When did I start creating worlds? At age 13. I still remember spending one night with a few friends drawing out the map of the Beyond Realms, filled with English place names—some of which I’ve carried over into “The Computational Universe.” The book that most deeply influenced my world-building was, naturally, The Lord of the Rings. I finished reading the novel in fourth grade and became deeply fascinated by it.
This fascination accompanied me throughout my adolescence, fostering my love for Western culture and contributing to my proficiency in English. The “Computational Universe” you see was first written by me in Chinese and then translated into English. I successfully entered New York University for my studies. While at NYU, I experienced a period of confusion, unsure what kind of person I should become. So I transferred from having no major to Stern Business School to study finance, then back to the College of Arts and Sciences for computer science, finally choosing the philosophy department. Philosophy thus became an unavoidable element in my creative process. Characters in my novels are essentially philosophers. Old habits die hard.
I explored classics, religion, anthropology, and other fields, ultimately discovering that what I loved wasn’t The Lord of the Rings—at least not the return-to-nature, anti-industrial revolution values in The Lord of the Rings. During my junior year, I founded an internet company and developed a fan economy website similar to Patreon at the time called Ratafire. Patreon succeeded, while we didn’t. But I’ve always followed the lives of creators. I eventually embarked on the path of becoming an independent creator myself.
As for when I started writing, that goes back to 2005. There were many detours afterward, and some years when I didn’t write anything at all. However, writing and tech entrepreneurship have always been my two main focuses. I knew early on that my novels would have heavy world-building components—I wanted to create a world. I was even more certain that I would spend my entire life writing within this one world.
I worked as a software developer for at least 10 years, constantly developing applications. Recently, I’ve also been using and training artificial intelligence models. AI is a recurring theme in my novels. I have detailed visions for the relationship between intelligent machines and human civilization and the philosophy of intelligent machines themselves. I think my background in computer science and philosophy made the world I created—the Computational Universe—become a giant computer.
The Computational Universe is a world crafted for a series of cosmic science fiction novels. According to current plans, the Computational Universe will include novels like “The Computational Universe,” “Computational Crisis,” “Computational War,” “Computational Wandering,” and others. In the Computational Universe, the entire universe is one big computer, and people can use Xiyuan—computational potential energy—to obtain food, wage wars, and influence the economy of the whole Tianhe Galaxy.
The Computational Universe will be a lifelong project for me. Every novel I write from now on will be set within it. A person’s lifetime energy is only sufficient to create one universe and continue cultivating within that universe. The Computational Universe is a vast interstellar world where people can modify the universe’s source code, achieving creation beyond the boundaries of imagination.
I love world-building—let us journey alongside time and space.
I hope my readers have the freedom to traverse the entire Computational Universe, and the Computational Universe has sufficient depth and breadth to support this. I will perfect every aspect of the setting, from the technology of a particular era to people’s customs, great interstellar organizations, and the end of time—not just black holes but also the final hope. I want to better understand this world through the process of creation.
Each world, for me, is like language to Tolkien—a cup of fine wine.
This interstellar world is primarily based on computer science fantasy, distinct from universes built on physics. Computer science is a rapidly developing discipline in our contemporary era, with its unique charm and understanding of the universe. In fact, who can say for sure that our world isn’t a giant computer? This could explain the existence of action at a distance and quantum entanglement. We will live, dream, and wage war alongside various civilizations in the vast Computational Universe. The clash of cultures is an eternal theme.
This is a traditional science fiction world, meaning no magic or telepathy. It’s closer to the imagination of the universe during the Golden Age of science fiction, only with the addition of the setting that the universe is a giant computer. Whether in terms of expressive language or world architecture, this leans more toward epic science fiction, if not epic fantasy. The vastness of the world and the immensity of the universe constitute the unique aesthetic beauty of the Computational Universe.
I want to create within a grand, epic world.
One topic the Computational Universe will discuss is the rise and fall of technological civilizations. What does technology really mean to humanity? When we reach the end of the world, having controlled all habitable planets in the galaxy, where do we go from there? Without the drive to explore, will there still be unlimited development of republics? These are the themes the Computational Universe discusses.
The Computational Universe will deeply explore technology and its impacts on the establishment, growth, and decay of civilizations. Technology and civilization are the eternal themes within the Computational Universe. In “The Computational Universe,” the main discussion centers on the rise of technological civilization. “Computational Crisis” discusses technological civilizations encountering the cyclical patterns of civilization and the Malthusian trap, needing to prevent themselves from falling into ultimate involution.
Welcome to “The Computational Universe,” world traveler!
