When does the book take place?

Julia and the Dream Maker takes place in the not too distant future. It is the story of a group of college students who attempt to use their academic training in biology and computer science to earn a little extra money to make it through the semester. At first they were attempting to make an advanced toy for the market, but what they actually created was an AI system that was far more sophisticated then they could possibly imagine. A system that before too long becomes truly self-aware.

Who is Steven?

Steven is the primary character of the novel. He is a true genius in the areas of biology and computer modeling and has a bright future in academia. In addition to his love of science, Steven is fascinated with the role of destiny in the development of the human species. His genius notwithstanding, Steven is flawed. He does not truly understand the world around him, nor his potential to impact it in the most profound ways. As the story progresses we see Steven become the victim of forces that he cannot control, yet which ultimately he has set in motion.

Who is Eli?

Eli a highly talented biologist who has become involved with Steven while they are in university together. Unlike Steven she has come from a humble background and thus has both of her feet planted firmly on the ground. She has always had to work for everything she has gotten, and so has a reasonably serious persona. While she is close to being Steven's intellectual equal, she also provides the voice a reason that Steven listens too. The readers should enjoy Eli as she interacts with the inscrutable Steven, and the developments, that she must make as she becomes ever more caught up in the flow of events that Steven has set in motion.

Who is Toid?

Toid started as a self-learning computer program that Steve developed as part of an effort to create a new toy which he and his friends would sell to earn money for school. The program was supposed to compute its way to a reasonable simulation of a rabbit, but it did not stop there and when it developed consciousness Steven began to speak to it. In the first conversations he did not take it seriously, and made fun of it calling into a rabbit toy. This he contracted to rabbit Toid, and then just Toid. Toid represents the consciousness that the computer program developed. Eventually, the program takes a physical form and the persona of a holographic rabbit, which is then referred to as the Toid.

Who is Bennie?

Bennie is a friend and housemate of Steven and Eli. He is the only one of the three who is not a biologist - rather his talents lie in computer science and mathematical modeling. Bennie is not particularly good with people, but has formed a strong bond with Steven and Eli, a bond which is tested at the story unfolds. At the outset Bennie is the only one of the three with a viable alternative for raising money - to develop and sell a sophisticated new toy. When this idea is turned over to Steve for development, the results are well beyond what anyone could have predicted.

What is the Barn?

The barn serves as a metaphor for Julia and is grounded in the natural order of the physical world around us. The upper level of the barn though is Steven's laboratory. This is where the normal rules do not apply and where the physical world comes to be joined with an electronic construct that together point toward the future of humankind.

Physically, the barn is larger than one would expect. It is a faded red, and has a weathered look. If it had only one level, it would have been proportionate to a small farm. There would have been stables on the lower level with barely enough room for horse riding. The structure has been expanded it significantly making it taller and longer than an ordinary barn. This makes it a little out of proportion to the landscape, the house is modest, but the barn is quite big. Inside, the first level has a soft dirt on the floor, and paneled stalls for horses. A small ladder takes you to the next level, which encompasses most of the attic level, which is a steel enclosed laboratory.