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[Ampersand]

This isn't something I'm putting an incredible amount of effort into. That's not to say I'm not trying, just that it's more of an exercise than story I necessarily plan to do much with. With that in mind, a bit of flavor text from the first chapter. The chapter itself is still in rough draft.



   Excerpt from "A History of the Post-Human Era" by Janus

   "Africa remains a humanitarian nightmare. Although by the time the twenty second century rolled around there had been significant improvement to living conditions to most of Africa's population, and the majority of the worst diseases were eradicated from the face of the Earth; when comparing the current African condition with the lifestyles enjoyed in east coast United States, western Europe, or even Japan, the disparity between Africa and the others is too jarring, too shockingly vast for most people to get their heads around.

   It's dirty. The Cloud signal is weak. The smell of earth and human sweat is ever present. Outside of the largest cities, life styles have hardly caught up with where western Europe was one hundred years ago. The average household in the Suburbs of most African nations has one computer. That is, without Cloud connectivity, without cranial I/O jacks, without even the modern telepresense software that has become ubiquitous throughout the first world. When I wanted to send an early draft of this text to my publisher while in Africa, I had to type it, yes; on a keyboard, send the document via archaic email systems to a specialist in Pretoria to convert it to a Cloud compatible format, then have it transmitted again from there to my publisher.

   When I was in Europe, and I wanted to send a draft to my publisher, it was sent to my publisher.

   When I went to Johannesburg, while no one was completely unaware, many of the locals were only had a vague understanding of what I am. Most people viewed me with a degree of revulsion and anger, though whenever I spoke to anyone that was quickly hidden away. Most of them had a mocha tone to their skin, interwoven features of their white European ancestors and their black African ancestors in everything about them. They took pride in being living proof of dead past prejudices. It may be considered ironic then, that seeing my pale blue false flesh stretched over a metallic skeleton evoked the sort of disdain Union soldiers felt towards Confederates, as if by surpassing mere humanity we had succeeded from it, and betrayed our species. Of course, I had nothing to worry about. If anyone had tried anything, I would have snapped his or her neck and sent the rest running before the body hit the ground."

[Keiseth]

Ohh, I'm liking where this is going. It's my favorite sort of genre, too. I want to know more of the Cloud, as well.

[Little]

Great start!

[Ampersand]

Thank you for the kind words. The first chapter is coming along a bit later than expected as I recently had to reassemble my computer.

[Ampersand]

A Brief Timeline:

2000-2020: Retroactively dubbed the Second Enlightenment, a period where Secular thought flourishes. Though secularism remains a minority worldwide, it makes strong gains in the first world nations, and becomes generally tolerated.

2014: Thorium based miniature fission reactors perfected.

2017: Semi-intelligent robots introduced to the world, and are quickly manufactured to act as Soldiers, bringing renewed hope to victory in the War in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the War on Drugs

2018: The Iraq/Afghanistan war ends in cold peace. The PAramilitary Robotics Corporation, PARC is assigned to a peace keeping role in Afghanistan

2020: First Supercomputers to simulate the human brain are developed in a cooperative effort between IBM, the Pentagon, and PARC.

2026: The United States' withdraws from the War on Drugs, Mexican Government declares martial law and orchestrates total warfare to stamp out the drug cartels. By 2030, Mexico is stabilized.

2031: First life extension treatments begin, predicting more than thirty years added to the average life expectancy. Further extension is limited by gradual genetic deterioration.

2060: Fully Sapient computers introduced. PARC introduces their new mascot to the world, Al. In secret, the Pentagon produces Beth, and IBM produces Gami.

2066: Touting it as a feature that diminishes the possibility of an accident, PARC begins producing a line of robotic police and military units that are fully sapient, thus able to determine friend from foe with added precision and swiftness. The Mind/Machine interface is invented by IBM.

2070: The Artificial neural network of a robot is removed successfully replaced by the brain of a chimpanzee. After a few moments of stillness, the humanoid robot leaped from the operating table, screeching and howling, and had to be terminated. The status holders of society begin adopting a Mind/Machine jack port behind the left ear. Reliance on the internet is at an all time high. Printed material is almost no-where to be found.

2080: At the height of the dominance of the internet, a sudden catastrophe. Information infrastructure collapses, erasing a huge swath of literature from digital archives. Old and worn books are suddenly worth their weight in gold. By chance, the complete works of Friedrich Nietzsche are sold to a PARC researcher.

2081: Phred and Zeta are quietly produced in a PARC laboratory

2100: A replacement for the internet is introduced. The Cloud allows for a direct connection between any two or more computers via what might be called a National Wi-fi. But it is not merely information that can be shared with it. With it's massive bitrates, and mind/machine interface support, people look through each others eyes, feel with each others fingers. People share experiences in a very real way.

2114: Death is abolished. New gene therapies combined with full brain transplants or, as most prefer to call them, full body transplants, into mechanical bodies, the upper limit on a possible human lifetime may never be reached naturally.

2126: Cold Fusion

32$!4564: ??

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

13Toasteroven: Mankind is something to be Surpassed.

0000: What have you done to surpass mankind?

0000: Once you were ape, and much within you remains ape. Once you were Worm, and much within you remains worm.

0000: --Zeta

[Nilocy]

if theres anything I learn when reading sci-fi, its that nanites/brain augmentations are the coolest thing ever. By chance, have you read any of Peter. F. Hamiliton's stuff? Its full of really clever ideas involving neuaral nanoics as they call them.

Otherwise, great start. You already have me hooked

[Ampersand]

I wouldn't say I'm well read in that area. My Idols are Herbert, Clarke, Asimov, and Philip K. Dick. Also, SEED Magazine, Scientific American, Etc.

[Akigagak]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/20/dean-kamens-robotic-prosthetic-arm-gets-detailed-on-video/

awesome.

[Ampersand]

Nice link there. Here's something else that I'm mulling over while I draft up more of this world building exercise.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/nanomuscle.html

[Ampersand]

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_living_robot/ Further reading for those who care.

[Zai]

Quite awesome links. Your story's great too. =D

To nitpick the writing a little: In English (or at least the American version), whenever the same character is talking over several paragraphs, a quotation mark should be placed at the beginning of each new paragraph. As in:

"Yadda yadda. Bloop bloop kazook.

"Haha, Tooha. Big bang birock bamboo!

"Todo, here. Good sasquatch!"

[woose1]

"Yadda yadda. Bloop bloop kazook.

"Haha, Tooha. Big bang birock bamboo!

"Todo, here. Good sasquatch!"

.....Confused face?

[Ampersand]

That's nice and all, only it was an excerpt from a book within a book. I've yet to have duologue.

[Zai]

"Yadda yadda. Bloop bloop kazook.

"Haha, Tooha. Big bang birock bamboo!

"Todo, here. Good sasquatch!"

.....Confused face?

It was a short example. <.<