Chapter 12 “I’m Not a Teapot”: The Controversy of (Post)Humanity in Selected Novels by Neal Shusterman
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Abstract
This chapter deals with the facets of anthropological crisis reactive to technologies allowing for the prospective creation of artificial life and sentient artificial intelligence. Neal Shusterman in his novels astutely portrays the dilemmas relating to posthumanity, giving them “face” and “name,” which allows for a deeper insight into the possible post-human nature, and for the development of empathy towards posthuman Otherness in the readers. The analysis focuses on two characters: Camus Comprix, a being created entirely from transplants, and the Thunderhead, an almost omnipotent, sentient cloud. Both have to interact with “natural” people; however, they encounter different challenges and choose different strategies to overcome them. It makes them also ask questions about the role of enhanced posthumanity in the predominantly human world and about their own identity. The author shows that it is possible and necessary to develop what may be called a “trialogue” and, in contradistinction to the prevailing dystopian scenarios, his books emanate a utopian hope in finding common axiological plane for communication and coexistence.