Proof of Concept [Paperback]

On a desperately overcrowded future Earth, crippled by climate change, the most unlikely hope is better than none. Governments turn to Big Science to provide them with the dreams that will keep the masses compliant. The Needle is one such dream, an installation where the most abstruse theoretical science is being tested: science that might make human travel to a habitable exoplanet distantly feasible.

When the Needles director offers her underground compound as a training base, Kir is thrilled to be invited to join the team, even though she knows its only because her brain is host to a quantum artificial intelligence called Altair.

But Altair knows something he cant tell.

Kir, like all humans, is programmed to ignore future dangers. Between the artificial blocks in his mind, and the blocks evolution has built into his host, how is he going to convince her the sky is falling?

Proof of Conceptis a science fiction novella from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Gwyneth Jones.

Proof of Conceptis proof that Gwyneth Jones is an international treasure. If she writes it, you need to read itthat's all you need to know. Pat Cadigan, Hugo and Clarke Award-winning author ofSynners.

Proof of Conceptby Gwyneth Jones is deeply unsettling and utterly transcendent. Kathleen Ann Goonan, Campbell Award-winning author of the Nanotech trilogy

Proof of Conceptengages and excites, its puzzles unwrapping with deft speed. I liked it a lot. Prepare for concept acceleration! Gregory Benford, Nebula Award-winning author ofTimescapeand the Galactic Centre series.

Proof of Concepthas almost everything: a truly fascinating setting in a deeper cave than any we have yet found, an interesting near future society, virtual sex, an AI, a likeable young heroine, a planet (Earth) that's in dire trouble and Post Standard Model Physics that may (or may not) solve the planet's problems. A del“+