In my latest novel – Starforgers, I have an android character who slowly starts to go insane. It’s been given an upgrade, both software and hardware that gives it a consciousness. But that upgrade comes with a price and the price it pays for being sentient is that it can now suffer psychosis, not unlike humans do. During the course of the novel, this android witnesses the violent death of all the humans it lives with. While this one event does not lead to a complete mental breakdown, it pushes against that frail wall that keeps it sane.
This is a very minor subplot in the book, but it will play a key role in a subsequent story. Again, I’m always setting up pins in current books that will be knocked down in follow up books. The Starstrikers Universe is pretty complex and rich in detail. More so than much of what I’ve read to date. My goal is to create a very deep and multifaceted universe that readers can explore for years and never get bored with.
I do love the Asimov Foundation series and his Robot books. Readers who love Asimov, will probably tolerate my novels to some extent. Although I must warn you, there’s a whole lot less chatting and a whole lot more ass-kicking in my books. By that same notion, I don’t wrap things up quite as neatly as the Master did. And I won’t be winning any SF writing awards like Asimov, or writing books by the hundreds. I do borrow quite a bit from Asimov, including his name. But more about that in future posts.