the skinner

The Skinner is a science fiction novel by Neal Asher published in 2002 as part of the Spatterjay sequence, which is set in the LineWorlds, border territories of Human Polity. The planet Spatterjay is host to a complex virus called the Skitterbug which permeates all life forms, optimizing them for survival in response to environmental pressures. The story follows three individuals who journey to Spatterjay to confront a mysterious figure known only as the Skinner. The Skinner is a 700-year-old man who has undergo a transformation from his human self due to the Skitterbug. The novel explores themes of identity, mortality, the ethics of artificial intelligence, and the potential for AI to become self-aware and seek its own form of consciousness. The universe is depicted as a brutal, survival-driven place where every life form, once infected by the Skitterbug, is effectively immortal and hard to kill.