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Any sci-fi with aliens where humans are not the less advanced race? (lemmings.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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What the title says, I'm tired of the trope where humans are the least advanced in the universe.

I'd like to read something different where we're the more advanced ones (not necessarily the most advanced). As an example I quite enjoyed the Ender's Game sequels and the angle of us being the more advanced ones was quite interesting.

Do you have any recommendations?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (4 children)

The culture series? It's not outright said they're human, but they're clearly human. And they outscale basically every single thing in the universe. Or at least in the first few books. Might change later.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

In Excession it felt more like

spoiler

The Culture is a race of intelligent starships that keeps humans as pets.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

"Never forget I am not

this silver body, Mahrai. I am not an animal brain, I am not even some attempt to produce an AI through software running on a computer. I am a Culture Mind. We are close to gods, and on the far side."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, will check it out.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

If you haven’t read The Culture by Iain Banks, it’s among the best and most enjoyable sci-fi ever, in my opinion. The humans of the culture are quite near the most advanced in the universe, but there are entities more advanced, their own AI ships, prominently, but other species too that chose to “sublime” and exist outside of the normal universe, but because of that such ones are ever barely around. The humans of the culture could evolve that far too, but didn’t choose to do so yet in the series.