Qntm

Sam Hughes
Born	1983 (age 41–42)
Pen name	qntm
Occupation	Author programmer
Nationality	British
Genre	Science fiction
Notable works	There Is No Antimemetics Division "Lena"
Website
qntm.org

Sam Hughes (born 1983), ^[1] known online as and publishing under the pen name qntm (pronounced "quantum"), ^[2] is a British programmer and science fiction author. ^[3] Hughes writes short stories such as "Lena", about the first digital snapshot of a human brain, and serial novels such as Ra and Fine Structure. ^{[1] [4] [5]} He has also written for the SCP Foundation wiki, and his book There Is No Antimemetics Division is set in that fictional universe. ^{[6] [7]} He contributed to SCP-055 alongside user CptBellman. ^[8]

In 2022, Hughes created Absurdle , a variant of Wordle wherein the word changes with every guess, while still remaining true to previous hints. ^{[3] [9] [10]} The Guardian described it as "the Machiavellian version of Wordle", and Hughes described it as an "experiment to find the most difficult [...] variant of Wordle", comparing it to one of his previous projects, the Tetris variant Hatetris. ^[11]

Bibliography

Versions of most of Hughes' serials and short stories have been initially made freely available online prior to being published.

• Ed. Independently published. 20 May 2021. ISBN   979-8-5079-7398-9.
• Fine Structure. Independently published. 29 May 2021. ISBN   979-8-5120-3906-9.
• Ra. Independently published. 2 June 2021. ISBN   979-8-5140-8424-1.
• There Is No Antimemetics Division. Independently published. 19 June 2021. ISBN   979-8-5140-6303-1.
• Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories. Independently published. 9 November 2022. ISBN   979-8-3592-9806-3. Containing:
  • "Lena" (reprinted in The Big Book of Cyberpunk. Vintage Books. 26 September 2023. ISBN   9780593467237.)
  • "If You Are Reading This"
  • "The Frame-by-Frame"
  • "The Difference"
  • "Gorge"
  • "cripes does anybody remember Google People"
  • "Driver"
  • "I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility"
  • "A Powerful Culture"
  • "Valuable Humans in Transit"

References

1. "Summary Bibliography: Sam Hughes". Internet Speculative Fiction Database .
2. qntm. "About me". Things of Interest.
3. McCammon, Sarah (23 January 2022). "You've heard of Wordle — now get ready for Sweardle and Absurdle". NPR (Interview). Retrieved 24 October 2022.
4. Adee, Sally (9 February 2022). "Mickey7 review: If you want to live forever, read the small print" . New Scientist . Retrieved 24 October 2022. A well-meaning neuroscience grad student donates his digital consciousness to science, a decision he may find he "lives" to regret.
5. Ritter, Dan (20 June 2018). "SF For Nothing, Stories For Free". Charlie's Diary. Charles Stross . Retrieved 1 December 2022.
6. Adee, Sally (6 April 2022). "Sci-fi is starting to exploit the infectious horrors of memes" . New Scientist . Retrieved 24 October 2022.
7. O'Connor, Alice (2 February 2022). "Iconic Internet monster SCP-173 is losing its look". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 24 October 2022. I liked the There Is No Antimemetics Division tales by "qntm", who also wrote SCP/Control crossover fanfic. And I've only just realized qntm is also behind Absurdle, a Wordle variant that changes the answer while you play. Huh!
8. Potvin, James (22 September 2022). "What Is The SCP Foundation? 15 Best Pieces Every New Fan Should Read". Screen Rant . Retrieved 1 December 2022.
9. Haysom, Sam (20 January 2022). "Hooked on 'Wordle'? You're really going to hate 'Absurdle'". Mashable . Retrieved 24 October 2022.
10. Rocha, Paul (8 May 2022). "How and where to play Absurdle". Dot Esports . Retrieved 24 October 2022.
11. Winkie, Luke (14 January 2022). "Absurdle: the machiavellian version of Wordle". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 October 2022.

External links

• Official website
• qntm's author page at the SCP Foundation wiki
• Sam Hughes at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database