Qntm

Sam Hughes
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Pen nameqntm
Occupation
  • Author
  • programmer
NationalityBritish
GenreScience fiction
Notable works
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division
  • "Lena"
Website
qntm.org

Sam Hughes (born 1983),[1] known online as and publishing under the pen name qntm (pronounced "quantum"),[2] is a British programmer and science fiction author.[3] Hughes writes short stories such as "Lena", about the first digital snapshot of a human brain, and serial novels such as Ra and Fine Structure.[1][4][5] He has also written for the SCP Wiki, and his book There Is No Antimemetics Division is set in that fictional universe.[6][7] He contributed to SCP-055 alongside user CptBellman.[8]

In 2022, Hughes created Absurdle, a variant of Wordle wherein the word changes with every guess, while still remaining true to previous hints.[3][9][10] The Guardian described it as "the Machiavellian version of Wordle", and Hughes described it as an "experiment to find the most difficult [...] variant of Wordle", comparing it to one of his previous projects, the Tetris variant Hatetris.[11]

Bibliography

Versions of most of Hughes' serials and short stories have been initially made freely available online prior to being published.

  • Ed. Independently published. 20 May 2021. ISBN 979-8-5079-7398-9.
  • Fine Structure. Independently published. 29 May 2021. ISBN 979-8-5120-3906-9.
  • Ra. Independently published. 2 June 2021. ISBN 979-8-5140-8424-1.
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division. Independently published. 19 June 2021. ISBN 979-8-5140-6303-1.
  • Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories. Independently published. 9 November 2022. ISBN 979-8-3592-9806-3. Containing:
    • "Lena" (reprinted in The Big Book of Cyberpunk. Vintage Books. 26 September 2023. ISBN 9780593467237.)
    • "If You Are Reading This"
    • "The Frame-by-Frame"
    • "The Difference"
    • "Gorge"
    • "cripes does anybody remember Google People"
    • "Driver"
    • "I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility"
    • "A Powerful Culture"
    • "Valuable Humans in Transit"

References

  1. ^ a b "Summary Bibliography: Sam Hughes". Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
  2. ^ qntm. "About me". Things of Interest.
  3. ^ a b McCammon, Sarah (23 January 2022). "You've heard of Wordle — now get ready for Sweardle and Absurdle". NPR (Interview). Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  4. ^ Adee, Sally (9 February 2022). "Mickey7 review: If you want to live forever, read the small print". New Scientist. Retrieved 24 October 2022. A well-meaning neuroscience grad student donates his digital consciousness to science, a decision he may find he "lives" to regret.
  5. ^ Ritter, Dan (20 June 2018). "SF For Nothing, Stories For Free". Charlie's Diary. Charles Stross. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. ^ Adee, Sally (6 April 2022). "Sci-fi is starting to exploit the infectious horrors of memes". New Scientist. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. ^ O'Connor, Alice (2 February 2022). "Iconic Internet monster SCP-173 is losing its look". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 24 October 2022. I liked the There Is No Antimemetics Division tales by "qntm", who also wrote SCP/Control crossover fanfic. And I've only just realized qntm is also behind Absurdle, a Wordle variant that changes the answer while you play. Huh!
  8. ^ Potvin, James (22 September 2022). "What Is The SCP Foundation? 15 Best Pieces Every New Fan Should Read". Screen Rant. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  9. ^ Haysom, Sam (20 January 2022). "Hooked on 'Wordle'? You're really going to hate 'Absurdle'". Mashable. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  10. ^ Rocha, Paul (8 May 2022). "How and where to play Absurdle". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  11. ^ Winkie, Luke (14 January 2022). "Absurdle: the machiavellian version of Wordle". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2022.