Simulacra and Simulation

Simulacra and Simulation

Author: Jean Baudrillard

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780472065219

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Develops a theory of contemporary culture that relies on displacing economic notions of cultural production with notions of cultural expenditure. This book represents an effort to rethink cultural theory from the perspective of a concept of cultural materialism, one that radically redefines postmodern formulations of the body.


Simulacron-3

Simulacron-3

Author: Daniel F. Galouye

Publisher: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 9781647100308

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Part of the exclusive new CAEZIK Notable line of books. In the 1960's, before anyone had even conceived of the concept of virtual reality, before computers were even in main-stream thought, Daniel F. Galouye imagined the unimaginable. In doing so, he wrote one of the most influential science fiction books of the day, and one that continues to not only influence modern writers but continues to resonate with science fiction readers everywhere. He conceived of a world that exists only virtually...one of the first stories about virtual reality. This is Matrix, decades before Matrix was conceived. Douglas Hall is part of a team that builds an artificial environment to simulate reality. This enables them to get public opinion polls without waiting for the opinions of people around them. But then something goes terribly wrong and his partners on the program start disappearing. But is it a simulated disappearance, or is someone out to get them all? And what is the true nature of reality? Stories based on Simulacron-3 have been adapted for both television and movies, and the book is considered a favorite of many of the masters of science fiction.


Cinema as a Worldbuilding Machine in the Digital Era

Cinema as a Worldbuilding Machine in the Digital Era

Author: Alain Boillat

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2023-01-03

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0861969820

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This essay examines the primacy of worldbuilding in the age of CGI, transmedia practices and "high concept" fiction by studying the principles that govern the creation of a multiverse in a wide range of film and TV productions. Emphasis is placed on Hollywood sci-fi movies and their on-screen representation of imaginary machines that mirror the film medium, following in the tradition of Philip K. Dick's writings and the cyberpunk culture. A typology of worlds is established, as well as a number of analytical tools for assessing the impact of the coexistence of two or more worlds on the narrative structure, the style (uses of color, editing practices), the generic affiliation (or hybridity), the seriality and the discourse produced by a given film (particularly in fictions linked to post-9/11 fantasies). Among the various titles examined, the reader is offered a detailed analysis of the Resident Evil film series, Total Recall and its remake, Dark City, the Matrix trilogy, Avatar, Source Code and other time-loop films, TRON and its sequel, Christopher Nolan's Tenet, and several TV shows – most notably HBO's Westworld, but also Sliders, Lost, Fringe and Counterpart.


The Restoration Game

The Restoration Game

Author: Ken MacLeod

Publisher: Pyr

Published: 2011-09-27

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1616145269

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There is no such place as Krassnia. Lucy Stone should know—she was born there. In that tiny, troubled region of the former Soviet Union, revolution is brewing. Its organizers need a safe place to meet, and where better than the virtual spaces of an online game? Lucy, who works for a start-up games company in Edinburgh, has a project that almost seems made for the job: a game inspired by The Krassniad, an epic folk tale concocted by Lucy’s mother, Amanda, who studied there in the 1980s. Lucy knows Amanda is a spook. She knows her great-grandmother Eugenie also visited the country in the 1930s and met the man who originally collected Krassnian folklore, and who perished in Stalin’s terror. As Lucy digs up details about her birthplace to slot into the game, she finds the open secrets of her family’s past, the darker secrets of Krassnia’s past—and hints about the crucial role she is destined to play in The Restoration Game. Combining international intrigue with cutting-edge philosophical speculation, romance with adventure, and online gaming with real-life consequences, this book delivers as science fiction and as a sharp take on our present world from the viewpoint of a complex, engaging heroine who has to fight her way through a maze of political and family manipulation to take control of her own life. From the Trade Paperback edition.


This Fragile Earth

This Fragile Earth

Author: Susannah Wise

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2021-06-24

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 147323235X

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What would you do to protect your family if the world stopped working? Not long from now, in a recognisable yet changed London, Signy and Matthew lead a dull, difficult life. They've only really stayed together for the sake of their six year old son, Jed. But they're surviving, just about. Until the day the technology that runs their world stops working. Unable to use their phones, pay for anything, even open the smart door to their flat, Matthew assumes that this is just a momentary glitch in the computers that now run the world. But then the electricity and gas are cut off. Even the water stops running. And the pollination drones - vital to the world, ever since the bees all died - are behaving oddly. People are going missing. Soldiers are on the streets. London is no longer safe. A shocking incident sends Signy and Jed on the run, desperate to flee London and escape to the small village where Signy grew up. Determined to protect her son, Signy will do almost anything to survive as the world falls apart around them. But she has no idea what is waiting for them outside the city...


The Simulacra

The Simulacra

Author: Philip K. Dick

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 0547572506

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A disparate group of characters are brought together on a ravaged Earth and must contend with an underclass that's starting to ask too many questions.


Spillthrough

Spillthrough

Author: Daniel Galouye

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-02-13

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 1633558231

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Ships switching from hyper to normal space had to do it in a micro-second—if the crews were to live. But it would take Brad suicidal minutes!


Being Really Virtual

Being Really Virtual

Author: Frank Steinicke

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-10-22

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 3319430785

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This book focuses on the recent developments of virtual reality (VR) and immersive technologies, what effect they are having on our modern, digitised society and explores how current developments and advancements in this field are leading to a virtual revolution. Using Ivan Sutherland's ‘The Ultimate Display’ and Moore’s law as a springboard, the author discusses both popular scientific and technological accounts of the past, present and possible futures of VR, looking at current research trends, developments, challenges and ethical considerations to the coming age of differing realities. Being Really Virtual is for researchers, designers and developers of VR and immersive technologies and anyone with an interest in the exponential rise of such technologies and how they are changing the very way we perceive, interact and communicate within our digital society.


The Infinite Man

The Infinite Man

Author: Daniel F. Galouye

Publisher: Phoenix Pick

Published: 2015-04-21

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9781612422503

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Milton Bradford is a very special man. God, the Creative Force, resides within him. The Creative Force is hiding inside Bradford because the universe that the Force created has become terrifyingly complex. Plus, God can no longer control the Destructive Force, which God created to alleviate boredom. Perhaps God might be able to manage existence better if the universe were less complex, but even then, would God be ready for the final battle with the Destructive Force?