The Desire for Immortality: The Posthuman Bodies in Ken Liu’s The Waves

The Desire for Immortality: The Posthuman Bodies in Ken Liu’s The Waves

Junge Dou

School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China.

Abstract

In the industrial era, advanced science and technology make immortality-obsessed human beings constantly develop, modify, and reshape their bodies and consciousness, to overcome the fragility and transience of their bodies and approach the dream of immortality. The transformation of the body, in turn, drives society to confront the co-existence of cyborg, transhuman, information subject, nomadic posthuman and other life forms. Focusing on Chinese-American writer Ken Liu’s science fiction the Future Trilogy, Arc, and The Waves, this paper attempts to explore the metamorphosis of the body and the ethical choices in the tension between death and immortality, embodiment and disembodiment. Immortality is not a Utopian paradise but causes many ethical problems and loss of continuity of time, space, history, and identity. Liu’s works suggest that the solution to the problem of posthuman disembodiment involves embracing embodiment and recognizing the importance of memory and social interaction in the formation of one’s identity, affirming that memory and the interaction with others are necessary conditions for the formation of the subject’s identity. Blending genesis myths and technological immortality, Liu explores the possibility of creating new life different from human beings. The posthumans depicted are always in the status of becoming, eager to discover the new world, and indicate the author’s expectations for the bright new future.

Keywords: immortality, posthuman, Ken Liu, body, cyborg, transhuman.

About the Author

As an MA student at the University of Science and Technology, Beijing (USTB), Junge Dou is passionate about science fiction, classical literature, and posthumanism. Her research focuses on exploring the nature of human beings and encompasses various areas such as Anglo-American literature, Western literary criticism, and identity studies.

Published: 2023 – 06 – 01