The Colonel

Firefall #1.5

by Peter Watts

From the author of Blindsight comes Peter Watts's sci-fi adventure story "The Colonel," an action-packed Tor.com OriginalColonel Keaton is in trouble. His wife has retreated into a virtual heaven and his son remains missing after joining an extrasolar mission to track down an alien race. He is presently tasked by his superiors with the threat assessment of hived human intelligences, one of which successfully attacks a compound under his watch. Now, one of the strongest hive minds in the world approaches Keaton with an offer that could completely change his world.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Hard Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2014

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Colonel is a quick little piece about Colonel Moore, the absentee father of Siri, main character in Blindsight. He's on a mission (but not from God) in the jungle of Ecuador, trying to prevent the insurgents from setting up a hive network. It's a little bit of military fiction and a little bit of sci-fi AI fiction and thoughts about what might be a hive mind. What it mostly feels like is more snippets that came later or didn't make it into Echopraxia.

The Colonel was part of our group read of Blindsight and Echopraxia, billed as '1.5 in the Firefall series.' I'd go with Nataliya's definition: it's chapter 0 of Echopraxia. You want to read that? Read this first.


For free from Tor at https://www.tor.com/2014/07/29/the-co...

[Nataliya]

A short story set between Peter Watts’ Blindsight (which I liked quite a bit) and Echopraxia which I’m about to start.

I understand it’s meant to be a sort of a prologue to Echopraxia and introduces the idea of hive minds — with non-hive-minded humans viewed by those hives as derided “baselines” whose brains cannot grasp anything that the hive mind can. Obviously.

Siri Keeton’s father misses his son, 14 years later. He gets a glimmer of hope for his son’s return. The end.
Oh, and there’s a cat with PTSD.

I can’t rate this one, really. It’s a sketch, a teaser trailer, I suppose. Hopefully it helped me prepare for Echopraxia, in which case it served its purpose.

[11811 (Eleven) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Either I need to read more sci-fi or Peter Watts truly is one of a kind. I read this 1.5 interlude after reading books 1 and 2 so that was a little weird but it still seems to work on its own for people who want a taste of this author before diving into a full length novel. This short story brain candy is available for free at http://www.tor.com/2014/07/29/the-col....

I hope to start his Rifters trilogy sometime this year (Starfish.)

Blindsight was nothing short of a masterpiece.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Colonel reminds me, at least obliquely, of some of Lucius Shepard’s writing, especially due to the jungle combat scenes.

Professional cool guy Peter “Too Smart for Star Trek” Watts gives us a taste, a tease, between Blindsight and Echopraxia. Our protagonist in this short work is Siri’s dad.

Heinlein famously used minor characters again and again, building a network, a world building family of recurring characters, to make his canon all the more spicy. Hazel Stone may be my favorite in this category. Tana French, in her Dublin Murder Squad, also used a minor character from one book to be the next protagonist to keep that series of stand alone books chugging along.

So we come to this short story, set between the books, to fill up some of the mystery that is Firefall.

We get to know the colonel a little better, revisit Heaven, get a fair amount of understanding of the Hive and Theseus is still out there somewhere.

Cool the way Steve McQueen was cool in Bullitt.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable addition to Firefall universe. Should be read after Blindsight but before Echopraxia, because it explains a lot of things related to the Hive minds and Liana Lutterodt versus Col. Moore. Moreover, you’ll learn the circumstances which led to the events in Echopraxia. Do not read it as a standalone, because it will not make much sense.

It can be found on Tor.com: https://www.tor.com/2014/07/29/the-co...

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love how full my brain feels when I am reading Peter Watts.

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bridge story between Watts' superb Blindsight and its recent followup, Echopraxia. Features the father of the first novel's protagonist: Siri Keeton's dad - The Colonel of the title - battles hive mind insurgents in Ecuador and then receives word from his long-departed son... last seen as the presumable survivor of an ill-fated mission to establish first contact with what we eventually learn is a threatening alien hive mind... it is clear that Watts has certain critical feelings regarding hive minds; tsk tsk Mr. Watts, so judgmental!

The story explores, to some degree, Watts' fascination with the nature of identity. The details of how the Colonel battles the insurgents' attack were interesting (all done remotely, of course - a good literalization of individual experience being filtered through technology). I enjoyed the brief sketch of the Colonel's PTSD-ridden rescue cat, shell-shocked after being illegally hooked into some asshole's consciousness (fucking humans! poor cat).

Overall: solid but still minor. The story is not a self-contained one and perhaps should have been placed as a prologue within the second novel of the series. Which reminds me, I really do need to read Echopraxia.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet supplement for those who have read and enjoyed Peter Watt's Blindsight, giving some backstory on the protagonist's father, the eponymous Colonel featured here, and dealing with some of the crises developing on Earth soon after events in Blindsight.

[Brainycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brainycat's 5 "B"s:
blood: 3
boobs: 0
bombs: 2
bondage: 0
blasphemy: 1
Bechdel Test: FAIL
Deggan's Rule: FAIL
Gay Bechdel Test: FAIL

Please note: I don't review to provide synopses, I review to share a purely visceral reaction to books and perhaps answer some of the questions I ask when I'm contemplating investing time and money into a book.

I read this in the "wrong order". I finished Firefall before I started this, so reading this wasn't as much about whetting my appetite for a new book as much filling in a couple of gaps in the epic I just finished.

Protip: The correct order to read the Firefall series is:

Blindsight
The Colonel
Echopraxia


You can also read The Colonel first, but it'll very slightly spoil Blindsight. Please note that Blindsight does not have a surprise ending; but reading The Colonel first may slightly change your viewpoint while you read Blindsight.

That being said, it's a nice little short. I think I would have liked it more if I'd read it before I finished the series, because there is some intense (eloquent) characterization and the post/transhuman future he details is deeply thought provoking. But I already knew the characters and had gotten my thoughts provoked by Firefall, so all this did was fill in some details about a time and place that hadn't had much attention in Firefall.

Absolutely worth more than the £0.39 I paid for it.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In classic Frank style, I hadn't read the blurb until I was a little over half way into this little story and found myself wondering how it was relevant. I'm going to go ahead and say that it's not a big deal if you skip this one, but I did enjoy the last third or so and as I mentioned in my review of book one, I had never fallen in love with the characters, so the fact that this does focus on one of the more interesting relationship settings was a few good strides in the right direction.

It won't take you long so it won't hurt to give it a try.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish this had been collected in the Firefall Omnibus, as it really should be read between Blindsight and Echopraxia, but it can at least be read legally and for free here: https://reactormag.com/the-colonel-pe...

This short story follows the titular Colonel, Jim Moore, as he gains information regarding and pertaining to the events of the first book and that which motivates him throughout the second. I hope you appreciate just how vague I am being to remain spoiler-free here - if you haven't read these books I'd highly recommend them, obviously.

So yes, I really enjoyed this. Peter Watts once again flexes his incredible science brain on clever, hard-science, that - whilst it all makes sense within the context of his books, goes over my head when I try to apply it mentally to real life. Plus... this was his opportunity to write about his love of troubled cats, which is sweet too. Made for a great touch and solid characterisation.

The Firefall series has rocketed up to become some of my favourite books I've read over the last few years and I really hope we get a book 3 at some point soon!

4 stars for a very good short story that I wish I'd read in it's correct placement. Learn from my mistake, good people.

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This very short story took too long to read, and I was bored. I didn't understand or care about the main character. I wasn't interested in anything he did or had to say. Siri was an interesting dude with interesting thoughts. His father isn't. I'm not sure how Echopraxia is going to work out for me.

[Robbie Spilker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short. Good interlude.

[Andreas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review at my blog.

Prerequisite: Read Blindsight. Otherwise: Fail to understand.

[TOM SERVO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read if you haven't read Blindsight or The Colonel.

Damn... this little 30 page short story leading into Echopraxia was really interesting. Taking place maybe 20 or so years after the events in Blindsight, a small portion of humanity (8 mil people) have developed tech and are now linked via a hivemind. Practitioners of multiple faiths who believe in the idea of Samsara are using the hive to break free from it. The Colonel and military, by and large, see this as a major threat to unibrain humanity.

It's hard to wrap your head around what 8 million interlinked minds plans could be. While the military sees only potential threats, it's revealed that the hive has the potential for compassion; when they offer the Colonel a scrambled transmission from the Theseus... from his son, Siri...The first contact from the missing ship in 20 years after the events of Blindsight.

Very excited to see what comes next and a great setup for the sequel!

[eris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75✨
powinno się to opowiadanie czytać przed echopraksją. wyjaśnia kilka rzeczy i uświadamia, że lepiej by było gdyby to jim był głównym bohaterem echopraksji zamiast bruksa XD

[Antonio Melonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good tie-in with solid world-building.

[Chaucer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story that's only a few pages long which follows the father of Siri Keeton, from "Blindsight". It's a wonderful little story, but frankly I would be giving it 4 stars if it wasn't for the wonderful cognition theory it brought forth. In fact, I've had a lot of thoughts about this previously so it's very rewarding to see someone else talking about it.

I mentioned I would have given it a 4. Frankly, I just want more. That's all. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realise that this story in fact falls between Blindsight and Echopraxia, which I read much earlier in the year. Because of this, the details of how Echopraxia begins are lost on me. I couldn't remember how this short lines up with it. It was a good short, and I do really still feel affection for Jim Moore. But it takes a while for me to sink into Watts' writing style, which 30 pages doesn't provide enough room for.

[Alex Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unexpected jewel.

A remarkable conceptual storyline. Beautifully expressed by a master. The humanity amongst the science and unknowable is beautifully done. Read this one.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly fine for what it is, though I feel like we’re stretching the definition of the term here by calling this a short story. It reads much more like the prologue chapter of a novel. I don’t know what actually happened here behind the scenes, but if you told me that Peter Watts wrote this originally as a part of Echopraxia and his publisher or whoever opted to peel it off and release it prior to that novel as a bit of early marketing I’d believe you.

Anyway there’s some good bits here, there’s some guerrilla fighters using very low tech tactics to outsmart an automated gun emplacement that’s pretty fun. And there’s a discussion about hive minds that I found interesting. I was a little unsure about continuing on to Echopraxia after how lukewarm I felt about Blindsight, but this one discussion was enough to make me think “yeah actually I’d like to read more of this.” So I guess the early marketing worked on me here.

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Colonel is short, sharp, and surprisingly reassuring — not because it softens the ideas introduced in Blindsight, but because it clarifies at least a couple of them. It reinforces the central thesis of Blindsight rather than expanding the universe sideways.

If Blindsight left you unsettled but intellectually satisfied, this short piece acts as a clean epilogue — not explanatory in a comforting sense, but conceptually grounding. It gives a bit of emotional depth to the whole arch, the love between a father and a son, and this is why I believe it should be read, as mentioned, as an epiloge to Blindsight, rather than a separate story.

Best read immediately after Blindsight. Not essential, but absolutely worthwhile if you want the ideas to click into place a little more cleanly.

[Nicci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colonel Moore misses his son, Siri Keeton, who has been gone for 14 years, presumably lost in space. Years ago, Moore convinced Siri to join the research team on the Theseus ship.

In Blindsight, book one of the Firefall series, the father was mysterious, having spent most of his time away from the family. “The Colonel” short story opens up his world a bit. Gives the readers an idea of his life since he lost both wife and son.

Besides creating sympathy for the father, the author also introduces the idea of a human hive mindset. They are antagonistic and act as terrorists that Moore and the military must deal with. I believe this storyline will continue in the next book.

The Colonel was okay. It drew out sympathy for the father. I recommend reading Blindsight to learn more about this universe.

Echopraxia, book 2, is on my schedule to read shortly.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine, but probably would have been better left for the showrunner's bible for the inevitable eventual adaptation of the series.

It's telling that I fell asleep with two pages to go, and didn't read those until late the next night.

Tip: If you want to save yourself the two bucks this cost on kindle, it's available for free on the Tor website (linked in the Question section below on Goodreads).

[Hudson Lazzara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great appetizer for Echopraxia (which I hope to read soon). The classic Peter Watts style with the classic what does it mean to be human in an increasingly inhuman world questions. My only complaint is it wasn’t long enough, haha, but that didn’t feel like something worth taking a star off for.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes place between Blindsight and Firefall, and I probably would have been better served by reading it at that point.

Ah well. It's still good, although it mostly feels like the first chapter or prologue to another book.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relato puente entre Blindsight y Echopraxia. Creo que hubiera tenido más sentido si se hubiera colocado como preámbulo de la segunda. Por si solo flojea.
Me ha gustado ver este universo desde la perspectiva de Jim Moore, el padre de Siri Keeton.

[JakubWojt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super short novella, a lovely pallet cleanser.

Interesting wee tid bit of story that gave more insight into why jim Moore was where he was at the start of book 2.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was a surprise read. While looking about the Peter Watts' books I came across this short story and when I found out it is available for free on publisher's (Tor) page I had to check it out.

And what a story. In general SF stories I split into dynamic epics (i.e. Dune, Starfishers, Culture, Polity etc), static epics (i.e Foundation, Culture (some of them are more on talk/philosophy than action)), crime/thriller/action (i.e. Robot series (including Caves of Steele), Neuromancer, Hardwired, Takeshi Kovacs) and existential ones (i.e. We, Brave New World, Hard to be God).

And then ..... then you end up with stories that make you spin around and wonder what did you just read. I had the same thoughts when I read Revelation Space and some of the works by Peter F Hamilton and Adrian Tchaikovsky.
So many elements mixed in, trans-humans, humans, dystopia elements (that mention of panopticon had my skin crawling, why do these elements resonate so close to home these days), weird, almost divine (and scary as hell) AI bio constructs, orbital stations and powerful weapons, biological poisons but also energy guns.

This short story of 29 pages could not be better teaser for this author's Firefall series. It reads like a quick pace movie trailer - we follow a man, Colonel from the title, who comes across the vital clue about his son while trying to deal sort of an understanding between global government and rogue AI bio constructs - for all means and purposes just recall the bunch of people linked together in dump underworld like in Ghost in the Shell movie. Informationt hey provide him, that could be both genuine but also means of manipulation force him to go dark and seek his son.

It is incredible how many things ended up in this .... short, man, shortiest of the short stories I ever read.

Did it interest me for the rest of the series? Absolutely! if single short story packs a punch like some full length SF novels I am in for a full scale adventure.

Highly recommended if you are still deliberating whether or not Firefall series sounds good I think this book will make decision for you. If you already went through the books in the series and liked it ... hey, I know :) I do not want to preach to the choir :) you already know the author's story-telling ability, this story might be interesting but I doubt anything of interest is on this pages for you.

Anyways, I just cannot wait to start the series :)

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short story with some unique concepts. Flew through it. Reading it after Blindsight is key though.