A Transhuman Odyssey

This post appeared a few years back. I'm running it again as I share the September sale of books two and three. Here are the links -- just click on the titles.

Killswitch  (book 2)                                                    

      Transfusion  (book 3)                                

    A fearsome future. A greater hope.

After reading about transhumanism for a couple of years, I plotted the journey of Chase Sterling, the world’s first transhuman. His story begins with my first published novel, Wake the Dead, followed by book two, Killswitch. The trilogy ends with Transfusion. I said goodbye to Chase, figuring I got the wired-up superhuman to a reasonably happy ending. It wasn’t easy—his life was a mess.

 

I wasn’t frightened by the very real potential of H+ (transhumanism) when I studied it, or when I turned my reluctant hero into a transhuman. But Chase was frightened. Readers are alarmed—even more so when they find out I didn’t entirely make this stuff up. I wrote an article, “Top Ten Things Christians Should Know About Transhumanism.” I said I wrote it to warn people, but the truth is I don’t believe there’s any reason to fear the technology. I don’t fret over ending up like Chase. Still, it’s something to consider. This movement, like many others past and present, is rooted in mankind’s quest for eternal life, for becoming god-like.

 

Readers disturbed by the transhuman agenda have not been outnumbered by those remarking they find my future-fiction government just as troubling. In the story, the U.S.A. is no more. The reason for the drastic overhaul was the crumbling Constitution, and the perceived obligation of elite rulers to protect common citizens and supply their every need. The result? Zero unemployment. Free healthcare. Free housing and education. Of course, there’s a catch. And a rebellion.

 

People ask me if I think our nation will turn into that nation. After all, I did my homework on H+. Did I research the possibility of a government reboot? Is it going to happen? Is it already happening? Questions loom concerning the progression, if you can call it that, of our government. For me, it’s easier to grasp the potential of H+ than to predict the success or failure of America.

 

Even so, living under a totalitarian government doesn’t worry me. When readers tell me I wrote a scary book, I almost shake my head. “I don’t think so,” I want to say. But of course, if they say it’s scary, then it’s scary. I’ll go with it. But I’m not scared.

 

Through this story, I want to give readers a thread of hope. I want them to tug on that thread and unravel the frightening scenario. My mission is not to stir up anxiety, but to give a good reason why there’s nothing to fear. H+ is scary. At times, the startling changes being cast on us by those in authority are overwhelming. 

I can do little to change the direction of either science or politics. All I can do is tell a good story. So, I wrote a transhuman odyssey. It’s a hard road for my hero, but fear doesn’t conquer him. Hope wins.

The Convergence

 

From the window of my home office, I gaze across a couple of acres to the gray house where an American flag wilts against a metal pole. The sky is blue with only a few small cloud puffs that are seemingly as motionless as my neighbor’s flag. It’s a peaceful scene on a quiet day in rural America.

But if I look away and then back again, the clouds will have moved along, or at least they will have taken on new dimensions. And tomorrow or the next day, a storm will violate the tranquil sky and beat the flag into a furious wave. It’s summer in Florida and not too many days pass without what the local news has dubbed inconvenient weather.

The adjective could be applied to a number of situations besides the weather. The red, white and blue flag resisting any shift in this peaceful scene does not accurately represent our nation. If I stretch beyond my limited view, there is little peace. In fact, peace seems to have floated away, or at least it’s taken on new dimensions. And it will not return without fundamental change, or so we’re told. Our thinking needs to change. Our view of reality needs to change. Our country, our world demands it with the shout of a hurricane. The raging storm of social upheaval, for me, seems a great inconvenience.

Climate change. Inflation. Plagues and pandemics, draught and famine, the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals), CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), SCS (Social Credit Score), CRT (Critical Race Theory may have lost its punch with the press, but it’s a sneaky initialism.), the push for a VMT (tax on Vehicle Miles Traveled), the demands of the LGBTQ+ (I’m not breaking it down—it’s too long and seems a bit redundant. But I’m not here to judge. I’m here to show grace.). These are all highways, and there are many others, eager to deliver us to the long-awaited NWO (New World Order). And then there’s China. And Russia. And is anybody paying attention to the Middle East anymore? Because from where I sit, everything else might just be a distraction.

Communities are represented in the above paragraph, and I belong to a community as well. Within the world-wide body of believers—the Church—there is a sub-community of watchmen (and women) who are especially aware of prophetic progression. These people are tuned in to what’s happening in the Middle East. There are some 250,000 missiles pointed at Israel, and particular conflicts referenced in the Bible may be about to come to pass. To overlook Israel makes the headlines nothing but scary. To remember God’s prophecy about the Holy Land makes it…well, it’s still scary. But it’s also filled with hope and promise. It has all come to a point that the watchers refer to as convergence. All the prophetic signs, for the first time in history, are coming together at once. The world is on the prophetic brink.

And here I sit considering the American flag. And the sky. The wind has picked up a bit and the clouds are gathering. Around the world, for some of my brothers and sisters in Christ, the peacefulness I experience on this day has long departed. Still, they surely know the peace that passes understanding.

For the multitude fighting breathlessly to upend God’s plan for His creation, there is no peace. There never was. But peace will envelope this world when our King rides in to end their battle at last.

The flag doesn’t hold my attention for long. But the sky… I can’t stop looking up.

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28