(An Australian sci-fi author who likes to layer realities computed/simulated on top of each other - give Diaspora or Permutation City if it sounds like your cup of tea.)
Speaking of Greg Egan. Is it just me, or is the ending of Diaspora somewhat anticlimactic? There are so many interesting ideas he touches upon without exploring them in depth and then the narrative loses steam and dies of.
I don't think the ending was intended to act as a climax to the narrative. Rather, it's the logical conclusion of several ideas shown earlier in the story; modifications to how you think that can't be reversed; alien consciousnesses that you can never actually communicate with; the logical conclusion of the original quest to prolong humanity's simulated existence, which is why they go exploring in the first place.
I wonder if it's just common to have many unexplored ideas and unfinished side stories?
I recall Accelerando also had many of these, probably A Deepness in the Sky as well (though I don't recall it in detail anymore).
Or maybe I just recall noticing that detail and forget about the ones where I didn't notice it.
(An Australian sci-fi author who likes to layer realities computed/simulated on top of each other - give Diaspora or Permutation City if it sounds like your cup of tea.)