question sounded naive, but just naive enough that he would sign the documents.

 “No, that’s the distribution of arrival times of all the mag-trains that run on local tracks.”

 “Does that affect price?”

 “Not really, I just wanted to see what the probability was of making it home for prime-time tv,” the programmer said.

 “Well… the power distribution on the grid can affect prices,”  a voice piped up from across the room, “the power distribution across the national grid is far more erratic than predicted and the trains have quite a large effect locally. At peak times it can affect our power availability. We run a lot of computers so a steady power supply is necessary. In the end, that can affect price.”

 “I’m not sure I understand what that means,” the decision maker chuckled.

 “It means that our team of experts have considered all the angles and that you shouldn’t worry. In fact, the let me in on a little secret earlier. They are going to create new products based upon the energy distribution network and monetize it in the financial markets. Don’t worry, it will be priced to sell. Whenever energy is used it will move around the grid at different but predictable rates. This is where our learning algorithms come into play, we will be able to take advantage of the price patterns.”

 This was going better than expected, the office was tidy and so far nothing had caused the politicians to leave. Perhaps meeting the programming team would build confidence in their decision to invest with the company.

 “Of the 21 major nations with developed markets we aim to provide 12 products for every nation,” one of the programmers instructed the decision maker. This is going to be the deal signed. The graphs looked convincing, James thought.

 “How do you like our programming team? Ready to sign yet?”

 “Yes we can sign your document but with the proviso that it is ratified by the government cabinet,” the deal maker replied.

 “Great, so sometime later this afternoon?”

200 days in.

  “The fund is running well, we discover new correlations all the time. It matters not so much the direction but rather we let the computers follow what’s happening in the market,” James discussed the fund’s activities with a prospective client. They, too, had insisted on meeting the programming team. The suggestion that energy consumption was important lead to many questions. The team had designed and created a new product that was based on energy consumption.

 The conversation was more complicated than the previous time. The product had been created and had evolved with the energy market. It seemed that there was a self-correcting relationship between the prices and the creation of energy. Sometimes self-reinforcing and at other times self-correcting. The programmer had explained it to James before but it wasn’t the easiest concept to grasp nor was it explained in a manner that anyone could understand. Programmers did that, they spoke in riddles.

 Absolute numbers can disagree but we should be looking at percentages rather than absolute numbers when dealing with populations of different sizes. Ok, that was simple statistics as far as James understood it. A larger population used more energy but the energy per person could be the same. Then came the harder part, the energy per person may decrease with population size, and therefore lower than expected due to systematic efficiencies as populations increased. However, what if the population was aware of a fluctuating energy price and that their own actions could affect the price?

 That’s where James’s understanding started to fade. The arguments made sense up to that point but he struggled to fully imagine the causal relation between the two.

355 days in.

  “What’s the instrument code you’re looking at?”

  “20121221,” came the reply.

An entire planet gone in an instant. Nothing. Nada. Gone. The unforeseen death of billions from a glitch in the electrical supplies had a knock-on chaotic effect causing a melt-down all the planet with a single miscalculation.

Stephen Hawking’s Universe – David Filkin

This book is the easiest one to dive into and finish without any headaches. Better yet, this is actually a simpler version of Hawking’s book “A brief history of time”. So if you have fancied reading that book but were too afraid then try this one first. The great thing about the book is that it covers the history of the key people in the scientific revolutions that lead to our modern day understanding of the cosmos and it covers the history of the Universe as we know it. The book is also a companion to the TV series although I never saw that. Finally, it is full of colourful pictures and well worth every penny you pay for it.

Also posted to Amazon:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2IMNGXCC5AL31/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Once you have read it the I thoroughly recommend that you go on to read A Brief History of Time.

A brief history of time – Stephen Hawking

I read this book more than 10 years ago now, I actually borrowed a copy of the original version of the book and read it within a week (I’m not a fast reader but I was a teenager then). I thoroughly enjoyed it and soon after I purchased my own copy which is the 10th anniversary edition. Before I read this book I actually read Stephen Hawking’s Universe (Stephen Hawking’s Universe: The Cosmos Explained), which I found to be good preparation. At the time my knowledge of physics was that of high school level physics, which is enough to get you through both books. Both cover a bit of history of the key figures in the development of astronomy / cosmology but this book eventually goes into greater detail of the more difficult concepts.

Read the rest of my review on the Amazon page for the book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3SSQH9N4RPN78/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Black Holes & Time Warps – Kip S Thorne

One of my favourite books and also one of the most influential. I read this in my teens, about 12 years ago, in the same summer that I read Hawking’s Brief History of Time. Although I skimmed through the book again before writing this review. This book is perhaps easier to read and like Hawking’s book is full of diagrams to aid understanding. Some relativity is covered, including the idea of lightcones and how they relate to causality. This was actually one of the trickier concepts, in that I tried to fully understand what the lightcone diagram meant and what the consequences are of the information displayed upon one. They are key to understanding black holes and how they distort space-time.

Read the rest of my review on the Amazon page for the book:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2FFQSXTQSWES2/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm