Zendegi by Greg Egan

Busy street in Tehran, Iran

Mind-mapping, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, personal identity - four pivotal themes running through this captivating Greg Egan novel set mostly in the bustling metropolis of 2027 Tehran, where the country of Iran is now a democracy.

If you are new to Greg Egan, then Zendegi is the perfect place to start - for one very good reason: his vintage hard science elements are contained within the broader context of a work that could be judged literary fiction; in point of fact, most of the hard science doesn't kick in until the last third of the novel and by that time even a non-science type like myself will have no difficulty grasping the author's technological and scientific ideas.

Zendegi is split into two parts: in shorter Part One we meet Australian journalist Martin Seymour, age 44, who has traveled to Iran in 2012 to follow the country's tumultuous political developments. Meanwhile, having fled Iran with her mother in the aftermath of her father's execution as a political dissident, 25-year-old Nasim Golestani conducts research at MIT that employs innovative electronic technology to map human consciousness. The story pops back and forth between the unfolding dramas of Martin and Nasim so by the end of this section of the novel, a reader possesses an intimate acquaintance of both as fully drawn characters.

In Part Two, the bulk of the story, one is given a clear picture of Tehran in 2027-2028, a dynamic, vibrant city in the throes of social and cultural change, a city where religion and moral traditions meet global technology and popular culture.

Much has changed in these past fifteen years. Martin owns a bookstore and is married to sweet, loving Mahnoosh, an Iranian woman, and is father to 7-year- old son, Javeed. Nasim has returned to Iran and is applying her off the charts computer skills and mind-mapping expertise working for Zendegi, a highly successful international company creating virtual reality programs that have captured the public imagination.

Greg Egan beautifully portrays the men and women living their lives in this future Iran. So as not to spoil and reveal too many details revolving around plot, I'll make a quick shift and throw the spotlight on a number of hard SF components of the tale:

Zounds! Super-Technology – As a way of connecting with son Javeed, Martin enters the world of virtual reality offered by the new program that’s all the rage among youngsters from Tehran to Tokyo: Zendegi. Martin can hardly believe it. It’s all so real. Martin and Javeed travel to grassy fields at the edge of a forest and encounter boys running from a winged tiger before wending their way through a giant maze. Over the next weeks their further adventures include interacting with inhabitants of the ancient city Kabul and entering the world of a famous Persian fairy tale.

Side-loading – Nasim is a key creator behind the ability to “side-load,” the term used for brain-mapping a real person to create that individual’s “Proxy” to be used in the company’s virtual reality programs. For example: Ashkan Azimi, captain of the Iranian national soccer team, rests inside an MRI machine and imagines playing soccer matches. Nasim, via mind-mapping technology, records his unique moves and translates them into sophisticated computer language so that when game-players enter Zendegi they can play on the same soccer team as their hero. Mind-blowing, for sure. Please keep in mind this is Greg Egan science fiction and years in the future.

Immortality –Back when she was at MIT, Nate Caplan tells Nasim he’s in perfect mental and physical health and his IQ is 160. Caplan wants to be the prime candidate for a program that will extend the life of an individual. And his possesses millions of dollars to back up his request. Caplan makes his presence felt during the years Nasim is in Tehran. When Nasim and Caplan exchange ideas, sit up and take notice: this is a prime time for Greg Egan to sharpen his reflections on the challenges surrounding our future ventures into the realms of artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Turning Point - Martin, age 60, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The novel takes a wild and decidedly personal turn when Martin informs Nasim: "I want you to make a Proxy of me that can live in Zendegi and help raise my son."

Opposition, One – As expected, Nasim and others within the company must deal with those who have serious issues with Zendegi’s messing around with personal identity, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. One organization goes so far as to hack into Zendegi in order to force a number of concessions. In discussion with Nasim, as part of his argument, an organization representative declares: “So you’re happy with your games modules; your conscience is clear. Fine. But do you really think it will stop there? If there is no law, if there is no line drawn, what makes you so sure that it’s not going to end with software that even you’d call conscious?”

Opposition, Two - Also as expected, conservative religious leaders and their followers are less than enthusiastic about Zendegi catching on like wild fire, especially among Islamic youth. Placards read: OUR SOULS ARE NOT FOR THESE MACHINES. Objections even reach the point of accusations of blasphemy.

Opposition, Three - Nasim and Zendegi even have to deal with the fallout when an distant organization like The Superintelligence Project states that God is coming into existence since they are building Him. Ahhh! The questions that crop up!

Zendegi is both a very human, heartfelt tale and one prompting an entire range of ethical and philosophic considerations. Count me in as a new Greg Egan fan. More reviews of his books to follow.


Australian author Greg Egan, born 1961 - Greg takes pride in not having any photos of himself available on the web. Since I plan to review a string of his novels, this photo is the way I picture the outstanding SF novelist writing at his computer.

"Side-loading," Caplan replied, "is the process of training a neural network to mimic a particular organic brain based on a rich set of non-intrusive scans of the brain in action. It's midway between the extremes: in classic uploading, you look at the brain's anatomy in microscopic detail and try to reproduce everything from that, whereas in classic neural-network training, what's available to you is just stimulus and response: sensory imput and visible behavior, with the brain as a black box. In side-loading, you get to peer inside the box, even if you don't get to take it apart." - Greg Egan, Zendegi