Forrest Cameranesi Geek of all Trades

The Sphidi Saga

1. In the Sphidi saga, an apparently magical world turns out to be a virtual reality afterlife that survived the collapse of civilization, which eventually reconnects with and transforms the real world.
   1. In the Otherworld series, an immersive virtual reality world is constructed, and with mind-uploading becomes an artificial afterlife, which survives the collapse of civilization in the real world.
      1. In The Birth of Another World, ordinary people Tom and Xiuying separately beta test an immersive virtual reality being built at the behest of ancient immortals looking to build an artificial afterlife.
      2. In Life in Another World, the virtual reality platform called Virtuality and its flagship world called the Sphidiverse comes fully online and available to the public, while Tom and Xiu continue to explore it.
      3. In Death and the Other World, mind-uploading is completed and the virtual world becomes the afterlife is was meant to be, and manages to barely survive the collapse of civilization in the real world.
   2. In the Darklight series, the surviving remnant of the virtual afterlife becomes corrupted and forgets that it is virtual, growing more hellish until the prophesied Queen of Hell nearly destroys it all.
      1. In Falling of the Darklight, the surviving remnant of the virtual afterlife becomes corrupted and in time gradually forgets that it is virtual, except for two holdouts, Tom and Xiuying.
      2. In Nadir of the Darklight, Tom and Xiu are drawn into the growing conflicts of the hell that has forgotten that it isn’t real, and eventually “die” and lose their memories of reality as well.
      3. In Rising of the Darklight, Tom and Xiu are reincarnated within the virtual afterlife, and play a part in unchaining the tortured soul for whom it was first built, who in turn destroys all of it from inside.
   3. In the Virtuality series, the only survivors of the Queen of Hell reconnect with Metis in the real world, accidentally giving the Queen access to Ehrban “magic”, and the whole galaxy barely survives.
      1. In Virtuality Transcendent, the reincarnations of Tom and Xiu who are all that survive of the ruined virtual afterlife awaken, through a series of intermediate virtual worlds, into robot bodies in the real world.
      2. In Virtuality Incarnate, other souls lost to the corrupt virtual afterlife are gradually recovered and reincarnated into increasingly advanced artificial bodies, culminating in ones powered by Ehrban “magic”.
      3. In Virtuality Immanent, the mad Queen of Hell who destroyed the virtual afterlife from inside commandeers the “magic” bodies of the salvaged souls, and with their power nearly destroys the galaxy.