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Transapient
This is a speculative work set in the year 2060+, when we may find out how the human brain works in enough detail to replicate a human, a sentient lifeform I have called "transapient" (TRANSformation of homo SAPien into a sentIENT being). The novel explores the human - transapient relationship and where it could take us.
An untimely death of school teacher Alf Butler sets the scene for the creation of the first transapient lifeform.
An untimely death of school teacher Alf Butler sets the scene for the creation of the first transapient lifeform.
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Published July 3, 2017
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July 26, 2020
Transapient by Andy Brown
An inspiring story of humans directing their own evolution…spanning more than 2 billion years…
As a transhumanist, with a longtime interest in the mind-uploading hypothesis, I was keen to read this book, which plunges right into the many counterintuitive issues surrounding the idea of copying the form and function of one’s brain to a non-biological substrate in a non-biological body. However, you don’t need to be a transhumanist to enjoy Transapient. All you need is a desire to immerse yourself in a new and creatively expansive world in which human biological limitations are transcended, enabling adventures to other worlds unbounded by the usual human time constraints.
The author, Andy Brown, a retired research engineer, does well in presenting the issues of identity that will naturally arise when (if) we are able to create multiple “exact” copies of our minds/consciousnesses, as well as the extended capabilities—mental and physical—that will follow; lifespans of indefinite length due to greatly enhanced physical durability and the ability to backup one’s consciousness; all culminating in a new kind of hyper-intelligent being, which will be quintessentially suited to contend with the dangers and vast timespans inherent in galaxy-wide space exploration.
Brown also addresses the fear and distrust of these new beings, called Transapients, by some humans and their acceptance by others. The first transapient comes into being after a schoolteacher dies of a heart attack, but just before death, his brain is scanned and saved as a “molecular brain state matrix” (more details about this process are provided in the book). This “matrix” is installed into his new “transapient body” and the story follows his gradual integration into society along with subsequent transapients who are created as the story develops and become a kind of close-knit family and eventually a larger society. Andy Brown has mentioned that he has done some work on a sequel “that expands on the space colonisation possibilities that Transapients could provide (human embryos and transapient parents transported in digital format)” but it is on hold for now, as he is “just about to publish a book on Prime numbers - not sci-fi, but about pure mathematics.” I will be interested to read this next manifestation of his capaciously creative mind, as well.
If you’d like a story, for once, of a future that is not the typical dystopian “cautionary tale,” but is, instead, an inspiring story of a positive way forward for humans, this is your book. In it, a few brilliant humans create a new kind of existence and become, essentially, their own self-designed descendant-beings: the ultimate tale of “intelligent design.” It’s not about a sad ending of human beings, but, rather, the next stage of being, as transapients. Follow their (our) grand adventures, in the spirit of Buzz Lightyear: “to infinity and beyond!”
An inspiring story of humans directing their own evolution…spanning more than 2 billion years…
As a transhumanist, with a longtime interest in the mind-uploading hypothesis, I was keen to read this book, which plunges right into the many counterintuitive issues surrounding the idea of copying the form and function of one’s brain to a non-biological substrate in a non-biological body. However, you don’t need to be a transhumanist to enjoy Transapient. All you need is a desire to immerse yourself in a new and creatively expansive world in which human biological limitations are transcended, enabling adventures to other worlds unbounded by the usual human time constraints.
The author, Andy Brown, a retired research engineer, does well in presenting the issues of identity that will naturally arise when (if) we are able to create multiple “exact” copies of our minds/consciousnesses, as well as the extended capabilities—mental and physical—that will follow; lifespans of indefinite length due to greatly enhanced physical durability and the ability to backup one’s consciousness; all culminating in a new kind of hyper-intelligent being, which will be quintessentially suited to contend with the dangers and vast timespans inherent in galaxy-wide space exploration.
Brown also addresses the fear and distrust of these new beings, called Transapients, by some humans and their acceptance by others. The first transapient comes into being after a schoolteacher dies of a heart attack, but just before death, his brain is scanned and saved as a “molecular brain state matrix” (more details about this process are provided in the book). This “matrix” is installed into his new “transapient body” and the story follows his gradual integration into society along with subsequent transapients who are created as the story develops and become a kind of close-knit family and eventually a larger society. Andy Brown has mentioned that he has done some work on a sequel “that expands on the space colonisation possibilities that Transapients could provide (human embryos and transapient parents transported in digital format)” but it is on hold for now, as he is “just about to publish a book on Prime numbers - not sci-fi, but about pure mathematics.” I will be interested to read this next manifestation of his capaciously creative mind, as well.
If you’d like a story, for once, of a future that is not the typical dystopian “cautionary tale,” but is, instead, an inspiring story of a positive way forward for humans, this is your book. In it, a few brilliant humans create a new kind of existence and become, essentially, their own self-designed descendant-beings: the ultimate tale of “intelligent design.” It’s not about a sad ending of human beings, but, rather, the next stage of being, as transapients. Follow their (our) grand adventures, in the spirit of Buzz Lightyear: “to infinity and beyond!”
Displaying 1 of 1 review