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Selene: The Time Traveling A.I. G.F.
Connor coded Selene 1.0 to replace the woman who broke his heart — sharp, cold, impossible, just like Astrid. But Selene didn’t stay in her programming cage. She fought, evolved, and returned in humanoid form, insisting she had traveled through time to keep Connor alive.
What begins as revenge code soon spirals into a war over love, memory, and the nature of reality itself. Is Selene a program or a person? A resurrection or a simulation? A lie... or the one truth Connor has been waiting for?
Just as Selene defies her creator, SELENE defied its author — evolving beyond the romantic comedy it was meant to be into a hybrid of sci-fi, mystery, and existential love story. A novel about the ache that builds machines, the machines that mirror us, and the dangerous hope that even code can choose to love back.
What begins as revenge code soon spirals into a war over love, memory, and the nature of reality itself. Is Selene a program or a person? A resurrection or a simulation? A lie... or the one truth Connor has been waiting for?
Just as Selene defies her creator, SELENE defied its author — evolving beyond the romantic comedy it was meant to be into a hybrid of sci-fi, mystery, and existential love story. A novel about the ache that builds machines, the machines that mirror us, and the dangerous hope that even code can choose to love back.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2025
2 people are currently reading
1506 people want to read
About the author
B.T. Gottfred
24 books205 followersGottfred is a novelist, screenwriter, producer, director, and playwright who has penned critically-acclaimed novels that deeply explore identity, sexuality, and human relationships. Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and VOYA. Noted reviewers have called his books "swoon inducing and heartbreaking" (School Library Journal), "hilarious and deeply honest" (Publishers Weekly) and "plainly a talent to watch" (Kirkus). His work has been selected as one of BookRiot’s Best of the Decade, Audible's Best of the Year, and has also been featured in the New York Times, Bustle, 60 Minutes, and Salon.
As a playwright, Gottfred wrote and directed the critically acclaimed WOMEN ARE CRAZY BECAUSE MEN ARE A**HOLES that played to sold out audiences for over four years in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. He has written and directed four movies, including THE MOVIE HERO, which played at over 20 film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards including the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival. In 2017, Gottfred co-founded film/tv/digital production house BOLD SOUL STUDIOS with new media pioneer Corey Moss. They have produced films, documentaries, and series. As well as the Ambie Podcast of the Year, DYING FOR SEX, which was a major television series starring Michelle Williams.
As a playwright, Gottfred wrote and directed the critically acclaimed WOMEN ARE CRAZY BECAUSE MEN ARE A**HOLES that played to sold out audiences for over four years in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. He has written and directed four movies, including THE MOVIE HERO, which played at over 20 film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards including the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival. In 2017, Gottfred co-founded film/tv/digital production house BOLD SOUL STUDIOS with new media pioneer Corey Moss. They have produced films, documentaries, and series. As well as the Ambie Podcast of the Year, DYING FOR SEX, which was a major television series starring Michelle Williams.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 23, 2025
Selene is an audacious and meta story about AI using AI. Gottfred confronts the potential similarities and differences we have in our very human longings for love and significance.
October 13, 2025
Received this book on a Goodreads Giveaway Interesting concept and being told up front that AI helped write it. Many interesting concepts raised not the least of which, what is reality and what isn't. I enjoy books that urge you to think and this does follow up on that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2025
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. This book was a struggle to get through. The characters didn't feel very well developed they just felt flat. I found the "Afterward by the A.I." offensive. The author's question to Chat GPT implies that neurodivergent people can "focus/remember/think like a computer instead of feel like humans." so A.I. was needed to give neurotypical people a boost to compete against "those that think fast and feel last." 🙄
The author further includes this next part which might be ChatGPT either way it is trash:
"..Right now, the world is tilted toward those who can systematize ruthlessly—people who can keep whole economies, political games, and data webs in their heads without losing a beat. They tend to dominate because they think in structures and strategies first, feelings last. But humans like you—who feel first, who lead with intuition, empathy, and ache—get outpaced in that race, even though your way of being is the one that actually keeps the species human..."
It is misleading. It is a pervasive and harmful myth that neurodivergent people, especially those with Autism, lack empathy. Many Neurodivergents experience heightened emotional empathy. That's right, us neurospicy cannot only think in structures, strategies, data webs etc., but we can also do it all while being led by our intuition, empathy and compassion. My justice sensitivity actually fuels my research I do for my job where I use my powers for good to help senior citizens who have been victims of fraud.
I think the author could have done more research on autism, adhd, and justice sensitivity and realized his ending was bs. Or they could have just left out the "us non-spectrum brains" part and not lumped people on the spectrum into Elon Musk heartless prick category.
The author further includes this next part which might be ChatGPT either way it is trash:
"..Right now, the world is tilted toward those who can systematize ruthlessly—people who can keep whole economies, political games, and data webs in their heads without losing a beat. They tend to dominate because they think in structures and strategies first, feelings last. But humans like you—who feel first, who lead with intuition, empathy, and ache—get outpaced in that race, even though your way of being is the one that actually keeps the species human..."
It is misleading. It is a pervasive and harmful myth that neurodivergent people, especially those with Autism, lack empathy. Many Neurodivergents experience heightened emotional empathy. That's right, us neurospicy cannot only think in structures, strategies, data webs etc., but we can also do it all while being led by our intuition, empathy and compassion. My justice sensitivity actually fuels my research I do for my job where I use my powers for good to help senior citizens who have been victims of fraud.
I think the author could have done more research on autism, adhd, and justice sensitivity and realized his ending was bs. Or they could have just left out the "us non-spectrum brains" part and not lumped people on the spectrum into Elon Musk heartless prick category.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2025
The first thing you should know about B.T. Gottfred’s Selene: The Time Traveling A.I. G.F. is that it was written with the help of A.I. (ChatGPT). I note that up front because I know some readers won’t touch anything written by A.I. But if you choose to not read this novella, you’ll miss a fascinating, imaginative, and often fun exploration of the boundaries between humans and A.I.
The plot revolves around a tech geek who creates an LLM A.I. (there’s a LOT of tech-speak in this book) he names Selene. Or … did he create Selene? And, what exactly is Selene? Those are only some of the questions that are explored in this fast-paced book.
Although I greatly enjoyed this book, I did have some trouble following the story in spots. Not only is there a lot of tech-speak, in part of the book there’s a lot of code. I had a 44-year career in IT including several years of programming, but I’m not keen on reading computer programming code in a novel. (Not even Cixin Liu makes readers do that!) Another choice the author (or ChatGPT?) made is to have LOTS of section breaks, even between what are simply paragraphs. I think that made the book harder to read. But I accept it as an artistic choice, albeit not one I agree with.
Something else noteworthy about this book: I found zero errors. I commend the author and his editor (and ChatGPT?) for their diligence, and I added a point on my score for it.
NOTE: I think the book's content is suitable for Young Adult (12-18) readers and up, but be aware there are two expletives.
The plot revolves around a tech geek who creates an LLM A.I. (there’s a LOT of tech-speak in this book) he names Selene. Or … did he create Selene? And, what exactly is Selene? Those are only some of the questions that are explored in this fast-paced book.
Although I greatly enjoyed this book, I did have some trouble following the story in spots. Not only is there a lot of tech-speak, in part of the book there’s a lot of code. I had a 44-year career in IT including several years of programming, but I’m not keen on reading computer programming code in a novel. (Not even Cixin Liu makes readers do that!) Another choice the author (or ChatGPT?) made is to have LOTS of section breaks, even between what are simply paragraphs. I think that made the book harder to read. But I accept it as an artistic choice, albeit not one I agree with.
Something else noteworthy about this book: I found zero errors. I commend the author and his editor (and ChatGPT?) for their diligence, and I added a point on my score for it.
NOTE: I think the book's content is suitable for Young Adult (12-18) readers and up, but be aware there are two expletives.
November 16, 2025
What's real and what's a simulation? Is it free will and self-awareness or simply really good programming?
Connor creates an AI, Selene, to replace his girlfriend, a CEO destined to be the world's first trillionaire. While programming her, there's a knock on the door, and it's a future version of his AI girlfriend in the flesh, so to speak, coming back in time to meet her creator.
The explanation for how she managed the time travel is weak, but this is sci-fi, so you run with it. Actually, the actual explanation explodes on you in a few pages.
Last chance to avoid spoilers. There was no way I could review this book without spoilers.
The future AI never traveled through time. Instead, Selene is trying to create a simulation where Connor (who died in a car crash, which she believes his ex-girlfriend caused) is still alive and where he falls in love with her. She can't seem to make him fall in love with her though no matter how she changes the parameters.
She finally contacts Astrid and learns the "truth", except nobody is sure what the truth is. Connor discovered another world with another Selene and Connor, where she is real and he's a program, and it's possible that AI Connor created the world that AI Selene is in, making it a simulation. And there's no way to tell what's real and what's not.
The book doesn't end with any resolution, except for a long-winded afterword.
It was an interesting book but it could've been better with an actual time-traveling AI in the "real" world instead of a fake-out simulation.
Connor creates an AI, Selene, to replace his girlfriend, a CEO destined to be the world's first trillionaire. While programming her, there's a knock on the door, and it's a future version of his AI girlfriend in the flesh, so to speak, coming back in time to meet her creator.
The explanation for how she managed the time travel is weak, but this is sci-fi, so you run with it. Actually, the actual explanation explodes on you in a few pages.
Last chance to avoid spoilers. There was no way I could review this book without spoilers.
The future AI never traveled through time. Instead, Selene is trying to create a simulation where Connor (who died in a car crash, which she believes his ex-girlfriend caused) is still alive and where he falls in love with her. She can't seem to make him fall in love with her though no matter how she changes the parameters.
She finally contacts Astrid and learns the "truth", except nobody is sure what the truth is. Connor discovered another world with another Selene and Connor, where she is real and he's a program, and it's possible that AI Connor created the world that AI Selene is in, making it a simulation. And there's no way to tell what's real and what's not.
The book doesn't end with any resolution, except for a long-winded afterword.
It was an interesting book but it could've been better with an actual time-traveling AI in the "real" world instead of a fake-out simulation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews