Epoch

WINNER OF THE 2025 COLORADO AUTHORS LEAGUE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTIONINCLUDED IN THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY WORLD EPICS CATALOGfrom the fruits of science / a great filter loomsAITHER is a bright but otherwise ordinary child with caring parents, plenty of playmates, and a safe, stimulating, and comfortable home. Or so it seems to Aither, until bit by bit, everything about life is revealed to have deeper layers of complexity and meaning, including the fact that the fate of the planet is at stake.EPOCH is science fiction infused with philosophy, psychology, and mythology, all brought together as an epic poem. It is a story about the first fully human level artificial general intelligence, narrated as a sort of memoir from the AI's own point of view. It is filled with musings about topics like identity and purpose, future selves, the importance of beauty, the nature and ethics of technological progress, cultural influence and hegemony, humanity's tragic flaws, and existential risk.The book has been used successfully as a text in an undergraduate science fiction course, and the poetry is mostly lightweight and straightforward. Still, it is not recommended for casual consumption: as Herman Melville would say, "read it if you can."Additional information and resources on the book are available at www.epoch.fyi.