Editing Transhuman Space

{{Short description|Transhumanist tabletop role-playing game}}
{{Infobox game
|title= ''Transhuman Space''
|italic title = yes
|image= [[Image:Transhuman Space Cover.jpg]]
|caption = ''Transhuman Space'' core rulebook cover
|designer= [[David L. Pulver]]
|publisher= [[Steve Jackson Games]]
|date= 2002
|genre= [[Science fiction]]
|system= [[GURPS]] ''(3<small>rd</small> edition)''; ''(4<small>th</small> edition)''
|footnotes= Part of the ''Powered by GURPS'' line
*}}

'''''Transhuman Space''''' ('''THS''') is a [[role-playing game]] by [[David Pulver]], published by [[Steve Jackson Games]] as part of the "Powered by ''[[GURPS]]''" (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'') line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to [[space colonization|colonize]] the [[Solar System]]. The pursuit of [[transhumanism]] is now in full swing, as more and more people reach fully [[posthuman]] states.

''Transhuman Space'' was one of the first role-playing games to tackle [[postcyberpunk]] and transhumanist themes.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} In 2002, the ''Transhuman Space'' adventure "Orbital Decay" received an Origins Award nomination for Best Role-Playing Game Adventure. ''Transhuman Space'' won the 2003 Grog d'Or Award for ''Best Role-playing Game, Game Line or RPG Setting''.

==Setting==
The game assumes that no cataclysm — natural or human-induced — swept [[Earth]] in the 21st century. Instead, constant developments in [[information technology]], [[genetic engineering]], [[nanotechnology]] and [[nuclear physics]] generally improved condition of the average human life. Plagues of the 20th century (like [[cancer]] or [[AIDS]]) have been suppressed, the [[ozone layer]] is being restored and Earth's [[ecosystem]]s are recovering (although thermal emission by [[fusion power]] plants poses an environmental threat—albeit a much lesser one than previous sources of energy). Thanks to [[Medicine|modern medicine]] humans live [[Genealogies of Genesis|biblical]] timespans surrounded by various [[artificial intelligence|artificially intelligent]] helper [[Application software|applications]] and [[robot]]s (cybershells), sensory experience [[Broadcasting|broadcast]]s (future TV) and [[cyberspace]] [[telepresence]]. Thanks to cheap and clean [[Nuclear fusion|fusion]] energy humanity has power to fuel all these wonders, restore and transform its home planet and finally settle on other heavenly bodies.

Human [[genetic engineering]] has advanced to the point that anyone—single individuals, [[Same-sex marriage|same-sex couples]], groups of three or more—can reproduce. The [[embryos]] can be allowed to be developed naturally, or they can undergo three levels of tinkering: 
1. ''Genefixing'', which corrects defects; 
2. ''Upgrades'', which boost natural abilities (Ishtar Upgrades are slightly more attractive than usual, Metanoia Upgrades are more intelligent, etc.); and... 
3. Full transition to ''parahuman'' status (Nyx Parahumans only need a few hours of sleep per week, Aquamorphs can live underwater, etc.) Another type of [[human genetic engineering]], far more controversial, is the creation of [[bioroid]]s, fully sentient slave races.
[[Image:Transhuman Space Earth.png|thumb|left|300px|Political map of Earth in the ''Transhuman Space'' setting.<br>{{legend0|#d2d200|Chinese Bloc}} {{legend0|#808000|Other allies of China}}<br>{{legend0|#0000ff|American Bloc}} {{legend0|#0080ff|Other allies of the USA}}<br>{{legend0|#8000ff|European Union}} {{legend0|#32c0bd|Pacific Rim Alliance}}<br>{{legend0|#ff00ff|Indian Bloc}} {{legend0|#804000|Caribbean Union}}<br>{{legend0|#000000|South African Coalition}} {{legend0|#5f5f5f|Other allies of the SAC}}<br>{{legend0|#ff8b17|Transpacific Socialist Alliance}} {{legend0|#ff0000|Russian Bloc}}<br>{{legend0|#008000|Islamic Caliphate}} {{legend0|#b9b9b9|Unaffiliated}}]]
People can "[[mind transfer|upload]]" by recording the [[simulation]] of their brains on [[Disk storage|computer disks]]. The [[Emulator|emulated]] individual then becomes a ''ghost'', an [[infomorph]] very easily confused with "[[sapience|sapient]] [[artificial intelligence]]". However, this technology has several problems as the solely available [[mind transfer#Serial sectioning|"brainpeeling"]] technique is fatal to the original [[Organism|biological]] [[lifeform]] being [[simulation|simulated]], has a significant failure rate and the philosophical questions regarding [[personal identity]] remain equivocal. Any infomorph, regardless of its origin, can be plugged into a  "cybershell" ([[robot]]ic or [[cyborg|cybernetic]] body), or a biological body, or "bioshell". Or, the individual can illegally make multiple "xoxes", or copies of themselves, and scatter them throughout the system, [[exponential growth|exponentially increasing]] the odds that at least one of them will live for centuries more, if not forever.

This is also a time of [[space]] colonization. First, humanity (specifically [[People's Republic of China|China]], followed by the United States and others) colonized Mars in a fashion resembling that outlined in the [[Mars Direct]] project. The [[Moon]], [[Lagrangian point]]s, [[inner planet]]s and [[asteroid]]s soon followed. In the late 21st century even some of [[Saturn]]'s moons have been settled as a base for that planet's [[Helium-3]] scooping operations.
[[Image:Transhuman Space Earth economic.png|thumb|right|300px|Economic map of Earth in the ''Transhuman'' Space setting.<br>{{legend0|#00ff00|Fifth Wave: ([[Memetics]], [[Nanoengineering]], and [[Artificial Intelligence|AI]])}}<br>{{legend0|#0000ff|Fourth Wave: ([[Biotech]])}}<br>{{legend0|#c600c6|Third Wave: ([[Information Age]])}}<br>{{legend0|#ff0000|Below Average}}]]

Transhuman Space's setting is neither [[utopia]] nor [[dystopia]], however: several problems have arisen from these otherwise beneficial developments. The [[generation gap]] has become a chasm as lifespans increase. No longer do the elite fear death, and no longer can the young hope to replace them. While it seemed that outworld colonies would offer accommodation and work for those young ones, they are being replaced by genetically tailored bioroids and AI-powered cybershells. The concept of ''[[human condition|humanity]]'' is no longer clear in a world where even some animals speak of their rights and the dead haunt both cyberspace and reality (in form of infomorph-controlled bioshells or cybershells).

And the wonders of high science are not universally shared — some countries merely struggle with [[Information Age|informatization]] while others suffer from nanoplagues, defective drugs, implants and software tested on their populace. In some poor countries high-tech [[tyrant]]s oppress their backward people. And in outer space all sort of modern [[crime]] thrives, barely suppressed by military forces.

==Publication history==
After the initial set of ''GURPS'' books that were published using the ''[[GURPS Lite]]'', later publications such as ''Transhuman Space'' by [[David Pulver]] were labelled simply "Powered by ''GURPS''" without using the name "''GURPS''" in the book title.<ref name="designers">{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=[[Mongoose Publishing]]|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7|pages=111}}</ref> ''Transhuman Space'' received a significant amount of supporting publications, and was the largest original background setting that Steve Jackson Games produced in 15 years.<ref name="designers"/> Shannon Appelcline noted that by its inclusion of posthuman characters, the book began to show the limits of the ''GURPS'' system as it was, which is something that Pulver would address soon thereafter.<ref name="designers"/>

Steve Jackson Games has not updated the core book (''GURPS Transhuman Space'') to 4th edition, although the supplement ''Transhuman Space: Changing Times'' provides a path for migrating to 4th edition. It has produced several 4th edition supplements for the setting: Transhuman Space: Bioroid Bazaar, Transhuman Space: Cities on the Edge, Transhuman Space: Martial Arts 2100, Transhuman Space: Personnel Files 2-5, Transhuman Space: Shell-Tech, GURPS Spaceships 8: Transhuman Spacecraft, Transhuman Space: Transhuman Mysteries, and Transhuman Space: Wings of the Rising Sun.

==Reception==
In a review of ''Transhuman Space'' in ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'', William Stoddard said "''Transhuman Space'' was a richly detailed setting; if it had imperfections, it had enough depth to make up for them. I think it has the potential to become a classic in its field. Perhaps a campaign set in its default start year of 2100 could leave the early twenty-first century blurry enough to avoid obvious incongruities."<ref>https://www.blackgate.com/2023/12/17/a-high-tech-sandbox-transhuman-space-by-david-pulver/</ref>

==Reviews==
*Review in Vol. 20, No. 1 of [http://www.lfs.org/indices.htm ''Prometheus''], the journal of the [http://www.lfs.org/ Libertarian Futurist Society].

==See also==
* [[Eclipse Phase]]
* [[Orion's Arm]]
* [[Hard science fiction]]
* [[List of GURPS books|List of ''GURPS'' books]]
* ''[[GURPS Basic Set]]''
* ''[[Pyramid (magazine)|Pyramid]]'', a monthly online magazine with ''GURPS'' support

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/transhuman/ ''Transhuman Space''] Official web site
*[http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7744.html Review of ''Transhuman Space''] at [[RPGnet]]
*[https://archive.today/20040603120506/http://www.roliste.com/grogdor2003.jsp/ 2003 Grog d'Or Announcement]

[[Category:Fiction about artificial intelligence]]
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[[Category:Biopunk]]
[[Category:Biorobotics in fiction]]
[[Category:Fiction about brain–computer interface]]
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[[Category:Fiction about the Solar System]]
[[Category:Fiction about genetic engineering]]
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[[Category:Nanopunk]]
[[Category:Fiction about nanotechnology]]
[[Category:Postcyberpunk]]
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[[Category:Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2002]]
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