The Verse

One of the problems I have with interstellar space opera is the amount of handwavium that is required to keep it afloat. In other words, there are a lot of ifs, especially when it comes to explaining how we got out there, amongst the stars. However, if we're honest, the next big step in humanity's evolution is likely to be out there, amongst the vastness of our own solar system. Although this, too, requires a fair big of handwavium, it is far easier to stretch one's mind conceptually to fit this paradigm than one of a species spanning several star systems.

My fictional universe, the Verse, is a highly developed solar system, our solar system, that combines the hard realism of The Quantum Thief and Revelation Space, with the critical eye of Luna: New Moon, and the imagination of a collective genre. The Verse, as I see it, is a place that is amazing, full of beauty, danger, and intrigue. When we venture forth from the cradle, we are likely to chage as well. The Verse is populated by various nation-states, warring factions, powerful and not-so-powerful families, and, of course, posthumans, transhumans, and uplifted species.

The Verse, my fictional universe, is the home of my on-going Web serial, A Protracted Game.

A Protracted Game takes place in the near future, when biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and the definition of human are being stretched to their very limits. Humankind has spread out amongst the planets of the solar system, creating new homes and opportunities. However, old baggage comes with the species looking to call the larger solar system home. To make matters worse, an emerging (and sentient) artificial intelligence is on the rise, infecting computer systems and infrastructure, making its presence known and felt. Old and new geopolitical blocs are seeking to dominate the new order beyond Earth. These blocs are seeking out to recruit this new artificial intelligence to fight for their causes. Others, non-state actors, like the Brethren and Sistren of the Abrahamic Faiths, hope to convert, destroy, or help the emerging artificial intelligence, as it grows and blossoms into something either uniquely human or something else altogether.