From: mike99 (mike99@lascruces.com)
Date: Wed Mar 06 2002 - 21:33:26 MST
Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End was already mentioned when the
Transcendental Fiction list idea was first proposed. That work certainly
describes a type of Singularity, albeit one with a rather underexplained
cause. But I would like to propose that portions of Clarke's 3001: The Final
Odyssey (is that the right subtitle?) also qualify. While the book as a
whole tends to be more traditional SF, in which the year 3001 is "the future
the way it used to be," the prologue describes a Singularity having occurred
to the unnamed alien race that is behind the powerful monoliths that were
central to all the 2001-series novels. These beings had advanced through
stages to immortality, then species unity of mind, and eventually embedding
their minds into the very fabric of space. They also uplift (and judge)
lesser species. If you don't want to read the whole book, just read those
first few pages and about the last 10. Or better yet, read the whole thing.
Michael LaTorra
mike99@lascruces.com
mlatorra@nmsu.edu
Member:
Extropy Institute: www.extropy.org
World Transhumanist Association: www.transhumanism.org
Alcor Life Extension Foundation: www.alcor.org
Society for Technical Communication: www.stc.org
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