The Transhumanist Wager

 Transhumanism  

Adam Ford recently interviewed Zoltan Istvan, author of the science fiction novel, The Transhumanist Wager.  During the interview, Istvan comments that he intentionally wanted the novel to have a similar effect as Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

Scorned by over 500 publishers and literary agents around the world, former National Geographic and New York Times correspondent Zoltan Istvan presents his bestselling visionary novel, The Transhumanist Wager, as a seminal statement of our times.

This indie philosophical thriller has been called “revolutionary” and “socially dangerous” by readers, scholars, and religious authorities. The novel debuts a challenging original philosophy, which rebuffs modern civilization by inviting the end of the human species—and declaring the onset of something greater.

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Set in the present day, The Transhumanist Wager tells the story of Jethro Knights and his unwavering quest for immortality via science and technology. Fighting against him are fanatical religious groups, economically depressed governments, and mystic Zoe Bach: a dazzling trauma surgeon and the love of his life, whose belief in spirituality and the afterlife is absolute.

Exiled from America and reeling from personal tragedy, Knights forges a new nation of willing scientists on the world’s largest seasteading project, Transhumania. When the world declares war against the floating city, demanding an end to its renegade and godless transhuman experiments and ambitions, Knights strikes back, leaving the planet forever changed.

There are deliberate parallels with Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, according to Istvan. Jethro Knights is a modern John Galt, and his seastead, Transhumania is a modern Galt's Gulch.

Jethro is obsessed with and focused on attaining personal immortality via biological life extension and especially mind uploading and eternal cybernetic life.
According to Istvan, "My main goal was to inspire readers with a powerful artistic statement that would challenge their ideas of life and death. The rapid advancement of life extension science and technology will drastically change everything in our society far sooner than most people realize."

Singularity Weblog's Nikola Danaylov says, "This novel is a must read for anyone interested in the future of our civilization."



SOURCE  H+ Magazine

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