Several friends, clearly surprised that old Scoots has written a book asked me that. Fair question.
So here is an outline. Or summary. Or something.
It's too long to be a quick answer, and I hope not long enough to give away the tale.
Title: A Reluctant god by Scooter Duff
~360 pages
The central story is built around a young superman named Bobby. His sort are highly modified humans, but they are humans. He is one of a small group of custom built genetic wonders called “PsychFets.” F.E.T for “field effect transcranium,” and Psych for the the top level of Fet complexity. Their specialty is having direct brain-to-quantum-computer contact. Even among these there are occasional prodigies, and the most extravagant are assigned to pilot starships out on the search for Other Intelligences. This story is about one of the prodigies who oddly names himself “Bobby.”
We follow Bobby from conception through explosive transitions in his 40s. Even at a very young age, he is tagged a super star. His mental and physical capacities are completely outside the envelope.
There is an eccentric side that also shows up young, but Bobby keeps it mostly to himself, even though there is at least one mental aberration that constantly haunts him. It has interesting implications as time goes on.
Bobby’s story starts about 1600 years in the future. We got from here to then like this: The Apocalypse happens 2056-2060 and wipes 99.999% of us away. The .001% survivors build a new world and a small interstellar empire by the 16th Century PA (Post Apocalypse). It becomes so advanced there is no real “work” for almost anyone. A game provides an antidote.
Finding evidence of a long-gone but impressive civilization on one of their new planets, the government (the Emperor) starts preparing to meet the living intelligent aliens humanity will inevitably come across. Therein lies the reason for the PsychFets.
When Bobby leaves the solar system in SearchShip Bobby (see cover), there is only one other human being aboard the giant vessel. She is in-the-flesh Cleopatra of old. And there is love, found, lost and found.
There is a crew of a thousand. The other crew members are Artificial Personalities, APs. These are meticulously reconstructed cyberfolk modeled on real - but dead - characters from pre-apocalypse times. Feynman, Belushi, Truman, Mencken, Dylan, Khan,Turing, etc. They are convinced they are real, and Bobby eventually makes it so.
Many and exotic alien intelligences become involved. There are super-psychics, nano-creatures, fungus giants, and wise Daddy Longlegs.
The technological extrapolations include cross-time communications and cross-’brane power sources, weapons to die for (and of), instantaneous intersteller communication, super warp drive, life extension and robots that can suffer.
Bobby is in the middle of all this. His adventures challenge him to expand his powers. Some say to god-like dimensions. You decide.
Among the many and exotic alien intelligences involved, one is the baddest baddy to ever become invincible. This is the main challenge.
The outcome is always in serious doubt.The ending is quite surprising. And very satisfying.
I would say that, wouldn't I?
