This is the story of one man's pursuit to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos, only to discover that the most powerful force in the universe is, in fact, love.
Otan Parsec is a young professor of physics on the distant planet of Zell. Surrounded by the luminaries of the physics world, Otan yearns to make a major discovery of his own. Working with his younger but alluring graduate assistant-Eilie Tolkhamm-Otan endeavors to establish that consciousness is not just a conception of the Zellian brain but is a physical force of the universe. Unfortunately, Otan only has a hypothesis and lacks hard proof, which activates the ire of the Determinia-the quasi-priestly organization that dogmatically administers the university. The Determinia demand that Otan either reveal scientific evidence that substantiates his hypothesis or terminate the research. But Otan is convinced his supposition is true and his passion for the idea compels him to continue.
Further complicating his situation, Otan has fallen deeply in love with Eilie, but the impropriety of their student-faculty relationship has long prevented him from revealing this fact to her.
Into their lives walks Salan, a mysterious man who offers Otan his assistance in further developing a consciousness thesis. Salan is vague about his background, which raises the suspicions of Eilie. Ever protective of Otan, she is convinced Salan is hiding something. But the man's scientific acumen is solid and Otan accepts his help, eager to further the consciousness work.
Set against the backdrop of pending war between Otan's country of Hollum and the planet's other island nation-Boria, the country of Eilie's birth-the three cooperate to advance a theory of consciousness amid the challenges of Eilie's distrust of Salan and the Determinia's persistent attempts to shut down their research. When war finally breaks out between Hollum and Boria, Eilie is arrested by Hollumian authorities and deported. Anxious to rescue the woman he loves, Otan and Salan clandestinely travel to Boria, risking being discovered and arrested as spies. But once in Boria, Otan and Salan become ensnared in the enemy's own research into a theory of physical consciousness, with the intent of using this knowledge as a weapon against Hollum.
Interlaced with stories from Zellian mythology that converge in a gripping ending, The Calculus of Consciousness is a tale of one man's passionate quest for knowledge in the face of the intransigence of orthodoxy, as well as a journey of self-discovery that what truly matters is the love we share.
