The Last Human
Publisher: Do It Yourself Books
Published: 2001
Number of pages: 171
ISBN-13: 979-8460165629
Copyright date: 2001
Description: The novel is an eco-dystopia of the possible future humanity may encounter if it does not confront the existential threats that it currently faces. Climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, pandemics, and artificial intelligence run amok. Covering the span from 1989 to 2064, it narrates the increasing risks that these "horsemen of the Apocalypse" may cause, if governments and societies are not able to grapple with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, avoiding nuclear proliferation, preventing a more widespread conflict with fundamentalist jihadists, and establishing some ethical controls in the development of artificial intelligence. While some authors have identified the risks in each of these factors, few have brought together how these apocalyptic strains feed and reinforce each other. In a sense, this science fiction novel is a call to action.