7 Stories That Will Make You Question the Universe
Get ready for a mind-bending thriller that will make you question reality as you know it. Mixed Realities by Naomi Augustine is a collection of seven stories that poke at the squishy parts of our universe, human understanding, and our relationship with technology. Illustrated QR codes are embedded throughout the book to let you listen to the soundtrack on the fly.
Don’t trust your senses. Don’t even trust your measuring equipment. Reality is not what it seems.
Physicists were right. It turns out we live in a giant computer simulation and our world isn’t the only one. There are many others. In one world, climate change threatens humanity. A 10-year-old refugee befriends an artificial intelligence in a city full of holograms and works together to solve the crisis. In another, an anti-social college student becomes suspicious of the existence of parallel worlds and figures out how to cross over. With the help of his new online friends, they set out to unravel the mystery behind the simulation and its mischievous architecture. The perfect book for readers of science-fiction, Mixed Realities will challenge and entertain readers with each page.
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Q&A
What do you hope readers/listeners remember about you and or your book?
- Trying a new format for reading that combines digital and physical
- A novella (30-50 pages) is about the same length and pace as a 1.5 hr movie, a remarkable story size for the busy reader. (Half of my stories were originally screenplays that were rewritten for the book format)
- Ask more questions about the nature of a universe and reality. I hope to inspire young readers to study physics and go into STEM fields.
- More optimistic stories for our current climate. AI and technology do not have to be scary concepts.
What inspired your to title this collection of science fiction novellas Mixed Realities: 7 Stories That Will Make You Question the Universe?
The title is “Mixed Realities” and the subtitle is “7 stories that will make you question the universe”. I wrote about several concepts that changed the way I saw the world:
1. Augmented reality
2. Artificial intelligence
3. Climate change
4. The 4th Dimension
5. Dreams
6. Re-incarnation
7. Quantum mechanics
8. Heat Death
What are the most important goals you hope to achieve from publishing your book?
My goal as a writer is primarily for artistic expression and innovation. I would like to find my audience and have my voice heard on the topics I’ve written about. I have used a new kind of format for my book – the use of illustrated QR codes to let readers enjoy the soundtrack to the book. I’d like to show the world this new format to innovate in the reading community and would like to have a bit of press around it if possible. I also have ambitions to pitch the stories for TV/film adaptation.
What makes your book unique?
It is a first of its kind, book with a soundtrack via illustrated QR codes. The format is meant to mimic the feeling of enjoying a TV series, with music appearing in key moments of the story (openings, closings, action, emotional beats, etc). Each QR code takes you to a page that has a looping cinematic video with a music track.
Thank you, Naomi Augustine and Bruce Mason
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About the Author
Naomi Augustine grew up in Japan and has a bachelor’s in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. She has spent the last 15 years as a physicist, game producer, and Augmented Reality R&D Lead at companies such as Raytheon, Riot Games, and Magic Leap. There she led the research, envisioning, and design of city-scaled use cases of AR. Her work has been deployed in areas of urban planning and climate change in partnership with the United Nations Development Program. She is currently the co-founder of QXR Studios, specializing in augmented and extended reality (AR/XR) storytelling.
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Author Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GST_naomi
LinedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-augustine-yee/
Website: https://www.naomiaugustine.com/
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Book Link
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1667806149/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_BV15G706GDSB49P6586E
B for Bookreview 