When HTML was early on the scene, my initial response was, “I wonder what a poem would look like in hypertext?” I started down a hypertext fiction project that was called QuickTime(tm) based on Apple’s streaming video technology. The fiction was fun. The writing was probably more enjoyable to me than any reader. And the project did not win any writing awards that year. Or any year. Onward to 2024.

Hyper-Soul – a sci-fi journey into hyper-fiction

I’ve been writing sci-fi for a while as short stories. The idea of a novel required a bigger idea. A year or so ago, that idea struck me on a morning stroll down San Antonio’s RiverWalk. Like a bolt of lightening, or an ah-ha moment, something about the huge mass of people milling about, mobile phones engaged at every step of their adventure. I was not phone free, but I was keeping my phone in my pocket as I was more interested in what my eyes and spirit would capture.

Pardon Me, Your Metaverse Is Showing

That was the initial burst. I sat in the vaulted ceiling public space overlooking the RiverWalk and wrote in my journal, with a pen. (Archaic, I know.) And the big ideas game easily. It was a thing, this metaverse, but it was not what we (consumers) believed it to be. Our hope for technology was to make our lives easier and more efficient. If I could just get a bot or an *ai* to do the mundane stuff, I could focus on my *what* exactly? What would the average consumer do with even more leisure time? More consumerism? More Instagram? More self-driving cars so we can spend more time scrolling. Dear humans, scrolling is a base-level activity. A bit like masturbation. I guess it feels good for a bit. But there’s not much human love involved.

My vision turned dark.

As we project our human experience into the future, the best science fiction novelists give us grand architectures for the coming centuries and millennia, depending on your book. Dune is one of the most amazing sci-fi books ever written. The reason is world-building. Herbert injected sci-fi, religion, politics, money, dark power, and leadership as his canvas for the story of Arakis and the *spice.* It is no wonder that even after Frank Herbert’s death his son has continued weaving stories based on the Dune-universe. Similar WORLDS constructed from someone’s imagination (Star Trek, StarWars) have all spawned collaborative fiction related to the original creation.

I am building a world at the moment. The turning point is 2028, with The Breach of Nations, just a few years ahead. I am taking liberties with reality, and warping the future to match a dystopian fantasy in my mind. The story is important. The world-building, however, I think is even more critical to the immersive quality of the first Hyper-Soul novel. In my mind, I already have several threads of inquiry being spun up in my notes and maps for second and third books within this world I’m building.

Here is a MIRO board of the hyper-soul universe as I have drawn it out.
(Clicking on the image will take you to a zoomable MIRO board. No registration required.)

I don’t expect you to understand most of this map, but here’s the idea:

Hyper-fiction in my mind, is a collaboration between the author and his readers. If you like something, tell me about it. If you have ideas for things I’ve missed tell me about it. I’m listening. Rather than hypertext fiction, I have an idea of hyper-fiction as a collaboration between an author and his audience.

I know I’m taking a lot of liberties here, calling you a reader or an audience. Let’s just say, I’m running an experiment. I am inviting you to join me. If you like what you read or see, let me know. If you don’t no worries, move along.

As an enticement, I have also drawn up an artifact from the hyper-soul universe.
(View Your Amazing Energy on Miro.)

The Experiment Has Begun

The experiment will continue with or without your participation. However, if you do comment, email, text, or somehow submit your feedback, you will be listed on the credits and thank you page of the book when it comes out. And onward we go.

I invite you to come listen to Json. Meet his cat Algo. Things have turned dark in the world of AI, marketing, and always-on phones. But, we’ve got a plan. Join us!

Chapter One (for now): Greetings from the Outside World

The hyper-soul index can be found at hypersoul.ing

Discover more on the world map of hyper-soul.
And here is the daily planner from hyper-soul.

John McElhenney — let’s connect online
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