Release date: July 5, 2015
Subgenre: Hard science fiction
About The Great Symmetry:
You hold in the palm of your hand an object that could change the course of humanity’s future. What do you do?
Archaeologist Evan McElroy has made a discovery about an extinct alien race. But Evan’s corporate sponsor sees the potential to make huge gains if the new findings are kept completely secret. Step one of their plan is to kill the entire research team - starting with Evan.
As Evan flees for his life, his trajectory awakens a long-buried struggle. The Infoterrorists, who believe all ideas are screaming to be free, have been waiting for the right moment to take on the seven great families that control all of civilization. This could be their opportunity. Or, it could be time for millions to die.
The Great Symmetry is classic science fiction from the great-grandson of pioneering author H.G. Wells.
Excerpt:
All
eyes were on Axiom.
“Is
there any disagreement?” Axiom asked. There was none. “I say that the time is
now. I request that each of you engage every resource that you have. We move at
the top of the hour in just three minutes, exactly on the millisecond. Hold
nothing back. Let every person on Kelter become aware. And on the moons, and
the stations. Tell everyone.”
Although
he was the generally recognized leader of the infoterrorist network, Axiom had
no ability to issue orders. He had no position power at all. He could only
request, and have some faith that others would take his request seriously.
Which
they did.
The
counterterrorism centers on Kelter were on duty every moment of every day. They
had run drills for many different situations. They were skilled, they were
experienced. They were prepared.
But
not for this.
The
monitors blocked, and they chased, erasing the message wherever it was found.
For the first few seconds, no human directed this activity.
The
message was not pre-cleared, and simply so big, and so pervasive, that it was
automatically sequestered. Moments later, alarmed humans confirmed the
emergency, directing every agent to stop the spread of infoterror.
If
a message could be said to have awareness and volition, then it is fair to say
that she screamed. Yet it was not from despair or pain. It was a battle cry as
she flung herself at the defenses, searching for any crack, no matter how
small.
She
split and split again, thousands and then millions of times, sending many of
herselves prospecting for new avenues in search of freedom.
If
some or even most of them perished, it did not matter. In any given setting,
she only had to win once, while the defenders had to pitch a perfect game, and
then another perfect game, and then thousands more perfect games extending
through the digital equivalent of centuries.
Human
eyes, ears, and brains were beginning to receive the message. An audacious hack
sent the story out through twenty of the top channels in the Spoon Feed as a
lead story. It mysteriously found itself on that day’s lesson plan for every
grade school student on the planet.
Human
brains were beginning to process the story, and add to it. If a message could
be said to experience emotion, then it was pride as she saw her children come
to life and take wing, then have children themselves.
Analysis.
Discussion. Debate. The start of understanding, not only of the immediate
information, but of what it could mean for the future.
With
parental pride, she recognized in her children, not just the variations on the
original message, but also the memetic imperative that powered her forward:
Tell
Everyone.
Other
humans were panicking as their security, born of the imposed consensus on
family-centered facts and values, fell apart before their eyes.
To
deny the message was to feed it.
To
ignore it was to be irrelevant.
She
scanned the field of battle, searching for places not yet overrun, computer
networks not yet breached or social circles unmoved. There she directed her
energy. She worked together with her children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren.
And she sang.SALE PRICE $0.99 THROUGH JULY 21 ONLY, REGULAR PRICE $2.99
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About James R. Wells:
James R. Wells is the great-grandson of pioneering author H.G
Wells, and so naturally he grew up loving science fiction. He writes in
very personal terms about the kinds of choices that we all may face in
the fast-arriving future.
James
is a life-long cave explorer and outdoor adventurer, having led
expeditions deep into some of North America’s great caves, including the
Mammoth system, longest cave in the world.
When he is not writing or with family, James can be found in a cave, on a mountain, or anywhere else outside.
The author lives in northwest Washington state with his wife and his daughter.
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