Big Daddy Update

Yeah, I certainly agree that many (or most) people would be willing to give up A LOT to extend their lifespan, and this needs to be addressed (or at least acknowledged).

Blandge

You don't even have to choose go both hard and soft sci fi! With how the world is set up i think thats best. I'd also wish you'd get more in depth with how the DNA change would allow one to live longer. And adding more to that chapter would be helpful. as far as HL....I just want the book out so i can go gloat i finished it before everyone thing is epic and massive XD

DJ Johnson

Going hard science doesn't negate potentially significant (maybe even indefinite) life extension if you already have the ability to highly accurately manipulate DNA. This process necessitates the ability to target and modify all DNA in all living cells, possibly assisting in identifying and terminating/rebuilding cells that are too far from the new DNA blueprints for their function. If you have this level of precision protein and cellular manipulation you can in theory target and fix any damaged, malfunctioning, or otherwise rouge cells in the body which means that you can keep a body physiologically perpetually at the optimally mature adult stage with no ongoing deterioration. This approach would require periodic maintenance to maintain but just doing a single pass to repair all identifiable damage would restore someone to maximum possible health at a young age, potentially extending their a bit even if no further actions are ever taken.

meticoeus

Yeah, maybe I missed the "cultural taboo" there, but as I understood it, the cleanse was really just the /minimum/ to head down the Ekseliksi path, and not really a divergence from Humanity. Of course, all sorts of gene selection/editing morality gets messy (see: GATTACA), but we haven't quite gotten to the point yet that CRISPR/cloning are realistic ways of extending life (when we get there, let the fun begin!). Were we looking at the introduction of the technology, I'd agree with you on the divergence, but it seems like the divergence (or trivergence if we include the cyborgers) happened historically to the story. The big argument I'd see against people just up and leaving their current society is $$$ and status that they'd most likely have to lose to switch to the other society. I guess the point I'm making is that I'm missing a plot point with some societal context on the DNA cleanse that makes Lucius's moral quandaries clearer.

Nick Gio

I think about it more in terms of moral boundaries that are taboo to cross in one culture and not in another. We can even draw a comparison to modern society. We know cloning (Dolly the sheep) and even gene splicing (via CRISPR) are possible with 21st century technology, but it's still against the law and moral reprehensible to use these on human beings, and I don't see a time in the future in which it will be acceptable to clone. CRISPR could become something viable for people in the future, but so far it's taboo. Is it crazy to think that two diverging lines of thought could arise, where one society decides it's reasonable to use CRISPR on humans, and the other maintains the taboo? I think that sounds very possible, even probable (stem cell research anyone?). The same could be said about something like AI research. Of course there will always be people willing to entertain a taboo, but instead of facing the social repercussions, why not just transition to the other society where it's perfectly acceptable. Most of the people who want to live forever just become Ekseliksi Additionally, Apollos mentioned that there are other ways to extend life in human society (though not to the same extent), and there are other incentives to remain human (such as AR), so it's not lke that's the only factor

Blandge

I'll join some of the others in agreeing that I support you taking the time to finish editing HL. As much as I want new CF (or is it CV now?) chapters, I'd rather you get everything right. I've been waiting 10 years for Kingkiller 3 to release, so waiting 3 days or even 10 days for the next chapter here is hardly a concern. Do what you have to do. We'll understand. Regarding Lucius's response to the DNA cleanse: If you say the lack of response was intentional, then I'll trust you to know what you're doing (although a few hints to show us that this is deliberate on your part would go a long way). To a certain extent, the format in which you are sharing the novel with us (chapter by chapter) lends towards a skewed, overly-reactionary response. We over analyze each chapter without the context provided by future chapters. It's very possible our complaints are just a side effect of that, and a person reading the full book wouldn't even notice the things we do. Regarding hard vs. soft sci-fi: I think you can be successful whichever way you decide to go, but maintaining some internal consistency in how deep you go should make everything easier. Gamelit (and LitRPG specifically) tend to use VERY soft sci-fi systems, so I don't think there's any pressure whatsoever to "go hard" so to speak. That said, CF does incorporate some hard sci-fi elements, and completely agree when you say "it's an aspect that makes CF unique." It's honestly part of what drew me to CF, and why I love it so much. I see it as an opportunity, and something that sets CF apart from all the other fully soft sci-fi systems in GameLit. It's impossible for you to go deep into every aspect of this futuristic society, so you no-doubt have to strike a balance, but instead of me making a recommendation (since there's no reason my opinion should hold any weight), let me instead try to break down the balance you struck in the original trilogy, which worked so well (IMO). It seems to me that in CF, you kept the science explanations functionally descriptive, where you explain what the technology does more than how it works, except for in a few selective and deliberate areas that you chose to go deep--areas that you and/or Lucius have some knowledge of and interest in. I think this a powerful strategy. Since we’re in Lucius’s head, you can hide behind his ignorance or flex on his knowledge whenever talking about technology. For example: when you describe the VR cubes and the nanites at the beginning of CF1, you describe what Lucius sees and is told, but since he doesn’t understand the technology, you don’t go into detail. When you describe the nutrition and kinesiology science behind his workouts in the second and third books, you go substantially deep into the science. This is something that Lucius knows a lot about (having learned it from Achilles supposedly), and based on some of your comments, it’s something you personally know about. After Lucius becomes more knowledgeable in this area, you also go into more detail about the nanites, because Lucius has to learn more about them for his training and nutrition. So if we’re staying consistent with that, when we’re looking at something like the DNA cleanse, it makes sense to go as deep into this as Lucius would reasonably go when thinking about it in his internal monologue. Does Lucius know about telomeres? Has Destiny told him about them? Are they relevant to him? Similarly, if Lucius is learning about a topic from someone else (such as when Peter and Victoria explain psionics to him) who knows a lot about a topic, then go deep into that topic. Destiny can come in really handy here. Lucius and the people around him are extremely intelligent and people with the capacity to be very technical in topics they are familiar with, but none of them scientists. They have a functional understanding of topics that are relevant to them, and their depth of understanding is proportional to how intimately they interact with any specific piece of technology. All of this is with the understanding that any technical explanation needs to be told in the flow of the story, and it can’t get in the way of pacing. So in summary: In CF, you (usually) only go deep into topics that Lucius (or the person explaining it to him) knows a lot about and are relevant to the scene/story. Your explanations (both deep and shallow) tend to be functional rather than purely informational. I’m not making any real recommendation here, just trying to characterize what you did in the original trilogy. I tend to get overly focused on scientific accuracy, so I like to comment on your chapters with some ancillary details, but I don’t think it’s always necessary to include that level of detail. Hope this helps and keep up the good work!

Blandge

You already got the jedi in training.lol. what I would do is research psy abilities like all the kinesis from Pyro to shape-shifting telepathy and so on as they unlock greater portions of their minds rather than just the physical evolution you got going right now. Really the only logical way they can fight people working with physical augmentations centuries in the making

John Findlay

Regarding CF hard/soft Sci-Fi; I generally prefer books that lean towards the hard side of the spectrum but put the story first. What I mean by this is that the author does the work to create a “hard universe” which gives them depth and consistency, but that it mainly informs/is illustrated by the story and the details are only actually shown as it enhances the story in some way (foreshadowing, avoiding dues ex-machina, expanding the characters perspective or grip on the world, etc.), similar to the way you did in HL; ie: there are laws in the universe, they are revealed when they further the story, the plot, or the character development, but otherwise they just shape everything from the background. Basically it’s a story not a physics book, but neither is it a fairytale. Aka: people don’t translocate or walk on water unless it makes sense given what has been revealed of the world, but neither do we have to know the whole history of the development of the tech that allows that unless the story of that development allows a character to creatively use a base principal in a new way: aka using something discovered about molecular tension in water to harden air and walk in it to or in translocation to do something different and hop dimensions instead of just locations. Basically, in my opinion, any time the rules of the world break, or there is something truly fundamentally different about the universe that makes it look like the rules of the universe are suspended it deserves an explanation woven into the story somehow, but those explanations should never get in the way of or distract from the story. Hopefully that makes sense?

Steel91

Yeah I can see that at a societal level- but even then I'd expect humanity's rich and political leaders getting it. Call it my cynical nature but even with all the cultural hate, wouldn't the rich and famous do whatever they could to extend their own lives? Maybe it's just Lucius' perspective as a (now formerly) semi-pro gamer and he hasn't come into contact with it, but I feel like the top level athletes would have tried it if it could improve performance in the slightest (even if somewhat secretly done), or some rumor would have been out there about it (like the old "dick cheney eats babies to stay alive" rumors).

Nick Gio

The only thing I could see being the reason is the aliens having gotten started their diversion from regular humans with a DNA cleanse. And after years of war and hate, it extended into hatred of the DNA cleanse. Though if my theory is wrong, i would love to be proven so.

Tyler Babcock

It's fine - get HL out there! On CF and Hard Sci-fi vs soft - I think a balance is fine. The sports science is fun, as is the bit of "imagined biology" that I feel ties the psionics aspect in, but nothing too deep. at a point, it just becomes biology/stat porn and loses the story. So far, the thing to me that hasn't made as much sense about the "cleanse" piece is that it's not more widespread (or maybe I just missed it). Call it cynical but how is all of humanity not jumping at the prospect of any form of longer life (even if through reduced disease)? Sure there's some "ethical" considerations, but given humanity's obsession with living longer, that's the one thing that feels odd so far about it.

Nick Gio

That's tough. Sci-fi vs Sci-Fy is always really difficult, but it depends on how grounded in reality you want it to be, right? You are dealing with the far future so some liberties would probably not even be noticed, at least until somebody reads this in 2200 and chuckles at how quaint your ideas of the future were.

Knight Axel

We just over here dying from lack of Codename lol