Factoring HumanityIn the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously. When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration---or the end of the human race---appears close at hand. Sawyer has created a gripping thriller, a pulse-pounding tour of the farthest reaches of technology. Factoring Humanity is a 1999 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel. |
Contents
Section 1 | 7 |
Section 2 | 13 |
Section 3 | 21 |
Section 4 | 28 |
Section 5 | 38 |
Section 6 | 44 |
Section 7 | 49 |
Section 8 | 73 |
Section 22 | 196 |
Section 23 | 202 |
Section 24 | 215 |
Section 25 | 225 |
Section 26 | 234 |
Section 27 | 240 |
Section 28 | 247 |
Section 29 | 253 |
Section 9 | 81 |
Section 10 | 91 |
Section 11 | 107 |
Section 12 | 119 |
Section 13 | 137 |
Section 14 | 148 |
Section 15 | 158 |
Section 16 | 167 |
Section 17 | 171 |
Section 18 | 175 |
Section 19 | 178 |
Section 20 | 181 |
Section 21 | 187 |
Section 30 | 264 |
Section 31 | 273 |
Section 32 | 282 |
Section 33 | 295 |
Section 34 | 306 |
Section 35 | 314 |
Section 36 | 318 |
Section 37 | 323 |
Section 38 | 331 |
Section 39 | 339 |
Section 40 | 344 |
Section 41 | 349 |