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And browsing through, I realize that on the very last page is the entry point to one of my favorite story universes. https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?sea

by shagie 4y ago

And browsing through, I realize that on the very last page is the entry point to one of my favorite story universes. https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?searchType=journalSearch&sort=PubDate&type=futures&page=49 https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?searchType=journalSea... COMP.BASILISK FAQ What I didn't realize was that there were (currently) 49 other pages of links to stories. And now I have something to work through during the 10 minutes between meetings that's too much time to do nothing but not enough time to do something.

Wingman4l7 4y ago
One of my favorites as well. For the uninitiated, the "basilisk" stories include: "BLIT", "What Happened at Cambridge IV", the above "comp.basilisk FAQ", and the Hugo-winning "Different Kinds of Darkness".
- rbanffy 4y ago
  I predict a loss of productivity for the next few days.
  - shagie 4y ago
    Those are all short stories. COMP.BASILISK FAQ - https://www.nature.com/articles/44964 https://www.nature.com/articles/44964 BLIT - http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm What Happened at Cambridge IV - may or may not work depending on how Google Books feels about you, and you'll likely miss a few pages in the middle - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5d9hHvD-T7gC&lpg=PA264&ots=4iPFt60kwj&dq=What%20Happened%20at%20Cambridge%20IV&pg=PA264#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5d9hHvD-T7gC&lpg=PA264&o... (see also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9737034 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9737034 ) Different Kinds of Darkness - https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-of-darkness/ https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-o... Those three are all short stories and could easily be consumed in an afternoon.
- shagie 4y ago
  While not really part of that universe/timeline... it gets a cameo in Accelerando ( https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/accelerando/accelerando.html https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/acceler... ) > Not everything is sweetness and light in the era of mature nanotechnology. Widespread intelligence amplification doesn't lead to widespread rational behavior. New religions and mystery cults explode across the planet; much of the Net is unusable, flattened by successive semiotic jihads. India and Pakistan have held their long-awaited nuclear war: external intervention by US and EU nanosats prevented most of the IRBMs from getting through, but the subsequent spate of network raids and Basilisk attacks cause havoc. Luckily, infowar turns out to be more survivable than nuclear war – especially once it is discovered that a simple anti-aliasing filter stops nine out of ten neural-wetware-crashing Langford fractals from causing anything worse than a mild headache.

by shagie 4y ago

Wingman4l7 4y ago

One of my favorites as well. For the uninitiated, the "basilisk" stories include: "BLIT", "What Happened at Cambridge IV", the above "comp.basilisk FAQ", and the Hugo-winning "Different Kinds of Darkness".

rbanffy 4y ago
I predict a loss of productivity for the next few days.
- shagie 4y ago
  Those are all short stories. COMP.BASILISK FAQ - https://www.nature.com/articles/44964 https://www.nature.com/articles/44964 BLIT - http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm What Happened at Cambridge IV - may or may not work depending on how Google Books feels about you, and you'll likely miss a few pages in the middle - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5d9hHvD-T7gC&lpg=PA264&ots=4iPFt60kwj&dq=What%20Happened%20at%20Cambridge%20IV&pg=PA264#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5d9hHvD-T7gC&lpg=PA264&o... (see also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9737034 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9737034 ) Different Kinds of Darkness - https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-of-darkness/ https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-o... Those three are all short stories and could easily be consumed in an afternoon.
shagie 4y ago
While not really part of that universe/timeline... it gets a cameo in Accelerando ( https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/accelerando/accelerando.html https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/acceler... ) > Not everything is sweetness and light in the era of mature nanotechnology. Widespread intelligence amplification doesn't lead to widespread rational behavior. New religions and mystery cults explode across the planet; much of the Net is unusable, flattened by successive semiotic jihads. India and Pakistan have held their long-awaited nuclear war: external intervention by US and EU nanosats prevented most of the IRBMs from getting through, but the subsequent spate of network raids and Basilisk attacks cause havoc. Luckily, infowar turns out to be more survivable than nuclear war – especially once it is discovered that a simple anti-aliasing filter stops nine out of ten neural-wetware-crashing Langford fractals from causing anything worse than a mild headache.