May 26, 2015

Hi everyone,

Two posts in two days? I’m sorry, that’s the nature of being in the last week of this contest. I’m going to be ‘pestering’ people. However, I can’t just send messages begging for support and asking for you to spread the message in my name. I have to give something in return.

One of the most entertaining yet challenging parts of writing The Life Engineered was breaking out of the standard ‘Android’ envelope. If you’re going to be over a millennia in the future and have advanced technology at your disposal, you’re not going to settle for two arms, two legs and a head attached to a torso. Especially if that form doesn’t suit what you intend to do with your existence.

So I had to come up with different forms for the robots in The Life Engineered and I thought it might be fun to introduce you to a couple of the more interesting ones.

Leduc Class Capeks: Let me get this one out of the way first. The Leduc Class of Capek is where you’ll find your standard android form factor. You’ll also find some quadrupeds and other recognizable shapes. What makes a Leduc however is a design made to work on a human scale within a gravity well. Everything else from there depends on the purpose of the Capek.

Sputnik Class Capeks: These are my favourite. The Sputnik Class of Capek are designed for travel within the Milky Way. Usually equipped with faster-than-light engines of one sort or another, Sputniks either carry passengers, cargo or simply information either too sensitive or to complex to be transmitted otherwise. They are characterized by a love of freedom and an addiction to the vacuum.

Von Neumann Class Capeks: A very popular design according to my readers of far. The Von Neumann Class of Capek can take many form but are distinct for their having multiple bodies for a single mind and personality. Each Von Neumann can have between three and a hundred or more bodies, all collectively housing their memories and cognitive function. This Class of Capek is best suited to construction and demolition as they can coordinate with themselves with unprecedented efficiency.

These are three of the types of robots you can expect to read about in The Life Engineered. I hope it helps you understand my fascination with the future of artificial sentient life and why I want to revisit this world again and again to tell it’s stories.

The best way to allow me to do that is to support this campaign as best you can, either by pre-ordering if you haven’t or by encouraging your Science Fiction loving friends to do so as well.

Thank you, 

 JF Dubeau