Evolving Cyberpunk into Transhumanism
November 14th, 2009
Cyberpunk has slowly evolved and muted into Transhumanism. Shedding the skin of their grungy punk father into a new savvy coat. The transhumaist community has grown out of the lone basement dwelling “console cowboy” to computer enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and otaku fanboys.
These culture represents the future. Their aim may be slightly high, as the Age of Spitual Machines will show, but they will eventually hit their targets. A machine as intelligent as you and I or transferring your minds “self” through an electronic medium sound like science fiction now, but what technology hasn’t? If you explained the relativity of space and time to Aristotle he would think you were mad. This culture beats a path to the future so others can follow. Gaining cultural acceptance for ideas like genetically modified children or funding artificial general intelligence have very real benefits and we have the transumanists to thank.
We have enjoyed the presence of transhumanism since the birth of cyberpunk. The highly acclaimed cyberpunk author, William Gibson, 
wrote in Neuromancer about transhuman-esque individuals, the panther moderns. They seize upon the latest technologies and integrating electronic components. Serial Experiment Lain is more transhumanist than cyberpunk. She realizes that reality is not confined to the world of atoms as we see but, extend to the electronic medium. The quintessential cyberpunk magazine, 2600, has even made mention.
Transhumaism isn’t so much a new idea but, a refined and elegant version of cyberpunk.