Ringworld Stories

Life in a post-scarcity techno-utopia. A series of shorts set in the Utopia War universe after the events of that book. You can read this collection without reading Utopia War first, I'm just not sure if you can want to.

The "ringworld" is a classic sci-fi concept. Imagine a self-sustaining artificial world that just so happens to be shaped like a giant ring. Sometimes it looks like a big generation ship. Other times it looks like a ring-shaped planet. What will your ringworld be? Ringworlds is the third in a trilogy of issues dedicated to the concept of an Earth that differs from our own.

Welcome to the latest annual Best Of collection! Brand-new stories from some of your favourite mothertroopers!

The last thing Jason Ling expected waking up was to appear in a library light years away from Earth. Naked, afraid and enslaved it's up to Jason to pave himself a road to the future. With only his brains to help him, will he be able to thrive on Veritanis - a giant ring-world, where good and bad, sins and virtues, heroes and villains from all around the Universe are pitted against each other in a race of ambition?

The final exam for membership into the Hunter's Guild should be a walk in the park for Kristen. But her mentor Alpha failed to mention the heavy weight that membership carries with it. A meeting with The Grim Reaper and the Incarnation of Science, during her expedition, is only a start to the strange history that is Rootworld. If Kristen's strange History lesson teaches her anything, she may pass yet. That is, if she doesn't decide that saving Time and Space is more important. Meanwhile, Ian Stein and Tess Nikola are navigating the halls of the Rootworld academy of the arts and dealing with the growing pains that come with teenage changes, such as, developing their theories of Relationship and the Magno-electric spectrum.

The Spartan II Program was frowned upon. If news of critical failure got out, then it would have been shut down sooner. So what did they do to keep critical failures secret? They erased the candidates from all records. But what happens if one of those candidates refuses to be erased? Candidate-150, a girl named Ruby, was taken away at a young age, put under the vigorous training of the Spartan II Program, and eventually, forced to undergo the procedures too. But that doesn't mean it worked. When the UNSC and the ONI try to get rid of her, will she find new allies and turn against them, or will she allow her nativity to get the better of her and succumb to those who want her gone?

Humanity has grown to encompass the moons and planets of Sol, and many artificial colonies have been placed at specialized positions of neutral gravity called: Lagrange Points. However, wars have caused the people of Sol to only colonize out to Saturn, and never have left their home system. In the eras of peace, instead of innovation there has been stagnation. Now, another race of beings have declared humans as unworthy of the stars and intend to eliminate all life in Sol. Ace pilots Waltz and Fencer explore life in the outer core, as society changes to defeat this ever-present threat. Roth, Waltz' little sister and the first friend Fencer has ever made on her own, meanwhile decides to live her life to the fullest, regardless of the consequences.

Anela (Ringworld 7-CR} circles the GV2 star Anelon in the Hermes Cluster. The endless day this makes is alleviated by a Nightshade, a half-ring that orbits within the orbit of Anelon. The Nightshade blocks the sun to make artificial night, where stars never shine. Solon abandoned Anela 125 years ago in the third year of the Grolon War. In RingYear 4 (RY4), the Nightshade failed. The architects and engineers were gone, leaving no one to repair the damage, and no space equipment to work with. The Nightshade broke up with some chunks the size of continents. Some parts disappeared, perhaps into the sun or wandering anywhere in the galaxy, but a few still orbit, casting sporadic, brief night shadows on the Ring. In RY125, Joss Anders lives in Hemmler City, managing the City's Recycling center. His Second-Class Degree in Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Celestial Navigation does not come with the near-automatic opportunity for marriage and child licenses. He lives the singleton life, common to most adult Anelons under 40. He and his best friend, Renny, enjoy the opportunities Hemmler City offers and find short or long-term Nightmates, known as friends with benefits. Joss's life takes an unexpected turn for the better, and over the next few months, he lives a future lost after college. Many anomalies begin to puzzle and worry him. Nightshades cast their shadows more often. Standard weather patterns change for the worse. Crop shortages raise food and drink prices. The birthrate is twenty-seven percent lower than twenty years ago. Joson repeats the calculation with the same result: the endless day of Anela will end.

Humanity emerges from the aftermath of the technological singularity having conquered scarcity, disease, poverty, aging, death, and war. Enter: Opaline Rose and her faithful companion Cujo the talking dog, troubleshooters and problem solvers of a distinctly clandestine variety. Naturally, there's no such thing as Exigency. It's just that when exigent circumstances present themselves, certain unusual individuals respond.