On November 3rd, our Kickstarter project ‘The Fountain War’ launches, bringing bestselling author Jeff Edwards together with CCP in creating the first ever novel about EVE Online based on real player experiences. We will share our collective stories and great deeds not only with the EVE Online community, but also with science fiction fans and military thriller enthusiasts who enjoy intrigue, espionage, and large scale fleet warfare. The success of this project will attract new players to EVE Online from across a broad spectrum of the reading public.
Kira Tsukimoto
Kira Tsukimoto is an EVE Podcaster and a former junior FC, Events Coordinator, and Dojo Staff member of Brave Newbies. Now a member of Nova Haven, she co-hosts The Neocom along with Protovarious.
Why it Matters: Science Fiction Fans
Science fiction creates the reality of tomorrow. Even in its darkest form, science fiction represents the triumph of reason and progress towards the fulfillment of human potential. Every transformative technology we enjoy today was born as a gleam in the eye of a visionary writer who had the gift to inspire the focus and drive of readers who brought that fiction to life. Smartphones, the internet, virtual reality, wearable computing, cybernetic prosthetics, and satellite communications — all of these technologies which society blindly takes for granted today are proof of the ultimate importance of science fiction in lighting the way for humanity as a whole.
Not only is the Fountain War project the creation of a damn good space opera, it is a space opera which actually happened — one which highlights key technologies at the core of EVE Online that deserve a broader audience. The future technologies of the EVE Online universe are all within our reach. The success of the project will inspire a renewed focus on human spaceflight, cloning, biological immortality and cybernetic intelligence enhancement, all of which are foundations upon which the world of New Eden are built. There are no aliens here: just humanity, the harshest imaginable environment, and the power of reason to overcome our challenges.
Simply put: we need this book, and many more like it.
Why it Matters: Military Fiction Readers
The science fiction of yesterday is the military reality of today, and Jeff Edwards is an author who uniquely understands this ground truth and has consistently delivered some of the best military fiction writing on the market today. Jeff is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, and a Specialist in Naval Warfare. He is currently working as an expert civilian advisor to the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, as well as the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
Jeff has collected a tremendous number of accolades from leading lights of the thriller genre. Clive Cussler put it best, that “Jeff Edwards has created a superb thriller that grips the reader from beginning to end. A truly spellbinding tale of intrigue… brilliantly executed.”
Why it Matters: EVE Community
The EVE Online community deserves the best.
Each day our community creates true stories which the rest of the world stands in awe of — the Bloodbath of B-R5RB, the Fall of 6VDT, Burn Jita and the Disbanding of BoB — yet our community has yet to enjoy a novel about our actual experiences in New Eden. The true stories of EVE Online deserve to be told in a longer, epic form, and they deserve to be written by a world-class author. Jeff is a rare talent who intimately understands gritty science fiction and real world naval warfare that is so critical to any fiction where extensive ship-to-ship combat takes place.
For many months, we have sought the perfect author to create the best possible EVE Online novel, an author who has the talent to translate our in-game experiences into a thrilling tale where fleets of starships clash against a backdrop of intrigue, treachery, and the ruthless contest for galactic domination.
We are delighted to introduce Jeff Edwards to our community, and are proud to announce his dedication to immortalizing the stories of the EVE Online playerbase in the kind of novel you’d be proud to show to your friends and family.
We were there – hundreds of thousands of us, fighting, dying, winning, striving. At last, our stories will be told with the weight they deserve, written by a world-class author in a book that will crystalize exactly why EVE Online so captivates the imagination of the gaming and reading world.
This is not a bloodless battle report, but are our actual EVE Online experiences transformed into the legacy they deserve through the medium of an epic sci-fi novel by a best-selling, world-renowned author whose two bestsellers are already optioned for major motion pictures by Paul L. Sandberg, the producer of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.
This is the real deal, and a rare opportunity. With the support of our community and Kickstarter, we can guarantee that our legacy will never be forgotten.
We want to read about your adventures, your tales of heroism and villainy from the Fountain War era. Send Jeff your true stories to [email protected] and you may soon discover your character brought to life in the most collaborative creative project in the history of the game.
About The Project
The Fountain War was a galactic firestorm that culminated in the largest single battle in gaming history, the Fall of Star System 6VDT-H. It not only consumed EVE Online, but it transfixed the attention of the worldwide gaming community, attracting unparalleled attention in the mainstream press. It was a gut-wrenching thriller based on battle archives, in-game communications transcripts, and the testimonies of combatants from all sides of the conflict.
When CCP, Jeff Edwards and The Mittani Media decided to collaborate in writing science fiction thrillers based on the stories created in EVE Online, we knew that this would be only the first of many epic stories we would tell. Combining the remarkable writing talent of Jeff Edwards with the strength and support of CCP Games and The Mittani Media, this book is destined to captivate science fiction, action, suspense, and military fiction fans everywhere.
Why Kickstarter?
We have the opportunity to create a truly original and powerful work of fiction that is unlike anything that has been published before.
We’ve deliberately chosen to create outside of mainstream publishing channels for a number of reasons. We want to maintain quality control of this project, to produce it as efficiently as possible on our own terms and at reduced cost. A benefit of this philosophy allows us to publish more quickly, and in special formats we believe are important enhancements to the reader’s experience. In order to make these ideals a reality, and to bring more of these creative endeavors to market, we formed The Mittani Media.
In coordination with CCP, we will be managing every phase of this project, from writing and publishing, to marketing and sales. We want to see these stories written and published as soon as possible and to accomplish this goal, your Kickstarter donations will allow Jeff Edwards to devote his efforts full time to The Fountain War project. Help Jeff Edwards bring your great stories to life.
Here’s a sneak preview of the incredible story Jeff Edwards will be bringing to EVE Online gamers and to the Sci-fi and military thriller communities.
REQUIEM FOR A TITAN (PRELUDE)
REGION: Cloud Ring
CONSTELLATION: Yrton
SYSTEM: B-DBYQ
SECURITY: 0.0
DATE: YC115-07-16
TIME INDEX: 01:46:00 (UT)
It was coming apart now. All of it… The plan… The months of careful preparation… The whole fucking thing…
Captain Darius Yaaah lowered his body into the pod, feeling the warmth of the semi-liquid amniotic gel enfold his limbs and torso. He gave a final encouraging nod to his bridge crew as the door of the armored capsule swung down to enclose him.
The interior of the pod was dark, but there was no need for lighting here. He wouldn’t be using his eyes to see.
With a series of muffled whines, the manipulator arms of the pod brought the slender interface cables into position, aligning platinum connector ends with matching jacks at the supraclavicular nerve bundle and five other key points in his cervical and thoracic spine.
Nano-fine connections mated, and the familiar ice water sensation rushed through Yaaah’s arms and legs as the mainframe’s neural interfaces synchronized with his central nervous system. The HUD projection unfolded itself in his brain, an ever-changing latticework of tactical symbols, tattletales, and sensor feeds, flickering and shifting in the blood-lit darkness behind his eyelids. Targeting data, engineering data, weapons statuses, crew reports, available power levels, heat loading, and a thousand other details.
This was usually the part he liked best—feeling two and a half million metric tons of Caldari Leviathan come alive—the enormous warship merging with his mind and his nerve endings—ready to jump the void between stars, or blaze into battle at the merest twitch of his whim.
That long-held pleasure was absent today. Soured by the knowledge that the whole situation was about to go to hell.
When it came (when the shit started to fly), even the massive armor and weaponry of his ship would not be enough to save him.
On the HUD, he could see last-second maneuvers as the fleet prepared for transition to hyperspace. Over fifty capital ships and supercaps, jockeying for position within the formation before jumping out of this star system to the midpoint cyno.
This was supposed to be a combat Op. The Imperium’s fleet sallying forth to rain havoc and destruction in some stellar system owned by the TEST Alliance.
But Yaaah knew that the mission brief was a sham. This entire fleet operation was a giant fucking trap, designed to lure a single ship to an ambush in the deep and trackless void between the stars.
The target was Yaaah himself. His ship too, but mostly Yaaah.
When the fleet came out of jump at the midpoint, every vessel in the formation would turn on him. More than fifty Dreadnoughts, Titans, Carriers, and Super-Carriers—all coming after his single Titan. Incalculable destructive power, focused on removing Yaaah and his ship from existence.
They knew. He had no idea how they’d found out, but after all of his caution and subterfuge, they had finally penetrated his cover. The bastards knew…
The Imperium’s intelligence branch had identified him for what he was: an infiltrator and a spy for Pandemic Legion.
Now it was time for the Imperium to plug their security leak. Eliminate the traitor in their midsts.
Yaaah had played the game well, but it was nearly over. He had, at best, a few moves left to make.
On the HUD he called up a window showing the bridge of his ship. His crew was practically vibrating with pre-combat jitters. Their faces wearing that strangely tense half-smile that signals the human body’s internal preparation for anticipated danger. Limbic systems ramping up for the coming fight with heady cocktails of dopamine, cortisol, and adrenalin.
His crew was expecting a battle, and they were going to get one. Just not the kind of battle they had in mind…
Kickstarter Launch Date: November 3rd, 2015
The Fountain War Kickstarter, a collaboration between CCP Games, The Mittani Media, and the entire EVE Online community, launches November 3rd. Become a part of history and immortalize your deeds by telling us how it impacted you by emailing [email protected].
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by The Mittani.
