| "Axiomatic" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Greg Egan | |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Interzone |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Publisher | TTA Press |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | November 1990 |
"Axiomatic" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, [1] first published in Interzone 41 in November 1990. [2] The short story was included in the collection The Best of Greg Egan in 2020. [3]
Analogous to the axioms of arithmetic and geometry, which are postulates creating a mathematical system, and cannot be questioned within that system, an axiomatic implant can alter a belief in the brain, for example to change religion or sexuality. This does not contradict free will, as an axiomatic can be added or removed by choice and people can freely chose how to live with their new belief.
Mark Carver illegally buys an axiomatic to block his moral and ethical beliefs concerning murder for three days, during which he shoots Anderson, the murderer of his wife Amy. While doing so, he is overwhelmed by the pure certainty having replaced all his conflicting emotions, and later seeks to gain it again by using another axiomatic to convince himself that the deaths of Amy and Anderson were totally meaningless.
Karen Burnham, writing in the New York Review of Science Fiction , concludes after a discussion of the short stories "Axiomatic", "Mister Volition" and "Singleton", that "not everyone is as sanguine about the continuity of consciousness when making the transition to substances other than our organic brains nor so worried about the moral implications of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics." She claims that "Egan’s stories show a continuity of concern about these subjects that refuses superficial answers and instead examines them in depth.“ [4] Writing in Strange Horizons , Burnham says that "the ending is tragically just, in a twisted way.“ [5]
The short story was nominated for the British SF Association Award in 1991 (as was "Learning to Be Me", another of Egan's short stories). [6] [7] It reached the 11th place in the Reader Poll of the Locus Award in 1991 [7] [8] and the 2nd place in the Interzone Readers Poll in 1991. [7] [9]
The production of a short film inspired by the short story commenced in 2015, [10] and the film was released online in October 2017. [11]
Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction writer and mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award.
"The Moral Virologist" is a science fiction short story by Greg Egan. It was first published in September 1990 in Pulphouse Magazine, and subsequently republished in 1991's The Best of Pulphouse, in the Summer 1993 issue of Eidolon magazine, and in Egan's 1995 collection Axiomatic. An Italian-language version, "Il Virologo Morale", was published in 2003.
"Singleton" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 176 in February 2002. The short story was included in the collections Crystal Nights and Other Stories and Oceanic in 2009, as well as The Best of Greg Egan in 2020. The short story is set in the same universe as Egan's short story "Oracle" and Egan's novel Schild's Ladder.
Dark Integers and Other Stories is a collection of five science-fiction short stories by Australian writer Greg Egan, published on 25 March 2008 by Subterranean Press. One of them, "Oceanic", won the Hugo Award for Best Novella, while two others were nominated.
"Luminous" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction in September 1995.
"Dark Integers" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov's Science Fiction in October/November 2007. The short story was included in the collections Dark Integers and Other Stories in 2008, Oceanic in 2009 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2008. It is a sequel to the short story "Luminous".
"Reasons to Be Cheerful" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 118 in April of 1997. The short story was included in the collections Luminous in 1998 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020.
"Crystal Nights" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 215 in April 2008.
"The Cutie" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #29 in May/June 1989. It was his first to be published in Interzone. The short story was included in the collection Axiomatic in 1995. It also appeared in the anthology Interzone: The 4th Anthology edited by John Clute, David Pringle and Simon Ounsley in 1989.
"Appropriate Love" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #50 in August 1991. The short story was included in the collection Axiomatic in 1995 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2019.
"Learning to Be Me" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 37 in July of 1990. The short story was included in the collections Axiomatic in 1995 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2019.
"Chaff" is a science-fiction novelette by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #78 in December 1993. The novelette was included in the anthology The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Eleventh Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois in 1994 and in the collections Our Lady of Chernobyl in 1995, Luminous in 1998 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2019.
"Into Darkness" is a science-fiction novelette by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov's Science Fiction in January 1992. The novelette was included in the collections Axiomatic in 1995 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2019.
"Border Guards" is a science-fiction novelette by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 148 in October 1999. The novelette was included in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois in 2000, Year's Best SF 5 edited by David G. Hartwell in 2000 and Beyond Singularity edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was also published in the collection Oceanic in 2009.
"Riding the Crocodile" is a science-fiction novella by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in One Million A.D. edited by Gardner Dozois in December 2005. The novella was included in the collections Dark Integers and Other Stories in 2008 and Oceanic in 2009. The short story is set in the same universe as Egan's short stories "Glory" and "Hot Rock" as well as Egan's novel Incandescence.
"Glory" is a science-fiction novelette by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in the anthology The New Space Opera edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan in 2007. The novelette was included in the collections Dark Integers and Other Stories in 2008 and Oceanic in 2009. The novelette is set in the same universe as Egan's novellas "Riding the Crocodile" and "Hot Rock" as well as Egan's novel Incandescence.
"Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #61 in July 1992. The short story was included in the collections Axiomatic in 1995 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2019.
"Eugene" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #36 in June 1990. The short story was included in the collection Axiomatic in 1995.
"The Safe-Deposit Box" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction in September 1990. The short story was included in the collection Axiomatic in 1995.
"The Walk" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov's Science Fiction in December 1992. The short story was included in the anthology The Pattern Maker edited by Lucy Sussex and the collection Axiomatic in 1995.