Transhumanism in fiction. Please recommend me things

[SaintRidley]

So I've been thinking a bit about transhumanism in some of my recent readings and I was wondering if the playground could help me compile a list of more books/films/essays/scholarly articles/comics/webcomics/etc. that might be of use in research on the history of transhumanist ideas.

I'm particularly looking for any of these things:

Any pre-20th century literature which touches on the nature of immortality or otherwise becoming more than human, or which deals with characters who are more than human already.

Any science fiction/fantasy prior to the '70s which touches on the same.

Modern representations of transhumanism, from any time in the past 20 years.


Also, if it's not in English, that's okay. If it's Spanish I'll be able to read it easily. If it's German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, or Icelandic I'll be able to slowly read it and figure it out with dictionary aid. If it's any other language I'll have to get a translation, though.
Anything you can recommend will help. Thank you.

[Fragenstein]

The Picture of Dorian Grey, obviously. Written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. That doesn't involve enhancement through technology, but it still transcends humanity.

For that matter, you might want to consider a comparison with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by (duh), Jules Verne. Captain Nemo makes use of his technology and submarine to at least transcend human law and morality. He might still be mortal, but by using the Nautilus as an extension of his own will he performs some inhuman acts.

Or, hell. Go with the original Man vs. Superman in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" by Friedrich Nietzsche in the late to mid 1880s. Here's an individual who transcends humanity by the very act of existing.

Shouldn't "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" count as well? The Invisible Man? Neither of these are transhuman in the cybernetic sense, but it still involves transcending the accepted human nature.



Philip K. D*I*C*K and L. Sprague de Camp both have some good pre-1970 work laying the groundwork for cyberpunk.

Also check out K.W. Jeter. In particular, his Dr. Adder novel written in 1972 and published in 1984 (the delay do to controversy surrounding the material, apparently).

Afterwards, you're running into... ugh... William Gibson. Good luck with that.

[Yora]

You have come to the right place.

Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell, the two big names of the genre. Blade Runner isn't exactly about the future of human evolution but about artificial humans that are anatomically superior but socially inferior, but I would still count it in.

Maybe you could even say the whole work of Shirow Masamune. (Well, maybe not the whole, since he did "other things" than sci-fi on the side, if you catch my drift. ) The original comic of Ghost in the Shell is different than the movie adaptation in many ways, but still deals with the subject a lot.

"What guarantee is there that I'll remain "me"?"
"None. But to be human is to continually change. Your desire to remain as you are is what ultimately limits you."

That's gold, right there!
Appleseed is less about cyborgs, though one of the protagonists is one, but more about optimized clones creating a stable environment for the remaining regular humans who made it through the last global wars. Hacn't read Tokyo Tank Police or watched Real Drive yet, so I can't say a lot about them.

Also Akira, of course! This one is pretty straight about humans starting to make the step towards energy beings. I think, I've only read the first volume so far.
And since we're at it Neon Genesis Evangelion. No, it's not at all about giant robots fighting giant monsters. This does happen, and quite a lot, but is actually only one aspect of the much bigger story. However, it's a really weird and complicated story that is not easy to entirely figure out.

Similar, 2001 probably would also count. That movie is about equal to weirdness and confusion to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Bioshock and Bioshock 2 would also qualify. They are more about a social Übermensch-Transformation but have an aspect of developing superhuman powers as well. They are not really serious, but calling them parodies or satire wouldn't do them right either. They are using a really weird scenario to adress interesting issues.
A slightly (read: considerably) bigger stretch would possibly be the Metal Gear Solid Series for Playstation 2 and 3. It's not so much about humans becomming different, but about the entire social and technological world becoming very different and in turn changing the idea and meaning of what being humans is. It's much less confusing that Neon Genesis Evagelion but a close second when it comes to weirdness. And these games do not have a fourth wall at all.

[Selrahc]

The Culture series as an example of a transhumanist society that works incredibly well.

Deep Space 9 has something of a transhumanist arc in the later seasons revolving around doctor Bashir.

The Dune series . More of a feature in the later books with Tleilaxu, but even the first book touches on transhumanist ideas.

Alpha Centauri is heavily based around transhumanist themes, in quite a few different forms.

[Tebryn]

If you'd like to count Visual Novels there is Analogue: A Hate Story and Digital: A Love Story. Don't Take it Personal Babe, it just ain't Your Story is made by the same people but is more about privacy when we reach a saturation point in technological communication. Still a good story if you're into Visual Novels. Analogue is available on Steam even and as of today, oddly enough, on sale along with it's soundtrack.

[SaintRidley]

I'm good for anything. Avatar even gets notice on this subject, so don't worry about how tangential the relation might be. This'll be a long project for me.

Dune and Foundation are how I got on the subject initially, by the way. Didn't want to mention them right away, just to see if someone would recommend one or both.

[WalkingTarget]

A fair amount of the webcomic Dresden Codak deals with transhumanism (specifically the interests/goals of Kim Ross).

Transmetropolitan also deals with it in a few places (the Transient fad and the way some people choose to upload their consciousness into clouds of nanomachines)

[SaintRidley]

I'm going to make a note of this in the original post, but don't worry about if the work is in a language other than English. I also speak Spanish and have the tools to figure out German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic should any of those languages have particularly good works on the subject that aren't translated into English. Any other language and I'll have to have a translation, though.


Dresden Codak is great.

Please keep up the suggestions. I'm looking forward to the research.

[Tebryn]

I'm good for anything. Avatar even gets notice on this subject, so don't worry about how tangential the relation might be. This'll be a long project for me.

I'd suggest you look both of them up then. Especially with Analogue: A Hate Story only being 5 bucks for another 16 hours.

[Selrahc]

Transmetropolitan also deals with it in a few places (the Transient fad and the way some people choose to upload their consciousness into clouds of nanomachines)

Basically just the first book. It completely fades into the background after that.

[Eldan]

Take a look at Alastair Reynolds, especially his Revelation Space series. For optimal reading pleasure, I suggest reading it in chronological (instead of publishing) order, starting with the short Story The Great Wall of Mars.
(The problem being that the Great Wall of Mars is a short story that introduces characters and background elements that suddenly turn up and become very important in the third book of the series, without being introduced there. Slightly annoying).

[HandofShadows]

Hacn't read Tokyo Tank Police or watched Real Drive yet, so I can't say a lot about them.

Tokyo Tank Police (Dominion) has a few elements of Transhumanism but they tend to be in the background (basically one character) in the manga (don't know about the vids). Have not seen Real Drive either but from the decription it might be good to look at.

[BRC]

Basically just the first book. It completely fades into the background after that.

Well, not quite. There is a chapter at one point about the Foglets, people who upload their minds into a cloud of nanomachines, and during the chapter about reservations he visits the Farsight Community, a place where unrestricted scientific research has led to some very strange technology.

[HandofShadows]

Can't belive we all missed this one. "Amped" by Daniel H. Wilson. Have not read it (and it's new) but reviews have been good.

Amazon blurb on it

Technology makes them superhuman. But mere mortals want them kept in their place. The New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse creates a stunning, near-future world where technology and humanity clash in surprising ways. The result? The perfect summer blockbuster.

As he did in Robopocalypse, Daniel Wilson masterfully envisions a frightening near-future world. In Amped, people are implanted with a device that makes them capable of superhuman feats. The powerful technology has profound consequences for society, and soon a set of laws is passed that restricts the abilities—and rights—of "amplified" humans. On the day that the Supreme Court passes the first of these laws, twenty-nine-year-old Owen Gray joins the ranks of a new persecuted underclass known as "amps." Owen is forced to go on the run, desperate to reach an outpost in Oklahoma where, it is rumored, a group of the most enhanced amps may be about to change the world—or destroy it.

Once again, Daniel H. Wilson's background as a scientist serves him well in this technologically savvy thriller that delivers first-rate entertainment, as Wilson takes the "what if" question in entirely unexpected directions. Fans of Robopocalypse are sure to be delighted, and legions of new fans will want to get "amped" this summer.

[Jyrnn]

Richard K Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies) deals with the themes you are looking for, albeit through the lens of a hard-boiled, sci-fi detective story.

I've only read a few but Iain M Banks' Culture novel could do for you as well.

[Weezer]

In addition to the great suggestions others have put forward I'd like to add Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. It hevily features a transhuman enemy, a few other transhuman civilizations and even an ex-transhuman main character. Though here I use the 'human' part of transhuman loosly, they are mostly members (or former members) of other races, with humans being just one small and pretty young race amongst a host of inhabitants of the galaxy.

[Megatron46]

Richard K Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies) deals with the themes you are looking for, albeit through the lens of a hard-boiled, sci-fi detective story.

I've only read a few but Iain M Banks' Culture novel could do for you as well.

I second this!
Also the Eclipse Phase RPG deals a lot with transhumanist ideas!

[GenericGuy]

It's not a Webcomic/series, but Orion's Arm is all about Transhumanism and Singularity(s) http://www.orionsarm.com/

Deus ex game series, especially Human Revolution.

[grimbold]

i immediately thought of this

funny transhumanism

[Gensh]

I second this!
Also the Eclipse Phase RPG deals a lot with transhumanist ideas!

The Exalted RPG does as well. It's most apparent with the Infernal and Alchemical character type (and Lunar, once you get past WEREWOLVES!), but it's really deeply rooted in all Exalts. Solars are particularly interesting in this respect, as their focus is "human, but better." In the long run, they must deal with being perfectly human, but immortal and obscenely powerful - their friends and family will all die of age or illness or disaster, but for them, centuries pass idly, and they can create miracles with no real effort. Historically they all go mad.

[Clertar]

Transhumanism is one of the main themes of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

[Iruka]

Der Letzte seiner Art (The last of his kind) by Andreas Eschbach might be interesting for you. It's about a "left over" cyborg from a cancelled military program and describes how he has to deal with the alterations to his body in his everyday life. There's also some action and the main plot is about some conspiracy stuff but I remember it as a relatively realistic take on the scenario. But the, I read it more than five years ago.

It has been translated into several other languages but weirdly not into English, so I'll guess you'd have to work with the german version.

Otherland by Tad Williams might also fit the bill.

[Weezer]

Otherland by Tad Williams might also fit the bill.

Otherland definitely works and is a good series, however it suffers from Williams' tendency to pack books with fluff and uneeded sub-plots. He seems to be one of those authors who writes as if a book doesn't count if it's less than 800 pages...