We will explore the main characteristics and themes of my novel and AI video creation. In brief, the Computing Universe is a grand cosmic epic featuring space, adventure, and computational warfare.
The first characteristic of the Computing Universe is its fictional world setting. I knew I wanted to write an almost purely fictional universe. While you might see some correspondences with reality, they are fictional. A fictional world has its own unique settings. Here, the setting is simple: the universe is a giant computer. Everything else derives from this premise. If you enjoy science fiction with strong world-building, the Computing Universe series is for you.
I have written over 100,000 words of Computing Universe setting materials containing extensive character, technology, and geographical details. Since science fiction novels don’t have magic, detailed descriptions of technology will be their unique “magic.” Therefore, in the computing universe, the technology of each era was established before I began writing.
Additionally, ten major civilizations are in the Tianhe Galaxy of the Computing Universe. They take various forms—some warlike, some peaceful, and others built on commerce. The clash of civilizations represents a different writing paradigm from the hero’s journey. I emphasize this point because many Chinese stories don’t follow the death-and-resurrection narrative of the hero’s journey.
The second characteristic is my desire to write about the unique circumstances of Chinese people in the universe. Science fiction is a form of social novel that describes what society becomes under specific technological conditions. My favorite science fiction novel, “Foundation,” tells of Western civilization’s inner demon—their civilizations always experience a fall from peak to decline. This is their civilizational experience rendered into science fiction.
In “The Computing Crisis,” I write about people who have explored all explorable star regions and encountered galaxy-wide involution. This story addresses the Chinese inner demon: involution leading to cycles once we touch certain boundaries. Therefore, I hope my novel’s topics will concern a civilization’s circumstances.
In “The Computing Universe,” I write about the Chinese people becoming a technological civilization—a winding and changeable process. This requires changing many traditions and ways of thinking because technology is not just a tool but also an ideology—it can even be a purpose. Such ideas are challenging to accept in our national context but will be presented in the novel.
The third characteristic is that stories in the Computing Universe generally feature women as protagonists. I don’t want to write feminist novels, but I do want to write novels with female protagonists. One reason is that I can better relate to them, being female myself—I can’t quite grasp the male perspective, so I can’t write male-oriented fiction. I believe viewing the universe from a female perspective will be very unique. However, the protagonists I write usually have a gender-neutral quality, so they could be any gender.
There still aren’t enough science fiction novels with female protagonists. The female perspective can add more hardcore, unwavering determination to cosmic exploration, because female thinking is very resilient—capable of maintaining rationality and composure in the most dangerous situations. Women are best suited to become starship pilots and captains. Therefore, there’s great expressive potential. I won’t reduce the difficulty of my protagonists’ crises just because they’re female.
The fourth characteristic is that the Computing Universe must be profound and philosophical. I know this doesn’t align with market-oriented goals. But I’ve always believed that Chinese science fiction readers and audiences cannot be predicted by science fiction authors. Content that’s easy to understand isn’t necessarily suitable for most readers because readers aren’t intellectually impaired. On the contrary, hardcore content might attract devoted science fiction fans more easily. Yes, we should treat readers as intellectually normal adults—this is respect for readers.
So, where do we find readers? I will present stories through both visual and textual media simultaneously. First, I will present short stories from the Computing Universe, then full-length novels made into AI series. AI’s emergence represents the tenth art form and will even change how stories are told. Within two years, AI video can reach cinematic quality. So, I’m fully committed to both writing and AI film creation.
Therefore, welcome to the Computing Universe, explorers of worlds!
