The genesis of a mind bootstrapped from mere software described in this book is incredible. I've never read such an impressive stream of consciousness before.
Diasporal by Greg Egan
I went through the same feelings reading Thursday Next.
How some minds can be so creative and complicated? Moreover, how people can grasp such twists? Where are those people? Why aren't they around me?😅
It's my favourite of his maybe tied with permutation city. But not actually because of orphanogenesis. The story as a whole has such an incredible scope.