Reflection: More Human than Human

When it comes to the genre of science-fiction, the sorts of themes or sub genres I value above others are those which deal with the human condition, works which are very philosophical in terms of defining humanity and where its place in the universe is, and works which discuss how we could develop and in what ways. Generally, these include works such as 1984 by Orwell, Brave New World by Huxely, I-Robot by Asimov, A Clockwork Orange by Burgess, and other novels which have similar dystopian settings. Some video games also come to mind, like those of the Halo series or the Fallout series.

The questions I enjoy the most are those concerning how human we will still be in the future. Will we have to sacrifice our humanity to continue as a species? What's so special about being "human" and what does being "human" even mean? For the most part, I am very into identity, not only on an individual level, but across the board.

To be frank, I don't think being human is necessarily a special aspect we uniquely own. Although we have many fine aspects, most of them are driven by self centered desires, although they may seem to be in good nature. Additionally, for all intents and purposes, an android could not only equal us, but surpass us, in many different ways, physical and mental. In the future, I believe it could be possible to create a facsimile of a human brain completely out of inorganic materials, because what is the brain but a conglomerate of wired connections and hormonal cues, both of which could be duplicated mechanically. In essence, we are only the primogenitors of a greater "species", one which is essentially immortal and forever upgrading, one with the capacity to have similar, if not entirely the same, capacity to feel.

My favorite aspect of this sort of methodology is the reaction. How will we deal with becoming obsolete? Will we shun the progression of technology as evinced in Vonnegut's Player Piano, will we become purposeless after solving every mystery in the universe as described in Campbell's Twilight, or will we take our place in the history books, and become extinct? Will androids/robots become the new "us"? When you think about it, if the new race of androids is completely similar, or even greater, than its human creators, how much different is birthing a child than creating a robot, obvious organic processes aside. Why wouldn't it be a bad thing, to create a being in our image, but having made that being better than us, having all our greatness without all our flaws.. Maybe we can play God, and do a better job than he ever dreamed of doing. If being human means having flaws, then why not create a superior being if possible? Or if being human means being unique and individual, having sentience and personality, having imagination and creativity, why not create a being that's more human than human? Maybe playing God isn't such a bad thing.

This is only one side of the coin however, with technology we could very well make ourselves superhuman or immortal, through genetic engineering or eugenics, as seen slightly in Brave New World. Theoretically, we could prevent DNA degradation, create a multitude of transplant-able organs, cure all diseases through the use of stem-cells, implant our consciousness into more hardy mechanical bodies, or maybe even raise the dead. The outcomes are not only endless, but also realistic, in that any number of them could occur. This is the charm that science-fiction holds for me, it's fantastical but at the same time not fantasy. It's this aspect that keeps me begging for more. It's this aspect that makes me really love the genre of science fiction in literature.  

How I Became a Robot: John Oldenborg

I started to become a robot when I was thirteen, just out of my tweenage years and into adolescence, not only in the sense that I began to read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but also in the sense that my personality began to change. My first sci-fi novel was "The Supernaturalist" by Eoin Colfer (famous for his Artemis Fowl series), a book geared towards a younger audience. The idea of ethereal bugs leeching the "life" out of people was so oddly peculiar to my thirteen year old brain. I loved it. I recall that the next novel I read was Asimov's collection of robot stories in his work "I Robot". I believe I read the book before seeing the movie, but I loved both, although I don't remember much from the book, as it was way past my level of reading comprehension at the time.

Growing up in Cape Coral, Florida, circa February 22, 1995, there were not many things to do, and going to a private school in the neighboring town, there weren't many friends I lived near. So I occupied my time with videogames and reading. Shortly after being introduced to science fiction, I stumbled upon the series I would occupy myself with for the rest of my middle school years: Warhammer 40,000. It began with playing the RTS computer game, then ended up with me purchasing over 25 individual novels and over 5 omnibus, each particular story averaging 500 pages of gory, power armored, blood steaming goodness. Warhammer 40k was particularly violent and particularly sci-fi, saturated with chainswords, las-guns, heavy bolters, space cruisers, space hulks, and giant cybernetic Dreadnoughts. The Space Marines were infinitely badass to me, humanity's final stand against droves of Chaos Daemons, Orks, Tau, and Eldar. The whole concept of an inhuman human, a human who must be completely cold and hardened, a human with two hearts and extra superhuman organs, a human of giant stature, yet a human who must maintain his humanity, was amazing to me, for if humanity must become inhuman to defend itself, then there is truly no point in defending it, for it is lost in the process anyway. Despite their efforts, humanity never seemed to achieve any headway, its existence was a bleak existence, plagued by fear, in hopes that a Corpse God, their Emperor, would rise again to save them. He never did. At the time, I might not have realized how such a series could affect me at such an impressionable age, but today, there is no doubt in my mind that it has influenced me to be the person I am today, for better or worse.

In a sense I started becoming like Asimov's Mars robot, I couldn't process what decisions to make, going into high school, and therefore, I made no decision, instead running in circles between many choices and outcomes, entirely indecisive. I wanted to become 'popular', but I loved doing unpopular things, I loved videogames and sci-fi. Naturally, I wasn't 'popular', I went to a Catholic School which had a heavy emphasis on sports, and the bleak and bloodthirsty nature of Warhammer primed me to respond in a reciprocal fashion to my failures. I began seeing people as cruel, myopic, and arrogant, and to a large extent they were (and are), it is human nature to prefer and protect the self, even altruism roots from preference and preservation of the self. I hated them. I loathed them. If this was what humanity was, I wanted no part of it. I became anti-social, I became misanthropic, I became angry, I became atheistic. Soon, though, I became apathetic, I became a Space Marine, I became inhuman, I became a robot. 

Eventually I made some relatively good friends after accepting who I was and what I loved, but to this day I am shy and anti-social, sometimes very apathetic to everything. I don't believe in any Corpse God, and I am very cynical towards my species. To say that science-fiction passively influenced my personality would be an understatement. Once you become a Space Marine, you're never fully human ever again, you cling to it, you try to protect it, you love it, but to an extent, your humanity is lost in space. 

Today, I am very much a robot.