red queen: the substrate wars

Cellular Automaton: Life Animation in “Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1”
Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1

Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1

 

When I was 12 or so, I read about John Horton Conway’s cellular automaton Life in Scientific American. Back then (c. 1970) we had to painfully draw each generation on graph paper. The personal computer revolution made it possible for hobbyists and students to simulate large fields and thousands of generations easily, building self-replicating structures and Turing machines… Life could simulate life.

Later in my career, I wrote artificial life simulations similar to what is portrayed in Red Queen — these are an extension to simulation of creatures in a simulated environment. There is a progression as simulations get better and better — eventually the simulation of life in an environment can become as complex as the real world, which has led to current theories that the universe we live in may itself be some kind of simulation on an underlying substrate.

The video below is an amazing zoom from tiny gliders to glider guns to megastructures… and then to Life itself simulated by Life.

Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1.

Substrate Wars Omnibus: Now on iBooks, iTunes, Kobo, Nook, Scribd, 24Symbols, Page Foundry
Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1

Red Queen: The Substrate Wars 1

Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

The Kindle versions of Substrate Wars books are still cheap — $0.99 for Red Queen, $2.99 for Nemo’s World, and $2.99 for the latest, Shrivers.

A new option: the Substrate Wars Omnibus, all three books in a single e-book, now available at many non-Amazon book sellers and subscription services:

Apple iBooks/iTunes, $7.99
Barnes and Noble Nook, $7.95
Kobo Books, $7.95
Page Foundry, $7.95
Scribd, Unlimited subscription reading.
24Symbols: Unlimited subscription reading.
Tolino, apparently using iTunes outside the US.

I’ll Be At Libertycon July 8-10 in Chattanooga

Planning to attend Libertycon to see the people and hobnob with some greats. I think they’re almost sold out of tickets, but you might check. My schedule:

Scheduled Programming Events Featuring Jeb Kinnison

Day Time Name of Event
Fri 01:00PM Weaponized Artificial Intelligence
Fri 05:00PM Opening Ceremonies
Sat 01:00PM Perspectives on Military SF
Sun 10:00AM Kaffeeklatsch

 

You might also be interested in these…

Shrivers
Nemo’s World
Red Queen

 

Review: The Sadist’s Bible by Nicole Cushing, at Tangent Online
The Sadist's Bible, by Nicole Cushing -- Amazon

The Sadist’s Bible, by Nicole Cushing — Amazon

Tangent Online has published my review of The Sadist’s Bible by Nicole Cushing. In summary:

Trigger warning: extreme lesbian sexual imagery, torture, blasphemy. Unlike traditional horror, her writing relies on explicit imagery; where a traditional horror writer would leave the disgusting details to the reader’s imagination, Cushing dwells on them, in the splatterpunk subgenre’s tradition…

If you like this sort of thing — sexual torture and mutilation, dwelling on the disgusting and profane — Cushing’s writing is powerful. But stories with no heart should come with warning labels.

Full review here.

Liberty-Oriented Fiction SALE — May 18-19, 2016
99¢-Sale-on-Libertarian-Fiction

Credit – George Donnelly

Group sale on libertarian fiction May 18-19 (today and tomorrow, for those of you reading this May 18!) Over a dozen high-quality libertarianish reads for 99 cents, or FREE. Thanks to George Donnelly for organizing it. Click on the link below to go to the sale page to browse the titles:

The GIANT 99-cent Sale on Libertarian Novels is May 18-20

New Places to Find Great Science Fiction
Shrivers Kindle Cover

Shrivers Kindle Cover

Still looking for readers and reviewers for my latest book, Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3.

There’s also a group sale coming up, with over a dozen high-quality libertarianish reads for 99 cents. Thanks to George Donnelly for organizing it:

The GIANT 99-cent Sale on Libertarian Novels is May 18-20

Second, a new site for authors and readers featuring some strong independents and other authors of amazing work: Azounding!, where authors will announce their latest works and keep readers posted about upcoming sales.

New Review of “Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3”
Shrivers Kindle Cover

Shrivers Kindle Cover

Short but sweet review on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars
Good series and a fun read.
May 7, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of these books, but then I also mostly agree with the philosophy put forward in them. Still, the author has great imagination and has given me what I suspect will be many hours of contemplation and fantasy. Thanks.

Of the thousand or so copies out, only 12 people reviewed it, all five stars; Amazon erased three of those reviews that came in on one day, claiming their algorithm made them do it. Sigh! So if you’ve read them and haven’t reviewed, please go here and do so — even one-line reviews help a lot to make books more visible.

Substrate Wars News: 1) On Best Books for Spring List 2) New Review
Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

The Kindle versions of Substrate Wars books are still cheap — $0.99 for Red Queen, $2.99 for Nemo’s World, and $2.99 for the latest, Shrivers.

IndieReader picked Shrivers as one of its “19 Great Indie Books for Spring:”

Humanity’s attempt to survive first contact with a civilization that reaches back to the early days of the universe in: SHRIVERS

BY JEB KINNISON

star star star star star

Humanity has finally found peace among the stars thanks to quantum gateway technology, replicators, and powerful AIs. Before the dust can settle, the riddle of the Fermi Paradox is answered in the worst way possible.

Meanwhile, the first in the series, Red Queen, got a new Amazon review:

4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice mash up of science fiction, politics and economics
By Dave Carveron March 30, 2016

I try to avoid books that can’t be tied up in a single volume. However the blurb on this one looked like it was worth reading at least one. I’m glad I did as volumes two and three are now in my kindle queue.

It’s spring 2016 as I write this. There is craziness at Emory University and across the Ivy’s; and you can extrapolate that nonsense right into this storyline. There is terrible news from around the world as bombings are becoming more frequent; and you can extrapolate that reality right into the storyline. Now add in some interesting physics and a few “star trek” nerds and computer scientists and you get a great story that turns out to be too big for just one book. I’m glad I took a chance on it.

Somewhat reminiscent of the interstellar enigma series.

…which I haven’t read.

IndieReader All About the Book: “Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3”
Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3

The IndieReader people have a brief interview with me up on their site:

ALL ABOUT THE BOOK
Jeb Kinnison on “Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3″
By IR Staff

An entertaining look at a future where technology has freed humanity from poverty and war, yet faces real problems coping with its own violent nature.

Indie Reader Approved

Indie Reader Approved

What is the name of the book and when was it published?

Shrivers: The Substrate Wars 3, published Nov. 24th, 2015

What’s the book’s first line? 


NASA astronaut Maddy Rahama picked up her flight bag and stood near the bulky boxed spacesuits she was bringing with her as the clock ticked down.

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. 


The student rebels from the first two books in the series have been governing humanity for a decade since they invented quantum gateways, and in trying to free everyone discovered their ideals are not up to the task. Humanity may not be ready for the freedom they have engineered. And then they discover blasted worlds and that a terrifying fleet of robotic destroyers are coming towards Earth. The uploaded older civilizations have sent the Shrivers out to eliminate competing life while washing their hands of direct responsibility. The young daughter of the rebel leaders must plead humanity’s case for survival while the alien fleet attacks Earth.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? 


I was thinking about the discussions of loss of agency in recent science fiction for young people, with the current popularity of dystopias that make the future seem hopeless. I decided to write something more hopeful that recalls Heinlein, where young people using science and courage can change the world.

What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? 


It’s an entertaining look at a future where technology has freed humanity from poverty and war, yet humanity faces real problems coping with its own violent nature.

Shrivers: the Substrate Wars 3, on Amazon.

Substrate Wars: Instapundit Plug

Over at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds plugged Substrate Wars today — thanks to whoever suggested it, it wasn’t my idea!

READER BOOK PLUG: Reader Jeb Kinnison’s Substrate Wars series. Three books on Kindle; the first book is only 99 cents. It offers a great escape from today’s reality: “A science fiction thriller set in the US of a not-too-distant future, when the Bill of Rights is ignored and the US is run by the Unity Party, combining the worst of Democrats and Republicans.” Enjoy this unrealistic, but interesting, setting, and be glad that couldn’t happen in real life! . . .

I’ve had several readers make the same comment — how is that any different from the situation today? It’s not, really. But in an entertainment we want all readers, even those not paying enough attention to realize the US is already increasingly corporatist, where both parties are part of the Party of Government. Most partisans are absolutely sure their guys are the only people stopping the hordes from the other party who want to make the government over to control everyone’s lives. The joke, of course, is on the partisans, since both parties have gradually cooperated in controlling more and more of everyone’s lives while putting on a big show of opposing each other.

So it’s set in a near future after a terrorist event that enables even more emphasis on security over freedom, and even more control over business and personal lives invested in bureaucracies and security agencies. Those who don’t realize this is just a slight elaboration on what we see today will accept the story as fiction. “Good thing this isn’t really going to happen!” — Well, it already did, but your local sphere is still free enough so that you haven’t taken notice.

The Kindle versions of Substrate Wars books are cheap — $0.99 for Red Queen, $2.99 for Nemo’s World, and $2.99 for the latest, Shrivers. And all a FREE to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, which you can try out here: Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial