Replicas by Amanda Ure

In the 24 century the at age 24, Melissa Shipton is brought into a room at a medical center where her parents introduce her to her droid siblings. One is a virtual twin of herself, a brilliant scientist and inventor. The other is an emotionally tortured enby who has accomplished little and questions its own humanity. One droid is the simulation of Melissa's original genome. The other of the genome her parents had modified.
Replicas is the story of Shipton’s complex and tragic relationships with her droid siblings and her same-sex spouse. It’s a time when humans have colonized eight Earth-like exoplanets in nearby star systems. Shipton becomes an anthropologist and botanist studying life on worlds she has never visited. Frustrated by her marriage, she breaks free of her Earth bound life to become a space pioneer.
The novel explores a number of provocative topics including exoplanet societies, artificial intelligence, the rights of androids, genetic engineering, and trans-sexuality. This is what science-fiction is supposed to do, isn’t it? Issues of trans-sexuality and gender identity are another important focus of the novel and are explored with empathy and sensitivity, illustrating how people may deal with these subjects in 350 years.
Category:Best Novel