Search Worlds Without End

This short story translated by David Boyd originally appeared in Japanese in 2014. It was reprinted in Lightspeed, November 2015.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Three new stories from three of the best science fiction writers in Japan:

"Overdrive" by Toe EnJoe -- How fast is the speed of thought?

"Sea Fingers" by TOBI Hirotaka -- A small enclave survives after the Deep has consumed the world, but what does the Deep hunger for now?

"A Fair War" by Taiyo Fujii -- The future of war, the age of drones, but what comes next?

This is not a novel.
This is not a short story collection.
This is Self-Reference ENGINE.

Instructions for Use: Read chapters in order. Contemplate the dreams of twenty-two dead Freuds. Note your position in spacetime at all times (and spaces). Keep an eye out for a talking bobby sock named Bobby Socks. Beware the star-man Alpha Centauri. Remember that the chapter entitled "Japanese" is translated from the Japanese, but should be read in Japanese. Warning: if reading this book on the back of a catfish statue, the text may vanish at any moment, and you may forget that it ever existed.

From the mind of Toh EnJoe comes Self-Reference ENGINE, a textual machine that combines the rigor of Stanislaw Lem with the imagination of Jorge Luis Borges. Do not operate heavy machinery for one hour after reading.

Neither a utopia nor a dystopia, it's still a world of nations at strife, as dominated by corporations as ever. Technology hasn't made humans nearly obsolete, but rather bettered us, if you will, attaching to our bodies and even brains as enhancements--for those who can afford it.

Comics artist Shirow Masamune's vision of our coming society, animated to global acclaim and finally the basis of a major Hollywood production, branches out in five original stories by some of the most beloved SF novelists working in Japan today. A standalone collection, it requires no familiarity with the franchise to be enjoyed but is indispensable for fans for its thoughtful exploration of the series' implications.

While reality may never become virtual, it will be increasingly networked and augmented. Navigate herein age-old questions about man that will return, not so ironically, in full force: What is the self? Is there such a thing as the soul?