It’s not often you get to watch as an entirely new method of storytelling is born. In this case a science fiction story based on events that really happened, all in a fictional world.

Normally you’d record these events as non-fiction. Because, well, they really happened. People did these things, they really did occur.

Except they didn’t. Not in the real world. Everything happened in a digital world. In a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Every single person in this story is someone else.

It’s EVE Online at its peak. It’s the story of the most massive struggle that game has ever, and may ever, see. The Fountain War.

Now I’ve written 7 science fiction novels, and am half way through an eighth. I can’t imagine trying to work the non-fiction angle first and then tackling it as an exciting fiction story. To bring those people to life, those real people, but as in game personalities…

It’s astounding really. There’s never been anything like it before.

The Fountain War itself is fascinating. The clash of two empires, the squabbles of mad men, diplomats, spies, admirals. On top of it all backstabbing, intrigue, a web of lies and promises all with the threat of imminent destruction.

Then to top it all off, thousands, if not tens of thousands real people are involved. Some might fly a Megathron class battleship in fleet maneuvers. Others act as spies, watching the enemy. Then there’s those flying titans and supercarriers all waiting for a chance to shit stomp someone.

But it goes further than that. It’s an industrialist mining ore. It’s a newbie selling his loot on the open market. It’s someone who accidentally stumbles into a fight and turns the tide. It’s the wings of a butterfly becoming a hurricane.

It was EVE at its best.

I was a part of one side of that war. My specialty was Recon. Not the ship class, but the job itself. There was a group within the CFC that watched the essential targets, it helped move ships in secret, it made sure that the fleets landed exactly where they wanted to.

It was a position where if a single spy was in position he could have single handedly let a thousand people fly across space right into a trap.

I watched some amazing things. There was a level of subterfuge that I didn’t know existed in EVE. Sure I’d heard of the meta game before, but to watch it in action… man, it got deep. Even in my position I only saw the very edge of it. There were deals, plans, contingencies, all hinged on whether we could win a fight.

To really know what happened, my god, what a story.

Which is why I’m backing the Fountain War Kickstarter. It’s an opportunity to bring an entirely new type of fiction into the world. It’s a chance to tell the first tale of so many amazing events. This is history, a synthetic history in an artificial world. But it happened. It’s real.

And if you knew some of the things I’d seen, it’ll take your breath away.

I’m really bummed that the Kickstarter is dealing with the negativity that it is. One part of me thinks it’s simply those that are angered by the winning side releasing a book. It’s not propaganda, if it did it would have no redeeming value. Nor would a professional author sign on to do it.

Take the time to drop $10 for the ebook version. You won’t be disappointed.

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