6 ms·

Fun to see this on HN today; I just finished it last night, on a recommendation from a friend. It was great, and left me full of unfinished thoughts -- just wha

by Doches 3y ago

Fun to see this on HN today; I just finished it last night, on a recommendation from a friend. It was great, and left me full of unfinished thoughts -- just what you want from a good SF yarn. For folks who enjoyed the ideas in it I can heartily recommend qntm's short story Lena (https://qntm.org/lena https://qntm.org/lena), which explores some of the same ideas but with a hefty dollop of (implied, but all the more intense for it) psychological horror.

joshmarlow 3y ago
That's a great short story. The clinical ambience of it's description really amps it up. Real Black Mirror stuff. I haven't read Permutation City (on my list) but I really enjoyed Disaspora by the same author (Greg Egan). Similar themes from what I gather.
- gattr 3y ago
  More specifically, in Permutation City mind uploading is in its infancy, while in Diaspora it's a run-of-the-mill tech. I'll add Schild's Ladder to the recommendations.
dzikimarian 3y ago
On the side note - most of qntm's works have these small, interesting ideas behind them - really satisfying to read.
pavel_lishin 3y ago
Egan's "Instantiation" series of short stories is also probably up a similar alley - available in his collection of the same name.
edanm 3y ago
Can confirm - I'm a huge fan of Greg Egan and specifically Permutation city, and also a huge fan of qntm's stories. Lena is probably the most famous, though not even the best ("I don't know Timmy" is better IMO). Also, I finally read qntm's Antimemetics division and, while it is a bit lacking in the end, it is one of the most "oh wow this is a crazy good idea" stories I've read in years.
- zeekaran 3y ago
  Make sure to read Ra as well. One of my favorite webfics. https://qntm.org/ra https://qntm.org/ra
  - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
    It's one of my favorite webfics too, so I got a hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Ra-qntm/dp/B096TRWRWX https://www.amazon.com/Ra-qntm/dp/B096TRWRWX Have this in my personal library as well as a (paperback) of Permutation City. I think it's awesome they're published online but there's something special about having it in print too.
  - ajmurmann 3y ago
    I just read the Antimemetics division and qntm's short story collection. I loved the short stories and first ~40-60% of the Antimemetics Division and felt it then got too crazy and abstract. The "magic is real" thing has new worried as I usually avoid fantasy. Do you think I'll still like Ra?
    - AceJohnny2 3y ago
      I read Ra and I loved it, but it's imperfect. It could use an editor. Antimemetics, being SCP-related, comes with a hefty dollop of magical realism. Ra, to me, felt like a rocket ride as new ideas, twists, and exponentially escalating stakes get thrown at you. The pacing is very jerky, and I can very much understand if people just nope halfway through. In particular, the characters... suck (my apologies, Sam)
      - ajmurmann 3y ago
        Characters sucking is a common complaint about hard scifi which I can very much live with and am used to. Thank you!
    - lxgr 3y ago
      It’s as far away from fantasy as magic can probably be. I think you might like it! In some ways, it’s even less fantastical than antimemetics, think magic as a sub-branch of advanced physics and in no way mystical.
yencabulator 3y ago
Better link to read (same story, not the first draft): https://qntm.org/mmacevedo https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
- schubart 3y ago
  Fantastic read, thanks both of you for sharing this.
maxglute 3y ago
Good read, feels like it should be structured as an academic paper with made up bibliographies.
lloeki 3y ago
Ah, I was thinking of https://qntm.org/responsibility https://qntm.org/responsibility all along the story, and completely forgot about https://qntm.org/mmacevedo https://qntm.org/mmacevedo (of which lena is the draft)

by Doches 3y ago

joshmarlow 3y ago

That's a great short story. The clinical ambience of it's description really amps it up. Real Black Mirror stuff. I haven't read Permutation City (on my list) but I really enjoyed Disaspora by the same author (Greg Egan). Similar themes from what I gather.

gattr 3y ago
More specifically, in Permutation City mind uploading is in its infancy, while in Diaspora it's a run-of-the-mill tech. I'll add Schild's Ladder to the recommendations.

dzikimarian 3y ago

On the side note - most of qntm's works have these small, interesting ideas behind them - really satisfying to read.

pavel_lishin 3y ago

Egan's "Instantiation" series of short stories is also probably up a similar alley - available in his collection of the same name.

edanm 3y ago

Can confirm - I'm a huge fan of Greg Egan and specifically Permutation city, and also a huge fan of qntm's stories. Lena is probably the most famous, though not even the best ("I don't know Timmy" is better IMO). Also, I finally read qntm's Antimemetics division and, while it is a bit lacking in the end, it is one of the most "oh wow this is a crazy good idea" stories I've read in years.

zeekaran 3y ago
Make sure to read Ra as well. One of my favorite webfics. https://qntm.org/ra https://qntm.org/ra
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  It's one of my favorite webfics too, so I got a hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Ra-qntm/dp/B096TRWRWX https://www.amazon.com/Ra-qntm/dp/B096TRWRWX Have this in my personal library as well as a (paperback) of Permutation City. I think it's awesome they're published online but there's something special about having it in print too.
- ajmurmann 3y ago
  I just read the Antimemetics division and qntm's short story collection. I loved the short stories and first ~40-60% of the Antimemetics Division and felt it then got too crazy and abstract. The "magic is real" thing has new worried as I usually avoid fantasy. Do you think I'll still like Ra?
  - AceJohnny2 3y ago
    I read Ra and I loved it, but it's imperfect. It could use an editor. Antimemetics, being SCP-related, comes with a hefty dollop of magical realism. Ra, to me, felt like a rocket ride as new ideas, twists, and exponentially escalating stakes get thrown at you. The pacing is very jerky, and I can very much understand if people just nope halfway through. In particular, the characters... suck (my apologies, Sam)
    - ajmurmann 3y ago
      Characters sucking is a common complaint about hard scifi which I can very much live with and am used to. Thank you!
  - lxgr 3y ago
    It’s as far away from fantasy as magic can probably be. I think you might like it! In some ways, it’s even less fantastical than antimemetics, think magic as a sub-branch of advanced physics and in no way mystical.

yencabulator 3y ago

Better link to read (same story, not the first draft): https://qntm.org/mmacevedo https://qntm.org/mmacevedo

schubart 3y ago
Fantastic read, thanks both of you for sharing this.

maxglute 3y ago

Good read, feels like it should be structured as an academic paper with made up bibliographies.

lloeki 3y ago

Ah, I was thinking of https://qntm.org/responsibility https://qntm.org/responsibility all along the story, and completely forgot about https://qntm.org/mmacevedo https://qntm.org/mmacevedo (of which lena is the draft)