< [Iain M. Banks] latest Culture novel ('Excession') is based around
this [eliminate property by making it sentient] . . . It's not as much
fun as some of his other books and far less coherent, but it's the
first to concentrate on the AIs rather than organics, touches on the
Culture's decision to avoid the Singularity, and shows that he
understands the issues. Plus he includes uploading, identity transfer,
backups etc for the first time. >
I had not heard of _State of the Art_ which Mark mentions, but a
couple of Banks’ non-Culture novels deal with uploads:
_Feersum Endjinn_ (1994) sketches the autocratic society of those who
remain behind after humanity’s Diaspora and has lots of misfit uploads
wandering around in the "cryptosphere" (plus some imaginative
macroengineering in the ‘real’ world). It’s an entertaining account
of what might happen when very high technology is left in the hands of
those who have little idea of how it works, especially as the
Encroachment approaches..
_The Bridge_ (1986) seemed to be an examination of the economics of
upload psychiatry, masquerading as the gothic dreams of a coma
patient; but, I never finished reading it..
Mark Crosby
"He had had to use a sword a few times, and - on occasion - opponents
had attempted to best him through other levels of the crypt, imagining
him into situations within which they thought he could more easily be
defeated and absorbed. He found, however, that he had little
difficulty assuming control in such situations. Much appeared to
depend on ones’ wit; a general flexibility and quickness of mind plus
an extensive and catholic knowledge-base - as long as these attributes
were combined with a generous dash of ruthlessness - were all that one
really needed to operate successfully within such imagined realms."
- Iain Banks, _Feersum Endjinn_ (p240)
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