History: Post-Singularity And Transhumanist Fiction I've Enjoyed

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Everything here has some relation to superintelligence, transhumanism, or ((My Views On The Future|the singularity)).

Everything here is something I've enjoyed.

Each story has a synopsis.  I try, but not very hard, to avoid spoilers.

Much of it is available online.

If you'd like to suggest an addition, please [mailto:rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org|send me an email].

Those amongst you who are familiar with these genres will notice the glaring lack of any [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks|Ian Banks], an omission so severe that I feel the need to apologize for it.  I have read exactly one book by Banks, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consider_Phlebas|Consider Phlebas].  It is one of the few books I genuinely regret having read.  He seemed to have a love affair with trying to gross me out, and he succeeded admirably.  There was nothing sufficiently excellent in there to make up for the horror of The Eaters.  In fact, I can remember almost nothing else about the book.  Apparently this is just me, because the WP article doesn't even mention that section at all.  I keep asking people to reccomend Egan that they are sure ''does not'' include such deliberate attempts to disgust the reader, but so for no-one has been willing to make such an assertion.

* [http://sifter.org/~simon/AfterLife/|After Life] by [http://sifter.org/~simon/|Simon Funk] follows the story of the first upload (who is also one of the scientists that invents uploading), and the society that results from it.
* [http://ttapress.com/553/crystal-nights-by-greg-egan/|Crystal Nights] by [http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/|Greg Egan] is about a man who creates a computer powerful enough to simulate a world and develop intelligent beings within it, so they can help him achieve the singularity.  Or so he hopes.
* [http://localroger.com/|The Passages Series] by [http://localroger.com/|Roger Williams] (yes, those are the same link) is something I've not actually read the entirety of.  In fact, I've only read "Passages In The Void" and "The Passage Home".  It's fantastic.  It's about AI spaceships that save humanity by placing them around interstellar brown dwarfs, stars being too unpredictable, and a group that really wants to see earth anyway, no matter how dangerous it is.
* [http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/index.html]The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect], also by [http://localroger.com/|Roger Williams].  Note that besides the general warning there about sex and violence, the final chapter has incest with someone who is (by American standards, anyways) a minor.  It is largely consensual (the adult protests somewhat).  That sort of thing seems to really upset some people, so you might want to skip most or all of the final chapter; people seem to think it's fine without it anyways.  This is about an AI that is based on [http://www.asimovlaws.com/|Asimov's Three Laws] and discovers a hole in physics that gives it basically unlimited powers to stop humanity from ever doing anything that might hurt them.

~tc~
~~white,white:text~~
~/tc~

Stuff I really can't find:

* the nootropics and robots story; see [http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/3ju/looking_for_some_pieces_of_transhumanist_fiction/]
* a story with the AI ship that takes thousands of year to get people to earth [http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/3ju/looking_for_some_pieces_of_transhumanist_fiction/]

Notes on things I need to find/add:

* Neal Asher, in general
* three worlds
* permanence
* lady of mazes
* the infinitely nested simulations story -- http://qntm.org/responsibility
* the Vinge researchers that don't know they're uploads story
* http://qntm.org/transit
* brin's uplift series
* shaper/mechanist
* lots of Egan
* orion's arm

Stuff I Should Read:

* The rest of [http://localroger.com/|The Passages Series]

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21-Oct-2012 00:03 PDT rlpowell	18
20-Oct-2012 23:52 PDT rlpowell	17
25-Mar-2012 20:54 PDT rlpowell	16
22-Sep-2011 11:22 PDT rlpowell	15
03-Jan-2011 15:22 PST rlpowell	14
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02-Jan-2011 11:20 PST rlpowell	12
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