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Contemplating Oblivion
Qualia: the quality or feeling of a conscious experience. Qualia can’t be described, they must be experienced to be known. A million years in the future, physics is closed. Humanity has computerized the brain, solved death, and spread across the galaxy. The greatest challenge that remains is figuring out how a quadrillion immortal, nearly omnipotent humans might survive the eventual end of the universe.
Lysandra is a million-year-old quale-diver, a person who designs novel neural configurations in search of new conscious experiences—qualia. When she discovers a conscious state that hints at a solution to the universe-survival problem, the entire galaxy erupts with renewed excitement and hope. The final question to end all questions might be on the brink of a solution. But there are those who believe that surviving the end of the universe will destabilize the timeless cycle of infinite universes, leading to eternal oblivion, and they will stop at nothing to prevent Lysandra from completing her work.
Lysandra is a million-year-old quale-diver, a person who designs novel neural configurations in search of new conscious experiences—qualia. When she discovers a conscious state that hints at a solution to the universe-survival problem, the entire galaxy erupts with renewed excitement and hope. The final question to end all questions might be on the brink of a solution. But there are those who believe that surviving the end of the universe will destabilize the timeless cycle of infinite universes, leading to eternal oblivion, and they will stop at nothing to prevent Lysandra from completing her work.
338 pages, Hardcover
Published July 12, 2024
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9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 16, 2024
Unique and fascinating read about the prospective nature of consciousness for the human race. Thoroughly enjoyable read!
July 18, 2024
“In a world of pure imagination…”
Contemplating Oblivion is a galaxy-spanning million-year-future epic featuring beings with technologies that enable them to transcend the limitations of time, space, and matter. From our present-day perspective, these are beings indistinguishable from gods with powers indistinguishable from magic.
But even so, there is still one brute fact about the universe they have yet to conquer: the death of the universe itself and how to survive it—as any gods worth their salt should.
While Contemplating Oblivion is a work of science fiction, my experience has been that, at times, I can get serious fantasy vibes as well since the technology of such an extreme far-future makes everyone a wizard, of sorts, as objects materialize and dematerialize at will.
This world of seemingly open-ended, anything-goes possibilities that Wiley has so brilliantly created for us kept me turning pages to see what wonders lie ahead. If you love an unputdownable book that expands your perspectives in surprising directions, you have come to the right place. Enjoy!
Contemplating Oblivion is a galaxy-spanning million-year-future epic featuring beings with technologies that enable them to transcend the limitations of time, space, and matter. From our present-day perspective, these are beings indistinguishable from gods with powers indistinguishable from magic.
But even so, there is still one brute fact about the universe they have yet to conquer: the death of the universe itself and how to survive it—as any gods worth their salt should.
While Contemplating Oblivion is a work of science fiction, my experience has been that, at times, I can get serious fantasy vibes as well since the technology of such an extreme far-future makes everyone a wizard, of sorts, as objects materialize and dematerialize at will.
This world of seemingly open-ended, anything-goes possibilities that Wiley has so brilliantly created for us kept me turning pages to see what wonders lie ahead. If you love an unputdownable book that expands your perspectives in surprising directions, you have come to the right place. Enjoy!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews