Reader's Favorite 5-Star Review!

I've submitted my novel to Reader's Favorite for review and today they came back to me with the following 5-star review:

The need for a rapid response to global threats leads to the development of the STRATOS team, an elite unit of combat-ready operatives prepared to take on and eliminate hostile targets at short notice. Keen to maintain the upper hand in a changing world, the country's top brass took it upon themselves to include an artificial intelligence project to assist in STRATOS operations. David Friedman is the mind behind EVE, the artificial intelligence program. With the personnel yet to get fully behind this new initiative, David takes it upon himself to perfect his creation, which leads to unforeseen consequences in the manifestation of an entity named HAVAH.

Keng Tiong's science fiction novel focuses on the battle for human supremacy over machines. He establishes the story's context well, explaining the need for an extra edge in the rapidly evolving fight to protect the country from international and domestic terrorism. The character creation is balanced and well thought out, as each STRATOS team member has a unique origin story and motivation for participating in the project. One of the main character in particular, Captain Wolfson, whose reaction to being forced to work with EVE reflected some people's distrust of artificial intelligence. 

With each unfolding chapter, the anticipation grows as David's clandestine upgrades to EVE take shape. While some of the story focuses on how the AI entity affects the STRATOS team’s outcome, the author weaves the action with a subplot that follows the unusual developing romantic triangle between David, Amanda, and a rapidly evolving EVE. Keng Tiong's storytelling style encourages the reader to think about the effects of the increased use of AI in our daily lives. HAVAH is a scintillating debut novel that science fiction genre purists will enjoy reading.

Below are the ratings of a mini critic by Reader's Favorite on the various aspects of the novel:

1. Appearance - 5
2. Plot - 5
3. Development - 5
4. Formatting - 4
5. Marketability - 5
6. Overall Opinion - 5

I couldn't be more happy that my modest first attempt would elicit such a good review and ratings from a highly acclaimed book review and award site. Hopefully the novel will garner enough reader attention and interest to warrant a sequel and perhaps even a trilogy!

 

Chapter 20: Déjà Vu!

Déjà Vu! This is a French expression that implies the feeling of having already dreamed something that is currently being experienced.

I've decided to name this pivotal chapter as such for a few reasons:

1. STRATOS' second confrontation with a mortal enemy
2. Wolf's past of a failed mission coming back to haunt him
3. The effect of Viper's memories on some of the team members
4. HAVAH doing a rerun of Viper to realize her humanity

and some.

With so much going for it, little wonder it's the longest chapter in the novel, and probably the most engaging in terms of action-filled and emotional rollercoaster experiences. On a personal level, it is the most satisfying chapter to write too.

I hope readers will feel the same reading it.

 

Climactic or Climatic?

I was a little confused over the spelling of the adjective that describes a story's climax (noun). Should it be "climactic" with an extra "c" inside or "climatic" without the "c"? Thankfully, Google came to the rescue.

So, I'm finally down to the last two chapters of my sci-fi novel. Of course, I tried my best to keep readers hooked on the storyline by bringing the narrative through a number of "dramatic" highs. But as every story reader would expect, there should be one "ultimate" sort of "climactic" finale near the end of the novel. 

The question is: Should the "climax" be in the last chapter, or is it better to be in the second last? I'd figured that most fiction novels usually preferred the latter, so that the ending chapter is used as a kind of housekeeping debrief for the story and its characters and, if circumstances permit, to create an abrupt ending that makes way for a sequel.

Now that I got the spelling and the order of the story ending sorted out, it's time to get into the grind to produce the finale "climax" readers are anticipating...

 

Chapter 19: True Love

This will probably be the most controversial chapter in the novel. Don't worry, there's no explicit sexual overtones here, and readers aren't going to find any in my sci-fi narrative. HAVAH once asked David what love is after witnessing an intimate moment between the latter and Viper. David gave a rather interesting reply which can be found in chapter 14.

At this point in the story progression, it would be natural to expect some kind of dynamism between David and HAVAH who now possesses Viper's memories. How will it play out before the end of this chapter? Frankly, I had no idea when I started writing it, but as the events unfolded and tensions built up between the characters, it became clear to me how I should steer the narrative to an emotive peak to make way for a climactic end in the last two chapters.

I will not provide the outlines for this chapter like I did for the past chapters. In fact, there won't be any for the final two either. This is deliberate on my part to give an air of mystery and expectancy for would-be readers following this blog. But by reading the earlier posts, I'm sure clever readers would have some idea already, though not completely. Where's the fun and excitement if you had everything figured out, right?

 

Fake Characters, True Feelings

I remember a few years prior to the CoVid-19 pandemic, I read a news about a Japanese man marrying a fictional anime character. Back then, it invoked a weird feeling like, "What's wrong with this guy? What in the world is he thinking?"

Fast forward to the present, as I near the finishing chapters of my novel to bring the story to its climax, I can't help thinking how the world will be when AI finally attain sentience and become accessible as real-life humanoid forms, interacting with real people on a daily basis in every level of a transformed society. And it's not a question of "if" but "when" this will happen, based on the trend and speed at which technology is advancing.

It then begs the following questions:

• Is it possible for a human to engage a machine—his very own creation—in a unique and meaningful relationship? 

• Is there a basis to its personality that it could be regarded as a real, living being worthy of love and respect?

We're living in changing times where many distinctions are beginning to blur the lines. What used to be taboos and out of bounds are becoming the norm in a highly polarized world. In the past, we only dealt with heterosexual, bisexual and asexual issues. Now we have to contend with "fictosexual" and what not. Even the familiar "romance" has spun off to "bromance", "sismance", etc.

This is the reason why I chose to write a novel of this genre——not only to bring the readers to a realization of the rapid changing landscapes in a world we used to know and yet is fast becoming unrecognizable, but to confront pressing questions that demand serious considerations and what their implications will be for our future.

 

Chapter 18: Transcendence

This is perhaps one of the most interactive chapters in the novel. I tried hard to get all the STRATOS members involved, imagining how each scenario would play out to produce the best overall effect. There's quite a bit of trimming and adjusting in the sequence of each happening, and interjecting some humor, wherever possible.

Here's the breakdown of the chapter:

1. A short introduction to allow David leave of absence as HAVAH takes center stage.

2. Shadow and Panther at the sparring arena with Wolf as the observer.

3. Stalker at the Armament Laboratory in conversation with the weapon scientist, Dr. Harrison over Viper's demise.

4. Olivia and Hawk at the indoor rock climbing facility of the Omega Base, with a little incidence. 

5. The above mishap provided an occasion for an intriguing conversation between HAVAH and Olivia.

6. Stalker, Shadow and Panther chilling out at the STRATOS' private lounge when an anomaly caused Shadow to freak out and triggered Panther to leave abruptly.

7. Panther reminisced his painful past and his regret over Viper's death. HAVAH helped him find closure.

8. HAVAH taking stock and summing up her subjective experiences.

I have intentionally left out the details in order not to spoil the reading enjoyment. It took me quite some time and effort to orchestrate the snippets mentioned and I'm not going to let them go to waste.

Hopefully, readers will anticipate and look forward to this chapter.

 

Exclusively HAVAH

In my previous post, I put forth my intention to exhibit HAVAH's transcendence as she displays various human emotions, a result of her being infused with Viper's memories. So in a way, this next chapter will be exclusively about how she interacts with various STRATOS members to bring out specific emotional traits. In other words, David will be taking a back seat.

And as I ponder about what I could include to bring my novel to the next level, a few possibilities flashed through my mind:

1. Greater character development amongst the STRATOS members. Multiple scenarios may be required to bring out the dynamics between HAVAH and these members.

2. More issues HAVAH need to struggle to understand to embrace her 'humanity'.

3. Some light and humorous moments with our court jester.

4. Perhaps a hidden scar in Panther's heart that needs to be resolved.

5. HAVAH's self-thought as she goes through the inventory of her subjective experiences.

But first, I'll have to give the chapter an exciting title. The content will follow...

 

Chapter 17: Beyond Logic

As the chapter title suggests, we're entering into a narrative realm that requires the reader to go beyond logical reasoning and enlist the use of their imagination. But what do you expect from a sci-fi novel, anyway.

Here's the breakdown of this chapter's content:

1. David asking HAVAH if she could decipher Viper's captured memories. HAVAH's reply on the challenges involved, and David giving her Viper's memento with the hope that it would fill the missing link needed.

2. A snapshot of David's earlier conversation with Dr. Harper on HAVAH's emotional development.

3. David waking up and noticing some changes in HAVAH's behavior that reminded him of Viper. Yet... will it work out at this point?

4. HAVAH seemed driven by Viper's memories to seek out Olivia for advice on her new emotional awareness. In the interim, a brief, funny encounter with Shadow ensued that should invoke some laughter.

This chapter has a moving interplay between David and HAVAH that would set the tempo for the rest of the book.

And now, on to the next...

 

Matters of the Heart

It's always a tug-of-war when it comes to writing emotional narratives that touches the heart. Readers are divided on this subject. Some would like to see a happily-ever-after kind of ending. Others are more inclined towards a not too idealistic type of real-world scenario. Sci-fi novels hardly have a happy ending like those found in fantasy stories. I don't intend to break the norm either. 

Now that Viper is gone, can David find a substitute in HAVAH who holds in her digital neocortex the fragmented memories of the former? Even if the latter can exhibit some semblance of the former, will David be able to overcome his loss and embrace an imitation? Can an emotionally awaken AI humanoid feel the pain of rejection? How will it respond?

These questions and a host of others clouded my mind as I write the next chapter. How do I weave these thoughts into a coherent whole? I'll have to admit its quite a challenge, more so for an engineering guy like me. Hopefully, I'll able to pull off something endearing to satisfy my readers.

We'll have to see, in a few days time. Inspiration, inspiration...

 

Chapter 16: Hard To Say Goodbye

And so I decided to go along with this chapter title after some deliberation. It would be one of the most emotional chapters in the novel. I'd to confess that I got a little teary writing that heartbreaking part, imagining what it would be like not only for David but the team members as well.

A breakdown of the chapter content:

1. Team STRATOS engaged in a dangerous mission to retrieve advanced weapons hi-jacked by a group of mercenaries. Viper was seriously injured in the heat of an intense conflict.

2. The team returned to Omega Base to an awaiting emergency medical team. Viper barely made it and was put on life support in a coma condition following an operation.

3. David kept vigil at Viper's bedside. He used the NSCI device and with HAVAH's help managed to revive her. But she soon succumbed after a brief intimate moment with her sweetheart. STRATOS members who were outside the ICU, were devastated by her passing.

4. A military funeral in honor of Viper was conducted in the Omega Base, attended by the staff and crew, and presided over by the Defense Secretary, ensued.

5. In the evening, Olivia dropped by briefly to pass a precious memento to a grieving David which will prove, in another chapter, to be a deal breaker to HAVAH's emotional advancement.

6. This object is also a crucial link that ties up past events and encounters, and provide a basis for some future ones.

Despite the pain of losing the darling of my story, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of writing this chapter. I can understand now, at least to some degree, the highs and lows novel writers experienced as they immersed themselves into the stories they're creating.

 

A Military Funeral

Occasionally, scenes of a military funeral would surface in a movie. It was always a tender and touching moment as the nation mourns the loss of a son or daughter in a war or conflict.

For Viper, it would be no different, except that the funeral service would take place in the Omega Base, attended by the crew and staff, and presided over by the Defense Secretary with a stirring speech, no less. The now six-member STRATOS team would do the honor of escorting the casket to its destination at the Arlington National Cemetery, not on a horse-drawn limbers and caissons but the Shadowhawk aircraft in her final journey.

David would be the recipient of the state flag since Viper had no other kin. Olivia would have the honor of folding and handling it (and something else) to him.

 

Operation Thunderbolt

This would be the final mission for Viper, a realization that her premonition had unfortunately come true. How will she die? Through an unintentional selfless act. No spoilers here.

On hindsight, it is an appropriate name, not just for STRATOS' covert operation, but also for David and every team member who will witness Viper's passing. It's hard to say goodbye to an intimate friend and a comrade that had become family through thick and thin, braving risks and dangers together.

As Viper lay in coma from her severe injury, hooked to a life support and hanging for dear life, what goes through David's mind over this sudden development? Is there a sense of regret for not making known his feelings? Will there even be  an opportunity for the lovebirds to bid farewell? What will be the reactions of the team members? What follows next?

These are just some questions that crossed my mind as I contemplate at the grim prospect of taking out a character I have come to love and animate in my first novel. When I told my wife, she was aghast at the idea since I let her read each chapter draft after I finish writing. She loved the dynamics I created between the two lovebirds.

I need a break. I really do.

 

Viper Must Die...

As I entertained this sobering thought about taking the darling character out of my novel, I was reminded of two movies: Romeo Must Die and Juliet Must Die. One is an action-packed film while the other is a mystery murder plot. Mine is neither.

Sometimes the death of a main character is necessary to bring the narrative to the next level for a few reasons:

1. To make way for the story theme to unfold

2. To allow further development for other characters, main and peripheral

3. To facilitate more involved and intriguing conversations

4. To generate anticipation in readers for what will happen next

5. To introduce elements of uncertainty and unpredictability

So a character's death is never wasted if you know how to use it to achieve the above story effects. It can be a painful process for both the author and the readers, but when we look at the bigger picture instead of dwelling on the loss.

 

Chapter 15: Grey Matters

So there you go, the 15th chapter of my novel, and the first chapter of Part 3: VIPER. Consolidating what I have discussed in my previous posts, here's the breakdown of this chapter:

1. David receiving the prototype Neuro-Synaptic Cognitive Interface (NSCI) from Dr. Harper, with a short write-up on its features.

2. A conversation between David and the neuroscientist to ascertain the concept behind the NSCI and how it could be used by EVE to capture and decipher brain signals to be assimilated into HAVAH.

3. David experimenting the NSCI on HAVAH and the effects it had on her.

4. Viper's struggle with her recurring nightmare and David's reassuring support.

5. An intriguing conversation between David and HAVAH on the topic of dreams and its implications.

6. Another discussion between David and Dr. Harper on the NSCI's use to decipher dreams and how it could be used to alleviate post-trauma stress. 

Unfortunately, time isn't on David's side...

 

Electric Dreams

Can an AI dream?

That's an intriguing question.  I'm reminded of the 1984 RomCom "Electric Dreams" which had many viewers wondering if computers could do all those things they saw in the movie, including dreaming (hence the title).

I believe many people do have that perennial question when their interactions with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, and the likes become a common affair. After all, it gives people the illusion that they are talking to an entity that seems to think and feel like they do.

So, leveraging from Viper's nightmare and HAVAH's curiosity after witnessing David calmed Viper of her post-traumatic stress, it would be natural to explore this fascination aspect of artificial intelligence, especially one which had attained a level of sentience.

Maybe I'll even bring in a separate conversation between David and Dr. Harper on this topic from a neuroscientist's perspective. There are possible scenarios that can come out of that one subject of dreams alone. It's just a matter of how to plot and then word it to make a narrative come alive.

 

Chapter 14 (Part 2)

Like I said in the previous post, I wasn't done with this chapter yet. To be realistic, I should not make it easy for David to succeed in getting HAVAH attain invisibility. This will allow for better development in the story too, in this case:

1. Giving HAVAH the opportunity to make a surprise arrangement for David to date Viper, thereby accentuating her sentient personality, while injecting an element of humor at the same time.

2. Showcasing a romantic location of the Omega Base.

3. Using an innocent conversation between the lovebirds to allow David to discover the solution to what he's been struggling with on invisibility.

As I wrapped up PART 2: HAVAH, I'm toying with the possibility of adding a third part to my narrative, to bring Viper into the picture, but with a twist that will probably break the hearts of my readers. 

A good novel should provide readers a rollercoaster experience in their emotions, especially if they become endeared to one or two of the characters in the story. Dark clouds are gathering in the horizon, but I've not much to say at this point. 

 

Chapter 14: The Fresnel Effect

The past two weeks have been quite harrowing. I needed to figure out how to create factual conversations between David and his friends, while making it sound scientific and interesting and not turn the readers off. But several distractions interrupted my thought flow——leaky faucets that required repair, a missing coffee table leg from an overseas shipment (Taobao, what else?) that took up quite a bit of my time to get the seller to ship me the missing part, and some errands my wife asked me to run (I can't say no, right?).

Shuttling between writing and doing those tasks can be tiring, to say the least, but I finally nailed it:

1. An online conference between the trio. Prof and Doc offered their suggestions of hiding HAVAH's sentient ability but these proved wanting. David's bold idea of invisibility raised eyebrows but led to a more fruitful discussion, and eventually the introduction of a temporary female character from the Armament Laboratory as an intermediary to provide partial solution. Quite a big chunk of content here.

2. Of course, David had to put up a show for the staff of Robotics Laboratory about his "success" in creating a functional humanoid assistant, since he is using their facility (an allocated private work lab by the lead scientist in charge). This is the temporary solution offered by the Prof.

3. In the last chapter when Viper dropped in unexpectedly and found out about David's endeavor, he promised to introduce HAVAH to her, albeit not in full disclosure. Still, it is an opportunity to showcase some romantic interplay between these two lovebirds that will delight the readers. I guarantee it.

4. David's meeting with the person in charge of the Armament Laboratory, an expert in nanotechnology, to explore a collaboration on producing metamaterials that have cloaking applications for STRATOS' operation. Clever, huh?

Looking back, I can't imagine I could still sit down and write all these narratives, despite those unforeseen disruptions and undeniable requests from my wife. But that's the thing——you can't possibly wait for conditions to be right to start writing——it will never happen.

But I got a feeling the chapter is not done yet. We'll see. Now for a well-deserved break!

 

Chapter 13: Singularity

Finally, we're coming to the crucial chapter that will see HAVAH attain her long-awaited sentient status.

As I noted in a previous post, an AI does not require consciousness or even a physical form to achieve Singularity. But that would not achieve the desired cinematic effects if HAVAH remained a holographic entity. Readers should get the hint on what is to follow from this chapter onwards.

Since this is a pivotal chapter, I decided to allocate more content to it, specifically in the following areas:

1. David giving his humanoid robot a feminine makeover with a facial feature that resembles Viper (unconsciously, of course).

2. Viper's surprise drop-in while he was giving the finishing touch.

3. A special moment between the two lovebirds, with a little humor added.

4. Olivia coming into the picture, laying out the groundwork for some interesting dynamics with David in a future chapter or two.

5. Transferring HAVAH's digital neocortex to the humanoid.

There will also be some smaller details to tie up loose ends and provide a bridge to the next chapter.

 

Chapter 12: Hippocampus

What is the hippocampus?  It is a region of the brain that's heavily involved with storing past event memories, and more. In Greek mythology, it refers to a sea-horse like creature with an upper body of a horse and a lower body of a fish. Click on the picture below to learn more.

When David made known his intention to give HAVAH a physical form, you can expect certain reactions from his friends:

“You want to make HAVAH a sentient entity? That's quite a leap, David.” Dr. Harper voiced her apprehension. “The complexity involved in emulating the brain's functions within a physical body is immense. What we call neural networks in today's deep learning use only a subset of the whole family of neuronal models, limited mostly to feed forward and recurrent types. Our current neuro-quantum setup, while advanced, doesn't match up to the sophistication of a human brain.”

Of course, David is undeterred when he has set his mind to do something that even his friends find unthinkable. In a hard sci-fi novel, we need to be "realistic" in our approach in case the narrative becomes too fantasy it detracts or disengages readers from a reasonable probability mindset. That would defeat the objective of writing the novel.

So, I've included a short dissertation by Dr. Harper on her knowledge of this topic, which would invariably lead to the question of whether it's possible to invent a device for memory transfer.

Well, what do you think, my readers?

Update: The chapter on Empathy is now relegated to Chapter 12.

 

Chapter 11: Empathy

Empathy is the ability to share someone else's feeling or experience by imagining what it would be like to be in his or her situation. I wrote this chapter with three things in mind:

1. To strengthen the bond between Viper and David through this quality displayed by the former towards the latter, in light of the recent unpleasant confrontation.

2. To engage David in a discussion with HAVAH on her emotional development and to explore the possibility of memory transfer that could accelerate the process.

3. To preempt readers on the next move David have in mind——a physical form for HAVAH to afford her a fuller human-like experience.

What will it take for a sentient AI to develop human emotions like empathy and compassion? Is it even possible? This is food for thought as we embrace an increasingly AI-driven world. And it may not be too far in the future when humanoid robots become a part of our daily lives.

Think Sophia and Ameca, and you'll get a glimpse of what's to come.