Change of State is a two part novel. In "First Phase" the world is divided between Unionians, who understand, use and keep developing new technology and Outsiders, who don't. However, a sense of optimism pervades the book.
In a future of virtual worlds and robotics a small team of scientists chances upon an incredible discovery about the origin of life on earth. But they must escape from a mind controlling trap prepared by dangerous humans who are secretly preparing a nightmarish dystopia for the world’s inhabitants.
The narrative is influenced by today's scientific, technological, and social awareness and lets the readers experience a tomorrow that could be.
Included at the end is "Accidental Warrior" which sets the scene for the book.
Maria Pellegrini, who also writes under the pen name Lavirrealista, has been an indie publisher since 2010, exploring on the theme of technology and society of the future. “Virrealism”, is the underlying concept of her work. Virrealism transforms reality into virtuality and vice versa thus taking us well beyond virtual reality. She has now written two books (Real Virtualites 2011, Change of State - First Phase 2016) and six short stories which explore different aspects of possible future technological development.
Trained as a geologist and environmental scientist, she specialised in GIS technology and worked for many years in the industry, later becoming editor in chief of a technical magazine. Her scientific training ensures that the science in science fiction is not lost.
What if a society becomes reluctant to accept scientific evidence, denying the scientific method based on observation and data and begins instead to favour only applied technologies that, notwithstanding their power and utility, do not progress human thought and understanding.
Could such a society start to demand cuts to budgets funding pure research and, even worse, become hostile to scientists from different parts of the world because geopolitics demands it? Will the figure of the scientist lose his curiosity and integrity?
While creating the central plot of Change of State, a couple of years ago, I was asking myself such questions and I must say that my passion for the work was intensified by the news of the time which is continuing along the same direction to this day.
The output is a major conspiracy story within a technologically dominated society that protects itself behind giant biobarrierrs from a doomed “outside world”.
Book Excerpt
Change of State First Phase
Perhaps her conspiracy story was true, maybe Aenor was right. This was what he was reflecting as they walked toward the room that Syn-Yo Lab had made available to them for the talks. It was true that many programmes of pure research had been blocked for one reason or another, he knew about it. Independent underwater missions and various other explorations, even if self-financed, were no longer obtaining the green light. If before it was possible to move freely beyond the biobarriers into the Outsider lands, although one had to pay a lot for it, now getting out of the bioshields had almost become risky. The Outsiders, or at least some of them, had changed and the biobarriers also seemed to have become suspicious creatures not only for what could get in into the Centres that they had guarded for centuries, but also for what wanted to get out. What once had been protection shields for people's safety had become isolation cells, prison walls in fact.
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