Jonbar Points by Allen Stroud

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Published - Out Now

Price - £2.49 ebook

NB this novella is part of the Fractals series but could be read as a standalone

When survival means sacrifice, can he save what matters most?

The Atacama event, where the world’s largest solar panel array was destroyed has become a pivotal moment for international corporations looking to profit as the world struggles to rebuild. A corporation runs a simulation to predict the best course for humanity, but is hacked by a rival who injects an adaptive and intelligent program to seize control of their computer systems. David Webb is a digital character in the simulation empowered to act and track down the hack. He is also a family man, with a life and dependents. Can he complete his task, knowing that to do so, might wipe out everything that he cares about as the system resets?

Reality on science fiction can get complicated. Yes it can often require an imagined change to a society such as what happens if we all decided to agree to ban books, it can be much bigger in scope and imagine a far future galaxy in turmoil or it could also say reality isn’t quite what it seems. In Allen Stroud’s very intricate science fiction novella Jonbar Points we follow a man who does not exist investigating a major crime in a world that does not exist and again raises some fascinating ideas as to what is being human or even what is real.

David Webb awakens in his family home to take his daughter to school. Then the office beckons. He also knows nothing including himself actually exists. David is part of a huge digital simulation purposely designed to find out how one of the biggest terrorist acts on Earth destroying a vast solar array happened. In the 22nd century it is possible to run multiple simulations of events based on the real world to discover both what causes something and what could happen next. David’s role is more supervisory to sit a little outside and observe. However it soon becomes apparent that someone wishes to stop him finding something out and that means death again and again.

I really enjoyed this unusual mix of a Matrox style situation but with added Groundhog Day. What makes it stand out is David already knowing that he is in a simulation there is secret discovery or revelation he is aware and yet Stroud makes us feel he is a human being. This is quite deliberate as again this series posits another form of life here a fanatically self aware person in a world that if allowed would run its course over decades and perhaps even longer but in reliant just a few seconds. It’s a delicious science fiction ideas asking us if this not real?

Alongside that is a mystery and stakes work for David as although he and the world can be rebooted he will feel the injuries inflicted and carry the mental scars of what happens to those around him. That helps us feel again for such a character and means we do have the classic of this type of story how do you change things? The opponent for David is quite smart and merciless and is a fine match for the smart office investigator that David is too.

Fans of this series will however note two major plot points coming into the story. The main incident is a remind of Stroud’s very first book and effectively the catalyst for all the stories that have followed so it’s interestingly we pick this thread up once again. We. Als get the return of another major chapter in the series one perhaps best suited to this type of story and again raising questions on what or who is real. The paid make a fine double act and yet the ending is kept in the balance all the way through and then ends on a little moment of hope and speculation. Can a computer programme ever have a happy ending?

Jonbar Points (the title is a tribute to a Brian Aldiss essay that is very relevant to the plot) takes a number of science fiction ideas and creates an adventure tale that also should make you think about the next time you ever boot up a computer game or even question your own reality. I’m definitely intrigued where this set of stories is now going. Highly recommended!