bcifi

I wrote a book chapter with Professor Emeritus Eric Rabkin that has been peer-reviewed and accepted and is now in press with Springer Publishing. In it, we rate and assess these works in terms of realism and hope. BCIfi.org also uses realism and hope to analyze stories posted here.

Consistent with the second word in “science fiction,” BCI-fi doesn’t have to be realistic. Stories can be fun, thought-provoking, and/or educational even if quite detached from reality. However, unrealistic BCI-fi may foment unmerited fears, false hope, poor decisions about which BCIs to use and trust, and other concerns. Unrealistic BCI-fi may also create an opportunity for “hard” BCI-fi in which realistic challenges and issues might seem like a breath of fresh air. Indeed, this is where we authors are now. We’d love to see good “hard” BCI-fi.

We also provide a section in each story for “About the Author” that can include a reasonable amount of text and pictures. Authors are welcome to add other commentary about their stories, what inspired them, real-world connections, etc.

As of Jan 2026, the only original BCI-fi here was written by Dr. Brendan Allison, also known as BZA or me. Concordantly, so is the associated commentary.

COMMENTARY ON COMMENTARY

Most of my stories on bcifi.org have comments. Why? For whom?

Commentary shouldn’t be necessary for a story, or for any form of art. My commentary considers two seemingly divergent considerations:

(1) Readers are smart.

(2) Readers don’t like to feel stupid.

Do you like reading stories or watching movies that leave you feeling like you missed something? Me neither. I also dislike feeling hammered by the same point just to make sure I got it.

Dr. Rabkin explained that “when an author explains something implicit in a work, it feels like disrespect for the reader.” Well said. I try to weave personal experiences into the commentary, partly so the reader gets something new. Like the next paragraph.

I do struggle with a comment from Andy Weir in response to BitChIng: “I don’t like stories with an ax to grind.” He’s right. That story was partly inspired by my frustration with what I call “BCI Paranoia.” As I’ve said elsewhere, someone in our field is gonna get killed by someone like… well, it’s in the story. So I try to limit stories driven by frustration, anger, or negativity. That doesn’t mean such elements can be in the stories, or characters can’t experience that. It means the story needs to have substantial merit and purpose beyond whining.

For example, I just posted aBsurd appliCatIon. It’s meant to be positive and heartwarming. Hence, I debate removing the beginning with Lillippe. I wanted a little comic relief, tension, and contrast with the other characters – but it may not fit in an otherwise cheerful story.

I also feel an obligation to explain and honor the narratives and authors that inspired me. I want to give credit where due. And I want readers to enjoy these narratives and writers too. Individual readers may not have the time or interest. But if I someday have thousands of readers, then a few will very probably enjoy my inspirations too. Great! The original authors deserve that and so do you.

Thank you again for reading.