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Autonomy Paperback – April 10, 2013
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- Print length362 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateApril 10, 2013
- Dimensions5 x 0.91 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100983188858
- ISBN-13978-0983188858
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- Publisher : Red Anemone Books; 1st edition (April 10, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 362 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0983188858
- ISBN-13 : 978-0983188858
- Item Weight : 13.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5 x 0.91 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,275,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13,392 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jean-Michel Smith is a science fiction author, systems engineer, and IT architect. His IT career has taken him to many countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Published in France, his essays on free culture and collaborative endeavor appear in “LOGS: micro-fondements d'emancipation sociale et artistique.” His works in English include his science fiction novel “Autonomy” and his mathematics textbook “S3: The Smith Sexagesimal System.” Visit his website at jm-smith.com.
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The term mind transfer also refers to a hypothetical transfer of a mind from one biological brain to another. It is a common theme in science fiction.
The begining of the book starts off with the technology--the ability to upload your mind into a computer--having just been secretly invented and is now being tested. There is almost no mention on how this is done, and is the only speed bumb worth mentioning, but does not detract from the story. The book goes on to discribe that the development of technology in the future has been stiffled to the point that it rarely happens at all, because patent laws twenty years old prevent anyone else from developing something better, and the effort to make new machine would require millions if not billions of dollars to buy the rights for the components needed to create the final product. It's something we see happening today. In the book, anyone caught creating this illegal technology is put in jail. thus, those that are in power do not have to suffer world-changing technologies.
It is through this method that the author manages to convey, without actually saying it, that although the average technological savy student in a university can design and build a better TV than the best of what's available in your local store, the law prevents them from doing so, and is the reason why they are able to build a machine that can transfer a human mind into a computer. The reson nobody mentions "how it is done" is otherwise explained away by keeping their activities secrete from the authorities.
While in the computer as a virtual human being, people experiance a thirty to one speed up, because electricity is so much faster than chemical brains. in a single day, a person experiences a month of personal time. Free to think and do as they like in this ultimate escape from a reality filled with oppresive laws and secrete police, a community is quickly forged from the people who help build and develop the computers that make it possible, eventually bringing in their relatives and friends. They then go on to advance and build their technology free of restrictions. as they advance their technology, they advance their minds as well, becoming smarter, developing as both as people and as a community as the story moves on.
Eventually the government finds out and tries to stop them, and much drama is experienced in a battle of wit verses brawn.
I highly recomend that you buy this book!
If you liked the books: Assemblers of Infinity, Warp Speed or Quantum Connection by Travis S. Taylor, Lived Free or Die by John Ringo, The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith, Seven of Nine from Star Treck, Mind Transfer, The Modular Mans, The Silicom Man,--buy this book.
You'll be glad you did.
The idea that someone could transfer their mind into and out of an electronic device is a common idea. I've never considered that if the device was then upgraded to run faster, the more computational cycles in a shorter amount of time would have the effect of slowing time in the real world, so that the digital mind could experience days and weeks (or more) when only moments have passed in the real world. That was a real eye-opener to me, and it integrated well into the story.
Most of the characters were engaging, although the authority figures seemed to me a little stereotypical. I thought the book was well-written, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a futuristic story and would not be put off by some detailed descriptions of the technology used.
I *love* how he develops the characters and really explores what it means to be human, and human software, simultaneously.
I *love* how he creates universes inside of universes and helps us cognitively analyze the very Simulation within which we all currently live.
What I didn't like was the very last page, but I "get" it. If I were one of a bunch of digital humans, I would have done something like the final act just as a diversion, as I hurried burried my memory chip deep underground.
It was quite a ride, and it had a cast of interesting characters! :D
Once I hit 66% in the book I just plowed through the rest these last two days, it was captivating! :D
I feel like it was a bit unrealistic in some ways, as far as the way things went down, and some insights or lack thereof on the characters' parts seemed a little contrived or much.
But it wasn't that big of a deal, it actually makes a lot of sense, and it was interesting to read about! :D
Definitely one of the better books I've read in a while, and very inspiring too.
Highly recommended! :D \(^ u ^)

