‘Tales of the Aeons’ aims to establish a realistic, hard science fiction, setting in the near-future of space exploration with humanity spread from Mercury to Mars and stretching further with outposts. However, to incorporate the stylized sense of internal and external adventure the science does deviate into more soft or speculative science fiction tropes.
Hard Science
Consider hard science fiction a subset that aims to ground the technology and innovation that is prominent in a story. At the extreme end of hard science fiction is where physics is one-to-one with reality. ‘Tales of the Aeons’ aims to include a hard science premise for all the technology and world building. Mega-structures are everywhere in the story including the skyhook transit system (Kanzeon Arc Loop and Tianlu) that helps manage interplanetary travel, the brain-brain interface (the neural link implant) which is the stage after the brain-computer interface. A constant in ‘Violet’ is the mass-dense, jet boots that Violet wears to contend with the lack of gravity on Luna and Mars. While real jet boots would require extensive testing and training, which Violet has, one way to compensate for the lack of gravity is by increasing mass (which impacts an individual’s feeling of weight). Another plot-relevant piece of hard science fiction is the amino-based food printing system serves as the backbone of human civilization in space. “Printed food” is one path that food production may take in real life and essential amino acids are one resource that humans need but cannot self-produce. The hard science also informs how fight scenes progress on Luna where leverage and technique are vital to self-defense.
Science Fiction
After we establish the rules of the game, we break them in style. That is the essence of jumping from hard science to soft or even speculative science fiction. The function of the neural link in ‘Violet’ as a live connection and a tool which, with acceptance by both parties, “merges” two minds. Further, the instant communication is based on extrapolating the power of “spooky action at a distance.” Quantum computers are rapidly being developed but computers that leverage quantum entanglement to process humanity’s communication is another level. In ‘Violet’ the instant communication is summarized as two non-entangled particles interacting or entangling with a third particle in order to not violate locality and special relativity issues regarding information transfer. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of science fiction in ‘Violet’ is the purple hair and purple eyes of Violet herself. While CRISPR and genetic engineering is real, altering the phenotype of hair and eyes is no small undertaking – combining natural pigments is not sufficient which indicates a higher-order level of editing. If Violet’s purple phenotype was not a clear indicator of genetic engineering, perhaps the ability to endure a complete vacuum is a signal of higher-order editing. The Aeon-arc presents a list of what is involved in Violet’s genetic code and the human cost involved with the pursuit of space-adapted humans. ‘Project Pure Land’ is a concept built on throughout the science fiction part of the narrative, first with the neural link, and a speculative type of mega-structure based on the Matrioshka brain. This mega-structure’s development, in fact, set off a chain of events that causes the external conflict shocking SAN. A quantum computer with the ability to process the consciousness of humans likely requires the power output of Sol.
Tales of the Aeons 