Let The Bits Run Free: A Novelette Of The Braintrust

In the age of the dinosaurs, which is to say, in the previous century during the 80s and 90s, I was a science fiction author. During that brief and happy interlude, among other things I wrote Valentina which became a finalist for the Hugo Award, David's Sling which became a finalist for the Prometheus Award, and The Gentle Seduction which was considered by some founders of the field of nanotech to be the best story ever written about the consequences of their work.

Much of that writing was done during interludes between working at and managing various Silicon Valley startup and software companies. Then disaster struck: I got a normal job as a research scientist. I spent all my words writing tech reports and academic journal articles. No strength remained at the end of the day for sf.

But that is all in the past. Now, a new era of radicalized politics is upon us, an era that needs a new kind of author: one who can, with a light and hopefully humorous touch, explore through near-future sf the consequences of these competing versions of America. In this fire was forged my latest work, the BrainTrust series. At the time of this writing, each of the first four books of the series has been nominated for the Prometheus Award in the year of its publication, and book five is about to launch. Please enjoy.

--marcs