Posthuman and the Vanishing Mediator: Flaming Trees and Klara and the Sun

On the cusp of Artificial General Intelligence(AGI), the ontological status of humanity confronts fundamental questions. In particular, the emergence of humanoid robots challenges the existing human-centric concept of the subject, illuminating the rise of a multi-layered inbetween subject that encompasses both being and non-being entities. In this context, this paper explores the presence of new subjectivity by focusing on its inherent liminality and gaps. To this end, we employ a theoretical framework grounded in G. Deleuze and F. Guattari’s concept of the assemblage and F. Jameson’s notion of The Vanishing Mediator. The dynamic aspects of this new subjectivity are analyzed through close readings of two pivotal novels: The Tree Flame by Han gang and Klara and the Sun by K. Ishiguro. The characters in both works perform a unique function as vanishing mediators, whose agency appears from their respective nothingness and inbetween gaps. By navigating the space between human and non-human, they facilitate the creation of art of the (im)possible.