This isn't a series, but a set of fiction that I think fits the bill. Conveniently all of these works are available free online: After Life: http://sifter.org

This isn't a series, but a set of fiction that I think fits the bill. Conveniently all of these works are available free online: After Life: http://sifter.org/~simon/AfterLife http://sifter.org/~simon/AfterLife Blindsight: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm Passages in the Void: http://localroger.com/ http://localroger.com/ The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (from localroger.com) is also pretty good in the imagination expanding department but be forewarned: parts of it are very hard to read (quite gruesome).