Refraction by Wick Welker

SPSFC

How many times does it take to destroy the world before you can save it? In 1986, physicist Timothy Straus hears voices that teach him how to create a space-warping engine that will change the world. In 2098, a fighter pilot hears voices that help him fight an authoritarian corporatist regime in the ashes of nuclear fallout. In 2155, the only self-aware robot on Mars struggles to steer humanity away from a demagogue who speaks from the shadows. Told through kaleidoscope storytelling across space and time, these three people are connected in ways they could never imagine. As they pull on the strings of the multiverse, what they can’t see is that every villain begins as a savior—every enemy starts as a friend. With the power to refract reality, will they learn that one person can’t save the people? That only the people can save the people?

Adult • Science Fiction/Hard SF • Science Fiction/Dystopian