man after man an anthropology of the future dougal dixon

Meanwhile some of the remnants of unaltered humans decide to leave the wrecked earth and return when it gets well. Humanity is (inexplicably) one of the only species left standing and so a faction of the survivors (a cybernetically enhanced offshoot known as the Hitek) begin to create new Biotech Human species for the next 500 years en masse to fill in some of critical ecosystemic niches left by the general absence of the Earth's now countless extinct animal species. Unfortunately, a century later, environmental deterioration finally kills off most of the planet's fauna. All the while, however, the Earth's environment is getting increasingly polluted and climate change has caused major disruption to civilization, the few nation-states that are left are sending colonists into space to search for other habitable planets. Their skin and eyes carry shields of skin to keep its body stable even without pressure as living space probes. Humanity begins to play around with its own genetics, like a kid with LEGO blocks on a large scale, creating new humanoid creatures known as aquamorphs and aquatics (or basically Fish People), and vacuumorph beings that have been engineered for life in the vacuum of space. The main plot of the book starts 200 years from now (2190 AD), which for the book's scale is almost the present day. Also unlike Dixon's previous two books, this one has a narrative component and focuses on individuals across time rather than entire species, even giving them individual names. Unlike Dixon's previous two outings, this book deliberately ignores the laws of evolution, biology, and genetics when the plot calls for it these contrivances are not helped by the unsettling pictures and imagery that accompany the posthumans of the distant future. Allegedly a science-fiction account of future human evolution, the premise and its accompanying illustrations can come off as disturbing. Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future (1990) is the third speculative evolution book written by Scottish geologist Dougal Dixon, and the most controversial installment of the trio.

Man after man an anthropology of the future dougal dixon