Monthly Archives: July 2015

When given powers or made non-human, characters gladly betray humanity and side with their creator. Part of the Horror of being infected by The Virus is its ability to corrupt the mind of a victim, subordinating them into a Hive Mind or outright making them a sociopathic shell of their former self, intent only on killing or infecting their former loved ones. But then there's times that a transformation doesn't brainwash, de-soul, drive insane, or demonically possess the victim. Other times the Viral Transformation causes changes that are purely cosmetic, granting amazing abilities albeit at great cost and (usually) a horrifying appearance. So what do these unwilling tranformees do? Become Phlebotinum Rebels or Vampire Refugees and use their powers to fight these monsters? Nope. They engage in Transhuman Treachery. They sell out humanity and ally with who- or what-ever did this to them, regardless of whether or not they wanted to kill all vampires, robots, mutants, or aliens five minutes ago. There is no shock, only joy at becoming "more" than human and being able to flout society's rules. If this Face-Heel Turn is too quick, it gives the impression that one of the other things is going, like The Dark Side, or With Great Power Comes Great Insanity. However; this trope may be justified a couple of ways. If The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body it doesn't matter that vampire Dan doesn't want to drink human blood, he has to, and trying to be friendly won't last. Alternately, someone seeking the Curse That Cures may make the painful choice to switch sides to save their life. If the setting has an ongoing "race war" against what the character has become, if they don't join their new race they'll quickly face death. However most of the time the switch in alliances comes about with alarming speed and lack of concern. At best you'll see these Big Bad Friends offer the transformation to a friend or loved one... and kill them if they refuse. The Dark Side, they have cookies. It seems resisting these new biological impulses or avoiding becoming drunk on power is reserved solely for protagonists with Heroic Willpower. A possible cause of Beware the Superman, this is the third sin in the Scale of Scientific Sins. Compare Sheep in Wolf's Clothing and Species Loyalty. Contrast Monsters Anonymous. May lead to forming an Anti-Human Alliance. Opposite Trope to Pro-Human Transhuman or Humanity Is Infectious, depending on the details.

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Transhuman Treachery - TV Tropes

The writing feels like an easygoing conversation with an intelligent and well-read friend.

The author doesn't offer a careful analysis that considers other viewpoints and counter-arguments. He merely discusses his own idiosyncratic opinions and does so in a pleasant voice. Still, the writing is easy to read and the thoughts expressed easy to follow.

Reading this book is as if floating down a mostly broad, meandering, lazy river. It is pleasant and relaxing for much of it, but occasionlly the river narrows, with stronger currents, and it demands one's attention and one's caution. Also, as one is carried along, one becomes curious about all of the landscape that is passing one by.

It very much reads like non-fiction written by a fiction writer, in a good sense in many ways, but also in a not-so-good sense. The author is clearly thoughtful and articuate, a refined writer. He has a creative mind which is seen in his style. He is a writer who who shows his enjoyment of writing.

What he lacks are the less creative qualities of precision of thought and concision of expression, of analytical rigor and form. He doesn't carefully lay out the premises and evidence for an argument. He is more of a guide and where he is guiding the reader is through the author's own mind, through his thoughts and observations.

So, would I recommend this book? It depends on who was asking.

Even if you disagree with the author, you could still enjoy reading it as long as you appreciate his style. It is a casual read with deep thoughts to contemplate. In final analysis, though, probably the only reason someone would go out of their way to read this book is if they are already a fan of the author. But if your simply curious, it is more than worth sampling or skimming to see if it interests you.

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Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and ...

Posts Tagged transhumanism What is tDCS, and is there actually any science behind its brain-boosting powers? December 4, 2014 at 1:02 pm

Transcranial direct brain stimulation, or tDCS, has hit the big time. By big time we mean that zapping the skull with electric current is now a science that garners serious consideration from many neuroscientists. We explore some new developments in the field, and take a closer look at the science alleged to be behind them.

With Christmas and the holiday season fast approaching, weve compiled a list of all the gadgets that we at ExtremeTech have bought or are saving up to buy so that you, or perhaps a friend or loved one, can feel like theyre living in the future, too. Without further ado, I give you ExtremeTechs 2014 Holiday Gift Guide For The Discerning Geek Who Wants To Feel Like Theyre Living In The Future.

While the human hand, with four fingers and opposable thumb, is pretty darn awesome, it still falls woefully short when it comes to some tasks such as opening a soda bottle or peeling a banana. MIT, which is obviously a firm believer that we can and should enhance humans as far as physically possible, has a solution: a wrist-mounted robot that gives you two extra fingers. With the so-called 7 Finger Robot equipped, you can both grasp a soda bottle and turn the cap at the same time. According to the MIT engineer who led the project, Harry Asada, some users might even begin to perceive the robotic helping fingers as part of their body like a tool you have been using for a long time, you feel the robot as an extension of your hand.

An MIT spin-off in Massachusetts, backed by the Gates Foundation, has developed a small, remote-controlled drug-dispensing implant that sits just under your skin. Such an implant could be used to dispense a whole range of useful drugs but in this case, one of the first commercial applications will be the contraceptive hormone levonorgestrel. A single implant can apparently provide enough levonorgestrel to be effective for 16 years; currently, no implanted contraceptive works for more than five years.

Stanford electrical engineer and biological implant mastermind, Ada Poon, has discovered a way of wirelessly transmitting power to tiny, rice-grain-sized implants that are deep within the human body. This could well be the breakthrough that finally allows for the creation of smaller pacemakers, body-wide sensor networks, and a new class of electroceutical devices that sit deep in the human brain and stimulate neurons directly, providing an alternative for drug-based therapies for depression, Alzheimers, and other neurological ailments.

Scientists have succeeded in creating the first organism with alien DNA. In normal DNA, which can be found within the genes of every organism , the twin strands of the double helix are bonded together with four bases, known as T, G, A, and C. In this new organism, the researchers added two new bases, X and Y, creating a new form of DNA that has never occurred in billions of years of evolution on Earth or elsewhere in the universe. Remarkably, the semi-synthetic alien organism continued to reproduce normally, preserving the new alien DNA during reproduction. In the future, this breakthrough should allow for the creation of highly customized organisms bacteria, animals, humans that behave in weird and wonderful ways that mundane four-base DNA would never allow.

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Transhumanism - News & Rumors | ExtremeTech