Toward Eternity

A gorgeous, thought-provoking debut novel set in a near-future world where artificial intelligence and the quest for immortality have transformed the human condition.

“A love story spanning multiple millenniums, life-forms and variations on immortality.”—New York Times

“Spectacular . . . his world building is brilliant and boundless.”—Booklist (starred review)

In a near-future world, a new therapy promises to eradicate cancer by entirely replacing the body’s cells with nanites—android cells that not only cure those afflicted but also render patients virtually immortal. When literary researcher Yonghun—himself a recipient of nanotherapy—teaches an AI named Panit how to understand poetry, he creates a living, thinking machine. But when Yonghun mysteriously vanishes into thin air and then just as suddenly reappears, the event raises disturbing questions. What happened to Yonghun, and, though he’s returned, is he really himself anymore?

When Dr. Beeko, the scientist who holds the patent to the nanotherapy technology, learns of Panit, she transfers his consciousness from the machine into an android body, giving him freedom and life. As Panit and other immortals thrive—and begin to replicate—their development will lead them to a crossroads and a choice with existential consequences.

Toward Eternity explores the unexpected consequences of progress, what we really have to fear from technology and the future, and how love and the resilience of memory might survive even the end of humanity.