David Barr Kirtley

Science fiction author and podcaster

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“The Ontological Factor”

By David Barr Kirtley

“The Ontological Factor”
  • Publisher: Night Shade Books
  • Editor: John Joseph Adams
  • Available in: Paperback and Kindle
  • ISBN: 978-1597804332
  • Published: June 26, 2012
Paperback (Amazon)Kindle (Amazon)

“The Ontological Factor”
– Cicada, September/October 2011
– Other Worlds Than These, edited by John Joseph Adams, Night Shade Books, July 2012

    “Okay,” she said, as we went, “you know that there are different worlds, and that it’s possible to open portals between them. The first thing you have to understand is that not all worlds are created equal. Some are more real than others.”
    I chimed in, “But who’s to say what’s real and what isn’t?”
    “Oh,” she said. “We use this.” She reached into the knapsack and pulled out a device that looked like a black-and-purple striped candy cane. “It’s called an O-meter. Each world, and everything native to it, has a specific Ontological Factor, or OF, which is what the machine measures. Here, I’ll show you.”
    She pointed the device at me, and sections of it lit up in sequence until about half its length was glowing.
    “See?” she said. “You’re a five.”
    “Oh,” I said. “Is that good?”
    “No,” she said.
    “Oh.”
    “But hey, it could be worse. Like those degenerates you ran into earlier. Twos. Total figments. Not real enough to do any damage even to you.”
    So that’s why I’d survived the attack of the fish-men, I thought. That made sense. Sort of.
    “What number are you?” I asked.
    “Ten,” she said. “Obviously.”

Steve, a nervous college grad obsessed with philosophical conundrums, discovers that his great uncle’s mansion is full of doorways to other worlds.


Roger Barr

My grandfather Roger Barr passed away early this morning at the age of 98. He was my mom’s father, and was my last surviving grandparent. He was being cared for by my uncle Steve (his son) and aunt Denice — both medical professionals — and was still sharp and good-humored in his final days. Yesterday […]

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David Barr Kirtley

David Barr Kirtley is an author and the host of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast on Wired.com, for which he’s interviewed well over a hundred guests, including George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Paul Krugman, Simon Pegg, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
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