The Cosmic Codex

By: Brian Scott Pauls
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  • Living in a science fiction universe...

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    Brian Scott Pauls
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Art Literary History & Criticism Science Fiction
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Episodes
  • "Probability Amplitudes": Elements in flux

    "Probability Amplitudes": Elements in flux
    Nov 21 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in November: Short Story Smorgasbord.Nearly 65 short stories, available at no cost.Get your FREE copy of Warmonger by Monique Singleton!In the near future, France is ruled by an ultra-right minded president. The country is in chaos, the chasm between rich and poor is ever increasing. Unwittingly a beautiful woman becomes the catalyst that starts not only a new French Revolution but also the Third World War.But what is the role of the strange priest in all this? Who is he? Or more appropriately, what is he?An intense story full of international intrigue, unexpected twists and a mind-blowing finale.Download your free copy of Warmonger and emerge yourself in the Primal series. You will not regret it.Back in September, I reported a status of “First Draft” or “Final Draft” for 56% of the material intended for Probability Amplitudes, my upcoming collection.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.I’m finding this journey through my first book to be an exercise in refining my progress tracking. In this case, I’d based my estimates on a completed (or so, at 26,000 words, I thought) first draft of a story entitled “Fire From Heaven,” and my plans for its as-yet unwritten 20,000 word companion story, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short.”Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! This post is public so feel free to share it.Those of you who’ve read my article from October 7, or have purchased Boundary Shock Quarterly 28: SF Horror, may be aware "Nasty, Brutish, and Short" turned out to be nowhere near 20,000 words. It ended up a “mere” 9779 words. And when I’d finished editing “Fire From Heaven,” I discovered it to be a 8722 word novelette hiding inside 26,000 words of a (to quote author Anne Lamott) “shitty first draft.” This sent approximately 7500 words right back into “New Material Required” status.But I’m happy about it. Because "Fire From Heaven" is better at 9779 words than at 26,000. Much better.I expect more course corrections like this as I work my way toward publication, but as long as they make the book better, bring them on!Current status: 47% of the material for Probability Amplitudes is in “First Draft” or “Final Draft” status.Questions or comments? Please share your thoughts!My latest novelette, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short,” now appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 28: SF Horror.When the first expedition to the mysterious planet Janus takes a deadly turn, Lieutenant Carita Keahi must fight for survival against an alien ecosystem unlike anything humanity has ever encountered. As crew members fall victim to bizarre and lethal life forms, Keahi races against time to escape the dangers of this two-faced world. With mind-bending alien biology and gut-wrenching sacrifices, this tale of planetary exploration gone horribly wrong will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Prepare for a journey into the unknown that will challenge everything you thought you knew about life in the cosmos! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecosmiccodex.com
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    2 mins
  • Terms of service

    Terms of service
    Nov 14 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in September: Free Fantasy & SciFi.Seventy science fiction and fantasy books, available at no cost.A black hole is coming for Earth, but that is only the beginning of Miranda’s problems.Get a free sample of Without a World by Kristen Illarmo!Subscribe to Kristen's newsletter and receive special offers, new release details, and a welcome gift delivered right to your inbox.20% off for new readers!She thought life in the Trash Lands was bad, scraping for food and water, wishing she could blend into the sea of ash. But when she learns her mother was right, Earth will get sucked into a black hole, Miranda must trust in skills she never knew she had to get to a place she refused to believe existed. When she finds an idyllic new world, to Miranda’s surprise, she cannot turn her back on the suffering on Earth, but will she risk it all to save a doomed world? Without A World, the first book in the Kirasu Rising duology, delivers non-stop adventure as we race through space and alternate dimensions alongside a strong female protagonist. Fans of Marie Lu will love this action-packed science-fantasy duology.Last month, I had the privilege to participate in the Sturgeon Symposium at the University of Kansas.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.While we spent most of Thursday and Friday discussing the work of Samuel R. Delany, the highlight was the presentation of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best science fiction short story published last year.The jury selected "Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200" by R.S.A. Garcia.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! This post is public so feel free to share it.A native of Trinidad, Garcia has also won the Independent Publishers Book Awards Silver Medal for Best Scifi/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. Attendees at the conference had the opportunity to listen to her read her short story. As it takes place in Trinidad, hearing it in her Trinidadian accent was a special treat.You can read the story for free in its entirety at Uncanny.Questions or comments? Please share your thoughts!My latest novelette, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short,” now appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 28: SF Horror.When the first expedition to the mysterious planet Janus takes a deadly turn, Lieutenant Carita Keahi must fight for survival against an alien ecosystem unlike anything humanity has ever encountered. As crew members fall victim to bizarre and lethal life forms, Keahi races against time to escape the dangers of this two-faced world. With mind-bending alien biology and gut-wrenching sacrifices, this tale of planetary exploration gone horribly wrong will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Prepare for a journey into the unknown that will challenge everything you thought you knew about life in the cosmos! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecosmiccodex.com
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    2 mins
  • Heinlein saw this coming

    Heinlein saw this coming
    Nov 5 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in September: Free Fantasy & SciFi.Seventy science fiction and fantasy books, available at no cost.Indiana Jones meets Air Bud in this short tail of loyalty, responsibility, and adventure set in The Realm of Reason...Get your FREE copy of Seeker by August Niehaus.Opie works a boring government job so he can send money back home on Mars to his drug-addicted parents (who don't even remember their son is a cybernetic human-dog hybrid now). He's got a chip-slot in his tongue that allows him to speak any language that can be loaded onto silicon, and a sense of morality more true than any compass — making him the perfect errand boy for people like Section Chief Ferra Cain, head of the Human Authority Tactical Intelligence.When Cain summons Opie to the backwater planet of Shihar to act as guide for an expedition headed up by the native Shihari people, it seems like a pretty standard mission: don't let the Shihari get greedy. Don't let the mission go off the rails. DON'T let anyone take the payload.But as the mission wears on, it's the very things that made Opie the perfect spy that plant the seeds of doubt in his mind. As he ponders the right path, Opie will make choices that change the course of the mission — and his life.As the United States anticipates the possibility of our first black, female president, I want to share Robert A. Heinlein’s vision from nearly 45 years ago.His essay/short story hybrid “The Happy Days Ahead”/”’Over the rainbow—’,” included in the 1980 collection Expanded Universe, considers an eventuality where a black woman (based on Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols,) is elected vice president. She then unexpectedly comes to power in the wake of concerns over the competency of her predecessor. Both before and after becoming president, she faces the bigotry of racism and sexism, but succeeds by serving the American people as a whole, refusing to cater exclusively to either side of the political divide or to any particular interest group.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.In the course of her administration, she faces economic, immigration, and environmental concerns, tackling each with bold initiatives, eventually winning re-election.One passage, in particular, stands out today. It’s Heinlein’s commentary on the latent power of women in American politics. I’ve never forgotten it, and over the past two years, I’ve started to see it realized. In the words of Heinlein’s Madam President:‘We women are a majority, by so many millions that in an election it would be called a landslide. And will be a landslide, on anything, any time women really want it to be. So women don’t need favors; they just need to make up their minds what they want—then take it.’Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! This post is public so feel free to share it.Happy election day, my fellow Americans! No matter your political philosophy or affiliation, please exercise your right to vote today.Update (11-6-24): And it’s still coming. Maybe we’ll get over the rainbow one day…Questions or comments? Please share your thoughts!My latest novelette, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short,” now appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 28: SF Horror.When the first expedition to the mysterious planet Janus takes a deadly turn, Lieutenant Carita Keahi must fight for survival against an alien ecosystem unlike anything humanity has ever encountered. As crew members fall victim to bizarre and lethal life forms, Keahi races against time to escape the dangers of this two-faced world. With mind-bending alien biology and gut-wrenching sacrifices, this tale of planetary exploration gone horribly wrong will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Prepare for a journey into the unknown that will challenge everything you thought you knew about life in the cosmos! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecosmiccodex.com
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    2 mins

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