The Ex-Human
The Ex-Human

Author: Michael Bérubé

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2024-05-28

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 0231560591

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Facing threats like climate change and nuclear warfare, science fiction authors have conjured apocalyptic scenarios of human extinction. Can such gloomy fates help us make sense of our contemporary crises? How important is the survival of our species if we wind up battling for an Earth that has become an unhabitable hellscape? What other possible futures do narratives of the end of humanity allow us to imagine? Michael Bérubé explores the surprising insights of classic and contemporary works of SF that depict civilizational collapse and contemplate the fate of Homo sapiens. In a lively, conversational style, he considers novels by writers including Ursula K. Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Liu Cixin, Philip K. Dick, and Octavia Butler, as well as films that feature hostile artificial intelligence, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, and the Terminator and Matrix franchises. Bérubé argues that these works portray a future in which we have become able to see ourselves from the vantage point of something other than the human. Though framed by the possibility of human extinction, they are driven by a vision of the “ex-human”—a desire to imagine that another species is possible. For all science fiction readers worried about the fate of humanity, The Ex-Human is an entertaining yet sobering account of how key novels and films envision the world without us.

Tales of the Ex-Apes
Tales of the Ex-Apes

Author: Jonathan Marks

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2015-09-08

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0520961196

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What do we think about when we think about human evolution? With his characteristic wit and wisdom, anthropologist Jonathan Marks explores our scientific narrative of human origins—the study of evolution—and examines its cultural elements and theoretical foundations. In the process, he situates human evolution within a general anthropological framework and presents it as a special case of kinship and mythology. Tales of the Ex-Apes argues that human evolution has incorporated the emergence of social relations and cultural histories that are unprecedented in the apes and thus cannot be reduced to purely biological properties and processes. Marks shows that human evolution has involved the transformation from biological to biocultural evolution. Over tens of thousands of years, new social roles—notably spouse, father, in-laws, and grandparents—have co-evolved with new technologies and symbolic meanings to produce the human species, in the absence of significant biological evolution. We are biocultural creatures, Marks argues, fully comprehensible by recourse to neither our real ape ancestry nor our imaginary cultureless biology.

Ex-Patriots
Ex-Patriots

Author: Peter Clines

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2013-04-23

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0804136599

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The second novel in Peter Clines' bestselling Ex series. It's been two years since the plague of ex-humans decimated mankind. Two years since the superheroes St. George, Cerberus, Zzzap, and Stealth gathered Los Angeles’s survivors behind the walls of their fortress, the Mount. Since then, the heroes have been fighting to give the Mount’s citizens hope, and something like a real life. But now supplies are growing scarce, the zombies are pressing in . . . and the heroes are wondering how much longer they can hold out. Then hope arrives in the form of a surviving US Army battalion--and not just any battalion. The men and women of the Army's Project Krypton survived the outbreak because they are super-soldiers, created before mankind's fall to be better, stronger, faster than normal humans--and their secure base in Arizona beckons as a much needed refuge for the beleaguered heroes and their charges. But a dark secret lies at the heart of Project Krypton, and those behind it wield an awesome and terrifying power.

Deus Ex: Black Light (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided prequel)
Deus Ex: Black Light (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided prequel)

Author: James Swallow

Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)

Published: 2016-08-23

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1785651218

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ILLUMINATE THE SHADOWS The year is 2029, and the shining promise of a new age of human augmentation is in ruins in the wake of the devastating ‘Aug Incident’ – a horrific catastrophe triggered by a cabal of shadowy power brokers, where millions of cybernetically-enhanced people suffered a forced psychotic break. Awakening in the aftermath of a changed world, with gaps in his memories and suspicion on all sides, augmented ex-cop and former security operative Adam Jensen struggles to piece his life back together, in a new reality where ‘Augs’ have become the targets of hatred, fear and violent discrimination. Now the dark forces behind the Incident are gathering once again, reaching out to manipulate the course of global events through terror and intimidation. To find the answers that he seeks and the people who destroyed everything he knew, Jensen must return to the ashes of the past, reconnect with old allies, and risk all to expose a deadly conspiracy – but in a world shattered by secrets, can the truth be brought into the light? A brand-new official Deus Ex novel, bridging events between Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the brand-new game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Deus Ex
Deus Ex

Author: James Swallow

Publisher: Random House Worlds

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780345523594

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IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. BUT YOU CAN SEE IT FROM HERE. In the near future, with physical augmentation gaining ground and nano-cybernetics only years away, the dawn of limitless human evolution is just beyond the horizon, and a secret corporate cabal of ruthless men intends to make sure that humankind stays under its control. But two people on opposite sides of the world are starting to ask questions that could get them killed. Secret Service agent Anna Kelso has been suspended for investigating the shooting that claimed her partner's life. Anna suspects that the head of a bio-augmentation firm was the real target, and against orders she's turned up a few leads concerning a covert paramilitary force and a cadre of underground hackers. But the cover-up runs deep, and now there's a target on her back. Meanwhile, Ben Saxon, former SAS officer turned mercenary, joins a shadowy special ops outfit. They say they're a force for good, but Saxon quickly learns that the truth is not so clear-cut. So begins a dangerous quest to uncover a deadly secret that will take him from Moscow to London, D.C. to Geneva, and to the dark truth--if he lives that long. The year is 2027; in a world consumed by chaos and conspiracy, two people are set on a collision course with the most powerful and dangerous organization in history--and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - the Official Guide
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - the Official Guide

Author: Future Press

Publisher: Future Press Verlag Und Marketing Gmbh

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9783869930336

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Choice is everything in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Choosing your own approach is at the heart of the game, and the official guide reflects this in every way. Multiple route walkthroughs are provided for each and every section of the game, so wherever you are you’ll be able to see all of the possible approaches and their rewards and consequences. See what the game truly has to offer and get the complete Deus Ex: Human Revolution experience. Multi-route Walkthrough The walkthrough features a unique multi-route structure. Whether you play stealthily, hack your way through, or simply shooting everyone down, there’s a route to follow that suits your playstyle. Augmentations Exposed Understanding and combining the Augmentations is where the real fun lies in Deus Ex. The dedicated Augmentation chapter covers each Augmentation in exhaustive detail. Quick-look Item Maps For each section in the game we provide highly detailed maps. The Optional Exploration sections of the guide ensure you’ll never miss an item or secret. Use of Weapons Learn everything there is to know about the game’s arsenal of weapons, grenades and mines. A staggering amount of information is divulged about each one. Side Quest Mastery Ensure that you don’t miss a single Side Quest and experience the complete Deus Ex: Human Revolution story. We provide a separate walkthrough for each Side Quest and all rewards are outlined. Everything Uncovered Our comprehensive Completion Guide is designed with a single goal in mind: unlocking every single Achievement/Trophy in a single play through.

Lingua Ex Machina
Lingua Ex Machina

Author: William H. Calvin

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 9780262531986

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A neuroscientist and a linguist show how evolution could have given rise to structured language. A machine for language? Certainly, say the neurophysiologists, busy studying the language specializations of the human brain and trying to identify their evolutionary antecedents. Linguists such as Noam Chomsky talk about machinelike "modules" in the brain for syntax, arguing that language is more an instinct (a complex behavior triggered by simple environmental stimuli) than an acquired skill like riding a bicycle. But structured language presents the same evolutionary problems as feathered forelimbs for flight: you need a lot of specializations to fly even a little bit. How do you get them, if evolution has no foresight and the intermediate stages do not have intermediate payoffs? Some say that the Darwinian scheme for gradual species self-improvement cannot explain our most valued human capability, the one that sets us so far above the apes, language itself. William Calvin and Derek Bickerton suggest that other evolutionary developments, not directly related to language, allowed language to evolve in a way that eventually promoted a Chomskian syntax. They compare these intermediate behaviors to the curb-cuts originally intended for wheelchair users. Their usefulness was soon discovered by users of strollers, shopping carts, rollerblades, and so on. The authors argue that reciprocal altruism and ballistic movement planning were "curb-cuts" that indirectly promoted the formation of structured language. Written in the form of a dialogue set in Bellagio, Italy, Lingua ex Machina presents an engaging challenge to those who view the human capacity for language as a winner-take-all war between Chomsky and Darwin.

Exaholics
Exaholics

Author: Lisa Marie Bobby

Publisher: Union Square & Co.

Published: 2016-02-10

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1454921269

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Severing a cherished relationship is one of the most painful experiences in life—and cutting those emotional ties to a loved one can feel almost like ending an addiction. Up till now, people recovering from other problems were able to get real help—like AA and rehab—while those struggling in the aftermath of traumatic breaks dealt with platitudes and friends insisting they should "get over it already." But now Exaholics Anonymous treats getting over an ex like kicking a chemical habit. Written by counselor and therapist Dr. Lisa Bobby, Exaholics offers meaningful support and advice to anyone trapped in the obsessive pain of a broken, or dying, attachment. She helps the brokenhearted heal, showing them, on a deep level, how to develop a conceptual framework for their experience, understand the emotional processes at work inside themselves, find the path to recovery, and free themselves of shame, injured ego, and remorse. In-depth case studies of others' journeys will illuminate the way to future happiness.

Ex-Purgatory
Ex-Purgatory

Author: Peter Clines

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2014-01-14

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0804136629

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The fourth novel in Peter Clines' bestselling Ex series. When he’s awake, George Bailey is just an ordinary man. Five days a week he coaxes his old Hyundai to life, curses the Los Angeles traffic, and clocks in at his job as a handyman at the local college. But when he sleeps, George dreams of something more. George dreams of flying. He dreams of fighting monsters. He dreams of a man made of pure lightning, an armored robot, a giant in an army uniform, a beautiful woman who moves like a ninja. Then one day as he’s walking from one fix-it job to the next, a pale girl in a wheelchair tells George of another world, one in which civilization fell to a plague that animates the dead…and in which George is no longer a glorified janitor, but one of humanity’s last heroes. Her tale sounds like madness, of course. But as George’s dreams and his waking life begin bleeding together, he starts to wonder—which is the real world, and which is just fantasy?

Ex-Communication
Ex-Communication

Author: Peter Clines

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2013-07-09

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0385346832

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The third novel in Peter Clines' bestselling Ex series. “All of us try to cheat death. I was just better prepared to do it than most folks.” In the years since the wave of living death swept the globe, St George and his fellow heroes haven’t just kept Los Angeles’ last humans alive—they’ve created a real community, a bustling town that’s spreading beyond its original walls and swelling with new refugees. But now one of the heroes, perhaps the most powerful among them, seems to be losing his mind. The implacable enemy known as Legion has found terrifying new ways of using zombies as pawns in his attacks. And outside the Mount, something ancient and monstrous is hell-bent on revenge. As Peter Clines weaves these elements together in yet another masterful, shocking climax, St. George, Stealth, Captain Freedom, and the rest of the heroes find that even in a city overrun by millions of ex-humans... …there’s more than one way to come back from the dead.