Diaspora / Greg Egan

In the year 2975, humanity has followed several very different evolutionary paths. “Fleshly” life is that which resides in a basically human body, although genetically engineered mutations have led to communication problems throughout the species. In the “polis”, on the other hand, disembodied but self-aware artificial intelligences reproduce, interact, make art and try to solve the mathematical puzzles of life. Then there are the “Gleisners”, conscious, flesh-shaped robots controlled by self-aware software that is directly connected to the physical world via hardware. Egan (Distress) follows the development of Yatima, an orphan spontaneously generated by the Konishi-Polis’ non-intelligent software. Yatima gains self-awareness, meets earthly beings and, when tragedy strikes, becomes personally involved in the greatest quest for the survival of the species ever undertaken.