We Are Such Stuff

"He was certain that whatever Dreamside might be, the key to controlling the world was hidden there. He badly wanted that key, and before anyone else got to it first. If reality was just a simulation then it was up for grabs..."

Is this the real life…? Just at the point that Daisy is starting to feel the inertia of her life, she receives an extraordinary job offer: creating scenes for virtual reality games… by dreaming them.

She is, however, unaware that there is increasing concern over the safety of the equipment – the Personal Optical Device, or POD – that gamers use. Several deaths, a growing incidence of psychosis and many users reporting unpleasant symptoms associated with the POD are starting to make people suspicious.

When the disturbing news reaches the family-run manufacturers, Sim-Fab Global, most of the board opt to ignore the warning signs. But then, one evening, they make an astonishing discovery…

Can the past be changed by dreaming? What is reality and who controls it? As Daisy becomes more involved in the family and the work, she realises that their discovery has a dark and dangerous potential. She must keep one step ahead of the others, to prevent an epidemic of deaths and the inevitable collapse of Sim-Fab.

This fast-paced sci-fi thriller resonates as a game in itself, whilst challenging conventional theories of time and reality, and posing the question: are we really here… or is this just fantasy?

R. M. Dorn is a pen name. The author has enjoyed a busy and varied career, and a number of interests, including reading, theatre, art, local history and gardening. Following up on her life-long passion for fantasy, mythology, and science fiction, she now spends most of her time writing. With a tendency to get restless, and a liking for doing up houses, she spent twenty years moving at frequent intervals, but within a confined area. She has now put down roots, and has two homes, one in East Devon, for summers by the sea, and the other in West Sussex for snug winters by the fireside. Her other works for Venture Press include Fool's Game and Mordant.