Mothership: Sources and Themes
Books
Exploring the limits of human knowledge and existence, these books delve into the impact of technology on our biology and culture, and journey into the unknown realms of space, consciousness, and perception. A captivating exploration of human limitations and the darker corners of our psyche.
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
- Blindsight by Peter Watts
- Blood Music by Greg Bear
- Cosmic Pessimism by Eugene Thacker
- Echopraxia by Peter Watts
- Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abnett
- Elbow Room, new edition by Daniel C. Dennett
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- In the Dust of This Planet by Eugene Thacker
- Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future by Dougal Dixon
- Nameless by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham
- Neuromancer by William Gibson
- Starry Speculative Corpse by Eugene Thacker
- The Spectacle of the Void by David Peak
Ideas
Intelligent civilizations may be silent to avoid revealing their location, while the Great Filter suggests a barrier to extraterrestrial advancement. Keri Hulme’s gender-neutral pronouns challenge the binary system, Qeng Ho units explore alternative temporal scales, and The Cloud of Unknowing delves into the ungraspable.
- Dark forest theory
- Great Filter
- Keri Hulme’s gender-neutral pronouns for the androids and the ship’s AI (“ve", “vis”, and “ver”).
- Qeng Ho units of time
- The Cloud of Unknowing
Movies
Unleash your inner explorer with these movies that delve into humanity’s relationship with technology and the unknown, the dangers of unchecked ambition and corrupting power, and the limits of human perception. Experience the horror of isolation, the human desire for understanding and control, and the psychological effects of trauma in these cinematic journeys.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Alien
- Alien: Covenant
- Alien 3
- Aliens
- Apocalypse Now
- Europa Report
- Event Horizon
- Ex Machinia
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Prometheus
- The Thing
Themes
How do themes like agency, AI, body horror, consciousness, cosmic horror, empathy, free will, and transhumanism relate to each other? They all explore the limits of humanity’s understanding and control over the unknown, the body, and technology, revealing the horror and wonder that lie at the intersections of these themes.