The Chaos of Mokii

by Geoff Nelder

The city of Mokii exists only in the minds of its inhabitants. Olga has to get past the virtual bouncer but once in she can enjoy all the facilities of most future cities. However, she has to thwart a rival who intends to usurp Mokii for his own financial ends.

Speculative fiction / science fiction / science fantasy

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2016

About the author

Geoff Nelder has a wife, two grown-up kids, an increasing number of grandkids, and lives in rural England within an easy cycle ride of the Welsh mountains. He taught Geography and Information Technology for years until writing took over his life. Geoff is a competition short-fiction judge, and a freelance editor.

Publications include several non-fiction books on climate reflecting his other persona as a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society; over 50 published short stories in various magazines and anthologies; thriller, humour, science fiction, and fantasy novels.
2005: Humorous thriller Escaping Reality. Republished 2012.
2008: Award-winning science fiction mystery with hot-blooded heroine, Exit, Pursued by a Bee.
2010: Another thriller received an Award d’Or from an Arts Academy in the Netherlands. Its third edition will be published in 2012, Hot Air.
2012: ARIA: Left Luggage science fiction apocalypse.
An urban and historical magic realism fantasy, Xaghra’s Revenge, is in the hands of a literary agency.

Reviews

[Claire Stibbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having not read science fiction before, I was pleasantly surprised by the sights and sounds in this unpredictable and delicious mind-spa. Mokii is a place where décor can range from a ‘cross between Titanic and a Cinderella nightmare’ and where avatars change at will. An original and exciting concept that will bend the senses and catapult the reader into another world.

Olga enters Mokii on a mission, but not a mission you might expect. When she is presented with a tray of silver thimbles filled with a ruby and emerald elixir, she can thought-call people, tag them, run through crystal corridors and helical stairways, and think a switch and it will all go away. But in this physical reality where pleasure is mostly in the mind, can we really know what is real and what is not?

Without giving away the plot, I found this a thought-provoking and well written short story that challenged me and opened the door into a different and fascinating genre.

[Bob Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the year 2362, this story is DIFFERENT, even compared to other science fiction. Having read several of Geoff Nelder’s works, I expected this. He has an unbridled imagination that goes into places no one else would think of. Mokii is a city that is created by the imagination of its inhabitants, so that certainly qualifies.
It’s only a short story -- a little over 3000 words -- so you can afford the little time and small cost of reading it. Even in that short presentation, there are two realities. I won’t give away the story, except to say you need to read the last couple of paragraphs before everything falls into place.
I first read my version on Amazon’s cloud reader, and these two paragraphs were missing. The story didn’t seem to be a story. So, rather than write a negative review, I contacted Geoff, and he sent me the whole thing. So, now I know its genre: it is detective science fiction, only the crime is not what you think, and the criminal is not who you think.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve ‘visited’ Second Life a couple of times, and have to admit that I found it unsettling. It truly felt like an alternative reality with its own set of rules, engagement, and commerce proliferating in a plane entirely different to my own. I’ve often wondered about the implications of such long term occupation in a mental space – one where the physical is subjugated to the mental sphere. Nelder, a master of the ‘what-if’ sci fi, explores this kind of virtual reality in his short, but powerful story The Chaos of Mokii. It’s a fast ride – almost like an amusement park roller coaster – the whole story progresses so quickly, and yet in a way more satisfying and thought-provoking than many full length novels.

The world building is sleek and beautifully done – moving from “a cross between the Titanic interior and a Cinderella nightmare” to crystal corridors, helical stairways, alabaster bridges, and Sandalwood scented saunas. The shifts between the ‘real world’ of a train, and the cyber-world are sleek and handled with a smoothness that belies the fictional nature of both worlds. Nelder’s characters are also well-drawn, particularly his protagonist Olga, who comes across as both vulnerable and ultra sharp. Nelder’s own grasp of physics, hacking terminology, and the philosophical implications of cyber-space make this story so much more than just a fun escape full of un-predictable twists and turns, though it is truly fun, and definitely full of unexpected twists.

At a deeper level, there are questions raised about the nature of reality that are chillingly relevant considering the fact that last year Elon Musk stated publically that there is a billion to one chance that we’re living in “base reality” (that is, a non-virtual world), and even Neil deGrasse Tyson has argued that there is a high probability that we’re living a computer simulation. Though it’s pretty hard to accept these as fact at the moment (the simulation would have to be a damn sight better than Second Life), the possibility of a matrix-like world is becoming increasingly more likely as the world appears to be moving towards instability and as our technological capability grows exponentially. The Chaos of Mokii doesn’t really specifically posit these questions—it’s light-hearted fiction after all—but Nelder’s ‘what-if’ becomes the backbone of the story, and the ultimate choices that face these characters which makes The Chaos of Mokii such a provocative and powerful read.

[Artemis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare your mind for a trip...reality turned inside out.

A mind-bending short that studies what it would be like in a world occupied by consciousness alone, characters without corporal states, sensory perception without physical organs...until the reveal. But I won't spoil it. Give it a read. You won't regret it.

Through clever dialogue and concise description packed with meaning that builds a fantasy world quickly, Nelder efficiently describes Mokii as a place of 'abstract tourism', a 'mind-spa' with 'palaces of the mind' and includes a co-MC (Keiran) that believes he doesn't actually exist anywhere else.

All begging questions posed by the protagonist (Olga):

'Where does reality end and unreality begin when Keiran thought he was only real in a virtual world?'

'Does existing only in my, and other Mokii inhabitants’ consciousnesses, mean you live longer?'

I highly recommend this short story.

[Elizabeth Horton-Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Award winning science fiction author Geoff Nelder packs a real punch in this short tale of the mind. “The Chaos of Mokii” explores the bizarre and mysterious world where people may not be who you think they are, places can change at the drop of a hat, and questions arise at every turn.
When Olga enters Mokii, finagling her way past the bouncer into a world that is a ‘cross between Titanic and a Cinderella nightmare’ the adventure begins. Rather like Neo in The Matrix when presented with the red and blue pills and he must choose one, Olga is offered a tray of silver thimbles filled with a ruby and emerald elixir. What seems a simple choice may actually be a trick in this well developed world.
Moving through this world and seeing it through Olga’s eyes it’s impossible not to be caught up in Nelder’s vivid description of the surroundings. Just when I thought that was the crux of the tale, along comes Keiran who seems to exist only in this fantasy world. There is no question Olga has feelings for this “co-MC”. In fact they have had a relationship in Mokii. While she is able to move from the physical world to the mind world, Keiran seems to be trapped. That begs the question, does Keiran truly exist?
Nelder takes a poke at money hungry corporations in this story but I won’t give that tidbit away. I will say it strikes very close to the real world where money is lord and master and no price is too high to charge the masses who always want more. Are they being given what they desire or led to desire to what they are given?
I confess to being more than a little stunned at the ending. I wished it went on because I found myself wondering what might or might not happen next. This is a tightly plotted, very well written story. Nelder has created a world, a conflict, and an epiphany in fewer pages than a Dr. Seuss book. He does it neatly and like a good science fiction writer leaves his reader with questions and hungry for more.

[F.G. Laval · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like surreal near-future Sci-Fi with a nice twist, then this one if for you. Follow Olga’s journey into the ‘mind palace’ of Mokii city and find out who the man of her dreams really turns out to be. The author uses his signature descriptive ingenuity to create a world that jumps off the page with sensory input; ‘running through crystal corridors, breathless when rounding helical stairways and topping a semi-circular, alabaster bridge’. Mokii city is a virtual reality world, exploring what it means to exist and the reality of existence in this world or any other. A thought-provoking and interesting concept, which is a short, but effective introduction to the work of Geoff Nelder.