…as every child learns, computing as we know it today originated with the invention of the Stannic cogitator. Stane Vitremarvis-ith-Vidumarvis of Azikhan, working in the family business of manufacturing mechanical calculators and automata cores, was the first to make the conceptual breakthrough that in addition to accepting fixed programming, such
Written in honor of a news story I read today regarding the as-yet-not-fully-relevant Moon Treaty and the existing Outer Space Treaty. ”While this Court admires the ambition, chutzpah, and indeed hubris of the World Assembly of the ettreo of Sarine in asserting the right to control the entire circumcelestial sphere,
Xanatos Gambit: What the weakly godlike superintelligences who are very, very good at reading the future do (as The Chessmaster) when playing against all those parts of the galaxy that aren’t also weakly godlike superintelligences. (When they are, things move into Gambit Pileup territory very quickly indeed.)
The Chessmaster: The various weakly godlike superintelligences as they attempt to outmaneuver one another in the search for that Optimal Future; even more so when they’re playing against lesser intelligences. Also, everyone with a socially-focused valxĂjir or estxĂjir who lives long enough, to one degree or another. After all,
VĂöle Leiraval-ith-LindrĂa loved her job as a first-in prospector. Not just from having grown up in the crowded hives of Kythera, although, as she admitted to herself, that may have had something to do with it. But quite apart from the chance to be alone with her own thoughts, she
Gambit Pileup: The more or less inevitable, continuous, and ongoing consequence of people who see social-fu as something to be mastered every bit as much as any other excellence; a society that despises violence and coercion – and, for that matter, outright fraud – and as such places a premium on the
“So. What did the tests show? Metabolics.” “His vitality monitors are showing some lactic acidosis. Oxygen saturation’s in spec, but it’s still not enough for that latest round of muscle ops at full capacity. I say we push another unit of breather hemocules.” “We’re already close to
ANNOUNCING, from Decadence, the Carnifex CS1100 Roasting Oven, with new FlameSheet™, All-Axis Rotisserie™, and Omniscient Chef™ technologies, for the best roasted meat dishes yet! The Carnifex CS1100 is different from other roasters. No more is your ability to cook the perfect roast limited by the physical limitations of a spit
Band of Brothels: The Circle of Silken Flowers, as mentioned under Platonic Prostitution, along with a couple of its lesser cousins (including the more educational Guild of Erotic Artistry). In less platonic senses, the Negotiable Affection Division of the Eldinimieuthunimis runs a few of these abroad. (But even these latter
If you recall my mention of a first commercial sale… Here it is! (direct link) But don’t just chase the direct link.  It’s part of “Miscellanea: a transdimensional library” at Eggplant Literary Productions, so do take a browse through the index of everyone else’s writing while you’
Platonic Prostitution: Played straightish for a variety of reasons: perhaps the primary of which is that the techlepathy (and in particular the telempathic component) that’s about to be mentioned when we get to Psychic Powers somewhat breaks the business model of the regular kind. Turns out basking in the
Conjoiner’s Gullet, Merathy System, Starfall Abysm The stargate orbited alone, far from its sun; the moil of distorted space that made up its throat constrained around the inner framework, exotic matter holding the passage between stars open, itself embedded in the complex of supporting reactors, processors, antennae, traffic signals,