Novel: The Terminal Experiment

The Terminal Experiment - Robert J. Sawyer [1995]

Really impressed with this book.  I went into reading this book with rather low expectations despite the fact that it won the Nebula award in 1995.  I guess I should have more faith in our literature awards, but sometimes what appeals to the majority doesnt necessarily appeal to me.  The book starts out right after what I perceive to be the climax of the book and presents us with an escalated scenario, spending most of the book thereafter fleshing out the life of Peter Hobson and the events that resulted in his AI creation going on a killing spree.  Then it jumps to a scenario that will change Peter Hobson's life; he was assisting in an ER that was harvesting a young boy's organs and was supposed to monitor the EEG.  As the doctor was about to excise the heart, the patient's chest heaved massively as if in response to the cut, and the doctor ordered for more myolock to anesthetize the body.  Peter also notices some EEG activity and questions whether the patient was actually dead or not before his heart was cut out; and concludes that having his heart ripped out was what killed him, not the motorcycle accident he was in. 

Peter Hobson eventually creates a biotechnology company that specializes in neural scanning.  His device, unlike a normal EEG, is able to detect any and all brain activity, even that of the firing of a single neuron.  Finally the answer to the question that changed his life is finally starting to become visible; when does the body actually cease to be living?  In testing his device he finds evidence of an unknown concentration of electrical brain activity that travels through and leaves the brain through the temple at the exact moment of death.  Once he goes public with this discovery, the mysterious brain activity is dubbed the "soulwave" and a worldwide sensation is created.

Eventually Peter and his friend Muhammad Sarkar, who specializes in artificial life studies, create three simulacra; one simulates life after death, one immortality, and the last an unmodified control.

What I found fascinating with this book was how well it was put together.  The characters were really well developed and most of them were interesting and dynamic.  Most notably Peter's friend Sarkar was a really interesting Indian character who was portrayed with razor sharp wit and intellect as well as being devoutly religious.  The books pacing was also done really well.  Starting with Dectective Philo on the hospital bed set a mood that was full of tension and mystery.  The characters get a good amount of development before the plot starts to thicken.   I additionally really enjoyed the thought provoking material that this book had to offer.  Along with the obvious controversial issue about when people die or whether we have souls or not, issues of morality, relationships, and even the contemplation of morality were given attention.  "To use what Sarkar and I are doing as an example: we've created models of my mind.  Models, that's all.  Simulacra that seem to operate the same way as the original.  But when a real person builds a relationship with somebody else, are they in fact really having a relationship with that person, or just with a model - an image, an ideal - that they've built up in their own mind?"  I posted this quote earlier, but it really embodies the message this novel was trying to get across.  It sounds like a morbid outlook, and in some ways it is, but what Sawyer was really trying to get at was that people are special because they are always changing and evolving, making the first impression you have of somebody (be it good, bad, or what made you fall in love with them) not a very accurate representation of their current self. 

[9.5/10]