Transhumanist Wager, The by Zoltan Istvan Page A

hall forum,’ as it's become known to us transhumanists.”
    Both men laughed, the kind of easy
acquaintance that has been ongoing since their college years together in those
exact same halls.
    “So how's the movement going?”
asked the dean. “Not much news coming out it seems—and more pressure than ever
from the NAH and Uncle Sam. I hear the World Transhumanist Institute's Future
Living magazine stopped printing. Is that true? I'm going to miss it
terribly.”
    “Damn, yes—it's been a tough few years.
We can’t afford to publish it anymore. Advertising has fallen off a cliff.
Donors are broke. In fact, no one seems to be able to do anything anymore. No
one has a dime of funding and the scrooge government won't give a penny. And if
they do, you can't even mention the word ‘transhumanism’ connected to the
research, let alone try to do something directly for it.”
    “Yeah, I know. They've made
‘transhumanism’ a very dirty word.”
    “And they've made it witchcraft
science to have anything to do with it,” Langmore said obstinately. “Damn
quasi-Christian-run government insists on making you want to die so you can
meet Jesus and other celebrities in heaven. Sounds like a cheesy, B-rated
Hollywood flick. People are crazy.”
    “Hopefully, there will be a
breakthrough soon or something. My small group of friends here in academia sure
hopes so.”
    “We're actually in the midst of
trying new publicity and funding angles at the institute. It's more grassroots
stuff, outside the usual realm of talking to scientists and entrepreneurs. In
fact, I came here to try to locate a former student of yours about it. He was
the young man who spoke up at the town hall forum. Do you remember him?”
    “Sure I do,” said the dean, smiling
broadly, letting Langmore know by his reaction that he knew the student well.
“His name is Jethro Knights.”
    “Excellent. So you do know
him. Well, his senior thesis, Rise of the Transhuman Citizen , was posted
a while back on a life extension blog. The essay has received heaps of
attention in the transhuman underground and also on the Web, the grassroots
side of the movement. Really, it’s mainly the youth that seem interested. But
many thousands of people have read it now, and some of them have re-posted it
all over the Internet. The Institute’s board and I want to see if we can get
him to write more, possibly organize that grassroots energy. The thesis is
quite aggressive and radical. But we need any traction we can get to make
transhumanism more popular. We need to make headway somehow.”
    Langmore looked at his feet
sheepishly, then continued. “We need new blood, new visionaries—perhaps even a
new, bolder generation for the movement. It seems we old scientists and engineers
are no match for the brazen politicians and Christian evangelists sweeping the
public right now.”
    “Jethro is currently abroad for a
few years,” said the dean.
    “Yes, it seems he's a journalist.
But I couldn't get a hold of him through International Geographic . They
wouldn't share any of his personal info. Legal policy, they said.”
    “He's sailing around the world and
may not be very reachable. I haven't actually talked to him in two years, but a
good friend of mine is his editor at International Geographic . I'll put
you in direct touch with him and he'll make sure you and Jethro connect.”
    “That’s exactly what I was hoping
for.”
    The dean shrugged. "I don't
know if it'll be useful, though. Jethro is still young and brash. He's got much
to learn about the overall movement. And he's definitely not a team player, if
you know what I mean. In fact, he can be downright antisocial and unruly. But
he clearly believes in transhumanism."
    "That's fine. We were all
young once. And none of us are team players unless there's an opposing team
that needs to be played against out of necessity. And, right now, that necessity
has arrived."
     
     
    ************
     
     
    In the middle of a breezy