The Sime~Gen Universe is a fictional literary universe created by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Jacqueline Lichtenberg (born March 25, 1942, Flushing, Queens, New York) is an American science fiction author.
Many of her early novels are set in the Sime~Gen Universe, which she first described in a short story in 1969. Writing the series ...
. It involves a future when humanity is divided into two subspecies, or ''larities'': Gens, who look like ordinary humans and produce excess quantities of a life energy called ''selyn'', and Simes, who have tentacled arms and must take selyn from Gens in order to survive. If the Gen is frightened and resisting when selyn is taken, the Gen dies. The series chronicles the history of the two subspecies' search for coexistence.
Overview
Simes and Gens have traditionally lived in separate territories. Simes raise Gens in captivity, like food animals in pens. Children might become either Sime or Gen at puberty, and free Gens kill their children in self-defense if they start to change—if the child becomes Sime, it might take selyn from parents or loved ones, killing them.
Simes who can take selyn from frightened Gens without killing them are "channels". They can pass the selyn gathered to other Simes. The discovery of the channels leads to Unity. Sime and Gen territories declare an uneasy truce, and channels strive to assist both sides.
Lichtenberg began the series in the late 1960s as part of a creative writing class, and put it aside briefly to work on the
Kraith series of ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''
fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
.
Published works (series order in brackets)
*"Operation High Time" (short story, ''
If'', January 1969)
*"The Channel's Exemption" (short story, ''
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
'', July 1977)
*''First Channel'' (with
Jean Lorrah) (1980)
1*''Channel's Destiny'' (with
Jean Lorrah) (1982)
2*''Ambrov Keon'' (by Jean Lorrah) (1986) (''The Unity Trilogy'' #2)
3*''House of Zeor'' (1974) (''The Unity Trilogy'' #1)
4*''Zelerod's Doom'' (1986) (''The Unity Trilogy'' #3)
5*''Unto Zeor, Forever'' (1978)
6*''Mahogany Trinrose'' (1981)
7*''RenSime'' (1984)
8*''Personal Recognizance / The Story Untold and Other Sime-Gen Stories'' (2011)
back-to-back_format,_#9_and_#10.html" ;"title="Dos-à-dos_binding.html" ;"title="wo titles published in Dos-à-dos binding">back-to-back format, #9 and #10">Dos-à-dos_binding.html" ;"title="wo titles published in Dos-à-dos binding">back-to-back format, #9 and #10*''To Kiss or To Kill: Sime-Gen, Book Eleven'' (by Jean Lorrah) [#11]
*''The Farris Channel'' (2011) [#12]
''Personal Recognizance / The Story Untold'' contains the essay "Chronology of the Sime~Gen Universe."
There is also an extensive collection of fan-fiction available online, particularly through the official fan site at http://www.simegen.com
Video game
* ''Ambrov X'' (release date TBD), a story-driven,
role-playing PC game based on the Sime-Gen universe, is being produced by studio Loreful.
References
External links
*
''Ambrov X''at ambrovx.com
Loreful.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sime - Gen Universe
Fantasy worlds
Fictional universes