Marc Stiegler (born August 1, 1954) is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

software developer Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

. He co-authored ''Valentina: Soul in Sapphire'' (1984) with Joseph H. Delaney. The novel features Valentina, a computer program that is one of science fiction's earliest examples of sentient

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

, in contrast to

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...

-based

AIs AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex c ...

such as

HAL HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...

. His notable works also include ''

David's Sling David's Sling (), also formerly known as Magic Wand (), is an Israel Defense Forces military system jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, that became ope ...

'' (1988), a techno-thriller that explores the concept of

e-democracy E-democracy (a blend of the terms Electronic publishing, electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in politics, political and governance processes. The ...

. Stiegler also wrote the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

"The Gentle Seduction", based on

Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; October 2, 1944 – March 20, 2024) was an American science fiction author and professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He was the first wide-scale popularizer of the technolo ...

's ideas about a technological "singularity," the exponential growth of future technology that will drastically affect the human condition. The story's characters are augmented with

molecular nanotechnology Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is a technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanosynthesis. This is distinct from nanoscale materials. Based on Richard Feynman's vision of miniat ...

. The 'seducer' is the technology itself, and perhaps the programmers of the technology - the majority of mankind is more willing to swallow a pill that fixes one's back (this happens in the story) than take a pill that installs a computer in one's forehead (also from the story). He also realized that many humans do not have the mental fortitude to survive the

Technological singularity The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the ...

. The heroine of "The Gentle Seduction" is a normal woman whose very elemental connection with her own identity is key in soothing humanity's jarring experience of finally meeting an alien mind. Marc Stiegler's novel ''Earthweb'' envisions a future where computers are immune to attacks, the Web has evolved to largely replace government as the foundation of human civilization, and

prediction markets Prediction markets, also known as betting markets, information markets, decision markets, idea futures or event derivatives, are open markets that enable the prediction of specific outcomes using financial incentives. They are exchange-traded mar ...

are utilized to make informed decisions about significant future events. Stiegler's career in software development somewhat mirrors his science fiction work. His non-fiction piece, "Hypermedia and the Singularity", predated the advent of the Web and postulated that

hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typic ...

would play a pivotal role in accelerating knowledge evolution. Shortly after penning this article, he assumed management of

Project Xanadu Project Xanadu ( ) was the first hypertext project, founded in 1960 by Ted Nelson. Administrators of Project Xanadu have declared it superior to the World Wide Web, with the mission statement: "Today's popular software simulates paper. The World ...

, the hypertext system envisioned by

Ted Nelson Theodor Holm Nelson (born June 17, 1937) is an American pioneer of information technology, philosopher, and sociologist. He coined the terms ''hypertext'' and ''hypermedia'' in 1963 and published them in 1965. According to his 1997 ''Forbes'' p ...

. Subsequent software development endeavors included the creation of DecideRight (1995), which garnered the Software Publishing Association's CODIE Award for Best Numeric or Data Software Program. In the late 1990s, his focus shifted to computer security. Later, he developed CapDesk, a capability-based desktop resilient to cyberattacks, and formulated the principles underpinning Polaris, an overlay for the Windows operating system designed to secure the system against various major types of computer viruses and trojan horses. He presented on object capability security at the

RSA Conference The RSA Conference is a series of IT security conferences. Approximately 45,000 people attend one of the conferences each year. It was founded in 1991 as a small cryptography conference. RSA conferences take place in the United States, Europe, Asia ...

in 2012 and 2013. During his tenure at HP Labs, his research incorporated approaches to security in planetary-scale computing.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Valentina: Soul in Sapphire'' (1984), co-authored with Joseph H. Delaney * ''Programming Languages: Featuring the IBM PC and Compatibles'' (1985), co-authored with Bob Hanson * ''

'' (1987) * ''

Earthweb ''EarthWeb'' is a science fiction novel written by American author Marc Stiegler, published in May 1999 by Baen Books. ''EarthWeb'' is set in a future where Earth faces a recurring attack every five years by a massive spaceship of unknown orig ...

'' (1998)

''The Braintrust'' Series

* ''The Braintrust: A Harmony of Enemies'' (2017) * ''Crescendo of Fire'' (2018) * ''Rhapsody For the Tempest'' (2018) * ''Ode To Defiance'' (2019) * ''Braintrust: Requiem'' (2020)

''The Dread Nought'' Series

* ''Triple Cross'' (2021) * ''Double Tap'' (2022) * ''Power Play'' (2023) * ''Zero Sum'' (forthcoming, 2023)

Collection

* ''The Gentle Seduction'' (1990) ** "Masters of the Mortal God" (1990) ** "Too Loving a Touch" (1982) ** "Petals of Rose" (1981) ** "The Bully and the Crazy Boy" (1980) ** "Evolution of Entropic Error in Closed Conservative Systems" (1982) - Non-fiction article ** "A Simple Case of Suicide" (1983) ** "The Gentle Seduction" (1989) ** "Hypermedia and the Singularity" (1989) - Non-fiction article

Anthologies featuring stories by Marc Stiegler

* ''Nanodreams'' (1995)

Short works

The following three stories are included in the novel ''Valentina: Soul in Sapphire'': * "Valentina" (1984), co-authored with Joseph H Delaney - Hugo nominee * "The Crystal Ball" (1984), co-authored with Joseph H Delaney * "The Light in the Looking Glass" (1984), co-authored with Joseph H Delaney

Awards

Hugo Award for Best Novella The Hugo Award for Best Novella is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novella award is available for works of fiction of between ...

finalist (1985) for "Valentina" *

Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979; however, it was not award ...

Best Novel finalist for: ** ''

'' (1988) ** ''The Braintrust'' (2018) ** ''Ode to Defiance'' (2020)

References

External links

Marc Stiegler's Official Website
containing a selection of his fiction and non-fiction writings

at the ''Locus'' Index to Science Fiction * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stiegler, Marc 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Living people Internet pioneers 1954 births American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers