Quantum Confessions

by Stephen Oram

"A veritable head trip; yet rooted in a believable and sometimes visceral near-future.”

Grey is a high performer with attitude. Aled is torn between his morals and his desires. They live in a world where those who believe in absolute truth are on a collision course with those who don’t. Society is becoming dangerously polarized and despite a thread of history that binds Aled and Grey together they take opposite sides in the conflict; Grey is recruited by The Project and Aled is given custody of The Proof of Existence.

Against the backdrop of a failing society and experiments to find the link between quantum physics and a supreme being, the real question that unfolds is...

"Who chooses your reality?”

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia

Paperback

First published July 18, 2014

About the author

I write novels and flash fiction that are designed set off small firecrackers of thought to light the world slightly differently inside your head!

I've been a hippie-punk, a religious-squatter and a bureaucrat-anarchist; I thrive on contradictions and am a great believer in being slightly askew from the crowd. There's all sorts of ways of doing that - by being on the fringes of society, by travelling to other cultures or simply by being tipsy during the day.

I write contemporary dystopian fiction set in a recognisable near-future. I love taking reality, nudging it out of kilter and seeing what happens.

Like each and every one of us, my perspective of the world has been affected by many people and experiences: as a teenager I was heavily influenced by the ethos of punk; in my early twenties I embraced the squatter scene and then joined a religious cult, briefly; I did some computer stuff in what became London’s silicon roundabout; and I’m now a civil servant with a gentle attraction to anarchism.

You can find more about me and my writing on my website www.stephenoram.net

Reviews

[Alice Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Aled and Grey, Peace was an intriguing character. And the description of smells all the way through bought the scenes to life, when they might otherwise have been hard to relate to, being set in future london.

[Annastew1144hotmail.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! One of those rare and engaging reads that just hits all the right buttons. Well written, excellent plot and most importantly from my perspective.... intelligent. This is the way SF should be written.

[C.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine that just 10 years from now, a new era of politics is upon us in which a coalition dedicated to total liberalisation comes to power. Education and healthcare are put back into the hands of the people, prohibition of all drugs is abolished and campaigns are run to persuade the populace that there is no absolute truth: meaning is subjective and individuality is freedom. This has the effect of dividing people like never before. As we know them today, religion and science are most often seen as opposing and incompatible views. Yet in a world where belief in an objective reality of any sort is outlawed, these two ‘camps’ become united.

Quantum Confessions is a clever exploration of this idea, demonstrating the theoretical problems that could come of a society of individuals with little or no shared purpose. The reader is led to question: Is our innate desire to form connections with others vital to our survival? Is the joy arising from shared experiences what makes us human? How would we cope without a structure to make us feel secure, and how long would it take us to adapt if it were to be removed from right under our feet?
This is a reality lived out by characters Aled and Grey, who have alternating chapters to show different perspectives. Both have come of age during the changing political climate described above, and both are testimony to background and childhood experience affecting what we think and believe as adults. Both have difficult choices to make, battles to fight in and outside of themselves, and ultimate tests of faith to face.

Along with social philosophy, Oram bravely takes on the concept of the observer effect which is particularly relevant in modern physics. Put simply, this is the idea that the mere act of observing a phenomenon changes its effects. In the quantum world, observation changes something from a possible to an actual occurrence. Heisenberg stressed that the observer only has the function of registering decisions and not influencing them, and that it could just as easily be a piece of apparatus as a human being. But there are groups of people who have taken this scientific development to mean the observer is a subjective force in nature, consciously or unconsciously choosing the reality that is played out. These differences in belief behind what is essentially the same scientific research are illustrated very nicely in the core plot of the book.

I found it refreshing to read an intelligent contemporary novel that builds on popular theories of our time. There are some interesting thoughts about forthcoming advances in technology and culture in here, and although the story is set in the future they are all easily conceivable which makes the subject matter all the more poignant. There are some nice changes of setting throughout the story too: the contrast of a Buddhist monastery in China and the urban-dystopian streets of London is very effective.

In summary I consider this to be an exciting debut novel, dealing with several complex ideas with admirable ease. Although I didn’t come away feeling I had read anything spectacular in terms of artistic prose or structure, the impressions it left behind were meaningful and lasting. I look forward to reading more from this author.



For the original review and more, please visit my blog.

[maheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate it 3.5 or a close 4 because the start ws very interesting and I was hooked, but it got boring midway with greys story and I got tired of it

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Quantum Confessions"’, a debut novel written by Stephen Oram, tells the story of a not so distant and not so bright future, but certainly an interesting vision of our future world in the next ten to fifteen years.

The two main characters, Grey and Aled, will introduce us to the world where there is no more an absolute truth, it'’s forbidden to believe either in religion or science, and those that do are not welcomed anymore. And while we follow those two protagonists, the reader is finding out that the society of tomorrow became dangerously divided into two camps – and though connected by the same history, these two persons will find themselves on the different sides.

Aled joins The Proof of Existence, while Grey will become a member of The Project; and while the world seems unable to avoid a completely dark dystopian fate, a question remains what is actually the reality in which people of the future live.

Though his fiction debut, Stephen Oram manages with the very first work to bring some great questions and present the dark, but a grandiose picture of dystopian future. Great is the author's idea to put on same side believers, equally those that believe in the divinity and science, opposing them with the mighty group that banned the absolute truth in any form -– in that way Oram cleverly achieved that his novel is not only another one in a series of works where the future conflict emerges between religion and science.

Also interesting is the authorÂ’s decision to place his story in the near future, thus telling the readers he believes that very close in front of us are the decisions that will push the world into an unexpected direction.

For these reasons, "‘Quantum Confessions"’ can be recommended read not only for the readers that enjoy all that has a dystopian line, but also for those that are willing to consider some fundamental questions about human existence and the beliefs that Stephen Oram with his novel raised.

I was given a copy of this book by the author for the purpose of unbiased review, while all the presented information is based on my impressions.