Earlier this week, Microsoft released a short anthology titled Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft, enlisting some of the best science fiction writers to contribute stories inspired by visits to the company’s research labs.
The anthology includes fiction from Elizabeth Bear, Greg Bear, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Seanan McGuire and Robert J. Sawyer, and also includes a short graphic novel from Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal. Joey Camacho contributed artwork.
“The idea was to bring authors in to expose them to what some people might think is science fiction. In a way, you could say the world of Microsoft Research turns science fiction into science fact,” says Steve Clayton, chief storyteller at Microsoft. “We didn’t show them a piece of technology and ask them to please write about that. We showed them technology and introduced them to a group of people, and then asked them, what did it spark in your mind as ideas, where did it inspire you to think the technology may go?”
You can download the anthology here.