Last Tango in Cyberspace
Page 29
Big thanks are also owed to a few other folks: Joe Alexander consistently ripped me away from my keyboard, got me into the mountains, and kept me laughing throughout. The random, hysterical stuff Joe says on a chairlift inspired the scene at the Virgin Galactic counter. Much appreciated, Joe, it is the prophecy.
Joshua Lauber was the genesis of a lot of the ideas in this book. It was Josh who shared my obsession with the history of Jamaica, the roots of Rastafarianism, and the Rod of Correction. Big up, my friend.
My wonderful mother, Norma Kotler, once again demanded to see this book as soon as it was done, never mind the spelling mistakes, and despite the fact that I warned her repeatedly that there were boatloads of drugs in the story, and some sex and strong language. Still she braved forward. Thanks, Mom!
I also have to thank my agent, Paul Bresnick, for always telling me the truth, and for being such a warrior. Everyone at St. Martin’s has been amazing as well, especially my editor, the incredibly talented Peter Wolverton.
Also, the story about the woman whose son got shot in Afghanistan was a variation of an Aaron Sorkin story from West Wing. I couldn’t figure out how to get the attribution in without ruining the tale and the tale was just so good.… So a debt is owed to Mr. Sorkin. You know what they say, “good artists borrow, great artists…”
Lastly on the gratitude tip—Vishen Lakhiani and the A-Fest Jamaica posse managed to kick my head sideways enough that I could find the right words to finish this book. Neat trick. And deeply appreciated.
On the science and technology front, pretty much everything I describe—excluding Sietch Tabr—exists in a lab somewhere or is coming into existence in a lab somewhere. And yeah, that includes both the face-reading aquarium and the fact that you can store information in diamonds (though no one has yet built an AI out of the stones). Same goes for the data on empathy. All true. Or as true as we know for now. But either way, Rilke was right. It is our superpower.
As far as Sietch Tabr goes—is it real? Let’s just say there are more than a few underground chemists now playing with psychedelics that expand empathy in some darn curious directions. Freaky work for sure, and keep it up.
The William James information is also correct, excluding the letter to his brother, novelist Henry James—though, if you read through their old correspondence, that’s pretty much how they spoke to each other.
The Rasta/reggae history and the Rod of Correction story are also both as true and as accurate as possible, though, considering everything there is to consider about the amazing island of Jamaica (and its incredibly outsized impact on culture), “true” and “accurate” may not mean exactly what they normally mean. That said, if you’re interested in the question of how religions get assembled, the Rastafarian religion, the eighteenth-largest faith in the world, is pretty much the only one in history created in plain sight. You can literally see the technology as it’s being built and the signifiers start to stack up. And, once again, the craziest part: It worked. The Rastas rose out of the most dire, heart-wrenching poverty imaginable to reshape hearts, minds, and culture. Give thanks.
Same goes for the Pokémon subcult in Chile: They really exist; they really do rebel by wet-kissing strangers on the street.
Also, all the information about animals, biodiversity, overpopulation, and the Sixth Great Extinction is sadly, horribly, accurate. We can all do so much better. Enough said.
Finally, whenever I write a book, I seek a few songs that make me feel the way I want the book to make the reader feel. These go on a playlist and get listened to thousands of times along the way. In this case, it was “Goddamn Lonely Love” by the Drive-By Truckers and “Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed. Thank you so much: Art In; Art Out—the way it’s supposed to work.
Finally, finally, a closing dedication: This one is for the canids, who taught us about empathy, who still teach us about empathy. Big up, my Bredren.
ALSO BY STEVEN KOTLER
Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work (with Jamie Wheal)
Tomorrowland: Our Journey from Science Fiction to Science Fact
Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World (with Peter H. Diamandis)
The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (with Peter H. Diamandis)
A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life
West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief
The Angle Quickest for Flight
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEVEN KOTLER is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and founder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective. His books include Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold, Abundance, Tomorrowland, West of Jesus, A Small Furry Prayer, and The Angle Quickest for Flight. His work has been translated into over forty languages and appeared in over one hundred publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes. Steven is one of the world’s leading experts on ultimate human performance. Alongside his wife, author Joy Nicholson, Steven is the cofounder of Rancho de Chihuahua, a hospice and special-needs dog sanctuary in the mountains of northern New Mexico. He has a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA from Johns Hopkins University. Please visit him online at www.stevenkotler.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Epigraph
Someone Knows Someone
Gangstering ET Cetera
Reap a Destiny
Hunting the Hunters
On the Spectrum
Out of the Dirty French, into the Slav
Those Goddamn Monkeys Bite
Three-Indian Tuesday
Pinging Billionaires
Everyone a Story
Sweat, Kemosabe, Sweat
In That Sleep of Death
Clapboard Modern on a Sizable Lot
Bringthewildlifehome.Com
Not the Opiate of the Masses
Not a Rilkean
Introduction to Millennial Semiotics
The Double Tap of Holy Exclamations
Lions and Lambs
The Horror, Horror Blues
Me Too and the Gimme-Gimmes
Chief of Rilkean Relations
The Cat Eye Open Source Project
Better than Disneyland
The Other Side of the Other Side
Jamaica Air
Rocky Mountain High
A Sheep Dog on a Short Chain
Residual Goat Shit
Between the Signifier and the Signified
That Range Wee Shite
Let Them Eat Crack
Shut Your Mouth When You Talk to Me
The Rod of Correction
The Original Redemption Song
Between Jah Rock and Jah Hard Place
Mexican Amber Redux
Rerouting
You Can’t go into Space Without Fractions
Truth or Consequences, Here We Come
Space Ace, Por Favor
The Problem Is Vibe
Space Jail
On an Otherwise Lonely Night
Judgmental Malays
Got to See a Man About Some Baby Fat
Looking for the Shit
Xing Ten
The Biggest Nothing in History
Allah Bling
Be Water, My Friend
The Bene Gesserit Stay Strapped
A Future in Meat Packing
Seriously Sideways
Some Day This War’s Gonna End
Minus the Goat Shit
Scurvies
Brother, Can I Borrow Your Ninja?
Them Days are Gone
Fancy a Shag
All You Can Do Is Your Inch
Like Everybody on a Bus with no Brakes
Fact From Fiction and Other Acknowledgments
Also by Steven Kotler
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
LAST TANGO IN CYBERSPACE. Copyright © 2019 by Steven Kotler. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs: woman © iStock/PeopleImages; cityscape © Chuyuss/Shutterstock.com; dust © Deviney Designs/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Kotler, Steven, 1967– author.
Title: Last tango in cyberspace / Steven Kotler.
Description: First edition. | New York : St. Martin’s Press, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018055450| ISBN 9781250202079 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250202086 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3611.O749295 L37 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055450
eISBN 9781250202086
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: May 2019