FP 1.6 :: Zero
Draft Begins
Even pleasant dreams can be painful, and nobody escapes their family.
This is it, folks. Last chapter of the first book. It’s really happening. All the craziness, all the conflict, all the mystery is boiling down to this. …well, not ALL the mystery. I’m saving some of that for the next book. But a good portion of the mystery, yes, a mysterious portion of the mystery will be revealed.
I’m hoping to release the paperback and eBook versions of Welcome to Floating Point soon after collecting your feedback to 1.6. This will include all chapters on the site, PLUS a bonus chapter 1.7b detailing the origins of Floating Point itself, PLUS author’s notes about the evolution of the story concept from start to finish.
Want to see the cover? Look, and behold. Ain’t it pretty? Click for the bigger version.
Also, next week is going to be a big week; on April 3rd, Patreon backers get a preview of the complete 1.6, AND any backer at the $2 or higher level will be getting a copy of the 1.7b bonus story gratis. My thanks for making this possible. (Backers won’t get the author’s notes; those are exclusive to the paperback and eBook.)
And beyond that… in the future…
…there’s Revelation of Floating Point, which I’m working on right now. I’m anxious, though. This book had one cohesive theme, exploring the ills of the information age. Is there more that needs to be said there, I wonder? What other problems are we facing online that should be explored? Have I already said all that needs to be said? Is a basic sci-fi story with basic human experience themes enough after beating that other drum so very hard?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave comments below. Speak up for the issues you’re passionate about, consider how important theme is to your enjoyment, or just let me know what’s on your mind. You can help me tremendously by doing this. Thank you.
Lirazel says
As you know, I love me some good philosophizing disguised as speculative fiction. Themes are important, otherwise you just get “adventures” for their own sake. Even superhero comics have a theme, if it’s no more than “Fight the Bad Guys!”
I’ve described a few of my own issues with OL life to you through other mediums. Some of the others (lack of physicality, for example) clearly aren’t issues in the FP world.
I do think there’s a larger question about the meaning of “sentinence” that may be worth thinking about. Some people now claim that we already have sentinent programs; we just don’t know it because their sentinence is so different from ours. Clealr, they don’t experience consciousness as we do — but is that the same as sentinence?
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne says
I’ll definitely be able to do general speculative fiction ponderance and exploration of moral themes and so on. My concern is that book two won’t have a SINGLE arching theme about the Information Age, like book one did. Book one was an exploration of online extremism, in the form of black-and-white opinions, zero-and-one. Everything contributed to that whole. Book two… I don’t really have one single theme to hit upon, but a collection of smaller ones, several of which have nothing to do with the Information Age, so… will it feel out of place as a result?
At this point the shape of the story is coming together, and I’m going to go ahead with it, but I don’t know how cohesive it’ll be compared to the first book. It’ll be the story it needs to be; just might not be a single unified work.
Lirazel says
So, in Book 2 you are exploring the numbers that the point floats among, as it were. Digits of pi, possibly irrational.
PDV says
This is the first I’ve heard of your Patreon, I think. You should probably at least link to it in your “FOLLOW, SHARE, AND CONTACT” box up in the corner.
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne says
There’s a link to it on the Floating Point page itself and I’ve mentioned it in several blogposts, but yeah, I need to work it into the main template of the blog and the website itself. Thanks!