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Futurists will convene to discuss bots, biometrics and all things forward-thinking at the first-ever Transhuman Strategies conference

Prospect silicon valley, a nonprofit clean-tech commercialization incubator, sits on Las Plumas Avenue in East San Jose, somewhere between King Road and 101.

Located in a mysterious wilderness of business parks and industrial landscapes, the venue already seems "out there" beyond good and evil, beyond native and exotic, beyond urban and suburban. So it seems fitting in post-cyberpunk fashion that San Jose's first-ever Transhuman Strategies conference will unfold this Saturday.

Our old pal R.U. Sirius and several other edge-thinking provocateurs will wax poetic about life extension, biohacking, anti-aging technologies, neuroscience, biometrics and all sorts of subjects related to transhumanism. In particular, Sirius, along with compadre Jay Cornell, will sign copies of their new book, Transcendence: The Disinformation Encyclopedia of Transhumanism and the Singularity.

Crudely simplified, transhumanism (sometimes abbreviated as H+) is a futurist ideology aiming to enhance the intellectual, physical and psychological capacities of humans. In many cases, the discussion revolves around the use or misuse of technology to augment human capability. For example, this could involve cutting-edge medical research in anti-aging, the use of nanobots in your bloodstream, or even the garage tinkerer taking a scalpel to himself and implanting diodes in his fingers. There's a wide variety of activity and discussion continuing to unfold, all under the banner of transhumanism. There's even a magazine called H+.

"Transhumanists believe that humans can, should and have an implicit right to enhance themselves through technology beyond the currently perceived limits," Sirius tells me. "Currently, the focus is largely on slowing, stopping and perhaps reversing aging soon. This means increased healthspan as well as lifespan. And on increased intelligence, whether through neural and chemical interventions or through unifying with advanced artificial intelligence."

Way back in the pre-Internet days of the late '80s/early '90s, Sirius co-founded Mondo 2000, a pioneering magazine of radical technology, cyberpunk visions, fractals, drugs, artificial intelligence, cellular automata, raves, robot sex, electronic music and other faster-than-light energy fields for the tech-savvy masses. Ten years ago, he also published Counterculture Through the Ages: From Abraham to Acid House, a cosmopolitan romp through dropout culture from biblical patriarchs to the current day. (Abraham being the first dropout, of course.) These days, Sirius shows up in all the transhumanism arguments. His new book, Transcendence, is yet another taxonomic table-spread of characters, movements, technologies and ideas intended to apply a sense of humor to the whole shooting match. Sirius says the time was right for such a book.

"In 1993, I coauthored Mondo 2000: A User's Guide to the New Edge, which told people about the digital reality that was about to swallow them up," Siri

us says. "Now seems like a good time to talk about how robotics, longevity drugs, replaceable parts and a whole host of other transhumanoid technologies are likely to start having an effect." Several others on the cutting-edge will present at the conference, which begins with a "Meet & Greet" session from 12:15-1pm, followed by speakers from 1-5pm. In one case, Hank Pellissier, director of the Brighter Brains Institute, has produced eight transhumanist conferences in in the last few years, while also authoring Invent Utopia Now: Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era, and Brighter Brains: 225 ways to elevate or injure IQ. In another case, life extension activist Maria Konovalenko is a Biology of Aging PhD student at USC and also Vice President of the Science for Life Extension Foundation in Moscow. Even better, the writer, futurist and philosopher Zoltan Istvan is the founder of the Transhumanist political party and is that party's 2016 presidential candidate. All of these innovative characters will dazzle the audience with radical forward-thinking ideas on how to augment the human lifespan.

Sirius says that even though Google and DARPA are working on huge projects related to transhumanist ideas, there's a tremendous fervor below the surface, whether it's citizen science, biohacking or even maker culture.

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5 Comics to Read Before Watching the New Series Powers

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When you dive into Powers, the new series hitting Sony PlayStation this week, youre entering into a world where superheroes and villains exist, but its the poor schlubs of the police force who have to clean everything up afterwards. Its a take on the genre that might be surprising for audiences more used to the sleek government agencies of the Marvel universe, but you get used to it. It also helps if youve consumed the source materialparticularly the works of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, who co-created the comics the show is based on. Heres a quick reading list to help you prepare.

The relationship between the Powers comic book and TV show is akin to that between the comic and TV versions of The Walking Dead: the characters and overall situation are the same, and some events are shared, but theyre essentially alternate takes on the same ideas. That means you can read the earliest issues of Bendis and Oemings comic and think of them as an ersatz preview of whats to come, instead of a series of spoilers for the show itself. How to read it: Available digitally and in print collections as Who Killed Retro Girl?, Roleplay, and Little Deaths.

The first issues of the comic book series second volume might be a jump ahead from the previous selectionthe first volume ran 37 issues and one annual in totalbut the Legends storyline might prove particularly important for one of the characters at the center of the Powers show. No spoilers here, but once you see the first episode and wonder if Calista (played in the show by Olesya Rulin) will get the superpowers she longs for, youll find yourself tempted to skip to the answer in here. (The second volumes revised premise, which sees superpowers outlawed as the result of an apocalyptic event in the previous series, also hints at a potential future for the TV show; think of it as a somewhat involved What if?) How to read it: Available digitally and in the Legends print collection.

Outside of the realm of Powers, another comic book written by Bendis also offers some of the attitude on display in the show. Scarlet might not feature superpowers, but its focus on the beginnings of a social insurrectionand, in particular, the young girl at the center of it alltouches on some of the generational issues on display in the Powers show, as well as showing a somewhat less favorable attitude towards the authorities. You can almost imagine Scarlet being one of the younger characters bitter at those with superpowers and hanging around with Calista, in many ways. (Lovely art by Alex Maleev, as well.) How to read it: Available digitally and in a print collection.

For those looking for more straight-forward superheroics, Powers co-creator Michael Avon Oeming is also the man behind The Victories, a straight-up superhero epic, complete with Superman and Batman analogs (Metatron and Faustus, respectively). Oeming described the series as being about the heroes behind the mask, which makes it a good companion piece to the equally-grounded Powers if one thats a little more sympathetic to the guys in tights. How to read it: Available digitally and in the Transhuman, Posthuman and Metahuman print collections.

And now for something completely different: Bendis and Oeming dont just collaborate on Powers; theyre also the co-creators of a kid-friendly series called Takio, about two sisters who end up with superpowers and decide to use them to fight crime. The series, which so far consists of two graphic novels, has a similar sense of humor and the frenetic pacing of Powers, but replaces the satirical grimness of the latter with something far more zany, for want of a better word. Think of it as the pitch for the next Sony PlayStation series. How to read it: Available digitally and in print editions.

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5 Comics to Read Before Watching the New Series Powers

More than skin deep, beauty enriches lives

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Illustration: Rocco Fazzari

The conversation about Sydney's new Gehry building resurrects the beauty question. To most people it seems a small question, almost trivial, a foible. I beg to differ. In my opinion it's a question every bit as important as Medicare and motorways and massively more subversive, because it's about how we connect to the universe.

We moderns are shy of beauty. We don't know what it means, what it's for or what it's worth. Unable to weigh it or count it, we accept the boofheads' view that beauty is both superficial and almost embarrassingly personal. Beauty is something to lust after, compete for, even own but not something to talk about. The conversation starts and finishes with "I like it", as though that's all there is.

Our buildings look rubbish (compared with those designed by Vanbrugh or Palladio) and our music sounds crude (compared with that of Bach or Verdi)

How did we get it so wrong?

Beauty may be subjective, but this is precisely why it matters. Its subjectivity takes it from some optional externality for when you have time and money, like that retirement novel you'll never write, to being as daily a necessity as bread or water.

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Beauty is a need and a right. In all its forms personal, musical, visual, spatial, natural, moral and mathematical it is something we should debate and demand, something to march for in the streets.

Everything in our culture tells us to despise and devalue beauty. Our brash cowboy background makes beauty a luxury. Twentieth century scientism sidelined it into the squashy female bracket, to be closeted in the "home". The subsequent postmodern overlay reinforced this, making beauty so personal and contingent we barely have a common language, even, for the discussion. And the neoliberal greywash over the lot means that if it can't be dollar-costed, it has no meaning, value or a right toexist.

Yet our deepest experience gives lie to this, as does our entire species memory. Beauty used to be the focus of intense imaginative engagement, philosophical enquiry, education and public pursuit. Taken as one of the highest human values - up there with truth and love it was tested and scrutinised, pummelled and parsed, debated, refined and above all taught.

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More than skin deep, beauty enriches lives

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Main/Transhuman – Television Tropes & Idioms

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"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it. Extinction is approaching. Fight it." Transhumans, sometimes called Posthumans, are people who have exceeded the normal mental and physical abilities. The "how" that happened can be anything from magic to science, the only thing that's common among all of them is that they are better than was possible before. A positive portrayal of transhumanism generally places a work on the Enlightenment side of the Romanticism Versus Enlightenment spectrum while a negative portrayal or conspicuous absence of it does the opposite. In fact, most popular media deals with transhumanism and anything relating to it as being 'dehumanizing' or even comparable to Eugenics with little chance for anything different. Thus, it has become a cliche that transhumanists are Sci Fi Nazis or Evilutionary Biologists with a God complex, even though it has an equal potential to be used for good. Generally, anarcho-Cyber Punk writers focus on the evils of Transhumanism. So do religious Moral Guardians, when ironically, many religions espouse a Transhumanist plane of existence free from the sinfulness of flesh. On the other hand, transhumanists and utilitarians themselves focus on the benefits. The main reason why Transhumanism's opponents tend to be very uncomfortable about it, however, is because of the implied radical alteration of what it means to be human. It is therefore assumed by said opponents that, while the idea does have potential for positive outcomes, if there was to be a negative outcome, then it probably would not be reversible. Even though this trope is called Transhuman, it's not actually limited to humans. Other species or entities that are enhanced count as well. The word 'transhuman' is actually found in legitimate scientific and political debates far more often than in fiction, although this has began to change in recent years courtesy of authors such as Charles Stross, Alastair Reynolds and Greg Egan. In spite of this, being transhuman encompasses many of other science fiction staples with their distinct tropes: Artificial Human: A man-made biological/organic human, often with purposefully modified genes. Artificial Limbs: A limited form of enhancement that's specific to the limbs. Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: The mystical or religious variant. Assimilation Plot: Transforming an entire species into a Hive Mind with an unified purpose. Badass Transplant: See Artificial Limbs above. Being Human Sucks/Humans Are Flawed: A major motivation. Beware the Superman: Where transhumanism has an overall negative net effect on the world. Bio-Augmentation: Biological enhancement, as compared to a Cyborg. Brain Uploading: The physical limitations of a body are outright removed. Cloning Blues: Are Clones People? Or just expendable? With LEGO Genetics, they may end up being more than we could ever imagine. Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Artificial limbs and organs make you less "human" in a way that has some sort of measurable or observable consequence. Used as a "balance" for being enhanced, usually seen in Cyberpunk RPGs. Cyborgs: Cybernetic enhancement. This is what most people think of when they think of transhumans. Designer Babies: Making a person better before they're even born. Emergency Transformation: If you become better than you were before. Better. Stronger. Faster. Evilutionary Biologist: A transhumanist who thinks that Utopia Justifies the Means and believes that what they do is the "natural" evolutionary path, rather than some controlled change. Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Genetics = magic. Humans Are Psychic in the Future: The concept is self-explanatory, if not the science. Magic Enhancement: Magical transhumansim, when applied to people, at least. Nanomachines: One of the most common ways to become Transhuman is through them. Pro-Human Transhuman: Despite no longer being (fully) human, the character still identifies with humanity. Super Breeding Program: Using genetic trait inheritance to create better people. Sufficiently Advanced Aliens: Nearly always have advanced themselves to god-like power instead of starting out like that. Super Human Trafficking: Abuse of transhumans via slavery, organ trafficking, and other means. Super Serum: One of the ways to become one, but be wary of it's Psycho Serum cousin. Super Soldier: This one usually relies on the physical aspect of transhumanism for war. The Singularity: A hypothetical scenario where we become transhumans due to acceleration of progress. Transhuman Aliens: Where what appears to be a species of aliens turns out to actually be transhumans. Transhuman Treachery: For when this makes you go bad. Touched by Vorlons: Aliens or whatnot might be the cause. bermensch: Gratuitous German, meaning "Over-man" or "superman". Transhumans are likely to be transcendent not just on physical, but also on psychological and moral perspectives. Ultimate Life Form: The end-all and be-all of transhumanism (if they were purposely made). Uplifted Animal: A Trans-Animal, basically. We Can Rebuild Him: Forced to be enhanced due to injury, instead of personally seeking it out. Working for a Body Upgrade: Enhanced because they earned it as a job perk. For some of the abilities a Transhuman might have, see Stock Superpowers. See also No Transhumanism Allowed. This may be used as an aspect of a Cyberpunk or Post-Cyberpunk setting.

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'Cause it's gonna be the future soon, I won't always be this way/As the things that make me weak and strange get engineered away...

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Transhuman Traditionalism

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The Monstrosity of Materialism in the Alien Film Series

Abstract: In the Alien Film Series, the cosmos is dominated by the personification Materialism in the interstellar corporation. Materialism understands matter to be both intrinsically self-enclosed and extrinsically other-caused. This dual relation results in the paradox of Materialism, in which matter is both enclosed within itself and caused by what is other than itself. The paradox of Materialism is concretely embodied in the alien monster, which is the monstrosity of Materialism. The greatest of all monsters is that which profanes the sacred order of the cosmos by threatening to disintegrate its absolute self-identity. The disclosure of the monstrosity of Materialism causes consciousness to become alienated from and opposed to itself. The violent battle with the alien is thus a spiritual conflict for the absolute identity of self-conscious mind. The alien terrifies audiences because it threatens to negate, falsify, and annul this idea of an essential identity between man and God.

Self-Alienated Horror

In Ridley Scotts 1979 film Alien, the crew of the commercial salvage ship the Nostromo is directed by the Weyland Corporation to investigate a distress signal on an uninhabited world whereupon they discover a mysterious derelict craft of extraterrestrial origin. The cargo chamber of the wreckage contains thousands of mysterious leathery eggs. Each egg appears to hatch a spidery-limbed "face-hugger" that envelopes human faces, penetrates their oral cavities, and implants an alien zygote which, after a brief period of natal gestation, violently bursts forth from within the bodies of their unwilling hosts. The infant alien which emerges from within a human host rapidly matures into a murderous beast which indiscriminately assails, assimilates, and annihilates all advanced living organisms within its surrounding biosphere.

In David Fincher's 1992 film Alien, the alien is smuggled by the survivors of the events of Aliens aboard an escape pod to crash-land upon on the isolated penal colony Fiorina 161. The meteoric arrival of the alien within their midst leads them, in faith and ignorance, to understand the beast as an omen of the forthcoming apocalypse. Through the collective activity of the alien hive, the alien monstrosity assumes the overriding purpose to exponentially expand to contaminate, corrupt, and consume all life in an endless entropy of self-annihilation.

The alien monster assimilates the appearance of man without his essential reason: it shares a human figure yet expresses neither pity nor remorse. In the alien man's physiology and technology become indiscriminately conjoined. The alien appears as a vicarious embodiment of the technical constructed-ness of human nature. Through this indissoluble fusion of mans naturality and artificiality, the violent exterior battle with the alien dramatizes an interior conflict over the essential nature of man between the opposed notions of necessarily inherited naturality with contingently produced artificiality. Yet the conclusion of the Alien film series appears to leave this conflict unresolved in a dramatic aporia. Neither the nature of man, nor the alien, nor even the relation of man and alien are conclusively elucidated. The alien thus haunts our essential self-understanding as a monstrous living paradox that symbolically dismembers the integral coherency of life, nature, and the human spirit.

"The Titan Prometheus wanted to give man equal footing with the gods. For this purpose he was cast out of Olympus. Well, my friends, the time has finally come for his return."

The expedition of the eponymously named space-ship Prometheus embodies this same mythic quest to wrest forbidden knowledge from what is absolutely other-than mankind. The events which transpire prior to human history have important consequences for the relationship between man and aliens, as the seeding of the Earth by the Engineers announces a wholly new relation between this alien race of supermen and man that, once discovered, transforms our collective idea of human nature, the essence of life on Earth, and the ultimate purpose of human life.

In our space-faring future, we discover a sub-human alien contagion that attaches to a human host, assimilates the essence of man, and is birthed with the cancerous potential to destroy all life. In the pre-historical past, the natures of man and alien have been designed by the superhuman Engineers. The continuity and coherence of human nature is thus doubly threatened by negation at both its original beginning and its final end: the essence of man is designed as a monstrous material artifact, just as man's future purpose is consumed by material monsters. The beginning and end of man is thus altogether enveloped in matter and determined by Materialism. Materialism suppresses form within matter, and then negatively individuates material atoms from one another and within themselves. The consequence is the paradox of Materialism in which all beings are thought to be negated, divided, and annulled. The furthermost negativity of this paradox terminates in the absolute annihilation of being and the logic of nihilism. The horror of the alien is the result of this furthermost alienation of the human nature from itself through the absolute negation of its original nature and final purpose.

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Transhuman Traditionalism

Smirking Revenge – Transhuman Utopian World (Audio) – Video

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Smirking Revenge - Transhuman Utopian World (Audio)
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  1. Transhuman