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The Fifth Science
The Galactic Human Empire was built atop four logic, physics, psychology, and sociology. Standing on those pillars, humans spent 100,000 years spreading out into the warring, exploring, partying — the usual. Then there was the fifth science. And that killed the empire stone dead. The Fifth Science is a collection of 12 stories, beginning at the start of the Galactic Human Empire and following right through to its final days. We’ll see some untypical things along the way, meet some untypical galactic lighthouses from the distant future, alien tombs from the distant past, murderers, emperors, archaeologists and drunks; mad mathematicians attempting to wake the universe itself up. And when humans have fallen back into savagery, when the secrets of space folding and perfect wisdom are forgotten, we’ll attend the empire’s deathbed, hold its hand as it goes. Unfortunately that may well only be the beginning.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 2018
About the author
Exurb1a
7 books1,598 followersExurb1a likes fiction with a metaphysical backbone. He enjoys trying to write that kind of stuff himself.
He also runs a subpar YouTube channel of the same name.
He also runs a subpar YouTube channel of the same name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 424 reviews
October 21, 2018
The cunt can write. Good stuff, definitely recommended ;)
February 27, 2020
Youtube artist Exurb1a crafted this collection of loosely connected short works and centered around his world building of a declining galactic human empire stretching out over 100,000 years.
Twelve short stories and some bridge material to help explain things form this very unique anthology. Central to what makes this work is the author’s physics and philosophy heavy take on all things human. In an afterward he describes the term “panpsychism” as “the aspects of consciousness can’t be explained in terms of our current physical frameworks, or we haven’t managed it yet anyway”.
Some of the stories that I especially liked were
“For Every Dove a Bullet”
“The Menagerie”
“101 Things Not to Visit in the Galaxy Before You Die”
Quirky, funny, thought provoking.
Twelve short stories and some bridge material to help explain things form this very unique anthology. Central to what makes this work is the author’s physics and philosophy heavy take on all things human. In an afterward he describes the term “panpsychism” as “the aspects of consciousness can’t be explained in terms of our current physical frameworks, or we haven’t managed it yet anyway”.
Some of the stories that I especially liked were
“For Every Dove a Bullet”
“The Menagerie”
“101 Things Not to Visit in the Galaxy Before You Die”
Quirky, funny, thought provoking.
January 13, 2019
Honestly Inspiring
Happened to help change my life, thought I should share.
First I have to say that this book is fantastically written. I’ve long been a fan of Exurb1a’s YouTube videos and I’m so glad that I took the time to start reading his books too. I love how well his sense of humour and ability to trigger an existential crisis have translated across both mediums.
Consciousness, particularly artificial consciousness, acts as the focal point for these stories. While reading this book, perhaps by complete happenstance, I was introduced to machine learning as an academic pursuit.
The powerful feelings of wonder and mystery explored here have quite literally inspired me to jump on this opportunity. “The Fifth Science” has for me become some strange parallel to my career choice in machine learning; while I find the science intriguing, it is the potential and soulfulness (so deeply examined in this book) where I have really discovered my passion.
While some might think it a bit silly to draw comparisons between machine learning and consciousness, I do honestly believe it is how we will best learn to understand it. The more complex systems we create, the more questions we will know to ask and subsequently have answers to pursue.
Thank you Exurb1a. You helped me realise my love of science-fiction into something more like real-science.
Sam.
Happened to help change my life, thought I should share.
First I have to say that this book is fantastically written. I’ve long been a fan of Exurb1a’s YouTube videos and I’m so glad that I took the time to start reading his books too. I love how well his sense of humour and ability to trigger an existential crisis have translated across both mediums.
Consciousness, particularly artificial consciousness, acts as the focal point for these stories. While reading this book, perhaps by complete happenstance, I was introduced to machine learning as an academic pursuit.
The powerful feelings of wonder and mystery explored here have quite literally inspired me to jump on this opportunity. “The Fifth Science” has for me become some strange parallel to my career choice in machine learning; while I find the science intriguing, it is the potential and soulfulness (so deeply examined in this book) where I have really discovered my passion.
While some might think it a bit silly to draw comparisons between machine learning and consciousness, I do honestly believe it is how we will best learn to understand it. The more complex systems we create, the more questions we will know to ask and subsequently have answers to pursue.
Thank you Exurb1a. You helped me realise my love of science-fiction into something more like real-science.
Sam.
August 27, 2020
Such an unexpectedly fascinating read; Exurb1a never ceases to impress. Some of the stories were frankly phenomenal, like And the Leaves All Sing of God, Water for Lunch, Be Awake, Be Good, and The Caretaker, while others barely made the cut. Overall though, it was a pretty decent read. I'm still trying to get my head around the idea of conscious stars lining up to build some sort of a galactic machine :'D
Also, there were numerous profound and thought-provoking quotes in this book, for example:
God, he thought. What’s better, nothing for lunch, or water? At least with nothing you know you’re starving. They give you water though and what’s
the point?
People used to hunt down extraterr sapien hybrids once, my father told me.
Now no one gives a damn.
It’s funny, you don’t convince the living to behave in a proper way, you just wait for them to die and hope their children grow up a little kinder and wiser than their parents.
William’s face was neutral. “You are primitives,” he said. “You lack compassion, both of you. You lack feeling. You were willing to kill us all just to save helping a former enemy.”
“The war,” Matthews yelled.
“Oh, the war, the war. What of it? Centuries ago, your stupid war. We’ve inherited the mess you made. And thank you so much for that.”
The mayfly lives for about 24 hours. From the perspective of the universe, perhaps the human race is on a similar fleeting timescale. It took a long time to get to this point. There have been enormous sacrifices. We're all sat around being the product of billions of years of chance and millions of years of biological evolution. But today, this moment, now, we're here. We can wander around and do stuff and make stuff and have a jolly old time if we like. We're alive and we're looking damn fine. We have enormous, self-aware brains. We inhabit very clever fleshy suits designed by the universe herself.
We've got the capability for greatness. We've got the capacity to enjoy a million unique stimuli. We've arrived at the party. We exist. And we can take walks if we want. So please go take a walk; I hope it's a nice one. And let’s not waste our day out in the cosmos.
Also, there were numerous profound and thought-provoking quotes in this book, for example:
God, he thought. What’s better, nothing for lunch, or water? At least with nothing you know you’re starving. They give you water though and what’s
the point?
People used to hunt down extraterr sapien hybrids once, my father told me.
Now no one gives a damn.
It’s funny, you don’t convince the living to behave in a proper way, you just wait for them to die and hope their children grow up a little kinder and wiser than their parents.
William’s face was neutral. “You are primitives,” he said. “You lack compassion, both of you. You lack feeling. You were willing to kill us all just to save helping a former enemy.”
“The war,” Matthews yelled.
“Oh, the war, the war. What of it? Centuries ago, your stupid war. We’ve inherited the mess you made. And thank you so much for that.”
The mayfly lives for about 24 hours. From the perspective of the universe, perhaps the human race is on a similar fleeting timescale. It took a long time to get to this point. There have been enormous sacrifices. We're all sat around being the product of billions of years of chance and millions of years of biological evolution. But today, this moment, now, we're here. We can wander around and do stuff and make stuff and have a jolly old time if we like. We're alive and we're looking damn fine. We have enormous, self-aware brains. We inhabit very clever fleshy suits designed by the universe herself.
We've got the capability for greatness. We've got the capacity to enjoy a million unique stimuli. We've arrived at the party. We exist. And we can take walks if we want. So please go take a walk; I hope it's a nice one. And let’s not waste our day out in the cosmos.
March 29, 2024
3.5 stars. I am not familiar with the author's YouTube content, however this collection sounded intriguing. The stories seem primarily vehicles for the author to explore ideas concerning the evolution of human civilization and non-human sentience in the far future. For all intents and purposes they are unrelated and unconnected, though loosely part of the same "universe". I found most thought provoking, inventive, ponderous and sometimes disturbing. However, with a focus on philosophical, metaphysical and sometimes sociological underpinnings rather than character or world building they tended to feel a bit dry.
December 20, 2021
The Fifth Science is a “future history”, a series of twelve short stories charting the long-term fate of humanity and whatever might come after us. And “long-term” doesn’t mean decades or centuries; it means hundreds of thousands of years, more on the scale of Asimov’s Foundation trilogy say.
While parts of this book are done fairly tongue-in-cheek (the story about an obsession with taking “selfies” being the obvious example) the impression I got, even so, was of a writer bashing, if not his head exactly, then his imagination against an invisible ceiling, straining to come up with something new enough for a future this distant but not quite managing it. For example, even that far ahead they’re still using computers, and having to actually cross space to get from A to B. Or again, one of the themes here is of the Universe itself being conscious: either made so by our descendants, or becoming conscious itself, or having always been conscious—all interesting, but not new. The problem is that we can’t help peering into the future in a dead-straight line, as if standing on a railway track, imagining variations on, or improved versions of, things which exist already—extrapolating from what we already know. But the actual world, human culture in particular, doesn’t go much like that; it zigs and it zags, stops and starts, suddenly veers off in some unforeseen direction…then goes more sort of sideways…
Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy reading The Fifth Science; I did, it’s not a bad book at all. It did remind me of the Foundation trilogy though: I liked those too (read them half a lifetime ago) but one thing I distinctly remember is that their future and its inhabitants seemed uncannily like the author’s own time—written during the 1950s, its Galactic Empire had a definite ’50s feel to it. Same here: written now, this Empire feels like now. Perhaps, in being this ambitious, we’re just attempting the impossible.
While parts of this book are done fairly tongue-in-cheek (the story about an obsession with taking “selfies” being the obvious example) the impression I got, even so, was of a writer bashing, if not his head exactly, then his imagination against an invisible ceiling, straining to come up with something new enough for a future this distant but not quite managing it. For example, even that far ahead they’re still using computers, and having to actually cross space to get from A to B. Or again, one of the themes here is of the Universe itself being conscious: either made so by our descendants, or becoming conscious itself, or having always been conscious—all interesting, but not new. The problem is that we can’t help peering into the future in a dead-straight line, as if standing on a railway track, imagining variations on, or improved versions of, things which exist already—extrapolating from what we already know. But the actual world, human culture in particular, doesn’t go much like that; it zigs and it zags, stops and starts, suddenly veers off in some unforeseen direction…then goes more sort of sideways…
Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy reading The Fifth Science; I did, it’s not a bad book at all. It did remind me of the Foundation trilogy though: I liked those too (read them half a lifetime ago) but one thing I distinctly remember is that their future and its inhabitants seemed uncannily like the author’s own time—written during the 1950s, its Galactic Empire had a definite ’50s feel to it. Same here: written now, this Empire feels like now. Perhaps, in being this ambitious, we’re just attempting the impossible.
February 26, 2020
This is one of the best science fiction books I have ever read.
Please keep in mind that the author is most likely a sex offender. I'd already purchased when I found out, but its worth noting.
Please keep in mind that the author is most likely a sex offender. I'd already purchased when I found out, but its worth noting.
January 31, 2019
Just read it. Do it now, you won't regret it
Just read it. Do it now, you won't regret it
Ten
More
Words
Required
Six
More
Words
Three
More
Words.
Just read it. Do it now, you won't regret it
Ten
More
Words
Required
Six
More
Words
Three
More
Words.
June 26, 2022
In simple words, it is collection of short sci-fi stories that are easy to read and enjoyable. Each story, although different, follows an underlying narrative and philosophy unique to Ex.
In terms of the stories themselves, they each present an interesting thought within them, which one could either think about for some time as a philosophical thought experiment or just enjoy the world crafted by the author.
I think I'd risk spoilers if I reveal the themes of the stories being that the structure of each story revolves around the theme which is slowly revealed the further you get into it. The world and the universe is built up brick by brick, story by story.
At a risk of being overly critical, there are once again, minor inconsistencies in the writing. Very minor, not deal breaking. On the other hand, as compared to Logic Beach : Part 1, the characters are consistent with their personalities throughout the stories. Errors in this aspect I think would not have been forgivable in the short story format.
On a final note, I will compare Ex to Isaac Asimov and tell you that this book did remind me of one of the greats of the sci-fi short story format. Exurb1a's style is distinctly different from Asimov, however the thematic and philosophical undertones of the narrative reminded me of Asimov. It's not quite Nine Tomorrows, but he's on the right track.
I enjoyed this book.
In terms of the stories themselves, they each present an interesting thought within them, which one could either think about for some time as a philosophical thought experiment or just enjoy the world crafted by the author.
I think I'd risk spoilers if I reveal the themes of the stories being that the structure of each story revolves around the theme which is slowly revealed the further you get into it. The world and the universe is built up brick by brick, story by story.
At a risk of being overly critical, there are once again, minor inconsistencies in the writing. Very minor, not deal breaking. On the other hand, as compared to Logic Beach : Part 1, the characters are consistent with their personalities throughout the stories. Errors in this aspect I think would not have been forgivable in the short story format.
On a final note, I will compare Ex to Isaac Asimov and tell you that this book did remind me of one of the greats of the sci-fi short story format. Exurb1a's style is distinctly different from Asimov, however the thematic and philosophical undertones of the narrative reminded me of Asimov. It's not quite Nine Tomorrows, but he's on the right track.
I enjoyed this book.
August 13, 2019
The Fifth Science probably offers a somewhat complete worldview of a Galactic Empire’s deflation and downfall, but its success in delivering a truly original perspective seemed hampered by two significant faults. First, there is the tendency to accentuate the imagined universe with details of our own. This isn’t necessarily a fault, as elements of a familiar universe can help provide grounding for an author’s creative leaps, so my issue has more to do with execution, where the author includes explanations of items like X-rays and leptons with a certain bravado, as though informing the reader of something that is easily researched on one’s own. This fault wraps itself hand-in-hand with the second, that while the author takes the time to needlessly identify such familiar aspects of our universe in his, created items will go named but lacking the most important identification of all—that of imagery. There are so many passages in this book where you will pass through a litany of precise terms but little sense of how anything LOOKS, or almost any kind of clear sensory imagery, keeping this universe ultimately at arm’s length and distant.
My other concerns are ones probably more endemic to the genre itself—flat characterization, long expanses of expositionary dialogue, plots that more serve as an opening to offer pre-determined philosophy than develop themselves. The author may have some interesting things to say about consciousness, but this fiction did little to promote his thoughts to me.
Those thoughts themselves MIGHT have bumped this book closer to a three-star rating, but the round-down factor came in the form of the author’s rather transparent attempts at self-effacement in the explanatory notes and the back cover blurbs. I like to think of this as the Sha-Na-Na effect: making jokes about the poor quality of your work only spotlights those poor qualities.
My other concerns are ones probably more endemic to the genre itself—flat characterization, long expanses of expositionary dialogue, plots that more serve as an opening to offer pre-determined philosophy than develop themselves. The author may have some interesting things to say about consciousness, but this fiction did little to promote his thoughts to me.
Those thoughts themselves MIGHT have bumped this book closer to a three-star rating, but the round-down factor came in the form of the author’s rather transparent attempts at self-effacement in the explanatory notes and the back cover blurbs. I like to think of this as the Sha-Na-Na effect: making jokes about the poor quality of your work only spotlights those poor qualities.
June 5, 2020
I think exurb1a's writing is nothing formidable. He is yet to gain experience. However, I have to admit that the way he formulates his ideas is just wonderful.
Some stories in this book are not that good; others are pure art. It really makes you think about how humanity will always remain the same, even if we explore the universe, even if we create sentient artificial intelligence, even if we create god.
But that's not necessarily bad. Sure, we have a lot of defects. But we are more than that.
Even if you start reading this book and don't like it instantly, give it a chance. It's worth reaching the end.
Some stories in this book are not that good; others are pure art. It really makes you think about how humanity will always remain the same, even if we explore the universe, even if we create sentient artificial intelligence, even if we create god.
But that's not necessarily bad. Sure, we have a lot of defects. But we are more than that.
Even if you start reading this book and don't like it instantly, give it a chance. It's worth reaching the end.
July 14, 2020
3.5 stars. A very golden-ageish series of short stories, reminiscent of Asimov or Clark, spinning stories that span the length of the universe.
April 19, 2021
A book of 12 short stories, all set in the same universe. Or maybe in the same galaxy. Where the human empire is long past its glory days and even the last humans are slowly going out.
I have always been a firm believer in an eventual galactic human empire. This book has thus been nothing short of a treat for me. But more than that, Exurb1a brought up some really interesting concepts surrounding consciousness and artificial intelligence. Namely, is there any reasons for consciousness to be a strictly biological phenomenon? The first story had a fairly original plot around this premise. Others stories also had quite enjoyable and thought-provoking plots, but maybe where their inspirations came from was much more visible. That and the fact that some of the character traits felt a bit repetitive are the only reasons I am not giving it five stars(to be fair there IS another reason - I have just decided to get more stingy with my five stars recently, that's all). Otherwise, brilliant writing. Excellent execution of ideas. He writes so vividly, the last few days I have been having dreams of distant worlds trimming with billions of humans, incomprehensible technologies beyond mankind's greatest wit and stars with minds of their own.
Some things about the book I really liked -
1. It has been dedicated -
2. The fact that the book started with a timeline of the 'The 500 year Climb.' Made the events even more realistic.
3. That he included a 'Why stuff got written' section at the end. I really love when creators do this, and on this instance specially it was lovely to learn about how Exurb1a came up with such mindboggling story prompts.
I loved almost all the stories. But the last one, 'Lullaby for the Empire' needs a shout out. It does not really feature many novel concepts like the other ones. But it turns the strings on your heart, and I think even in sci-fi stories, that's the most important aspect. Its both extremely comforting and discomforting to realise that no matter the technological progress, no matter how many thousands of years has passed, humans may still be humans, doing the silly things that only humans can do.
Edit: It's been almost a year since I last read this and I am still thinking about the stories. Had to up my initial rating of 4 stars to 5.
I have always been a firm believer in an eventual galactic human empire. This book has thus been nothing short of a treat for me. But more than that, Exurb1a brought up some really interesting concepts surrounding consciousness and artificial intelligence. Namely, is there any reasons for consciousness to be a strictly biological phenomenon? The first story had a fairly original plot around this premise. Others stories also had quite enjoyable and thought-provoking plots, but maybe where their inspirations came from was much more visible. That and the fact that some of the character traits felt a bit repetitive are the only reasons I am not giving it five stars(to be fair there IS another reason - I have just decided to get more stingy with my five stars recently, that's all). Otherwise, brilliant writing. Excellent execution of ideas. He writes so vividly, the last few days I have been having dreams of distant worlds trimming with billions of humans, incomprehensible technologies beyond mankind's greatest wit and stars with minds of their own.
Some things about the book I really liked -
1. It has been dedicated -
"To the engineers and scientists who will one day build minds; from whatever materials, in whatever form.
Hello from a time when we thought it was all magic."
2. The fact that the book started with a timeline of the 'The 500 year Climb.' Made the events even more realistic.
3. That he included a 'Why stuff got written' section at the end. I really love when creators do this, and on this instance specially it was lovely to learn about how Exurb1a came up with such mindboggling story prompts.
I loved almost all the stories. But the last one, 'Lullaby for the Empire' needs a shout out. It does not really feature many novel concepts like the other ones. But it turns the strings on your heart, and I think even in sci-fi stories, that's the most important aspect. Its both extremely comforting and discomforting to realise that no matter the technological progress, no matter how many thousands of years has passed, humans may still be humans, doing the silly things that only humans can do.
Edit: It's been almost a year since I last read this and I am still thinking about the stories. Had to up my initial rating of 4 stars to 5.
January 26, 2019
What a fucking ride!
September 2, 2018
/English version below/
"Любовта си има определени неизречени правила и те трябва да се научат чрез тишина."
От доста време не съм чел нищо ново, около всичките си занимания не ми и остава време да се потопя в нещо литературно, но в момента, в който осъзнах, че Exurb1a е издал нов сборник с разкази, сложих всичко друго на пауза. И за момент отново успях да се потопя в света на приятната литература, воден от приятните (по стил, не толкова по тематика) разкази обхващащи цялата сага на човешкото галактическо бъдеще. Exurb1a отново успява да смеси интересни технологически и философски идеи с човешката реалност, която ги свързва така добре и създава едно преживяване, което, поне според мен, не е за изпускане.
"There are certain unspoken rules to love and they must be learned silently."
I haven't read anything new in a while, around everything I have to attend to I don't get much time to spend on diving into something literary, but at the moment I realised Exurb1a had published a new short story collection I put everything else on pause. And for a moment I managed to dive into the world of pleasant literature, led by the pleasant (in style, not so much in theme) stories spanning through the whole saga of humanity's galactic future. Exurb1a manages to mix interesting technological and philosophical ideas with the human element that binds them together so nicely and creates an experience that in my opinion isn't worth missing out on.
"Любовта си има определени неизречени правила и те трябва да се научат чрез тишина."
От доста време не съм чел нищо ново, около всичките си занимания не ми и остава време да се потопя в нещо литературно, но в момента, в който осъзнах, че Exurb1a е издал нов сборник с разкази, сложих всичко друго на пауза. И за момент отново успях да се потопя в света на приятната литература, воден от приятните (по стил, не толкова по тематика) разкази обхващащи цялата сага на човешкото галактическо бъдеще. Exurb1a отново успява да смеси интересни технологически и философски идеи с човешката реалност, която ги свързва така добре и създава едно преживяване, което, поне според мен, не е за изпускане.
"There are certain unspoken rules to love and they must be learned silently."
I haven't read anything new in a while, around everything I have to attend to I don't get much time to spend on diving into something literary, but at the moment I realised Exurb1a had published a new short story collection I put everything else on pause. And for a moment I managed to dive into the world of pleasant literature, led by the pleasant (in style, not so much in theme) stories spanning through the whole saga of humanity's galactic future. Exurb1a manages to mix interesting technological and philosophical ideas with the human element that binds them together so nicely and creates an experience that in my opinion isn't worth missing out on.
February 27, 2019
Good collection of stories written with the casual characteristic style of Ex (follow his youtube channel if you don't already). Philosophy, humour, spirituality, existentialism mix in each of the stories, all happening in the same universe, at different point in time and space of the human empire, all revolving around the concept of conscience. Characters are all-in-all pretty well portrayed, although some lack depth. You won't care much for them, or remember them for a long time, but they are part of fascinating stories. Author goes further and further in time developing the stories around humans working to expand the empire, discover the universe and its history, reaching the end of science while trying to understand humanity.
Overall, it's an easy to read sci-fi book with terrific ideas and you're in for quite a ride.
Overall, it's an easy to read sci-fi book with terrific ideas and you're in for quite a ride.
June 5, 2019
I liked it a lot. Some of the writing was a bit scattershot but wow, what concepts
April 5, 2022
Prob my new fav sci fi
April 1, 2023
Много хубава книга ,историите ми допаднаха, препръчвам за феновете на късият фантастичен разказ
November 24, 2020
Superb book.
A Podcast about a boardgame led me to google an unrelated book. Which made me watch a YouTube video which took me to a science vid and then to a history vid and then to an Exurb1a video about the universe, where I spent over an hour on the channel. Then the Fifth Science showed up as a tailored Amazon advertisment on my Podcast app.
I'm glad that I dedicated part of my 'day out in the cosmos' to reading this. You should read it too.
And yet, for some reason I still resent those bloody algorithms.
It's a nice day, I think I WILL go out for a walk.
A Podcast about a boardgame led me to google an unrelated book. Which made me watch a YouTube video which took me to a science vid and then to a history vid and then to an Exurb1a video about the universe, where I spent over an hour on the channel. Then the Fifth Science showed up as a tailored Amazon advertisment on my Podcast app.
I'm glad that I dedicated part of my 'day out in the cosmos' to reading this. You should read it too.
And yet, for some reason I still resent those bloody algorithms.
It's a nice day, I think I WILL go out for a walk.
July 31, 2019
A neat little anthology of stories detailing the discovery of the Fifth Science and how it causes humanity's demise. Easy to read but still manages to deal with very interesting topics and questions (seriously, somebody read this cause I wanna talk about so much from this book)
My favourites were probably the Archaeological story and the "mix of Red vs Blue and The Village" story
Pretty cool, go read it (plus the cover art is beautiful)
My favourites were probably the Archaeological story and the "mix of Red vs Blue and The Village" story
Pretty cool, go read it (plus the cover art is beautiful)
October 17, 2019
There are books that pretend to be deep and even some that are actually deep but just don't reach and inspire you. This was not one of those. This book made me think about stuff I never thought about before in a very fundamental and beautiful way. All the stories were refreshing and had their unique theme. Each tackled a different core question of human nature.
I love Exurb1a's YouTube channel and think his humour is one of the best I've witnessed in my life. Therefore I enjoyed his style of writing. However his unique style from his YouTube videos sometimes shone through too much, in the way he phrases things a bit unnatural to literature.
Throughout the book I spotted several stories that I wanted to mention here as my favourite but there are now quite a lot of them. The Girl and the Pit is wonderful and Be Awake, Be Good full of suspension. The Caretaker is psychologically interesting with a neat plot twist.
I loved the way the book ended... with an authentic little paragraph how each story entered Exurb1a's mind and how he approaches writing.
I loved it and I'm gonna read more by Exurb1a in the future.
I love Exurb1a's YouTube channel and think his humour is one of the best I've witnessed in my life. Therefore I enjoyed his style of writing. However his unique style from his YouTube videos sometimes shone through too much, in the way he phrases things a bit unnatural to literature.
Throughout the book I spotted several stories that I wanted to mention here as my favourite but there are now quite a lot of them. The Girl and the Pit is wonderful and Be Awake, Be Good full of suspension. The Caretaker is psychologically interesting with a neat plot twist.
I loved the way the book ended... with an authentic little paragraph how each story entered Exurb1a's mind and how he approaches writing.
I loved it and I'm gonna read more by Exurb1a in the future.
July 10, 2019
Not a fan of short stories, my son got this for my birthday so I didn't know it was short stories. It is well written.
June 17, 2021
The perfect book to delve into philosophy and expand one's horizon without having to deal with the jargon, especially when this is a short story.
Thank you, my existentialist turtle
Thank you, my existentialist turtle
April 24, 2020
I love the videos this guy makes. Super inspiring, great stories, and other cool stuff that are hard to describe with a few words. The guy is unique. There is also a ton of controversy around him. Making him a prime case study for why it's ok to love the art and seperate it from the artist. But that is a topic worth really delving into.
Anyway coming to the book itself, Exurb1a manages to create a most fabulous world. There are some true gems in there,
For Every Dove a Bullet
A good way to start thinking about this world where anything can be conscious. It is just the right type of complexity.
It is worth reading, to think about the forking of minds, about greed and fear. This is the kind of stuff that feeds your creativity.
The Menagerie was too much gore for my taste. I am sure that there are worse fates than death out there. These kinds of books and sufficient imagination will leave anyone convinced of this fact.
And the Leaves All Sing of God - one of my fav's. A must read. The idea of knowledge that is so incompatible with consciousness that if forcefully aquired will cause you to commit suicide is fascinating. The final idea is of unity, that we are all part of single natural process, that nothing is really independent and that Song that we all sing with our essence is God.
Be Awake, Be Good - This had two remarkable ideas I would like to highlight, one was about narrative collapse that I feel is surely upcoming in a form in our world as we lose trust in authority and institutions. With deepfakes and plausible explanations for any hypothesis. We can be forced to live without belief in anything concrete.
The other idea is about frameworks. We all perceive the world subjectively through a framework that is socially constructed. Learning different languages can maybe allow you to hold slightly different frameworks in your head ready to use. Maybe you have different frameworks to employ when you are with your loving family or being ruthless at work. You find useful axioms and beliefs that are contradictory, so you package them into different frameworks. You motivate yourself using one frame and then if you fail; you summon a different frame in which you can make peace with your failure. This idea was explored in this story...
The other stories are also remarkable but I think I will leave that for you to discover and form your own conclusions. Finally a quote from the author, while I am never a person to claim to know what crazy future awaits our species I think there is a gem of truth here,
It's content like this that makes my heart heavy and mouth dry. I have never really managed to internalize the fact that no part of me can survive for any amount of time that matters. My name? My blog posts? My theories? All I can do is make a ripple and delude myself that I knew what the consequences of that ripple would be and take ownership of the changes caused. Believe that I mattered. But the truth is nothing can save my legacy and like Yuval says, we strive for immortality, happiness and divine powers, the only thing holding me back from enjoying the time I have left is my personal quest for a sort of immortality. If not immortality for me, atleast then for a few of my ideas.
Anyway coming to the book itself, Exurb1a manages to create a most fabulous world. There are some true gems in there,
For Every Dove a Bullet
A good way to start thinking about this world where anything can be conscious. It is just the right type of complexity.
With a little bit of gentle influence from myself, he took to work on a new metaphysic, Mentalic Ontology.
It was an ugly term. Neither of us were to know then, but the idea itself would live on for millennia.
The central tenet of his metaphysic consisted in declaring that mind as a stuff is not some property native to brains, or not necessarily native to them anyway. Mind is rather the product of a very particular complexity. This of course opens the door to all manner of entities being conscious then, not just humans, and not even just creatures rooted in biology.
With no help from myself, he also declared that self-consciousness was the product of a positive feedback loop between perception and reflection, the two eventually amplifying each other into a cycle that occurred so quickly neither could be separated from the other.
It is worth reading, to think about the forking of minds, about greed and fear. This is the kind of stuff that feeds your creativity.
The Menagerie was too much gore for my taste. I am sure that there are worse fates than death out there. These kinds of books and sufficient imagination will leave anyone convinced of this fact.
And the Leaves All Sing of God - one of my fav's. A must read. The idea of knowledge that is so incompatible with consciousness that if forcefully aquired will cause you to commit suicide is fascinating. The final idea is of unity, that we are all part of single natural process, that nothing is really independent and that Song that we all sing with our essence is God.
Be Awake, Be Good - This had two remarkable ideas I would like to highlight, one was about narrative collapse that I feel is surely upcoming in a form in our world as we lose trust in authority and institutions. With deepfakes and plausible explanations for any hypothesis. We can be forced to live without belief in anything concrete.
Io said, “You have values here. You believe in things. I miss that.”
“Don’t they believe in things on Ertia?”
“Not in the same way.” The sphere was in her lap now. She stroked it and the thing purred quietly. “There is a special problem in communications theory. We call it ‘narrative collapse’. When a planet is very connected, a time inevitably arrives when it becomes difficult to work out what is actually going on. Video and audio can be faked. Testimony isn’t reliable. All truths fall into a relative flatness. This is more dangerous than any doomsday weapon. You have a king and, if you don’t mind me saying so, not a very nice one. But at least his population knows when he’s being deceitful or harsh. On my world and the sister world we’ve lost even that. Many still don’t even believe Morae really exists. They claim it’s a fabrication by Al’Hazaad.” She held her beer up to the moonlight. “Doesn’t look like a fabrication to me.”
Tisho said, “Why would Al’Hazaad fabricate a whole planet?”
She shrugged. “Who cares? All you need is an enemy to take the punches at. Cut the world into us and them, manufacture dichotomies, boil complex issues down to sound bites. Divide and conquer.”
The other idea is about frameworks. We all perceive the world subjectively through a framework that is socially constructed. Learning different languages can maybe allow you to hold slightly different frameworks in your head ready to use. Maybe you have different frameworks to employ when you are with your loving family or being ruthless at work. You find useful axioms and beliefs that are contradictory, so you package them into different frameworks. You motivate yourself using one frame and then if you fail; you summon a different frame in which you can make peace with your failure. This idea was explored in this story...
Before arriving at the compound, Ha’Izaak had been ordered to use Frame 12. He knew all 24 frames by memory. Most Al’Hazaadian children learned them early on. His favourite was Frame 9 which held that the stars were really points of light mere miles away and the entire universe revolved around Al’Hazaad. Frame 18 was its direct opposite, claiming the universe was in fact gigantic and stars were balls of hydrogen and helium. Well, who was to say?
In this case though it was Frame 12 he slipped into. Frame 12 asserted that Ertia was a backwards culture, an orb of excess and stupidity, and nothing short of total annexation could correct its inevitable slide towards self-destruction.
....
“Very well.” The science man scanned him with a medical sphere and appeared pleased. “Everything is in order. We will inspect the device now. I should warn you that the generals and staff here operate using Frame 12b.”
Ha’Izaak had not encountered Frame 12b before. He looked the file up mentally and found it was confidential, though now accessible to him. It was a simple frame, asserting that not only was Ertia backwards, but Morae too, and all lives were expendable if the Prime Objective should be threatened.
“You’ve familiarised yourself with the frame?” the science man said.
“Yes.”
The other stories are also remarkable but I think I will leave that for you to discover and form your own conclusions. Finally a quote from the author, while I am never a person to claim to know what crazy future awaits our species I think there is a gem of truth here,
Whatever happens, however clever we eventually become, there will be an end to our trials and projects. Whether we’re superseded by our creations or just put to sleep by exhaustion, the end of history will approach eventually. When that occurs, all the statues and books and paintings in the world won’t save our legacy. Better then that we just enjoy the time we have, living in a wonderful age like the one we find ourselves in now.
It's a lovely day in Sofia. I'm going to step away from the computer and go for a walk now. If it's a nice day or evening wherever you are, may I suggest you go for a walk too. And when you do, I'd like you to spare a moment to consider the almost infinite chain of ancestry that stretches behind you, and the almost infinite chain of descendancy that stretches ahead; the thousands and thousands of ancestors who were kind enough to hand you their genes and the thousands and thousands of descendents who will one day — perhaps — inherit yours. But right now, we're standing in the exact middle of the chain.
The mayfly lives for about 24 hours. From the perspective of the universe, perhaps the human race is on a similar fleeting timescale. It took a long time to get to this point. There have been enormous sacrifices. We're all sat around being the product of billions of years of chance and millions of years of biological evolution. But today, this moment, now, we're here. We can wander around and do stuff and make stuff and have a jolly old time if we like. We're alive and we're looking damn fine. We have enormous, self-aware brains. We inhabit very clever fleshy suits designed by the universe herself. We've got the capability for greatness. We've got the capacity to enjoy a million unique stimuli. We've arrived at the party. We exist. And we can take walks if we want. So please go take a walk; I hope it's a nice one. And let’s not waste our day out in the cosmos.
It's content like this that makes my heart heavy and mouth dry. I have never really managed to internalize the fact that no part of me can survive for any amount of time that matters. My name? My blog posts? My theories? All I can do is make a ripple and delude myself that I knew what the consequences of that ripple would be and take ownership of the changes caused. Believe that I mattered. But the truth is nothing can save my legacy and like Yuval says, we strive for immortality, happiness and divine powers, the only thing holding me back from enjoying the time I have left is my personal quest for a sort of immortality. If not immortality for me, atleast then for a few of my ideas.
January 14, 2023
A great collection of Sci-fi short stories with philosophical stuff
April 9, 2024
Interesting premise, in the form of short stories. Some better than others. I did really like the science aspect
March 24, 2021
Há certos livros que só nos aparecem à frente quando de facto precisamos de os ler.
Este foi, sem dúvida, um deles. Estou muito curiosa para ler mais deste Exurb1a.
Este foi, sem dúvida, um deles. Estou muito curiosa para ler mais deste Exurb1a.
December 1, 2021
It had great reviews so I decided to read this even though I'm not a big fan of short stories.
I have not finished this book yet, it is a set of loosely connected science fiction short stories.
As I read the short stories I'll give a short review. 12 stories, beginning at the start of the Galactic Human Empire and following right through to its final days.
For Every Dove a Bullet (First Story) -Very unique and interesting. An undefined being who travels through time and takes possession of a person/entity. This undefined being doesn't even know who or what he is either. And he meets another. Great concept, but for me, it ended flat.
A Menagerie (Second story) -I have seen this travel concept on an old show, Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. An android psychologist goes on a mission, but things turn upside down. I felt this was very predictable to me. But the reason they give as an explanation at the end was very interesting.
A Dictionary (Third Story) -Wow-My favorite so far. It was not so much the story, but the concepts presented. This story really made me stop and think. A doctor takes a 400-year sleep to go to a new world (already established) and for him to start over personally. A big accident occurs on an asteroid (hollowed-out asteroid for the outer shell) starship. This is really worth reading.
Nine more stories to read and review. Check back.
Next:
And the Leaves All Sing of God (Fourth Story)
I have not finished this book yet, it is a set of loosely connected science fiction short stories.
As I read the short stories I'll give a short review. 12 stories, beginning at the start of the Galactic Human Empire and following right through to its final days.
For Every Dove a Bullet (First Story) -Very unique and interesting. An undefined being who travels through time and takes possession of a person/entity. This undefined being doesn't even know who or what he is either. And he meets another. Great concept, but for me, it ended flat.
A Menagerie (Second story) -I have seen this travel concept on an old show, Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. An android psychologist goes on a mission, but things turn upside down. I felt this was very predictable to me. But the reason they give as an explanation at the end was very interesting.
A Dictionary (Third Story) -Wow-My favorite so far. It was not so much the story, but the concepts presented. This story really made me stop and think. A doctor takes a 400-year sleep to go to a new world (already established) and for him to start over personally. A big accident occurs on an asteroid (hollowed-out asteroid for the outer shell) starship. This is really worth reading.
Nine more stories to read and review. Check back.
Next:
And the Leaves All Sing of God (Fourth Story)
December 29, 2022
To the engineers and scientists who will one day build minds; from whatever materials, in whatever form.
Hello from a time when we thought it was all magic.
----------------
Humans must be the only animals who build zoos for themselves.
----------------
They began rendezvousing in that disgusting traditional way, eating breakfast off of each other, spending long mornings in bed, pretending they were the first humans to ever discover sex.
----------------
The body is a pattern. The mind is a pattern. If it can be captured, it can be reconstructed.
----------------
I spent the duration of the travel in longsleep of course and woke to the almost-certain knowledge that my wife was long dead. This is one way to overcome marital issues.
----------------
One knows life will be over soon, that the body will revert to little more than dust and a story. Then only a story. Then an old story. Then a nothing
----------------
Hell isn't a fire pit but a museum of regrets
----------------
If philosophers gave clear answers then surely the whole field would've died out with the Greeks
----------------
Inaction is the primary refuge of those who prefer their own constructed realities to the beautiful chaos of the real world
----------------
Chill out, he thought. Everyone gets annoyed. Chill out and just remember people have it much worse. Don’t be ungrateful now. Don’t be ungrateful for a house and a partner and a chocolate dessert. Your shoes are comfortable. Your health is exemplary. Don’t be ungrateful now.
----------------
He located his lighter in his trouser pocket and lit his cigarette. He said, “I don't think taking photos of crumpled tissues is very clever. I don't think taking photos of yourself with minor celebrities makes you an interesting person. I don't want to look at more photos of crumpled tissues or minor celebrities. Maybe I'm uncultured. I spend all day pushing buttons after all. But something has gone awful, awful wrong. Pictures just remind you of taking them. I'm really not interested in seeing more, thank you, not of minor celebrities, not of used tissues. So I’d like to invite you to go home now. Go home to your collection of photos of candy wrappers with three-page explanations about the existential plight of the artist. Go home to your no doubt immaculate apartment and spotless mirrors.” He picked up his chair and launched that through the now open window.
----------------
The dominant mode of life was known as Kala, the principle of non-interference. Meekness as a virtue. Well, Ushko thought, what's so wrong about that
----------------
He watched the rice paddies from the train and admired the simple dress of the folk around him, most of them clothed in only single white shawls. They were not poor or unwashed, and he knew enough about the culture to assume their educational standards were high. They simply lacked ambition.
----------------
All explanations are an attempt by humankind to divide itself from the world. An explanation without including the explainer is as a tree without the trunk. One is inseparable from the other. No system of knowledge can avoid this limitation. Numbers are not the true face of measure. Words are not the true description of things. The world is the explanation.
----------------
We all go down roads we don't intend. Those are the best journeys. Besides, I like it here
----------------
In even asking a question one affects the world. The safest course is to ask no questions that must not be asked and change nothing that does not have to be changed. The true lifeforce is inaction. The true deathforce is the will to conquer. The world is the explanation.
----------------
All seeds contain the tree they will become. In that seed is the limit of its growth. No amount of water or nurture or love can grow a tree taller than the seed has allowed. If it is pushed to grow taller or wider than that, then it will die slowly. It will die of itself. Most things in the universe fade this way. If a tree is to survive then it must make itself content with its height and hide. It must hide its pride and limit its curiosity, lest it birth the end of everything
----------------
How can you possibly expect to convince anyone of such a ridiculous notion?”
“The same way anyone is convinced of ridiculous notions eventually. With sufficient evidence, with an open mind, and with an underlying appreciation of the terror of a new idea.”
----------------
There was the first science which dealt with base reality: mathematics and logic. There was the second science which dealt with the fields based on mathematics: physics and chemistry you would call them. The third dealt with the study of individuals, psychology. The fourth dealt with large groups, population science, sociology, history, you know. Towards the end of the empire though, there was a fifth science, we believe. It was the study of making non-living things living.”
----------------
those rare moments when another human piques your interest, it is accompanied by the quiet panic that you, and only you, are invested so deeply and so quickly.
----------------
Every day I woke to the sun and stared at it a while, tried to see some meaning in the thing, spy an intention or a smile. I know that it is alive in some sense, whatever that sense might be. I know that it knows things. I think that it thinks.
----------------
Yes there are individual lives, yes there are individual syndicates and empires, but the whole process ultimately builds to the same climax in all iterations. That is, the consolidation of intelligence, the gathering of the wool of perfect wisdom, and the death of want.
----------------
The mayfly lives for about 24 hours. From the perspective of the universe, perhaps the human race is on a similar fleeting timescale. It took a long time to get to this point. There have been enormous sacrifices. We're all sat around being the product of billions of years of chance and millions of years of biological evolution. But today, this moment, now, we're here. We can wander around and do stuff and make stuff and have a jolly old time if we like. We're alive and we're looking damn fine. We have enormous, self-aware brains. We inhabit very clever fleshy suits designed by the universe herself. We've got the capability for greatness. We've got the capacity to enjoy a million unique stimuli. We've arrived at the party. We exist. And we can take walks if we want. So please go take a walk; I hope it's a nice one. And let’s not waste our day out in the cosmos.
Hello from a time when we thought it was all magic.
----------------
Humans must be the only animals who build zoos for themselves.
----------------
They began rendezvousing in that disgusting traditional way, eating breakfast off of each other, spending long mornings in bed, pretending they were the first humans to ever discover sex.
----------------
The body is a pattern. The mind is a pattern. If it can be captured, it can be reconstructed.
----------------
I spent the duration of the travel in longsleep of course and woke to the almost-certain knowledge that my wife was long dead. This is one way to overcome marital issues.
----------------
One knows life will be over soon, that the body will revert to little more than dust and a story. Then only a story. Then an old story. Then a nothing
----------------
Hell isn't a fire pit but a museum of regrets
----------------
If philosophers gave clear answers then surely the whole field would've died out with the Greeks
----------------
Inaction is the primary refuge of those who prefer their own constructed realities to the beautiful chaos of the real world
----------------
Chill out, he thought. Everyone gets annoyed. Chill out and just remember people have it much worse. Don’t be ungrateful now. Don’t be ungrateful for a house and a partner and a chocolate dessert. Your shoes are comfortable. Your health is exemplary. Don’t be ungrateful now.
----------------
He located his lighter in his trouser pocket and lit his cigarette. He said, “I don't think taking photos of crumpled tissues is very clever. I don't think taking photos of yourself with minor celebrities makes you an interesting person. I don't want to look at more photos of crumpled tissues or minor celebrities. Maybe I'm uncultured. I spend all day pushing buttons after all. But something has gone awful, awful wrong. Pictures just remind you of taking them. I'm really not interested in seeing more, thank you, not of minor celebrities, not of used tissues. So I’d like to invite you to go home now. Go home to your collection of photos of candy wrappers with three-page explanations about the existential plight of the artist. Go home to your no doubt immaculate apartment and spotless mirrors.” He picked up his chair and launched that through the now open window.
----------------
The dominant mode of life was known as Kala, the principle of non-interference. Meekness as a virtue. Well, Ushko thought, what's so wrong about that
----------------
He watched the rice paddies from the train and admired the simple dress of the folk around him, most of them clothed in only single white shawls. They were not poor or unwashed, and he knew enough about the culture to assume their educational standards were high. They simply lacked ambition.
----------------
All explanations are an attempt by humankind to divide itself from the world. An explanation without including the explainer is as a tree without the trunk. One is inseparable from the other. No system of knowledge can avoid this limitation. Numbers are not the true face of measure. Words are not the true description of things. The world is the explanation.
----------------
We all go down roads we don't intend. Those are the best journeys. Besides, I like it here
----------------
In even asking a question one affects the world. The safest course is to ask no questions that must not be asked and change nothing that does not have to be changed. The true lifeforce is inaction. The true deathforce is the will to conquer. The world is the explanation.
----------------
All seeds contain the tree they will become. In that seed is the limit of its growth. No amount of water or nurture or love can grow a tree taller than the seed has allowed. If it is pushed to grow taller or wider than that, then it will die slowly. It will die of itself. Most things in the universe fade this way. If a tree is to survive then it must make itself content with its height and hide. It must hide its pride and limit its curiosity, lest it birth the end of everything
----------------
How can you possibly expect to convince anyone of such a ridiculous notion?”
“The same way anyone is convinced of ridiculous notions eventually. With sufficient evidence, with an open mind, and with an underlying appreciation of the terror of a new idea.”
----------------
There was the first science which dealt with base reality: mathematics and logic. There was the second science which dealt with the fields based on mathematics: physics and chemistry you would call them. The third dealt with the study of individuals, psychology. The fourth dealt with large groups, population science, sociology, history, you know. Towards the end of the empire though, there was a fifth science, we believe. It was the study of making non-living things living.”
----------------
those rare moments when another human piques your interest, it is accompanied by the quiet panic that you, and only you, are invested so deeply and so quickly.
----------------
Every day I woke to the sun and stared at it a while, tried to see some meaning in the thing, spy an intention or a smile. I know that it is alive in some sense, whatever that sense might be. I know that it knows things. I think that it thinks.
----------------
Yes there are individual lives, yes there are individual syndicates and empires, but the whole process ultimately builds to the same climax in all iterations. That is, the consolidation of intelligence, the gathering of the wool of perfect wisdom, and the death of want.
----------------
The mayfly lives for about 24 hours. From the perspective of the universe, perhaps the human race is on a similar fleeting timescale. It took a long time to get to this point. There have been enormous sacrifices. We're all sat around being the product of billions of years of chance and millions of years of biological evolution. But today, this moment, now, we're here. We can wander around and do stuff and make stuff and have a jolly old time if we like. We're alive and we're looking damn fine. We have enormous, self-aware brains. We inhabit very clever fleshy suits designed by the universe herself. We've got the capability for greatness. We've got the capacity to enjoy a million unique stimuli. We've arrived at the party. We exist. And we can take walks if we want. So please go take a walk; I hope it's a nice one. And let’s not waste our day out in the cosmos.
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