Our special interest group in Protocol Fiction was convened in October last year, led by and . Here is a brief recap of discussions in the group’s monthly calls. Interested in writing protocol fiction and experimenting with LLM-assisted writing? ...
Mira Voskresenskaya works as a translator at the Bering Link, a shadow protocol that facilitates trade between Russia and Alaska by moving goods, data, and money across regulatory boundaries established after 2022 sanctions. When she discovers something she cannot unsee about the system she maintains, she faces a crisis of conscience about her role in this illegal but necessary bridge between superpowers.
Nishit
The Protocol Fiction Special Interest Group explores what protocol fiction is as a genre, moving beyond the tautological definition of science fiction focused on protocols to foundational concepts like Chiang's Law, which positions protocol fiction in the science fiction camp where 'strange rules' (protocols) serve as world-shaping technologies. The group examines genre from multiple angles including reader-writer contracts, discourse modes, and commercial publishing categories.
Spencer Nitkey
A sentient repair robot named H3L-PR receives an unprecedented tech support ticket filed directly by Earth itself, describing planetary system failures including tectonic instability, ocean disruption, and biological lag caused by human activity. The story explores what happens when a machine designed for systems optimization encounters a planet intelligent enough to diagnose and report its own crisis.
Marie-Hélène Lebeault