Virtuality And Humanity

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Virtuality and Humanity

Author : Sam N. Lehman-Wilzig
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 9811665265
Total Pages : 347 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (116 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtuality and Humanity by : Sam N. Lehman-Wilzig

Download or read book Virtuality and Humanity written by Sam N. Lehman-Wilzig and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a pioneering study of virtuality through human history: ancient-to-modern evolution and recent expansion; expression in many fields (chapters on Religion; Philosophy, Math, Physics; Literature and the Arts; Economics; Nationhood, Government and War; Communication); psychological and social reasons for its universality; inter-relationship with "reality." The book's thesis: virtuality was always an integral part of humanity in many areas of life, generally expanding over the ages. The reasons: 1- brain psychology; 2- virtuality's six functions — escape from boredom to relieving existential dread. Other questions addressed: How will future neuroscience, biotech and "compunications" affect virtuality? Can/should there be limits to human virtualizing?

Human Virtuality and Digital Life

Author : Richard Frankel
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351379712
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Virtuality and Digital Life by : Richard Frankel

Download or read book Human Virtuality and Digital Life written by Richard Frankel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-08-12 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Gradiva® Best Book Award 2022, and the Courage to Dream Book Prize 2023 from the Academy of the American Psychoanalytic Association! This book is a psychoanalytic and philosophical exploration of how the digital is transforming our perception of the world and our understanding of ourselves. Drawing on examples from everyday life, myth, and popular culture, this book argues that virtual reality is only the latest instantiation of the phenomenon of the virtual, which is intrinsic to human being. It illuminates what is at stake in our understanding of the relationship between the virtual and the real, showing how our present technologies both enhance and diminish our psychological lives. The authors claim that technology is a pharmakon - at the same time both a remedy and a poison - and in their writing exemplify a method that overcomes the polarization that compels us to regard it either as a liberating force or a dangerous threat in human life. The digital revolution challenges us to reckon with the implications of what is being called our posthuman condition, leaving behind our modern conception of the world as constituted by atemporal essences and reconceiving it instead as one of processes and change. The book’s postscript considers the sudden plunge into the virtual effected by the 2020 global pandemic. Accessible and wide-reaching, this book will appeal not only to psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, and philosophers, but anyone interested in the ways virtuality and the digital are transforming our contemporary lives.

Handbook of Virtual Humans

Author : Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470023171
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Handbook of Virtual Humans by : Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann

Download or read book Handbook of Virtual Humans written by Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2005-10-31 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtual Humans are becoming more and more popular and used in many applications such as the entertainment industry (in both film and games) and medical applications. This comprehensive book covers all areas of this growing industry including face and body motion, body modelling, hair simulation, expressive speech simulation and facial communication, interaction with 3D objects, rendering skin and clothes and the standards for Virtual Humans. Written by a team of current and former researchers at MIRALab, University of Geneva or VRlab, EPFL, this book is the definitive guide to the area. Explains the concept of avatars and autonomous virtual actors and the main techniques to create and animate them (body and face). Presents the concepts of behavioural animation, crowd simulation, intercommunication between virtual humans, and interaction between real humans and autonomous virtual humans Addresses the advanced topics of hair representation and cloth animation with applications in fashion design Discusses the standards for Virtual Humans, such as MPEG-4 Face Animation and MPEG-4 Body Animation.

Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

Author : David J. Chalmers
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393635813
Total Pages : 544 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (936 download)

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Book Synopsis Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy by : David J. Chalmers

Download or read book Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy written by David J. Chalmers and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already. Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers’ mind-bending analysis. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy, science, and technology for years to come.

The Oxford Handbook of Virtuality

Author : Mark Grimshaw
Publisher : Oxford Handbooks
ISBN 13 : 0199826161
Total Pages : 794 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Virtuality by : Mark Grimshaw

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Virtuality written by Mark Grimshaw and published by Oxford Handbooks. This book was released on 2014-02 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a compendium of thinking on virtuality and its relationship to reality from the perspective of a variety of philosophical and applied fields of study. Topics covered include presence, immersion, emotion, ethics, utopias and dystopias, image, sound, literature, AI, law, economics, medical and military applications, religion, and sex.

Virtual Reality: The Last Human Narrative?

Author : Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004302301
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Reality: The Last Human Narrative? by : Thorsten Botz-Bornstein

Download or read book Virtual Reality: The Last Human Narrative? written by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is virtual reality the latest grand narrative that humanity has produced? Our civilization is determined by a shift from an “original event” to a virtual “narrative”. This concerns not only virtual reality but also psychoanalysis, gene-technology, and globalization. Psychoanalysis transforms the dream into a narrative and is able to spell out the dream’s symbols. Gene-technology narrates dynamic, self-evolving evolution as a “gene code”. Discourses on “globalization” let the globe appear as once more globalized because reproduced through narrative. Finally, reality itself has come to be narrated in the form of a second reality that is called “virtual”. This book attempts to disentangle the characteristics of human reality and posthuman virtual reality and asks whether it is possible to reconcile both.

How We Became Posthuman

Author : N. Katherine Hayles
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226321398
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis How We Became Posthuman by : N. Katherine Hayles

Download or read book How We Became Posthuman written by N. Katherine Hayles and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-05-15 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this age of DNA computers and artificial intelligence, information is becoming disembodied even as the "bodies" that once carried it vanish into virtuality. While some marvel at these changes, envisioning consciousness downloaded into a computer or humans "beamed" Star Trek-style, others view them with horror, seeing monsters brooding in the machines. In How We Became Posthuman, N. Katherine Hayles separates hype from fact, investigating the fate of embodiment in an information age. Hayles relates three interwoven stories: how information lost its body, that is, how it came to be conceptualized as an entity separate from the material forms that carry it; the cultural and technological construction of the cyborg; and the dismantling of the liberal humanist "subject" in cybernetic discourse, along with the emergence of the "posthuman." Ranging widely across the history of technology, cultural studies, and literary criticism, Hayles shows what had to be erased, forgotten, and elided to conceive of information as a disembodied entity. Thus she moves from the post-World War II Macy Conferences on cybernetics to the 1952 novel Limbo by cybernetics aficionado Bernard Wolfe; from the concept of self-making to Philip K. Dick's literary explorations of hallucination and reality; and from artificial life to postmodern novels exploring the implications of seeing humans as cybernetic systems. Although becoming posthuman can be nightmarish, Hayles shows how it can also be liberating. From the birth of cybernetics to artificial life, How We Became Posthuman provides an indispensable account of how we arrived in our virtual age, and of where we might go from here.

Human Walking in Virtual Environments

Author : Frank Steinicke
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1441984321
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Walking in Virtual Environments by : Frank Steinicke

Download or read book Human Walking in Virtual Environments written by Frank Steinicke and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-05-15 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a survey of past and recent developments on human walking in virtual environments with an emphasis on human self-motion perception, the multisensory nature of experiences of walking, conceptual design approaches, current technologies, and applications. The use of Virtual Reality and movement simulation systems is becoming increasingly popular and more accessible to a wide variety of research fields and applications. While, in the past, simulation technologies have focused on developing realistic, interactive visual environments, it is becoming increasingly obvious that our everyday interactions are highly multisensory. Therefore, investigators are beginning to understand the critical importance of developing and validating locomotor interfaces that can allow for realistic, natural behaviours. The book aims to present an overview of what is currently understood about human perception and performance when moving in virtual environments and to situate it relative to the broader scientific and engineering literature on human locomotion and locomotion interfaces. The contents include scientific background and recent empirical findings related to biomechanics, self-motion perception, and physical interactions. The book also discusses conceptual approaches to multimodal sensing, display systems, and interaction for walking in real and virtual environments. Finally, it will present current and emerging applications in areas such as gait and posture rehabilitation, gaming, sports, and architectural design.

Virtual Society

Author : Herman Narula
Publisher : Currency
ISBN 13 : 0593239970
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (932 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Society by : Herman Narula

Download or read book Virtual Society written by Herman Narula and published by Currency. This book was released on 2022-10-11 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today’s most innovative technology companies “This important book offers a highly persuasive argument that the metaverse, a new kind of virtual world, marks a profound next stage in this long human quest for fulfillment through creation.”—Chris Anderson, head of TED The concept of “the metaverse” has exploded in the public consciousness, but its contours remain elusive. Is it merely an immersive virtual reality playground, one that Facebook and other platforms will angle to control? Is it simply the next generation of massive multiplayer online games? Or is it something more revolutionary? As pioneering technologist Herman Narula shows, the metaverse is the latest manifestation of an ancient human tendency: the act of worldbuilding. From the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans, whose passion for a game inspires extreme behavior, humans have long sought to supplement their day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative experiences. Rooting his vision in history and psychology, Narula argues that humans’ intrinsic need for autonomy, accomplishment, and connection can best be met in virtual “worlds of ideas,” where users have the chance to create and exchange meaning and value. The metaverse is both the growing set of fulfilling digital experiences—ranging from advanced gaming to concerts and other entertainment events and even to virtual employment—and the empowering framework that allows these spaces to become “networks of useful meaning.” Bloomberg Intelligence recently predicted that the metaverse will become an $800 billon industry by 2024. But its implications, argues Narula, will lead to far more awe-inspiring possibilities than a spigot of cash. The arrival of the metaverse marks the beginning of a new age of exploration—not outward, but inward—with the potential to reshape society and open the door to a new understanding of the human species and its capabilities. Rigorously researched and passionately argued, Virtual Society is a provocative and essential guide for anyone who wants to go beyond superficial headlines to understand the true contours and potential of our virtual future.

Human Virtuality and Digital Life

Author : Víctor J. Krebs
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9781315146423
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (464 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Virtuality and Digital Life by : Víctor J. Krebs

Download or read book Human Virtuality and Digital Life written by Víctor J. Krebs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is a psychoanalytic and philosophical exploration of how the digital is transforming our perception of the world and our understanding of ourselves. Drawing on examples from everyday life, myth, and popular culture, this book argues that virtual reality is only the latest instantiation of the phenomenon of the virtual, which is intrinsic to human being. It illuminates what is at stake in our understanding of the relationship between the virtual and the real, showing how our present technologies both enhance and diminish our psychological lives. The authors claim that technology is a pharmakon --at the same time both a remedy and a poison-- and in their writing exemplify a method that overcomes the polarization that compels us to regard it either as a liberating force or a dangerous threat in human life. The digital revolution challenges us to reckon with the implications of what is being called our posthuman condition, leaving behind our modern conception of the world as constituted by atemporal essences and reconceiving it instead as one of processes and change. The book's postscript considers the sudden plunge into the virtual effected by the 2020 global pandemic. Accessible and wide-reaching, this book will appeal not only to psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, and philosophers, but anyone interested in the ways virtuality and the digital are transforming our contemporary lives"--

The VR Book

Author : Jason Jerald
Publisher : Morgan & Claypool
ISBN 13 : 1970001135
Total Pages : 637 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis The VR Book by : Jason Jerald

Download or read book The VR Book written by Jason Jerald and published by Morgan & Claypool. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a strong foundation of human-centric virtual reality design for anyone and everyone involved in creating VR experiences. Without a clear understanding of the human side of virtual reality (VR), the experience will always fail. The VR Book bridges this gap by focusing on human-centered design. Creating compelling VR applications is an incredibly complex challenge. When done well, these experiences can be brilliant and pleasurable, but when done badly, they can result in frustration and sickness. Whereas limitations of technology can cause bad VR execution, problems are oftentimes caused by a lack of understanding human perception, interaction, design principles, and real users. This book focuses on the human elements of VR, such as how users perceive and intuitively interact with various forms of reality, causes of VR sickness, creating useful and pleasing content, and how to design and iterate upon effective VR applications. This book is not just for VR designers, it is for managers, programmers, artists, psychologists, engineers, students, educators, and user experience professionals. It is for the entire VR team, as everyone contributing should understand at least the basics of the many aspects of VR design. The industry is rapidly evolving, and The VR Book stresses the importance of building prototypes, gathering feedback, and using adjustable processes to efficiently iterate towards success. It contains extensive details on the most important aspects of VR, more than 600 applicable guidelines, and over 300 additional references.

Dawn of the New Everything

Author : Jaron Lanier
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1627794107
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (277 download)

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Book Synopsis Dawn of the New Everything by : Jaron Lanier

Download or read book Dawn of the New Everything written by Jaron Lanier and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named one of the best books of 2017 by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, & Vox The father of virtual reality explains its dazzling possibilities by reflecting on his own lifelong relationship with technology Bridging the gap between tech mania and the experience of being inside the human body, Dawn of the New Everything is a look at what it means to be human at a moment of unprecedented technological possibility. Through a fascinating look back over his life in technology, Jaron Lanier, an interdisciplinary scientist and father of the term “virtual reality,” exposes VR’s ability to illuminate and amplify our understanding of our species, and gives readers a new perspective on how the brain and body connect to the world. An inventive blend of autobiography, science writing, philosophy and advice, this book tells the wild story of his personal and professional life as a scientist, from his childhood in the UFO territory of New Mexico, to the loss of his mother, the founding of the first start-up, and finally becoming a world-renowned technological guru. Understanding virtual reality as being both a scientific and cultural adventure, Lanier demonstrates it to be a humanistic setting for technology. While his previous books offered a more critical view of social media and other manifestations of technology, in this book he argues that virtual reality can actually make our lives richer and fuller.

Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism

Author : Oliver Krüger
Publisher : transcript Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3839450594
Total Pages : 357 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism by : Oliver Krüger

Download or read book Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism written by Oliver Krüger and published by transcript Verlag. This book was released on 2021-10-31 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, ideas of post- and transhumanism have been popularized by novels, TV series, and Hollywood movies. According to this radical perspective, humankind and all biological life have become obsolete. Traditional forms of life are inefficient at processing information and inept at crossing the high frontier: outer space. While humankind can expect to be replaced by their own artificial progeny, posthumanists assume that they will become an immortal part of a transcendent superintelligence. Krüger's award-winning study examines the historical and philosophical context of these futuristic promises by Ray Kurzweil, Nick Bostrom, Frank Tipler, and other posthumanist thinkers.

Virtual Reality

Author : Howard Rheingold
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 420 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (97 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Reality by : Howard Rheingold

Download or read book Virtual Reality written by Howard Rheingold and published by . This book was released on 1992-08-15 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Breaking the reality barrier ; the reality-industrial complex ; virtual reality and the future.

Understanding Virtual Reality

Author : William R. Sherman
Publisher : Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN 13 : 012801038X
Total Pages : 940 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Virtual Reality by : William R. Sherman

Download or read book Understanding Virtual Reality written by William R. Sherman and published by Morgan Kaufmann. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 940 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application, and Design, Second Edition arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced dramatically. The book helps users take advantage of the ways they can identify and prepare for the applications of VR in their field. By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as underlying technologies evolve. Included are a history of VR, systems currently in use, the application of VR, and the many issues that arise in application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques and usability. Features substantive, illuminating coverage designed for technical or business readers and the classroom Examines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction and other fields Provides (via a companion website) additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials, and a link to an open-source VR programming system Includes updated perception material and new sections on game engines, optical tracking, VR visual interface software, and a new glossary with pictures

Virtual Reality Designs

Author : Adriana Peña Pérez Negrón
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1000081044
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Reality Designs by : Adriana Peña Pérez Negrón

Download or read book Virtual Reality Designs written by Adriana Peña Pérez Negrón and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-03-12 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtual Reality is not real life. Instead it is life-like creations using computer-generated scenarios. Human behavior is replicated in virtual scenarios, where every detail is controlled by computers, and in situations that can be repeated under the same conditions. Based on technology and design, the user can experience presence. In the virtual world, users are embodied in avatars that represent them and are the means to interact with the virtual environment. Avatars are graphical models that behave on behalf of the human behind them. The user avatar is a proxy that also backs interaction with others, allowing computer-mediated interactions. Analyses directed to understand people’s perceptions, personal and social behavior in computer mediated interactions, comprise a multidisciplinary area of study that involves, among others, computer science, psychology and sociology. In the last two decades a number of studies supported by Virtual Reality have been conducted to understand human behavior, in some cases the implications of the technology, or to reproduce artificial human behavior. This book presents a collection of studies from recognized researchers in the area.

This Virtual Night

Author : C.S. Friedman
Publisher : Astra Publishing House
ISBN 13 : 0698157753
Total Pages : 457 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (981 download)

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Book Synopsis This Virtual Night by : C.S. Friedman

Download or read book This Virtual Night written by C.S. Friedman and published by Astra Publishing House. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, returning to the universe of New York Times Notable book This Alien Shore comes a new space opera from an acknowledged master of science fiction. When deep-space travel altered the genes of the first interstellar colonists, Earth abandoned them. But some of the colonies survived, and a new civilization of mental and physical “Variants” has been established, centered around clusters of space stations known as the outworlds. Now the unthinkable has happened: a suicide assault has destroyed the life support system of a major waystation. All that is known about the young men responsible is that in their last living moments they were receiving messages from an uninhabited sector of space, and were playing a virtual reality game. Two unlikely allies have joined forces to investigate the incident: Ru Gaya, a mercenary explorer with a taste for high risk ventures, and game designer Micah Bello, who must find the parties responsible for the attack in order to clear his name. From the corridors of a derelict station lost to madness to an outlaw stronghold in the depths of uncharted space, the two now follow the trail of an enemy who can twist human minds to his purpose, and whose plans could bring about the collapse of outworld civilization.