‘Accelerando’ is the scariest book I have ever read.
Not a lot of things can scare me, mentally. Sure, I’ll jump up just fine at a monster popping up in a scary movie, but that’s not scary. Not really. That’s just adrenaline.
This book is one of the things that scares me. The concepts it covers are terrifying to me. Death isn’t scary. The concepts of this book are. In it, characters start in an information age, precariously balanced on the very edge of the Singularity. The main character lives his life 30 seconds ahead of the curve: he is transformed, by implants and computer enhancements, into a walking server, collecting, parsing and cataloging information every second of the day. For example, this mention of being ‘slashdotted’ refers to an influx of internet traffic that is taxing him, slowing him down. The reason that the character is 30 seconds ahead is because of the massive amounts of information he processes. Here’s an example: when the character woke up in the morning, he was 6 hours behind, having missed out on 6 hours of news while he slept. How does this get you to 30 seconds ahead? By using all the information at his disposal to consider new concepts, invent something new, have an idea that no one else on the planet will have for at least 30 seconds.
What’s so scary about their world? The fact that I won’t be able to keep up. Technology is changing so rapidly, you have to spend a considerable amount of time each day to simply stay on par with the rest. I can’t do that. I’m just beginning to learn SharePoint. I don’t know C++ as well as I should. I’ve never hacked anything. I am not very up to date with the latest breakthroughs or programming concepts. I’ve never even really used Linux. I’m a bystander, stuck on the side of the road as the show rides past. I am left breathing dust. And I am afraid of this. This inability to follow the new. It’s so depressing.
There’s also the realization that entire countries will be destroyed by the oncoming Singularity. As the character says, dinosaur governments, such as the the United States, who are only after the bottom line, will not be able to see the true opportunity before them. They will continue to support the old-fashioned companies, lumbering beasts that can’t change or even consider changing. South Korea will soon overtake the United States in every way that really matters (maybe they won’t overtake us in illiteracy and unemployment, we can be proud of that fact, at least). Why? While we pour billions into bigger guns, subsidize failing corporations unable to swim in the 21st century, and vilify and obliterate thought, South Korea is becoming the most technologically advanced country in the world by actively funding its IT and robotics industries. Research scientists in the United States can only make money through corporate funding (inventing the next Viagra?) or through the Department of Defense (inventing a new and better missile).
The book consists of 9 stories that deal with the Macx family. The first three stories deal with a world just before the Singularity, the next three deal with the coming of the Singularity and its devastating (for some) effect, and the last three are about a world so far from our own or even the worlds within the previous stories. I can’t really describe it. The concepts Stross works with are enormous, sometimes unfathomable and always on the very edge of the technological tide. I think that anyone not familiar with the underlying technological concepts will be terrified or even disgusted by the ideas expressed in the book, but I found it simply jarring. It is a startling thought that the solar system can be disintegrated into smart matter within my lifetime. But that is a view that the novel presents. Are you scared of that? The idea that in a few years you will feel as out of touch as a 14th century peasant who had just been introduced to the information age. How alien will the now-accepted concepts like a global communications network, cell phones, the internet, smart cars and AI will seem to him.
I was scared of finishing one chapter and starting another: who knew what would be waiting for me just beyond the bend? If you can handle future-shock, give ‘Accelerando’ a try. I know it’s not for everyone: Taty will not be able to get past the first few pages. That’s perfectly understandable. [Rant on tech-phobia and cultural regression considered, vetoed and not written.] But for the rest of you, the brave souls not afraid to step, or at least peek, into the future, put ‘Accelerando’ on your list of books to read. It is one of the best novels I have ever experienced and it has earned a permanent place in my library. My electronic library.
#1 by Cliff Burns on 2007/09/03 - 6.41 AM
Frankly, I find this whole post-humanist, singularity scenario quite frightening. Especially now I’ve read people like Bill McKibben who points out that we are making decisions on these incredible, potentially dangerous technologies with very little public debate and input. In the McKibben book, when he raises a troubling question about the uses of the technologies (nano/biological/robot)that are currently under development, one scientist tells him that those concerns “aren’t part of my job”. Scary. Other SF writers you might want to keep an eye on are Tony Daniel, Dennis Danvers and Peter Watts.
#2 by FuzzyGamer on 2007/09/03 - 1.02 PM
Oh, I quite agree with you, it is frightening. But maybe also exhilarating? Like watching a high-speed collision on a race-track, only we’re in the spinning car, not the audience stands.
I’ll add those authors onto my unending to-read list. ‘Accelerando’ is actually the first sci-fi I’ve read that addresses this particular issue. It seems so forward-thinking, placing the Singularity just within reach and portraying the future that is infinitely different from the present. Makes other sci-fi appear so… dated.