Microsoft will publish an original sci-fi short story anthology to promote its research projects

By John Callaham
published

Microsoft is promoting its advanced research efforts in a rather unique way. The company has announced plans to release an original ebook science fiction short story anthology titled Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft. The collection will be released in a number of ebook retailers on November 17.

Here's how Microsoft describes the short story collection:

"Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft is an anthology of short stories written by some of today's greatest science fiction authors. These visionary stories explore prediction science, quantum computing, real-time translation, machine learning, and much more. The contributing authors were inspired by inside access to leading-edge work, including in-person visits to Microsoft's research labs, to craft new works that predict the near-future of technology and examine its complex relationship to our core humanity."

Some of the authors that have written stories for the collection include Elizabeth Bear, Greg Bear, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Seanan McGuire and Robert J. Sawyer. Pricing for the book has yet to be announced. It will be interesting to see if devices and services like Microsoft HoloLens, Kinect, Cortana and others will appear in these stories.

Source: Microsoft (opens in new tab); Via: WinBeta

John Callaham
John Callaham
39 Comments
  • Looking forward to them.
  • Probably wrote by the janitor /interns/wpm team
  • Ok, buddy, you can't even grasp how continuum works. On topic, this might be really neat.
  • You know, I never said I didn't grasp it, I just expected more.
  • You kept just saying it is Miracast, no it isn't. By your comments, you don't understand what the demo was showing.
  • Read the article.
  • Bear, Brin, Kress and Leckie - love those authors works and am very interested in this!
  • Always with the naming scheme of Microsoft!!!
  • They should do something along the lines of the Black Mirror TV series. :)
  • How bout they get that build out for mobile instead?
  • Yes because they totally cancel each other out
  • Yep, time taken away to be the janitor is time taken away from building mobile...we call that cancelling...
  • I don't think those authors listed work on the windows team. But I do agree, more builds! :) Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • ^This
  • I'm surprised Neil deGrass Tyson is not a featured Author.
  • I'd like to see that
  • I wasn't aware he was an author of fiction. Thought a forward would be awesome.
  • This. The man knows his science, and how to make it accessible to the layman, but I don't think he would be very good at writing science fiction. Even the hardest sci-fi allows itself to bend and blur the rules for the sake of narrative. Tyson wouldn't be able to operate that way, I don't think.
  • I believe he part wrote the "cosmos" show, the one he presented. Rather lyrical and actually, in some places, beautiful and meditative. If that was him, well he could wrote fiction. But then one needs to have something to write, a narrative. I don't know...
    .
    Also; where's Peter F Hamilton? His stuff is about as whizz bang halo like as it gets! High tech fiction without being too hard, string narratives, suspense, intrigue and ai's that would quell Cortana, no rampant tendencies, just boss. The man is an underrated genius.
  • "hey Microsoft fans, great news! we have a tv special coming out, but you can only watch it at an AT&T store or a special unlocked version at the Microsoft store" - Satya Nadella
  • You're dumb, AT&T doesn't have TV at their stores...psh! =\
  • There's a TV at the main AT&T store in my town, though I think it just has rolling ads.
  • Not sure if you are joking or not, but every AT&T store I have been to has a tv. As well, they are a TV company (UVerse/DirecTV) so TVs are probably in all stores... With that said, Shane's comment was not that funny. Read on reddit yesterday (not sure of the authenticity) that AT&T was the only carrier to allow MS to handle the updates and that is why Tmob isn't carrying. And VZ Has made it clear they want nothing to do with MS. So, not sure MS Had many options here.
  • That wouldn't surprise me at all. MS wants update control and I doubt Verizon would give them it. Good on MS for sticking to their vision of that is true. :) Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • A lot of AT&T stores do to showcase their U-Verse fiber optic cable TV service...
  • If it's suspenseful, I'm in.
  • Greg bear is awesome
  • Coooool!
  • Animated would be better.
  • I agree. Or in addition to.
  • Is it the same Robert J. Sawyer that wrote Flashforward?
  • Yes. Very talented man.
  • Also you should check out Jack McDevitt. A Talent for War is one of my favorite sci-fi books ever.
  • Sounds interesting, will check out!
  • totally off-topic, how do you achieve that banner aesthetic? the polygon/prism thingy. can it be done in Ps/Ai? love it! graphic design student here.
  • 3D modelled I'd imagine.
  • But yeah, of course you could achieve a similar effect with Ps... Multiple layers, with different levels of blur.
  • Using HoloLens? That would be cool
  • Wouldn't mind an Audiobook narrated by R.C Bray :P.