The Transhumanist Wager Reviews

“The Three Laws:   1) A transhumanist must safeguard one's own existence above all else.   2) A transhumanist must strive to achieve omnipotence as expediently as possible—so long as one's actions do not conflict with the First Law.   3) A transhumanist must safeguard value in the universe—so long as one's actions do not conflict with the First and Second Laws.”

Zoltan Istvan gives us The Transhumanist Wager which is reminiscent, when it comes to selfishness or egoism, to Ayn Rand.  A focus on prioritising the individual into something also similar to Nietzsche's Übermensch (Beyond-Man/Superman) where humanity proceeds to shape and/or control his/her environment, resources, living space, existential importance and an emphasis on overcoming death, a hunger for longevity.  Although prevalent for transhumanists one could say there is almost an abhorrent fear of physical destruction rather than viewing it as a transition or eternal peace.  Who doesn't want more time when it comes to longevity and preserving our complex self?  Most of us wouldn't hesitate to do more with additional time when it comes to life extension and the question of mortality.

The Transhumanist Wager is set via the present day, telling the tale of transhumanist Jethro Knights and his unwavering search for immortality via science and technology. battling against him are fanatical religious groups, economically depressed governments, and mystic Zoe Bach: a dazzling trauma surgeon and the love of his life (opposites attract?), whose belief in spirituality and the afterlife is absolute. Exiled from America and reeling from personal tragedy, Knights forges a new nation of willing scientists on the world's largest seastead, Transhumania. When the world declares war against the floating libertarian city, demanding an end to its renegade and godless transhuman experiments and ambitions, Knights strikes back, leaving the planet forever changed.

Overall Zoltan gives us, the readers, an epic tale  that is not just a search for meaning but one where the main protagonist strives to shape his surroundings, to breathe life into a utopian and libertarian experiment and to challenge the death cults (challenging any metaphysical manifestations that result in a desire or trend towards an afterlife or even the possibility of a reincarnating scenario...  Jethro quite simply put doesn't want to die and is seeking alternatives.)
A very visionary and futuristic story with its twists and turns gives us an adventure which seeks to flesh out humanistic pursuits, not bogged down or halted with dogmatic red tape, and gives a tradition of the future focused on reason, a progressive mindset and technological wonder.