Maitreya One, a black futurist and hip-hop artist living in Harlem, steps off the Greyhound bus on a warm morning in Montgomery, Alabama. I walk up to him and give him a hug. Maitreya is a civil rights link from the past to the future--and one of the few African-American transhumanists I know. He is stepping off one bus in Montgomery--whose roots are tied to the spectacular Freedom Riders who challenged segregation laws in the early 1960s--and onto another: the Immortality Bus, whose mission is to spread radical science and promote transhumanist rights. Like others in the burgeoning transhumanism movement, Maitreya supports becoming a cyborg in the future, and he knows the coming controversy over such aims may end up as challenging as the civil rights era battles over racism. To transhumanists--some who want to become new biological species and others who want to become machines--a new civil rights age is looming.

"Political elections – for better or worse – have become a gameshow. The more social media, the more clickbait headlines … whatever generates a lot of buzz is one way to make our mark in an election," he says. Istvan has attracted countless profiles in the international press, been followed around by two film documentary crews and has secured a TV show once the election is over. It certainly seems to be benefiting Brand Zoltan. Could it all be an elaborate strategy to boost his profile and become a media personality?

Political elections – for better or worse – have become a game show. The more social media, the more clickbait headlines ... whatever generates a lot of buzz is one way to make our mark in an election,