These links concentrate on material of relevance to Transhuman Space and other near-future sci-fi games. Note: This is an expanded and updated version of the links available at the SJ Games site - and those were an updated and expanded version of my old links page.

News Aggregators and Blogs

• WorldChanging - A website dedicated to scientific improvement of the world.

• Nanotechnology Now - Portal site for nanotechnology, quantum computing, and molecular biology.
• Nanodot - Nanotech news from the Foresight Institute. More focused on Singularity possibilities and memetics then some others.
• KurzweilAI - All hail our superhuman AI overlords. News and articles on AI research and development.

• The Future of Things - Virus-based batteries? Superscopes? Learn about it here.
• Engadget - Trends in consumer technology that can inform interesting quirks in their campaign world.
• Cleantechnica - News related to clean technologies and waste reduction.

• SpaceWar - Military technology news.
• Defense Review - Military news, especially as relates to high-tech items like directed energy weapons and robotics.
• Defense News - Good coverage of the business side of buying the next-gen war machines.
• FAS Strategic Security Blog - News from an arms control perspective

Free Tech Books and References

• RAND Corporation puts out a HUGE number of documents, ranging from political analysis to cutting-edge reports on military technology. See their main page and search from there, or go straight to the following examples:
  • Space Weapons, Earth Wars - Examines several orbit-to-earth weapon concepts, such as "THOR" ortillery and orbital laser arrays.
  • Forks in the Road for the US Navy - Possible future challenges to the Navys way of doing business.
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle End-to-End Support Considerations - The logistical requirements of our new unmanned warfighting overlords.
  • Steeling the Mind - Combat stress treatment, especially in the high-tension urban warfighting environment.
  • Proliferated Autonomous Weapons - Using emergent behaviour and swarm tactics with next-generation weapons. One of the authors is notable for being behind many of the "gamable" reports.

• K Eric Drexler has made two of his books on nanotechnology freely available.
  • Engines of Creation 2.0: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology - Revised and expanded version of the original.
  • Unbounding the Future - Now somewhat dated (written in 1991) but still worth paying close attention to.

• Defense and the National Interest has political commentary and some interesting manuals produced for the USMC's Fourth Generation Warfare Seminar. Expands on "fourth generation warfare" concepts.
  • Fourth Generation Warfare - Rediscovering warfighting against non-state actors.
  • A Tactical Handbook for Counterinsurgency and Police Operations - Thoughts on fighting insurgencies using the lessons of anti-crime measures by civilian police forces.

• Armada International (similar to Jane's Defence Weekly) sometimes makes excerpts and articles from back issues freely available. Although packed with advertisements, they can be useful for seeing contemporary military technology applications. Some of the useful articles are linked below, but search their site for more material.
  • Complete Guide to Drones - 2007 overview of the various drone packages in development. Lots of pictures.
  • Sailor Beware - The Anti-Ship Missile - 2008 article on developments in the often ignored world of naval missiles

• U.S. Naval War College Review - Publishes articles on a wide variety of issues. Search their archives for more, or just check out (note that they have a site certificate error!):
  • "Reflections on Future War" - ".. the Pentagon does in fact seek a technological El Dorado." Insightful.
  • "Future Navies - Present Issues" - Useful for a TS: Under Pressure campaign.
  • "Targeted Killing and the Law of Armed Conflict" - Basically "when is assassination legal."
  • "Suppression of Piracy and Maritime Terrorism: A Suitable Role for a Navy?" - More applicable now with the dramatic rise of high-profile piracy.

• U.S. Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) - Serves as an information clearinghouse for many subjects. It can be useful to find a report you want, then search for the title in Google to find an actual link to the PDF. Just a tiny selection include:
  • "High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and High Power Microwave (HPM) Devices: Threat Assessments" - Very brief and basic overview.
    
  • "Incoherent Combining of High-Power Fiber Lasers for Directed-Energy Applications" - Interesting example of where the push to create scalable directed energy weapons is heading.
  • "UCAV - The Next Generation Air-Superiority Fighter?" - The answer is, basically, "yes."
  • "Identification of the Cognitive, Psychomotor, and Psychosocial Skill Demands of Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) Operators" - A bit more complex then "get the ones that are good at MS Flight Simulator!"
    
    

Transhuman Space

Personal Fansites

• Transhuman Space Yahoo Group - Discussion of the Transhuman Space setting. Yahoo destroyed the old list, but check out their archives for stuff you may have missed.
  
  
• Transhuman Space 4e Conversion Page - Jessie D. Foster's GURPS 4e conversion notes (see Changing Times for the official version). Also has a number of custom templates and biomods.
  
  
• Stone's Throw Shipyards - Ship designs and speculative writing's by one of the most profilic Transhuman Space gearheads, John Buston.
  
  
• Kenneth Peters' Transhuman Space Pages - Including GURPS 3e GCB data sheets, and rules and templates for Transhuman Space vehicles.
  
  
• Freehauler's Transhuman Space Website - Site with raytraced model pictures that give you a starting idea of what different drive types and ships would look like.
  
  
• Aaron's Transhuman Space Website - Site with articles on locations, corporations and equipment.
  
  
• Ship Design Page - Reference work showing comparative sizes and outlines of almost every Transhuman Space ship described in canon ... and some originals!
  
  
• Nemto's Lair - Pics of various Tranhsuman Space craft and various articles on space travel. Articles of note include metric spacecraft design (for TS). Also see his Orbit program.
  
  
• Evil Dr. Ganymede - Webpage of TS: Under Pressure co-author Constantine Thomas. Of notable interest is the pictures/renderings for how the sea level will rise on Mars during terraforming and a compiled list of most cybershell, parahuman and bioroid templates in the setting.
  
  
• DM's Transhuman Page - Webpage of TS: Under Pressure co-author David Morgar-Mar. Awesome maps of Transhuman Space Earth and the solar system.
  
  
• David L. Pulver's Website - The personal webpage of the creator of Transhuman Space and Centauri Knights.
  
  
• Transhuman Space: New Zealand - A deeper look at New Zealand in 2100. Includes new cybershells and weapons.
  

Rules Conversions

• BTRC's EABA by Aaron Kavli - Some messed up HTML makes it hard to read, but covers characters and technology.
• FUDGE by Loïc Prot - Extensive conversion notes, including vehicles.
• Tri-Stat Anthony Jackson - Basic notes and templates for the core book.

Designer's Notes

• Transhuman Space by David Pulver. Comments and the cut mutable point totals box text.
• Orbital Decay by Patrick Sweeney. Lethal new nanotech diseases to inflict on your hapless players!
• Fifth Wave by Jon Zeigler. Includes new meme rules.
• Personnel Files by Phil Masters. Some basic notes on group concepts that were not written up.
• In The Well by Jonathan Woodward. Two sections, one on how the maps were created and another with some guidelines on using materials lists in GURPS Vehicles.
• Deep Beyond by David Pulver. Quotes and commentary on the development of the book.
• Under Pressure by David Morgan-Mar, Kenneth Peters, & Constantine Thomas. Very extensive notes with a mix of heavy crunch (such as technical appendix notes) and humor.
• Broken Dreams by Jamais Cascio. Short piece detailing different ways of getting online in the year 2100.
• Changing Times by Phil Masters. Interesting outtakes and templates for the 4e conversion of Transhuman Space.

Pyramid Sample Articles

• TransToony Space by David Morgan-Mar: A very warped Transhuman Space setting for Toon.
• The Car as the Star by Phil Masters: Your vehicle as a cybershell template.
• Virtual Safari Cyber Zoo Park by Aaron Kavli: Adventures in the managed wildlands of 2100.
• Nonhuman Rights in the Transhuman United States by Steven E. Ehrbar: Brief overview of sapient rights in the Unites States of Transhuman Space.
• The National Technical Intelligence Bureau by Aaron Kavli: An interesting (if noncanonical) take on the successor to the CIA and NSA in Transhuman Space.
• Doris and Sainte Celeste by Mark Gellis: A Transhuman Space setting that revolves around a asteroid colony settled by French Catholics.
• Elves: A Case of Transhumanism in Fantasy Words by Jürgen Hubert: A different approach to why elves are so superior to normal humans.
• Jasmine Mojarro by Phil Masters: Sample character with her cyberdog and AIs written up as well.
• Shell Games: Revised Rules for Digital Intelligences by Phil Masters: Some ideas for making the Ally (Infomorph) rules a bit more tenable.
• Suppressed Transmission: Transhuman Histories by Kenneth Hite: A dose of the wierd with crossovers. Transhuman Swashbucklers anyone?
• Adventure Pizza: Slave to the System by James P. Barrett: A space adventure.
• Adventure Pizza: Mutiny in the Bounty Bay by Aaron Kavli: An adventure on Earth.
• Supporting Cast: Deacon Paul - Bioroid Rights Activist by Royce Easton Day: A Ghost activist.
• Gaming and the Nature of Artificial Intelligence by Mark Gellis: Some views on AI as presented in a gaming context.

Transhuman Space Development Chat Logs

• 03/28/2001: David Pulver
• 01/10/2001: Sean Punch and David Pulver
• 11/07/2000: Sean Punch, David Pulver, Jonathan Woodward, and Jon F. Zeigler
• 05/08/2000: Sean Punch, David Pulver, and Jon F. Zeigler
• 03/29/2000: Sean Punch and David Pulver

Other Transhumanistic Roleplaying Games

• Alpha Centauri by SJ Games/Sid Meier. The GURPS adaptation of the classic sci-fi strategy game [Wiki] has many explicit and implicit transhumanistic elements - such as mental transcendence, genetic engineering, AI, and mind uploading.
• 2300AD [Wiki] by Far Future Enterprises. Sci-fi sequel to Twilight: 2000. The update (2320AD) incorporates many technologies you will be familiar with from Transhuman Space, but with a "safetech" progression. The discussion group and 2320AD forums can also be mined for ideas.
• Ad Astra by various. Free hard science roleplaying without FTL, but does have aliens and extrasolar travel.
• Big Ideas, Grand Vision by Anders Sandberg. "Gonzo transhumanistic" roleplaying with godlike AIs and radical alteration of humans. Uses the Alternity rules system.
• Blue Planet by RedBrick. Fairly "hard science" sci-fi RPG set on an alien waterworld. Features advanced biotechnology and a good McGuffin to drive adventures (an anti-aging drug made from xenosilicates). The GURPS Blue Planet adaption may also interest you.
• Eclipse Phase by Catalyst. Transhumanistic rpg with some traditional sci-fi nods (evil AIs, aliens, psionics). Check their blog for interesting news items and development progress.
• Orion's Arm by various. A collaborative transhumanistic roleplaying setting, similar to Big Ideas, Grand Vision. Also very hard science.
• Shadowrun [Wiki] by Catalyst. Associated more for its mix of cyberpunk and fantasy, the 4th edition marks a shift towards posthuman elements. The supplement Unwired is a good resource for TS augmented reality applications.
• Trinity [Wiki] by White Wolf Studios. Powerful psions fight aliens and insane superhumans with biotech gadgets and moxie. A bit silly, but has some good material that can be used in any sci-fi game.

Electronic Resources

• USAF Air University Space Primer - Excellent overview of material ranging from space treaties to explaining how multispectral imaging functions.
• Oceans and Laws of the Sea - The United Nations Law of the Sea and related resources.
• Outer Space Treaty - The precursor to the Transhuman Space ROST.
• "Weaponization" vs. "Militarization" of Space [PDF] - Discusses the differences.

Transhumanists

• Transhumanism [Wiki] - Good clearinghouse for general information and links.
• World Transhumanist Organization - Be sure to check out their Transhumanist FAQ.
• Transhumanist Terminology - A list of terms and jargon used by transhumanists and transhumanistic fiction.
• Hedonistic Imperative - Advocates redesigning humanity so they no longer experience physical pain (among other things).
• Anders Sandberg's Transhuman Page - Lots of introductory material on the Transhumanist philosophy. Also has an RPG page.
• Extropy Institute - A networking and information center for transhumanists. Check out the Extropian Principles.
• Biohacking Yahoo Group - Discussion of genetic, cybernetic, and biological manipulation.

Back Home, on Terra Firma ...

Many of these resources are directly applicable to Transhuman Space campaigns.

• Naval Piracy [Wiki] Articles - obviously increasing awareness of this issue. Recent examples include:
  • "Suppression of Piracy and Maritime Terrorism: A Suitable Role for a Navy?" [PDF] - More applicable now with the dramatic rise of high-profile piracy.
  • "Cooperative Strategy of 21st Century Seapower: 200 Years of Repressing Piracy and Still Missing the Boat" [PDF] - Nice title. Very recent as well.
  • "A Modern Day Response to Piracy in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore" [PDF] - More focus on the events transpiring in the Straights of Malacca.
  • "The Maritime Dimension of International Security: Terrorism, Piracy, and Challenges for the United States" [PDF] - Claims terrorism and piracy are not merging. Was anyone seriously arguing that was what was driving it?
  • "The Transnational Threat From Piracy And Smuggling" -  "`The world should seize the opportunity presented by President Bush's initiative and combine piracy and smuggling with terrorism.  Life at sea would then be much safer." D'oh.
    
    

The Solar System ... and Beyond

• Planetary Fact Sheet - Includes information on the asteroid belt, with a separate page just for Chiron.
• The Nine Planets - A multimedia tour of our solar system.
• Transneptunian Objects - More are being found every single day. Note that only a few have "official" titles. There are so many you could run out of decent names very quickly...
• Small Bodies Node - A collection of planetary data, specializing in asteroids and comets.
• Notable Nearby Stars - Great for campaigns that are interstellar in scope. Check out the entry for 61 Virginis.
• The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia - Site tracking every discovered extrasolar planet.
• Planetary Icosahedrons - Planetary maps in the same icosahedron format used in GURPS. Has all of the major bodies in the Solar System out to Neptune.

The Moon

• Artemis Project - Plan to develop a self-sustaining settlement on the moon.
• The Lunar Republic - News, plans, and links about lunar colonization.

Mercury

• Mercury [Wiki] - Updated more often then you would think!
• NASA's MESSENGER - Now sending back startling new imagery from the tiny planet.
• Ice on Mercury - Information on possible ice on the poles of Mercury.

Mars

• The Case for Mars - International Conference for the Exploration and Colonization of Mars. Lots of links and research papers.
• Mars Society - Strike boldly into the future. News on Mars research and efforts at private science missions. Other publications include New Mars, their online magazine.
• Selected Mars Articles from Moon Miners' Manifesto - A collection of articles ranging from the uses for Phobos to the strategic value of Pavonis Mons.
• The Daily Martian Weather Report - Sunny with a chance of dust storms?
• Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) - MANY pictures and papers of Mars taken from the orbital observatory.
• The Topography of Mars - an interactive topographical map of Mars, including listings of several interesting landforms.

Technology

Spaceflight

• National Space Programs
  • China [Wiki] - News and future plans that have been published. Also check out the Go Taikonauts! site.
  • Indonesia [Wiki] - Pre Pacific War information!
  • United States: NASA - The civilian (and smallest) component of the US space presence.
• Basics of Spaceflight - Just the facts from NASA.
• Encyclopedia Astronautica - Outstanding general resource site for modern spaceflight technology.
• Canonical List of Space Transportation and Engineering Methods - From the basics of spaceflight to the wacky world of bulk matter engines.
• Starship Design Project - Papers and discussion about realistic near-term spaceflight technology.
• Ice Structure Spacecraft - What, you thought it was made-up? Heck no.
• System Architectures For Space Systems Using Molecular Nanotechnology
• Ascender Project - A private effort to build a semiballistic spaceplane. Also check out the X-Prize contest they hope to win.

Propulsion

• Space Drives - A bit light on the detail but has some pictures of real space drives and schematics.
• Antimatter Propulsion - A number of papers on antimatter propulsion technologies.
• Propulsion Tethers - Interesting article on using tethers for acceleration and deceleration using planetary magnetic fields.
• Supercavitation [Wiki] - Supercavitation technology for high speed underwater travel. Also check out the DARPA program.
• SiMiCon Rotor Craft - Unusual rotor/turbojet hybrid.
• D-Star Engineering - Company developing advanced ducted fans.
• AJAX [PDF] - Also known as a scramjet with MHD bypass.

Computing

• Wearable Computers - What the MIT Media Lab is currently working on...
• Augmented Reality [Wiki] - A site of links to more research and articles on the concept. This site also maintains a set of links (slowly becoming outdated). And check out the US Navy's program.
• KurzweilAI.net - Well presented website dealing with AI and transhumanism.
• AI Metaphysics - AIs as Angels? Or are AIs simply angels who possess the hardware?
• Will Robots Inherit the Earth? - An article originally appearing in Scientific American.
• Creating Friendly AI - Study on designing benevolent "friendly" AIs through proper cognitive architecture.

Nanotechnology

• NASA and Self-Replicating Systems - Von Neumann machines. Part of a general nanotechnology site with useful links and Q&A.
• Foresight Institute - Dedicated to raising awareness of the potential of nanotechnology. Check out their nanomedicine art gallery and the report " Nanotechnology: From Concept to R&D Goal."
• Molecular Repair of the Brain - Using nanotechnology to correct medical conditions currently unsolvable with current technology and techniques.
• Implications of Nanotechnology for Space Technology - Awesome site if you want to know more about beanstalks or how nanotech could be used in space.

Medical

• Helium-3 Imaging - Using 3He for medical imaging.
• Ink-jet Printing Creates Tubes of Living Tissue - Current developments in 3D printing tissue.
• Vasculoid - Paper on using nanites to duplicate all the functions of normal blood.
• Oxygent - Oxygenated perflubron. This is the "breathing liquid" made famous in the movie The Abyss.

Military Technology

• News Articles: A number of blogs and websites specialize in up-to-date news and marketing information for military customers. You can also find interesting information from links on Slashdot.
  • Defense News - Good coverage of the business side of buying the next-gen war machines.
  • FAS Strategic Security Blog - News from an arms control perspective
• Militarily Critical Technologies Lists - "Shopping list" of technologies that the DoD has a lot of interest in. Some notable ones include:
  • Aeronautics [PDF]
  • Armaments and Energetic Materials [PDF]
  • Weapons Effects Technology [PDF]
• Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035 - A set of publications written in 1997 that lay out some of the goals and technology paths for the Navy and USMC.
• Counterspace Operations [PDF]- USAF goals and protocol for controlling the ultimate high ground. See also this research paper, written in 1996.
• Analysis of Air-Based Mechanization and Vertical Envelopment Concepts and Technologies [PDF] - RAND study for new technologies for vertical envelopment strategies for future combat operations.
• A Limited Analysis of Some Nonacoustic Antisubmarine Warfare Systems - See TS: Under Pressure for game mechanics for many of these.
• High Power Microwaves: Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare [PDF] - A bit broad and meanders.
• Cold Plasma Cavity Active Stealth Technology [PDF] - Oh ho. Also see this less-reliable article.
• Gasdynamic Laser Weapon System [PDF] - A laser weapon powered by a radioactive cell that puts off massive amounts of heat and has significant recoil. So whacky it just might work ... or not.
• Directed Energy Weapons for Boost-Phase Intercept [PDF] - Excellent resource for particle beam and X-ray laser weaponry.
• Soviet Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOB) [Wiki] - Interesting look at another "THOR" orbital artillery research program.
• Introduction to Particle Beam Weapons - Good basic overview of how particle beam weapons work.
• Motion Camouflage - Adapting the hunting and fighting strategies of dragonflies to missile counter-interception. See their full website for more information.
• Anti-Satellite Weapons [Wiki] - Good resource to start with. Similar articles are found elsewhere on the web.
• Directed Energy Weapons [Wiki] - Since the old USN site is down, this is a good reference.
• Active Denial System - More controversial then its benign game rules would suggest. Some articles on its deployment can be found here and here [Wiki].
  
  

New Habitats

• Space Studies Institute - Outstanding site with information on orbital development. Check out the article The World's Energy Future Belongs in Orbit by Dr. Gerald K. O'Neill, for example.
• Island One Society - Dedicated to building space habitats. A variety of information on space law, technology, and project studies.
• NASA Space Elevator Site - Interesting site that discusses the possibilities of space elevators.
• Terraforming Information Page - When you want to know more then what you picked up playing SimEarth.
• The Arcosanti Project - A website explaining the benefits and background of arcologies.
• The Atlantis Project - A project to form a new "floating nation" like Sealand.

Materials & Power

• Nanotubes and Buckballs - Excellent primer on nanotubes and links to related articles.
• Seament - Primer on the technology of electroaccretion of calcium around an electrified mesh to create a concrete-type material.
• Compact Natural Gas MHD - Brief overview of an idea to build a compact MHD power station in the Barents Sea.
• OTEC - Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. Lockheed Martin now working on producing a prototype with new technologies.
• Gecko Grip - More TS technology now seeing practical application. Also see the article in the journal Science.

Industry

• PERMANENT - Group seeking a rapid exploitation of resources in space (notably asteroids and the moon).
• An Evolutionary Path to SPS - Background on the technology and problems with Solar Power Satellite deployment.

Wierd Science

• Emdrive - Controversial "reactionless drive" propulsion technology. Look here [PDF], here [Wiki], and here for more information.
• Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis - Classic work that contends all the properties of UFOs can be boiled down to their use of 'anti-gravity'.

Printed Resources

Fiction

• The "Harvest" series: Harvest of Stars, The Stars Are Also Fire, Harvest the Fire, and The Fleet of Stars, by Poul Anderson.
• The "Culture" series (in order): Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, The State of the Art, Excession, Inversions, Look to Windward, and Matter, by Ian Banks.
• The "Meme Wars" series: Candle, Kaleidoscope Century, Orbital Resonance, and The Sky so Big and Black, by John Barnes.
• Heads, by Greg Bear.
• The Forge of God and the sequel Anvil of Stars, by Greg Bear.
• Queen of Angels, by Greg Bear.
• Moving Mars, by Greg Bear.
• / (Slant), by Greg Bear.
• Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children, by Greg Bear.
• The Seedling Stars, by James Blish.
• Earth, by David Brin.
• Otherness, by David Brin.
• The Fortunate Fall, by Raphael Carter
• New Atlantis: City Beneath the Sea, by Earl E Clark.
• The Ghost from the Grand Banks / The Deep Range, by Arthur C Clarke.
• Nanotech, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois.
• Ribofunk, by Paul Di Fillipo.
• Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow.
• Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present, by Cory Doctorow.
• The "Marid Audran" series: When Gravity Fails, A Fire In The Sun and The Exile Kiss, by George Alec Effinger.
• Budayeen Nights, by George Alec Effinger.
• Axiomatic, by Greg Egan.
• Diaspora: A Novel, by Greg Egan.
• Distress, by Greg Egan.
• Incandescence, by Greg Egan.
• Permutation City, by Greg Egan.
• Quarantine, by Greg Egan.
• The "Firestar Saga" series: Firestar, Rogue Star, Lodestar, and Falling Stars, by Michael Flynn.
• The Wreck of the River of Stars, by Michael Flynn.
• Pattern Recognition and Spook Country, by William Gibson.
• The "Greg Mandel" series: Mindstar Rising, A Quantum Murder and The Nano Flower, by Peter Hamilton.
• A Deeper Sea, by Alexander Jablokov.
• War Games, by Karl Hansen.
• The "Beggars Trilogy" series: Beggars in Spain, Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride, by Nancy Kress.
• Terminal Cafe, by Ian Macdonald.
• The "Fall Revolution" series: The Star Fraction, The Stone Canal, The Cassini Division, and The Sky Road, by Ken MacLeod.
• Fairyland, by Paul J McAuley.
• The Bohr Maker, by Linda Nagata.
• Limit of Vision, by Linda Nagata.
• Vast, by Linda Nagata.
• The "Dream Park" series: Dream Park, The Barsoom Project, The California Voodoo Game, The Descent of Anansi, and Saturn's Race, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes.
• Gaia's Toys, by Rebecca Ore.
• The Silicon Man, by Charles Platt.
• The "Mars Trilogy" series (in order): Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• The Martians, by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• The "Bopper" series: Software, Realware, Wetware, and Freeware, by Rudy Rucker
• Blueheart, by Alison Sinclair.
• The "Emortality" series: Inherit the Earth, Architects of Emortality, The Fountains of Youth, Dark Arat, The Cassandra Effect, and The Omega Expedition, by Brian Stableford.
• The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson.
• Distraction, by Bruce Sterling.
• Heavy Weather, by Bruce Sterling.
• Holy Fire, by Bruce Sterling.
• Schismatrix Plus, by Bruce Sterling.
• Toast, by Charlie Stross.
• Vacuum Flowers, by Michael Swanwick.
• The Ophiuchi Hotline, by John Varley.
• Steel Beach, by John Varley.
• The Golden Globe, by John Varley.
• Across Realtime, by Vernor Vinge.
• The "Zones of Thought" series: A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge.
• Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge.
• The "Rifters Trilogy" series: Starfish, Maelstrom, Behemoth: B-Max (Book 1), and Behemoth: Seppuku (Book 2), by Peter Watts.
• Implied Spaces, by Walter Jon Williams.
• Voice of the Whirlwind, by Walter Jon Williams.
• Macro-Life, by George Zebrowski.

Nonfiction

• Mind Children : The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence, by Hans Moravec
• Darwinizing Culture, edited by Robert Aunger
• The Electric Meme: A New Theory of How We Think, by Robert Aunger
• The Discovery of the Titanic, by Robert D Ballard
• The Eternal Darkness, by Robert D Ballard
• Explorations, by Robert D Ballard
• The New Solar System, Fourth Edition, by J. Kelly Beatty and Carolyn Collins Peterson, edited by Andrew Chaikin
• The World, The Flesh, and the Devil (2nd Edition), by J.D Bernal
• The Meme Machine, by Susan J. Blackmore and Richard Dawkins
• Whales of the World, by Nigel Bonner
• The Spike: How Our Lives are Being Transformed By Rapidly Advancing Technologies, by Damien Broderick
• Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme, by Richard Brodie
• Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, by Rodney Brooks
• Cambrian Intelligence: The Early History of the New AI, by Rodney Brooks
• The Blue Planet, by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill, and Martha Holmes
• The Social Life of Information, by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid
• The Cerebral Symphony, by William Calvin
• Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance by B.C. Crandall
• El Niño, by Ross Couper-Johnston
• Dolphins, by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Phillipe Diolé
• The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins
• The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene, by Richard Dawkins
• Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds, by Daniel Dennett
• Cambrian Intelligence, by Daniel Dennett
• Underwater Diving: Basic Techniques, by Peter and Sisman, David Dick
• Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation by K. Eric Drexler
• Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics, by Gregory Dudek
• Meteorology, 2nd Editio, by Joe R Eagleman
• Sea Change, by Sylvia A Earle
• Encyclopedia of the Sea, by Richard Ellis
• Indistinguishable from Magic, by Robert Forward
• Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics, by Rober Forward and Joel Davis
• World Naval Weapons Systems, Fifth Edition, by Norman Friedman
• Nanomedicine, by Robert A. Freitas Jr.
• The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
• Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman
• Emerging Technologies of Augmented Reality: Interfaces and Design, by Michael Haller
• Seven-Tenths, by James Hamilton-Paterson, published in the United States as The Great Deep
• Mission To Saturn: Cassini and the Huygens Probe, by David M Harland
• Colonies in Space, by T.A Heppenheimer
• Space Settlements: A Design Study, by Richard D. Johnson and Charles Holbrow
• Visions, by Michio Kaku
• Prospects in Nanotechnology: Towards Molecular Manufacturing, by Markus Krummenacker, edited by James Lewis
• The Age of Spiritual Machines, by Ray Kurzweil
• Gene Future: The Promise and Perils of the New Biology, by Thomas F. Lee
• World Atlas of the Oceans, by Manfred Leier
• Mining the Sky, by John S. Lewis
• Nanotechnology: Research and Perspectives by James Lewis, edited by B.C. Crandall
• Lifting Titan's Veil: Exploring the Giant Moon of Saturn, by Ralph Lorenz and Jaqueline Mitton
• Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society, by Aaron Lynch
• The Big Book of Conspiracies, by Doug (ed.) Moench
• Moravec Hans P. Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence (Harvard University Press, 1988).
• Robot: Mere Machines to Transcendent Mind, by Hans Moravec
• Introduction to AI Robotics, by Robin R Murphy
• The High Frontier, Third Edition, by Gerald K O'Neill
• 2081: A Hopeful View of the Future, by Gerald K O'Neill
• Beyond Humanity: Cyberevolution and Future Minds, by Gregory S. Paul, and Earl Cox
• How the Mind Works, by Steven Pinker
• The Oceans, by Ellen J Prager
• Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition, by Ed Regis
• Nano: The Emerging Science of Nanotechnology, by Ed Regis
• Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution, by Howard Rheingold
• The Millennial Project, by Marshall T Savage
• Islands in the Sky, by Stanley Schmidt, edited by Robert Zubrin
• Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Famility, by Lee M Silver
• Exploring Ocean Science, 2nd Edition, by Keith Stowe
• The Third Millenium: A History of the World, AD 2000-3000, by Brian Stableford and David Langford
• Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years, by Bruce Sterling
• The Third Industrial Revolution, by G. Harry Stine
• Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future, by Gregory Stock
• Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069, by William Strauss and Neil Howe
• Essentials of Oceanography, 3rd Edition, by Harold V Thurman
• The Third Wave: The Classic Study of Tomorrow, by Alvin Toffler
• United States Navy. United States Navy Diving Manual (Claitor's Publishing Division, 2001).
• The Deep Sea, by Joseph Wallace
• Sea & Air, 2nd Edition, by Jerome Williams, John J. Higginson, and John D. Rohrbough
• The Case for Mars, by Robert Zubrin and Richard Wagner
• Combat Fleets of the World, 15th Edition, by Eric Wertheim
• Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization, by Robert Zubrin
• How to Live on Mars, by Robert Zubrin

Comics and Manga

• Appleseed, by Masamune Shirow. Cyborgs and bioroids in a rather optimistic tale of post-apocolypse reconstruction.
• BLAME!, by Tsotumu Nihei. Incredibly dark future set in the endless expanses of a mega-engineering project gone horribly wrong. The prequel, NOiSE, explains much of the backstory for The City.
• Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2 - Man/Machine Interface, by Masamune Shirow. Practically invented the look and feel of modern cyberpunk and transhumanistic literature.
• The Dirty Pair: Run from the Future, by Adam Warren.
• Planetes, by Makoto Yukimura. Near future look at humanity expanding into space - with the protagonists as a "vacuum cleaner" crew making sure Earth orbit is kept free of debris.
• Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson.

Visual Media Resources

Film and Television

• The Abyss (James Cameron, 1989). Aliens and perflubron breathing systems, what more do you need to know?
• Appleseed (2004) and Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007). Loose adaption of the classic Shirow manga as anime movies.
• Blue Submarine No. 6 (Mahiro Maeda, 1998). Bioroids and the remaining humans clash over who will inherit the Earth. A live-action movie is in production.
• Deep Blue Sea (Renny Harlin, 1999). Samuel L Jackson gets eaten by uplifted sharks.
• Gasaraki (ADV Films, 1998). The backdrop is a mix of economic manipulation and military interventionism ... with rather plausible walking mecha and some ancient superscience.
• Ghost in the Shell (Bandai Visual, 1996). Popularized the concept of digital mind emulations, bodyswitching, mindhacking, and rebooted the cyberpunk genre for many people. Great soundtrack. The sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), has mass-produced sex androids using destructively uploaded low-resolution mind emulations as a core plot point.
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Second Gig (Production, I.G., 2002-2007). Together with the movies, these explore concepts of self identity, humanity in a world of digital intelligence, abuse of mind hacking, and memetics. Their plots diverge substantially from the manga they are based on. The film, Solid State Society (2006) takes place two years after Second Gig.
• Planetes (Sunrise, 2003). The anime version of the manga. Some marvelous hard-science scenes.
• SeaQuest DSV (Universal TV, 1993-1995). Talking dolphins, massive underseas developments with some mundane plots ... and then Season 2 introduced bioroids, superfast subfighters, aliens ... you name it.
• Sealab 2021 (Williams Street, 2001). Absurdist comedy series following the (mis)adventures of scientists who have gone insane in their underwater research station.
• Torchwood (BBC 2006-). Paramilitary superscience agents fight for the future of Earth in this spin-off from Dr. Who.