Behind the Neural Map: The Blueprint of a Digital Afterlife

When I began crafting the world of Iteration, I knew it couldn’t just look futuristic—it had to feel inevitable.

What inspired me? The real world. Or more specifically, the pace and direction of biotechnology and AI, and the increasingly blurry line between the two. Add quantum computing to the mix, and we’re looking at a not-so-distant future where the mind, the machine, and reality itself are entangled in ways we barely comprehend.

That’s where Exstasis came from—the immersive neural network at the heart of Iteration. It's not just a virtual world. It’s a second chance, a memory-anchored illusion built to soothe grief, to resurrect the dead... and to raise the question: at what cost?

Early on, my worldbuilding was chaotic—sprawling outlines, folders of research, scattershot inspiration. But as the project matured, so did my method. Now I work from a living map: layered notes, hand-drawn sketches, and a reliance on real-world analogs. I wanted Exstasis to feel technically plausible, grounded in the kind of speculative science you could see in the news five years from now. And let’s face it—we’re practically already there.

One of my favorite pieces of tech in the book is the optical implant system. It doesn't just enhance vision—it edits it. It can override what your eyes see in real-time, overlaying synthetic cues or manipulating emotional triggers. It’s subtle, insidious, and terrifying when you think about how much of our perception shapes what we consider truth.

But it wasn’t until I started deconstructing my own drafts—side by side with novels by Blake Crouch, Nathan Hystad, AG Riddle, and other genre heavyweights—that I had the breakthrough. I realized I was trying to say too much, build too wide. What Iteration needed was focus. Precision. One core story. One essential truth.

Everything else—the ethics, the technology, the horror, and the hope—grew from that seed.

So when you look at a neural map scrawled with loops and feedback clusters, know this: it’s not just science fiction. It’s a warning, a mirror, and a love letter to every part of the future we’re not ready for.