I, Human Part Two: An Android's Soul

The second book continues the adventures of Marcus Magnusson and the crew of Veda, exploring space and learning about other planets and their exotic species. Their primary mission is to find and colonize a new world. Along the way, they make contact with alien civilizations, attempting to gain new knowledge and technological advances through diplomatic means.

As in the first book, “Part Two” raises thought-provoking questions. In Chapter 8, Vlen, an android capable of independent thought, discusses what constitutes a human being with the ship’s Chaplin. The Chaplin (Padre Prometheus) is impressed by Vlen’s thought processes, especially when Vlen claims he experiences emotions and feelings. Padre, intrigued, asks the android to expound his arguments leading to this conclusion.

Is Vlen just an android, or if he is greater than the sum of his parts? The discussion between Vlen and the Chaplain will make you stop and think after each paragraph. It will make you ask questions about yourself, and in the process, you will learn what the author found out for himself and have you asking what constitutes a human being. You might not like the answer.