Damir Hoyka takes you to the future

with his science fiction novel

To what extent can the concepts from art - work and “production” without any material usefulness or purpose - be applied to entire human existence? How could a noble idea of total abolishment of material exploitation and injustice lead to a desire for total, physical abolishment of humanity? Could androids gain emotions by consuming art? Is the human concept that love knows no borders so widespread that it extends to entirely virtual beings and robots? Many more, similar, questions which invite the reader to think are raised by Damir Hoyka in his novel Xavia.

In a not-too-distant future, the year 2039, a group of scientists have succeeded to build a converter which can transcend a human being into the virtual world, but their idea is used by a self-righteous agent with a desire to turn entire humanity into the virtual domain in order to establish ultimate justice. Assisted by Xavia, photographer Wade Zeeland and his friend Mark manage to prevent this from happening whilst engaging in an array of romantic relationships as well as battles between humans, humans and robots, humans and virtual clones and, in the end, the “virtual” humans themselves. Hoyka’s intriguing plotline, with several parallel stories, includes a romantic development between Zeeland and android Sabrina that has little comparison in literature. Nowadays, in a time we believe that, from a technical as well as intellectual standpoint, everything will be possible in the future, we are left wondering about the fundamental – what will become of emotions and ethics? Hoyka’s Xavia is more than just a warning.

Boro Radaković, Xavia editor

Press - Xavia awarded with 'Sfera'