Confirming the suspicions I had, we are so far from the type of artificial intelligence we see in the movies, it’s unreal … and laughable.

We understand so little about the brain — almost any brain — that creating AI is a bit fanciful.

But then there’s also the question of self-awareness and consciousness, neither of which are synonymous with the other, and both are poorly understood.

And to confuse things further, there is no agreed definition of what life is. You’d think it’d be obvious, but it is a very contentious subject.

I suppose it’s unfair to ask if the idea I’ve had is possible or feasible for that matter, so it’s a question of whether it’s viable.

But, as a writer of science fiction, I’m not going to allow a few niggling facts to get in the way of a good idea.

So far, the extent of the idea I’ve been cultivating is at least viable.

A Darkening of Fortune is the first major novel by Wayne Smallman, author of psychological thriller Lucidity and post-apocalyptic thriller Earth Day.

Justice with extreme prejudice.

“A riot-torn London struggles under a rising tide of racially motivated violence that gradually sweeps up through Birmingham to the great northern cities of Leeds and finally Manchester.

Detective Constable Pooja Chopra — a feisty and gifted second generation British-born Indian — and Detective Sergeant Matthew Bray — a motivated, brash and cocky local lad with a chequered past — of the Criminal Investigation Department in Southwark in London, soon realise the violence might not be everything it appears to be.

Joe — Yusef Iqbal, of Arab-Jewish extraction, and a former competitive martial arts combatant — is on the verge of sealing a lucrative government defence contract that could change his life and the life of his girlfriend, Sarah, forever. But when his presentation to the military is overrun by rioters, Joe inadvertently finds himself in possession of an advanced military prototype, and the temptation to try it out is unimaginable.

Joe is no super hero, and he quickly realises he’s definitely not Ironman, Superman or Batman, when things don’t quite work out the way they do in the movies. As his exploits become more elaborate, Joe becomes the target of a determined Colonel Rooney — head of the prototype research program — who doggedly pursues him and the prototype across the fiery cityscape of a London deep in the grip of turmoil.

Are these riots really an outpouring of a disaffected, racially divided nation on the brink of socioeconomic collapse? Or is there something more sinister and deadly lurking behind the scenes?

In a frantic quest to make good of this one truly unique opportunity, spurred on by memories of his dead father — a vocal campaigner for peace in the Middle East — Joe forges on. He is determined to bring an end to the unrest, rising to a climactic conclusion in his native Manchester, amidst a backdrop of raging street battles and, in doing so, resurrects dark demons from his youth.

But what price must Joe and the nation pay for victory, justice and peace?”

A Darkening of Fortune is available NOW on Amazon

A Darkening of Fortune is available to buy right now for Amazon Kindle and Apple’s iBookstore.

As some may remember, I’ve already written a large novel, which came very easily. However, that really isn’t the same here.

Presently, I have a written plan of how the end of the novel must be re-written, and it’s a substantial task.

I’m hoping to have a final draft ready for my editor by the end of the week. But I won’t allow myself to be rushed with this, not with so much depending on this first novel.

In dreams, you’re never alone.

“On the verge of a major breakthrough in sleep therapy, Barbara Ostermann, an expert in disruptive sleep disorders, uncovers a remarkable conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of her work and that of her colleagues, Martin — her occasional lover — and Anna — the gregarious though disillusioned young technical prodigy — who team up to help avert an international crisis.

Enlisting the help of her brother, Karl, Barbara seeks to disentangle this plot to assassinate the elusive and mercurial DeShaun Gates, a strident campaigner for racial equality, on a collision course with the authorities.

Tireless in his efforts, Karl finds himself in New York, where events are not as they appear and his dream of averting disaster skims along the abyss of a monumental nightmare.”

Lucidity is available NOW on Amazon

Lucidity is available to buy right now for Amazon Kindle.

So when I read science fiction and come across mention of rocket ships, or talk of clunky robots with tubular arms in the 23rd century I just switch off, because without authenticity or an attempt to explain why such incongruities or implausibilities should be believed, my ability to suspend disbelief is, quite frankly, severely impaired.

While I’m not looking for validation or vindication, it’s always helpful to know others agree with me, to help formulate a sturdy defence — a defence, ironically enough, coming from another science fiction writer:

“I work with a lot of scientists and one of the frustrating things they find is that all this fascinating stuff is being done which doesn’t find its way into science fiction. They say look at the science fact pages – they’re so much more imaginative than science fiction.”

Just like the science colleagues of Geoff Ryman suggest, I read huge amounts of science fact, and that’s the only fuel I need power my own person “What if?” engine.

By skirting some of the more obvious themes of science fiction, the idea appears to be “Oh, and by the way, there are aliens, too.” or “Uh yeah, this is twenty-five years into the future.” but without the heavier details that would betray a movie as being science fiction.

When trying to explain Ascending Angels, an in-development (written, but awaiting chronological tweaks) novel of mine, I am often inclined not to mention science fiction at all, since it falls into this hinterland of incidental science fiction layered just beneath the core action thriller threads with elements of fantasy. In essence, Ascending Angels is a heist, interwoven with abrupt action sequences and elements of sheer fantasia, but the feel isn’t that of science fiction at all.

So for me personally, this creeping motion of science fiction into mainstream is welcomed by me, as this will inevitably spill over into literary escapism, too.

In the beginning, we broke our word, and then came the lights

“How might our quarrelsome and wasteful ways be seen through the gaze of more distant, different and dispassionate eyes? And how might a promise once made by the leaders of the world be re-paid having been broken by their successors?

30 years later, on a night whose dark skies were filled with a magical light show the world over, countless towns and cities, entire transport networks as well as billions of people begin to vanish without a trace. But out in the remote rural areas of the world, life goes on unaffected by the invasion, or the enigmatic “lights” that continue to appear out of nowhere, surveying the mundane routines of the survivors.

In the aftermath of this unstoppable invasion by an invincible alien force, one survivor wants more than mere survival; Leonora “Lenny” Dixon wants answers. Why are the invaders here, and what do they want of us?

In search of answers, Lenny and her boyfriend Jay leave the relative safety of Cumbria, a mountainous and rugged region of north-west England, and begin a journey south, through the ruined and abandoned urban sprawl of the great northern city of Manchester. On their way they discover the true and terrifying purpose of the invaders, finally revealing the horrifying truth behind the disappearing industry and civilization of man, and of mankind itself.”

Earth Day is available NOW on Amazon

Earth Day is available to buy right now for Amazon Kindle, as well as other formats on Lulu.

Why write?

Good question! I am a creative by nature, and I am continually imagining people doing extraordinary things in the most mundane of environments and places, or extraordinary people living out their lives amongst the more common place and restrained, like perhaps you and I are.

I am also a story teller, with a sense of theatre and the dramatic, which goes a long way towards conjuring up the fanciful, the fictitious and the futuristic.

And then there’s the fact that writing isn’t a terribly difficult thing to do (physically), I am removed from the discomfort of dealing with the whims and fancy of clients, and finally, there is money to be made.

In the beginning

Way back when I was .. ahem, younger than I am now, just after starting college, I had this idea for a novel, the principle theme of which was time travel, a subject that I find endlessly fascinating. And, having starting writing the novel Perditions End during the middle of the nineteen nineties, by the turn of the millennia, I had a first draft. While this draft is most likely to be scrapped and re-written, a crucial seed of inspiration had been sewn in my mind, one of a trilogy (or what now looks more like a tetralogy) about a lineage of unique people with singular abilities.

On the in between

Of course, I have been over-run by circumstance, which arrived in the form of several huge movie franchises, such as The Matrix, X-Men and Inception to name but a few, all of which touched upon many of the themes and ideas I would be exploring. That said, the ideas I have in mind are still very much original and worth exploring further.

I am an unabashed science fiction fanatic, but I am also a pragmatist and a practical thinker. I’ve been writing about science and technology for years now, over on Blah, Blah! Technology, which allows me to take the “What if?” and ground those ideas in the cement of reality. And so, here I am, writing about science fiction that will, to the best of my knowledge and abilities, be as grounded in scientific and technological fact as is practicably possible.

In the here and now

More recently, I’ve written Ascending Angels, which is the sequel to Perditions End. But this this is all part of a much bigger longer term project. I need to first write something I can sacrifice to the monkey gods of self publishing, and this is where Earth Day comes in. Earth Day is an eighty page short story that follows a woman living in rural Cumbria, in the north of England, in the aftermath of an alien invasion.

Unlike movies such as Independence Day, the fact is, we simply wouldn’t stand a chance against any alien species, should they wish to invade Earth. Instead, I deal with the aforementioned practicalities of what such an invasion might entail and what purpose it would serve, with shades of The Day The Earth Stood Still, in so far as the way the alien emissary Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, articulates the concerns of those he represents.

Anyway, that’s the book I’ve chosen to go with first, so all that remains is publishing, right? Wrong. And that’s where I’ll be picking up next time, offering a glimpse into the various processes and stages I went through, to actually write a novel and then to prepare for publishing.

Circumstance can, on occasion, overwhelm the best of plans. And I find myself standing some distance from the safety of shore, with tidal waters rapidly inundating the sands, leaving me stranded by recent events. How so? In planning several up-coming stories and novels, I find myself framing those imagined worlds in the context of a future that is a natural progression of the one we now live in, a world not basking in the afterglow of any measurable remedial efforts by either politicians of society. And by imagining such things, fate is accelerating those agents of true change — the urges of mankind.

London, that new MMORPG all the cool kids are playing

For all those who think these turbulent times will eventually subside, I urge you to think again. What we’re seeing in London is an artefact of a degenerate second generation who have never really had to struggle or fight for something meaningful during the course of their lives. And right now, they think they’re playing a video game.

What we’re seeing are people who think they’re playing a MMORPG, which is an acronym for Massively Multiplayer On-line Role-Playing Game, just like World of Warcraft. And, in the same way, the rioters have almost nothing to lose, because society is so stupidly permissive and liberal, and endlessly aching to be like some well-adjusted Scandinavian nation we look longingly at across the cold waters of the North Sea, not realizing that such aspirations are quite pointless.

I am not a writer of fantasy, which would at least offer some excursion into escapism. Instead, perhaps this is a disclaimer, whereby you now know that much of what I write will be the most terrifying you will ever read, because society and the very fabric of the world is ripping at the seams, revealing the turbulent violence and venomous turmoil within. Why? Because there are too many people blinking and screaming into existence, and no one nation, no culture, society or individual is capable of controlling our number. That is the true horror science fiction story of our species.