Introduction to the short story anthology, Beta Life: Stories from an A-Life Future, by the Editors.

In Martyn Bedford’s short story - lovingly grounded in the British Pessimism School of science fiction - Silent Talker and TruLens feature as computerized, psychological profiling systems for the collection and analysis of non-verbal behaviour.

Afterword: No More Secrets by Dr James O'Shea.

Will robots save or destroy the world? What stops a terrorist organisation or a ruthless dictatorship from weaponising technology or artificial intelligence? Robin Yassin-Kassab's story Swarm presents one such scenario.

Afterword: Rise of the Machines by Lenka Pitonakova.

Exploring the visionary field of molecular nanotechnology: (small things building big things) Adam’s story looks at ‘wet’ nanotech where the physical material grows, analogous to a tree.

Afterword: Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow by Prof Susan Stepney.

Andrew Hedgecock's story paints a picture of a future where computer game technology has reached a level that enables total immersion in a virtual world, prompting greater empathy for the inhabited characters.

Afterword: The Moral Onboard Compass by Micah Rosenkind.

Today, with platforms like Facebook or Twitter, people's private lives can be shared with the world at the click of a button. In Stuart Evers' Everyone Says the surveillance of private lives takes a further twist.

Afterword: Everyone Surveys by Prof Christian Jantzen.

Adam Roberts shows us the natural evolutionary end-point of smart object and robotic technologies: smart, autonomous objects that can physically interact with their environment, whilst exploring the nature of consciousness.

Afterword: Sing me to Sleep by Stephen Dunne.

Online we leave trails that show where we’ve just been, what we’ve just been doing, even how we’ve just been feeling. But what if that kind of functionality came to a physical city - Annie Kirby’s story explores.

Afterword: A Comma on the Wall by Prof Seth Bullock.