Iteration: a sci-fi novella that exists because I love sci-fi

Marcus Cole runs the mining hauler Dredger in the Corundum Field, eleven light years from Earth. He is alone on the ship, and his days follow a fixed routine: the morning report, Earl Grey with two sugar cubes, repairs to drones older than he is, half an hour’s run in the centrifuge ring and the evening health scan. Every forty-seven seconds, an air-con valve clicks in Section B.

I won’t give away any more. Iteration is a chamber sci-fi story about solitude, about everything a person will do not to be alone, and about who or what you can trust.

Why?

I love sci-fi, especially space sci-fi with rockets and all that. I’ve watched a lot of films and series and read a few books too. So I wanted to make something of my own.

I had never written anything, and the start was hard. Nothing at all came to mind. My first attempt ended before I had typed a single letter.

But I didn’t give up and tried a more systematic approach. I put together what I love about sci-fi and what I wanted to see in the story, and picked two stories as inspiration.

And yes, I decided to bring in Claude as a collaborator. Without that, nothing would have come of it at all. I wanted to try it whatever it took.

“Tea reserves,” he said aloud, “estimated at another eight months. Patience reserves: approximately the same.”
Silence.
Marcus turned the mug in his hand. He looked at the crack near the bottom.
“That was a joke.”
Silence.
“In case anyone’s interested.”

So how did it turn out?

Judge for yourself. I wrote it over several days and really enjoyed it. Whether it’s readable is another matter :) The book is about two hundred pages; you’ll get through it in a few hours or toss it under the bed sooner.

You can read it here on the blog: Iteration, or download the EPUB and read it in your e-reader. The English edition is an automatic translation of the Czech original, ITERACE.

If you read Iteration, tell me in the comments how you liked it.