An adventure, a love story, a dystopian warning, and a meditation on transhumanism, Quibble asks what a technological singularity will mean for humanity’s survival — and exactly what might survive.
The novel uses first-person limited point-of-view. To clarify a chapter’s speaker, their name is given following the @ symbol after the chapter title. A few chapters use third-person limited point-of-view.
Occasionally, short poetic and prose interludes interrupt the story to offer clarification about the novel’s world.
Back matter
Helpful back matter for the novel includes:
Glossary: a compendium of the story’s specialized terms with their definitions
Appendix: an explanation of the calendar Without, used by Dazed and Adroit
Bibliography: a list of sources which inspired or informed the author
Links to the back matter also appear on the Singular Dream homepage.
Part 1: if then
Chapters 1 & 2: Birth & Dream
Quibble recalls her birth and her first lesson in the fearful life of a One.
Chapter 3: Unity
Quibble's foster mother, Vega, teaches her about keeping secrets.
Chapters 4 & 5: One & Fear
Quibble sees shadows Within – a sign she may be insane – and learns something even more surprising about a Zero.
Chapter 6: Without
Quibble makes a shocking journey and finds joy at the end, then sorrow.
Part 2: gosub
Chapter 7: Quill
Arriving in a surreal, frightening place, Quibble befriends Definition, a woman running from her past.
Chapter 8: Edict
Nish has a murderous daydream. Realizing Quibble is in danger, Cate hatches a plan.
Chapters 9 & 10: Definition & Glass
Quibble breaks things and learns how One can be hurt Without.
Chapter 11: Adroitness
Introducing Quibble to a forbidden mystery brings Nish face-to-face with her past — and grief she has long denied.
Chapter 12: Control
The lord Lesath tests his adept Asuja as they plot against Quibble and Vega.
Part 3: for to
Chapter 13: Faith
Abducting Quibble, the Zero Alnasl tempts her to break her promise to Nish.
Chapters 14 & 15: Summary & Orb
Caught in a fateful, frightening dream, Quibble almost dies.
Chapter 16: Amber
An orb bursts, and two factions of alarmed Zeros face off. Quibble and Alnasl set out to get answers.
Chapter 17: Journey
Traversing ancient ruins, Quibble and Alnasl are attacked by Far warriors.
Part 4: def fn
Chapter 18: Egg
On the giant Egg, a space station, Quibble sees both humanity's genius and its penchant for self-destruction.
Chapter 19: Utopia
Quibble enters the Egg's hub and sees the enigmatic AI Utopia face to face.
Chapter 20: Heretic
Honoring Exclamation's request to go Without, Meissa seals her own fate.
Chapters 21 & 22: Blue & Grasshopper
Yed's cruelty forces Meissa to make a heartbreaking choice, and Utopia posits a paradox broke her orb.
Part 5: read
Chapter 23: Touch
Quibble lets herself be drawn into a kind dream — with terrifying consequences for Alnasl. The doctor Gienah explains how Ones become Dazed.
Chapters 24 & 25: Script & Song
As Quibble returns to the monastery, old bonds are shattered and a new one forms.
Chapter 26: Road
Quibble learns the fate of Citation, an excelsior Vega fostered, and gets a stern warning from Rasalased.
Chapter 27: Consensus
Among the bustling Adroit, Quibble learns the disturbing truth about Citation's death. Unity brings her a nightmare.
Part 6: while wend
Chapter 28: Burden
Faced with the Adroit's hostility, Quibble makes an unlikely friend — an outcast Far.
Chapter 29: Mirror
Bringing gifts, Vega gets a chilly reception as Quibble drives a hard bargain.
Chapter 30: Spy
Asuja plots to win his freedom, but it has a price — Quibble’s death.
Chapter 31: Lesson
Alnasl gives Quibble a hard lesson in the use and danger of a Zero's glass.
Upcoming chapters
Chapter 32: Kindness
Growing tensions lead Quibble and Definition to bitter choices.
Chapter 33: Phantom
A phantom Zero with uncanny powers chases Quibble.
Chapters 34 & 35: Indication & Pop
Quibble learns the gruesome truth about how Zeros fight.