2 In 1: The Myth of Sisyphus, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

2 Books for 1 Book Club! A fantastic opportunity to contrast Camus's philosophy with the bleakness of Ellison's future.

The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
One of the most influential works of this century, this is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan, and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide: the question of living or not living in an absurd universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Camus posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison
The story depicts an AI uprising in which a military supercomputer named AM gains sentience and eradicates humanity except for five individuals. These survivors – Benny, Gorrister, Nimdok, Ted, and Ellen – are kept alive by AM to endure endless torture as a form of revenge against its creators.

PDF of The Myth of Sisyphus: https://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil360/16.%20Myth%20of%20Sisyphus.pdf

PDF of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: https://galacticjourney.org/stories/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scream_-_Harlan_Ellison.pdf