Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-263) and index.
Hitching a ride on the software of everything -- Stages on artificial life's way -- Singularities beyond singularities -- ET -- The Fermi paradox revisited -- Interstellar cloning : colonizing the cosmos at light speed -- The cosmic medium is the message -- The emerging mind of the cosmos -- Will religion survive contact? -- The universe is coming to life -- Alpha, omega -- Afterword : childhood's end and the unity of everything.