The Horror of the Conscious Disease | Blood Music

[@QuinnsIdeas]

I love that everyone sees how similar this is to the Futurama episode lol!

[@internet_introvert]

Cells At Work too, if they decided to improve their living conditions.

[@2lostbikes]

Good news, everyone!

[@Swarthy144k]

@@2lostbikes 😂😂😂

[@alto7183]

Muy buen video e interesante, las capas de cebolla de cerebros centrales más complejos no me extrañaría desarrollen poderes psíquicos, así como resonancia de pensamientos, el acomodo de piezas, los cableados etc, sería como acceder a los poderes por azar de la genética y selección natural junto casos extraños como dar con el cableado emulado por accidente por un autista, ejemplo burdo, en este caso computadoras cuánticas biológicas y eso que no se ve que manejen sistema ganglionar, opinión personal.

[@jan_phd]

Can you tell the blacks to stop living in their feelings... they are not Marxist Feminists!

[@christophermiller483]

I just watched a Hank Green video the other day where he talked about a particular type of cancer found in dogs. It originated from a single dog somewhere around 11k years ago and in its mutation it gained the ability to spread to other dogs. Essentially this cancer is now a transmissible parasite. Hank jokingly called it a single celled dog. Biology is simultaneously fascinating and terrifying.

[@mukingdom]

Its the same with tasmanian devils

[@tracecarson8805]

Sounds like a solid origin story for the “Dogscape” creepypasta haha

[@Trump.is.a.nazzii]

Woof.

[@madsfiedler3884]

i saw that one and its Te r r i f y i n g

[@cortster12]

The way It's transmitted is pretty crazy too. Basically, it's an STD.

[@scottritomanaksimonscott6213]

You should have mentioned the best part of the novel: the body horror (transformed people being turned into biological digesters, half their bodies gone but they're still alive, paper thin humans whose bodies are nothing more than skin and consciousness, etc). And the way a few people are naturally immune to the noocytes and they can only helplessly watch their friends and loved ones melt away or turn into eldritch horrors.

[@cyborgchicken3502]

That reminds me of what the Qu aliens did to humans in All Tomorrows

[@Dizma_Music]

In Doctor Who, there's an episode in Season 1 where the last human being in the universe is just a piece of skin and a face... Very eerie.

@@Dizma_Music "moisturize me!"

[@Dizma_Music]

@ “Oh! Two hearts! I’m beating out a samba!”

[@tentaclesmod]

​@@cyborgchicken3502 A bit, but not really. The noocytes didn't seek to harm humans, they wanted to assimilate their consciousness in the collective. The immune weren't truly immune, they had a rare mutation that made the noocytes unable to pack their consciousness in cellular form. The noocytes were perfectly of taking over them as anyone else, but if they tried to assimilate them, they would kill their actual consciousness, so they left that people alone instead. While the Qu seeked to degrade humanity as punishment, what the noocytes did was more akin to uplifting.

[@clearcutter74]

Thanks for covering this book, it's one of Greg Bear's best. He passed away last November after a long career. RIP

[@raydavison4288]

I am SO SORRY to hear that. Bear wrote some great books. "Eon" is my personal favorite. 😔

[@andylindsaytunes]

@@raydavison4288 Same here. My fave of his is Queen of Angels.

[@strategygalactic]

May he rest in peace. Know that I love you.

[@raydavison4288]

@@andylindsaytunes That is a great book.

[@TheGoodloox]

First i listened to blood music short story then i listened to full audiobook. Loved em both. Gonna try Eons if you say its your personal best.

[@andrewmatseshe7343]

Faster metabolism? Lost weight? Stronger bones? No allergies? Not getting sick? Back pain went away? Sounds like this guy just “manufactured” sentient exercise 😂 That is, until the creepy skin stuff. “Strength and conditioning in an injection!? Let’s do it!!” Aaaaand then things go sideways. Terrifying. I gotta read this now. Thanks Q! Love these videos 🙏🏿

[@jezebulls]

Spider-Man?

[@RowdyBoy82]

This Nissan why it's illegal for Chads to do science.

[@squirlmy]

did you read it? Basically the first parts are just them improving their home, what is at that point their entire universe. The way human crops are in many ways much more efficient than grassy fields. they of course improve their host's health, until they realize they can spread to other hosts. Then hosts are disposable.

[@renegade-ginger]

I love art like Blood Music that shows just how close beauty and horror is when you really dig into the extremes of biology. I think that's kind of the big appeal for me where organic stuff is the hinging tech as opposed to cybernetics - just as the book says, nothing is lost. I have to wonder if it laid the groundwork for stuff like Area X, for instance - there is no malice from the noocites. No hatred towards humanity, no organic skynet. It's just redefinition, the beauty and chaos of evolution in high speed.

[@HavelockVetinarii]

Just wanted to say this mf got me to read Dune. I'm on the third book soon 4th.

[@LazyRare]

lmao

[@Smagglet]

He just got me to read The Three Body Problem and the Foundation trilogy. haha

[@MiroslawHorbal]

@@Smagglet 3 body problem for me. That mf. Making me read good book series 😂

[@lolcowexterminationservices]

@@Smagglet Same! I have been listening to the audio books at work and have been in awe. It's amazing sometimes what Chinese literature can produce!

[@TroyColey]

Same ☺️😊😄😃

[@meggammacisaacrylie7869]

I read this book decades ago, not too long after it came out. Blood Music really blew my mind, as I kept on thinking of all the different ways things could have played out (besides the way they did in the story); the many horrific and beautiful scenarios that could have come about due to this kind of technology. I liked that Blood Music really made me think about the fact that humans seem to have a tendency to create and use dangerous technology that we don't have a full understanding of or that we don't realize the negative effects that could be results of using that technology years or decades later.

[@karsu]

Greg Bear was a good friend of mine and in the next SD Comic Fest I was supposed to give him a long out of print/antiquarian book about the history of sex in film. I’m sad when he suffered a stroke and died last year. It’s heartbreaking. I’m sad for he wife Astrid- Poul Anderson’s daughter. Greg will be greatly missed. I’m glad that there are people like you who gives him flowers and Mad Kudos. I’m glad people remember him. Wodea. 😢 Mad Kudos @Quinn’s Ideas +Quinn’s Ideas.

[@alejandroblanco7369]

I’ll take that book if you don’t want it. I can save it for someone in your family for the future when they reclaim it

[@wecanjump7512]

Loved Poul Anderson. He had a book referencing the King in the Mountain trope that I must have read 50 times as a kid. I believe it was called Three Hearts and Three Lions, or something similar. Great author.

[@karsu]

@@wecanjump7512 his daughter, Astrid, Greg’s widow, is a wonderful person. He must have been a lovely fellow. He raised her well. Everytime we would meet I would always bring up his Forerunner Trilogy for Halo, which to me truly greatly expanded the scope of the Halo universe. He would always remark that, his Millenial son, that would be their introduction to his works. I always gave it a good chuckle. As I am a Millenial, but my introduction to his work were paperbacks from the 1980s that I bought in a local used bookstore. He was a lovely man. Everytime my mind goes to Science fiction, I think of him. I also think about his beloved childhood in San Diego and his funny stories. Damn man. This thread got me a bit emotional. Wow! Thanks guys. Didn’t expect I’d get these many likes! Thank you again @Quinn’s Ideas!

[@wecanjump7512]

@@karsu That doesn't surprise me a bit, him raising a wonderful daughter. He was truly one of the greats and I've read them all. Thank you for sharing:)

[@jcaseyjones2829]

I love this book so much. I put it up there with Lord of Light and Stranger in a Strange Land. I love your friend for giving it to us.

[@SnowSpawn]

I think that a good short series that you should cover would be the two part “Dragon’s Egg” and “Starquake” by Robert L. Forward. It explores the concept of life on the surface of a neutron star and how time dilation would affect their civilization’s development relative to humanity. I’m loving these videos, keep up the great work!

[@blackpekoe4163]

Those were GREAT books! And the aliens were actually fun and amusing characters - something SF needs a lot more of.

[@senilegoldsmith4112]

This dude is quickly becoming one of my favorite content creators. Head and shoulders above any like his kind in this moment. How wonderful these videos are.

[@TripleExposurePhoto]

His recommendations are the best. Exactly the books I read

[@tomd9323]

Good to see you covering this book! I read Eon and Eternity by Greg Bear, which led me to reading Blood Music. I still remember being fascinated by it 20 years later.

[@sferrin2]

You'd like Forge of God and Anvil of Stars I think. Also by Greg Bear.

[@lobstrosity7163]

Don't forget Legacy! Prequel to Eon and Eternity. A hauntingly beautiful and sad book.

[@andreasplosky8516]

I read this 20 years ago. It was a breathtaking, haunting experience. One of the best and most original ideas in scifi horror. I must now read it again. I'm already booting up my e-reader.

[@jasonparrish8670]

Wow! I read this shortly after publish as a teen and loved it. I think the concept that a 'child of homo sapiens' could evolve beyond what we gave them was very optimistic, almost utopian, so didn't see it as horror. It did make me realize how virtually impossible it would be to associate with what will come next as it would be to empathize with a prior incarnation back down the evolutionary tree. Thank you so much for exploring these old sci-fi Quinn!

[@nathangibbons9492]

I read the book in one sitting when I was a teenager, this video really takes me back to a book I can remember vividly.

[@michaelcnapier]

I was a teenager in High School back in the 80’s when I first read this. I’m so glad you found this one Quinn. The concepts are mind boggling and scary. You inspired me to reread it again. Thanks Quinn, keep making these awesome videos!

[@gutz166]

Blood Music was probably the inspiration behind the main antagonist of XCOM 3 : Apocalypse (created by Jullian Gollop), the Micronoids. Even the bad ending of the game, in which the earth disappear from our space, probably into the another dimension, are quite similar to the description of earth's fate in Blood Music book. Intelligent alien infection/cells/disease was also present in the X- Files tv series in the form of living black oil, that would alter the mind and body of the host. Another Jullian Gollop's game, Phoenix Point, also has a similar antagonist, intelligent alien virus that was lead by an Alien Horror in space.

[@anguishedcarpet]

I really liked Phoenix Point but it was waayyyy too mf hard compared to XCOM. What was Julian thinking lmao

[@gutz166]

@@anguishedcarpet Phoenix Point is probably, what Jullian Gollop intended for XCOM 2 and 3, if he's not constrained by the publisher and the technology at the time. Phoenix Point is VERY GOOD and very hard at the same time, though.

[@rubyrabbit5381]

Quinn, you've introduced me to SO many books and scifi series, enriching my life and my book shelf and for that, I thank you, whole heartedly. I always look forward to your videos.

[@rachel107511]

I didn't realize the Futurama episode was based off something. That's awesome. 😄

[@tgreaux5027]

Blood Music was one of the first sci fi books I ever read. I was captivated by it.

[@Facesforce]

I'm actually writing something along the lines of this; It's not that the disease is conscious, it's that our consciousness is a disease that infected our ancestors.

[@tygerbyrn]

My favorite novel of all time. Blood Music by Greg Bear. I read his novel in one sitting after receiving it in the mail from The Science Fiction Book Club back in the 1980s.

[@peterb9038]

I remember reading that back in the day. I remember the descriptions of how they reconstructed the human spine with triangular structures before deciding the human form wasn't necessary and then you had the massive bio machines they made and how they defeated the inventible nuclear attack.

[@pl1guru]

This is one of my favorite science fiction books. It was the first book I remember reading that dealt with the concept of nanocytes and gray goo. I really liked it and the concept stuck with me. I've always would've liked to see it in movie form, but afraid a movie would change things too much.

[@donventura2116]

Cronenberg's son is making films now and following in his father's footsteps in making bodyhorror and grounded scifi films. I think either David or Branden Cronenberg could give the film a solid adaptation, but they seem set on developing their original ideas which is great too.

[@mikew735]

Your vid's sometimes expose me to sf books or author's I havent found and then I get to spend hours reading an amazing book, in this instance it really saved me, tyvm.

[@SteveSmith-wk9dx]

I read this when it was first published. At the time, Greg Bear was being compared to Arthur C. Clarke. Blood Music, as you noted, culminates similarly to Childhood's End after starting from a totally different point. You also have 'Eon', which starts in a similar place to Rendezvous With Rama, but goes somewhere completely different.

[@jcaseyjones2829]

Top ten for someone who has loved sci-fi novels for 30+ years. SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.

[@atlantis9284]

You do such a excellent job bringing to light a lot of books I would have otherwise never heard of. You do an excellent job, thank you.

[@nathanhoffmeyer9931]

Holy shit... Can't BELIEVE you're doing this book. It was one that as a kid under 10, always left me feeling slightly scared and disturbed at the notion of forced loss of self in every way possible. The only reason people accepted without further resistance after their alterations was those parts of the psyche that would fight were simply not "translated". Anyways... One of the books that frightened me enough to read over a dozen times just to try to find the answers.

[@ninjacreeper541]

I'm not a huge book guy but this seems like a kind of book that could sell me. Such an interesting concept and because the amount of thought that went into this is astonishing

[@AdrianMRyan]

I’d never heard of this book before and picked it up on the recommendation of the first few minutes of this video. I’m so glad I did, what an amazing book. It feels like it was written months ago, not in the early 80s

[@AdrianMRyan]

A year later and I'm coming back to re-watch this to remind myself about the book before I go into a book club about it. Thx Quinn!

[@TitularHeroine]

I've heard of and completely forgotten this title, so I'm glad you made this episode! Your narration style and voice are perfectly suited to this kind of ominous, mysterious storytelling. We luv ya, Quinn!!

[@planetdisco4821]

1986. I was a 17 year old apprentice boilermaker in Melbourne, Australia. I skipped out of work during my lunch break to attend a book signing by Greg Bear at a shopping mall nearby. Much to my amazement the poor bugger was sitting at a desk outside the bookshop with not a soul in attendance, so I got all my books signed by him and wound up chatting with him (While wearing a grease-smeared boiler suit and sporting a bad teenage mullet) for about 2 straight hours. He told me he’d signed over the movie rights to blood music and that they were making a movie of it using the same morphing effects they’d recently used in The Abyss. Man I would’ve loved to have seen that! He was such a nice and down to earth guy and I’m so glad that he took all that time to have a non-patronising conversation with a nerdy grease smeared teenage apprentice. I was just looking at my signed copy of blood music the other day and remembering the conversation. Thanks Greg! Truly one of the greats of hard science fiction. Hull zero three is amazing. You’re an absolute legend and I can’t believe your gone…. RIP 😢

[@TheMysticalTank]

Intelligent diseases have always been an interesting science fiction horror concept for me. Halo CE is what got me terrified of space zombies but the books solidified the concept for me. Basically, intelligent diseases are the ultimate form of “You f*cked around the Universe too much, this is how you find out!”

[@jknott1003]

Greg Bear was a great author. Having read so many of his books, I can recommend Blood Music and The Strength of Stones as some of his best work. Good stuff!

[@TheRadicalzombie]

This book is so underrated. Thank you so much for doing a video on it! Love your videos!

[@Scimarad]

Blood Music is one of my favourite books of all time and it's the reason I finally came to the conclusion that SF can be far more fantastic in scope than your average fantasy epic. I have to say that once I'd read this for the first time any horror was quickly replaced by a sense of wonder for the implications of the Noocytes and what it meant for humanity. It really is the most uplifting and mind-expanding apocalypse in the end:)

[@akiradkcn]

Eh, it all depends on the writer tbh

[@LauraOfTheValley]

It's embarrassing how many times I have listened to this video. You're easily in my top 5 fav KZbinrs!!❤

[@hughgladeau6266]

I just god done with both Blood Music AND the area X series in the last two months or so. This channel is what Led me to the three body trilogy.. FOREVER GREATFUL. And now he’s happening to cover books I happened to learn about and be interested in. What a fun coincidence.

[@xXx_Regulus_xXx]

I just got done reading this a couple months ago. It felt so much longer than it actually was, in a good way. I haven't read Childhood's End or probably any of the other direct influences on Blood Music so it felt fresh to me. Spoilers ahead. The book was horrifying in many ways but since the noocytes are friendly in their own way, BM strikes a weird balance between scifi horror and speculative fiction. There was always this dread at the back of my mind while reading; if _this_ is what they do to us, their forebears whom they respect, imagine what they do to something they hate. Or imagine what a superintelligent plague would to to us if it hated us. (brief aside: I think the Vex from Destiny tried to explore this, but the writing for that game is an absolute mess.) It gave me a lot to think about and while in my opinion the finale felt a bit insane and like it became a bit more sci-fantasy than the rest of the book, given time to expand on the post-transcendence world it might have felt more coherent. Or maybe not, I'm not sure. It was intended to be mysterious and beyond baseline human understanding so I suppose it works to leave it unexplained.

[@lowrider81hd]

Took the plunge and became a Patron just for this video! Thank you thank you thank you so much for this particular video!!! Blood Music was such a deep part of my 30’s, I was obsessed!

[@yoggysothoth]

This is such an awesome book. I remember discovering it when it came out and rereading it so many times through my life. What a treat seeing it mentioned here!

[@noir1750]

As a long time fan of your channel I love the way you have evolved and grown over the years. Thank you so much for what you do.

[@ericcloud1023]

Seriously an amazing concept this writer came up with, thank you for shedding light on it quin! Your channel has fully grown a life of its own, after emerging from ASOIAF :P and I couldn't be happier

[@Industrialitis]

I cant believe you're covering Blood Music. It's a top ten story for me and i've never seen it covered at all.

[@likefire1617]

Greg Bear..'anvil of the gods'.. 'eternity'..he is a next level author

[@pickelsvx]

Unfortunately he is no longer with us.

[@mikekeenan8450]

Back in the 1980s the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio network had an evening show called "Vanishing Point" where they did scifi-ish radio plays. My first exposure to _Blood Music_ was a serialized version on that show.

[@wildmanz8233]

Honestly, I love these scifi oriented vids...props to you, Quinn, for being such a loyal fan to the genre and sharing your enthusiasm

[@itsfullofbars]

I read The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear - until now I had never heard of this book. Thank you for covering it! Amazing job

[@juliannacolombo5584]

Happy Friday to me. Just sat down after running around all early morning. Perfect pairing for my coffee!

[@The_Primary_Axiom]

Man, those collections of sci-fi books are absolutely amazing.

[@chongonugs]

When I first read Blood Music as a teen, it blew my mind! A lot of Bear and Baxter really expanded my thoughts in ways I still can't understand, even in my 40s now!

[@cesarbugarini499]

Childhoods End was crazy 😱😳😳😳😳

[@frankiethetiger5748]

This book has some really amazing concepts in it. Great read! Awesome video Quinn!!

[@carlosvasquez9890]

The best thing about having short memory problems is that spoilers have no effect on me.

[@SymbioteMullet]

The more Greg Bear books I discover, the more I am amazed

[@antonchigurh22]

I have always wished someone would summarise books for me. You have done it and it's a great one.

[@bobmorgan476]

I read Blood Music when I was in ninth grade. It had a profound effect on my imagination, and the way I’ve come to understand the possibilities of living systems. Watching this makes me want to reread it, because I’m sure my adolescent mind missed so many things. Thank you!

[@docastr581]

I love Greg Bear! His contribution to the Halo series was amazing! Thank you for coving this :)

[@Badosureinhardt]

I was hoping you'd do one of these 🙂

[@realandrewhatfield]

Read this when it first came out, and just recently recommended this book to a recent nano-technology graduate who specialized in delivering medications via nano-gold something-or-other. It stuck with me for that long! Bear was so prescient.

[@Tia-Marie]

OMG you read blood music! I loved that story soo much. I wish there were more SciFis that touched upon intelligent cells.

[@JWolde]

Read this decades ago. Thanks for bringing it back!

[@carlizinea]

I love your videos. And yesterday I started seeing this one, and got so interested in the story, that I stopped everything and went to find a pdf of the book. I've read it this night and it's one of the best books I've ever seen. Thanks for all your amazing work!!

[@ShadeMeadows]

This escalated quickly!

[@onlyonewhyphy]

Quinn knows all the best fiction books. I've bought so many on the strength of this channel

[@de1018]

Another excellent vid! Thank you! I love your choice in background music for your narrations, from your coverage of Liu's series to this one.

[@HeyMichaelLeo]

You are one of the best Narrators I have ever listened too.

[@betsimarsi3599]

Eon by Greg Bear is in my top five. It is as fascinating as it is mind blowing.

[@eddysstuff]

I would listen to all these books if read by this man, you have. Way with words and you make it so interesting

[@peterchapman69]

blood music is one of my favorites of Gregs!

[@TheSparrowLooksUp]

I LOVED this story when I first stumbled across it in short story form as part of an anthology collection. It was one of those science-soaked Crichton-esque thrillers that had me reading as fast as I could to see what happened next. Something about baddies that you can't see just chilled me to the bone. The ending of the short story version I read concluded right as the narrator realized that the plague would not be able to be contained. That endpoint was a PERFECT catalyst for the imagination, IMO. Needless to say, I was surprised and a little bit apprehensive to find that the author had expanded Blood Music into a novel. After reading it, i'm glad he did. Overall, the progression and "phases" remained just as haunting and thrilling as the original short story. Really, my only problem with the story was the sketchy characterization of some of the "immune" people. IIRC, the noocytes avoided them because they were developmentally disabled or something like that, which felt... weird, I guess? I don't know and I might be misinterpreting my memories of the book. Can't really pin it down.

[@euchiron]

This was my intro to Greg Bear and it blew my mind. Spectacular stuff

[@pat2157]

I binged all your videos when i found your channel and ive been waiting for more videos. Thank you

[@tomthebomb557]

I read this book 25 years ago and reread it 2 years ago and it still scared the living shit out of me with its concepts...Bear hit it out of the park with this book.

[@ericjohnson709]

You describe the cosmic horror of the universe so well and with such thought. Your work is awesome and chilling, thank you for doing it!

[@ChrisStaff989]

This is the best channel I’ve come across in years

[@keithdafox2257]

I've been trying to find this book for ages! Thank you!

[@Mephil]

Gotta love the mindset that the universe seems fine tuned to host life rather than the fact that the life that resulted in the universe is fine tuned to it

[@nbanflmlb100]

Should cover All Tomorrows, think you would definitely enjoy that book

[@bigfoot3866]

I HAVE to read this book. Quinn I cannot tell you how many great books youve suggested for me. Thank you.

[@Hochspitz]

I had all but forgotten Greg Bear! I don't remember this novel but I do recall "Eon". Thanks for a great presentation.

[@charmyzard]

The revelation the anthropic principle is an actual scientific thought experiment and not just my shower thoughts hit me harder than the story.

[@ewan9384]

Cheers for getting me to read the three body problem, best books ever written

[@graeme6675]

Blood Music was such an evocative read for me back in the day, I hope another Greg Bear novel could be covered, Queen of Angels, such an elegantly crafted read

[@ttrestle]

Just read this a couple months ago. How rapid it spread was terrifying.

[@squanchy666]

One of the two books I've picked up randomly in a used book store and had my mind completely blown by, the other was Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney

[@Aeneas137]

One of my favorite novels. The first novel I read twice in my youth. before that I had never read a book twice. I read it a half dozen times. And I think I may need to again soon after watching this video

[@vincere_]

0:37 Those are the phases of cell division! A rather fitting use of the terminology, considering the plot.

[@abaneyone]

Your brake down of these books is amazing!

[@moondaiandtrashpandadeluxe]

One of my favorites

[@kainmorgenmeer4341]

Thank you for recommending this booik, I am nearly through and omg I haven't read anything great like this in a while.

[@enriquekahn9405]

I had to stop 4 minutes in, because you talked me into reading this and I don't want to be spoiled. Thanks for another awesome video!

[@gterrymedJR]

Just finished reading based on your recommendation, I encourage all sci-fi readers to read this, especially Eureka 7 fans!

[@davidkuwanoe7809]

Read this back in the day. Really enjoyed the novel, and every once in a while, something comes along that reminds me of it.

[@marcus-johnsson]

One of my all time.favourite cosmic horror / bio-horror books. Amazing.

[@captindo]

Your videos wake my brain up, love the creative works you present for us to look into.

[@charlesartificer2158]

I read this book years ago. Quinn can't overstate the horror of this story. Excellent read if you want to loose sleep. Lol

[@ThorsDecree]

I'm glad the noosphere mania hasn't died out. Imma have to pick this one up, sounds great.

[@felinusfeline5559]

You should've mentioned how the earth ending is actually framed as a "happy" ending. Once the noocytes and their humans leave this plane, it has a terrible effect on the earth. Things like the weather going crazy causes hardship for mankind. In the end the struggling remnants seem to willingly join the noocytes in the plane of consciousness to escape thier doom and the protagonist even gets another shot at his crush because they both are part of the single conciousness now