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* EvilIsSexy: Invoked by the Genjix, who breed the next generation of hosts for looks as well as brains.
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* BigBadShuffle: There are two main Genjix who serve the role of BigBad, but Roen never fights them at the same time.

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* BigBadShuffle: TheBigBadShuffle: There are two main Genjix who serve the role of BigBad, but Roen never fights them at the same time.
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* BadassGrandpa: Several older hosts on both sides of the conflict. The Prophus have Admiral Abrams and Stephen, while the Genjix have Sean, Devin, and Vinnick.
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One morning, an out-of-shape IT technician named Roen Tan starts hearing voices in his head. At first, he thinks he might be going crazy, but he soon learns that he's unwittingly [[SymbioticPossession playing host to an ancient alien named Tao,]] whose people, the Quasing, crash landed on Earth millions of years ago and have been influencing the development of human society in an effort to go home. As Tao forces Roen to get into shape, Roen learns that the Quasing are divided into two factions: The Prophus, who want to protect humanity, and the Genjix, who are willing to throw Earth under the bus in order to get home.

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One morning, an out-of-shape IT technician named guy Roen Tan starts hearing voices in his head. At first, he thinks he might be going crazy, but he soon learns that he's unwittingly [[SymbioticPossession playing host to an ancient alien named Tao,]] whose people, the Quasing, crash landed on Earth millions of years ago and have been influencing the development of human society in an effort to go home. As Tao forces Roen to get into shape, Roen learns that the Quasing are divided into two factions: The Prophus, who want to protect humanity, and the Genjix, who are willing to throw Earth under the bus in order to get home.


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* FormerlyFat: Roen loses weight over the course of his Prophus training in the first book.
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* BigBadShuffle: There are two main Genjix who serve the role of BigBad, but Roen never fights them at the same time.
* BittersweetEnding: Every book in the trilogy has one.
** ''The Lives of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Sean Diammont is defeated, but Sonya is killed, and Jill is forcefully inducted into the Prophus as Baji's new host.]]
** ''The Deaths of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Roen and Jill fix their marital issues and delay the Quasiform operations for a few years, but the Prophus have lost all political influence in the United States and [[BrokenMasquerade the existence of the Quasing has been revealed to the world,]] leaving the future of both factions uncertain.]]
** ''The Rebirths of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Jill is promoted to serve as the new interim leader of the Prophus until the Keeper's heir is old enough to take command, Roen manages to convince the IXTF to work with the Prophus and stop hunting them. But despite Quasiforming being delayed by several decades, the Genjix Council still exists and Zoras [[YouHaveFailedMe has Enzo killed]] so he can [[BodySurf move to a]] more competent host.]]


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* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The Genjix Council. So far the only human members seen so far are Vinnick, Devin, and Enzo.

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* Badass Family: [[spoiler: The Tan family becomes this in the third book.]]

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* Badass Family: BadassFamily: [[spoiler: The Tan family becomes this in the third book.]]


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* EveryoneHasStandards: Attacking an enemy's friends and loved ones is looked down upon by both Prophus and Genjix alike.


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* KillItWithFire: Chivya and several other Quasing are obliterated with flamethrowers after leaving their hosts.
* KilledOffForReal:
** In ''The Lives of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Edward, Sonya, and Sean]]
** In ''The Deaths of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Wheuler, Paula, Admiral Abrams, Devin, and Stephen]]
** In ''The Rebirths of Tao:'' [[spoiler: Vinnick, Vladimir, Ohr, Dylan, Faust, Jacob, and Enzo]]


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* TookALevelInBadass: Roen goes from overweight slacker to badass secret agent over the course of the first book. And then takes another level in between each consecutive book.
* Ubermensch: The Genjix see themselves as this.
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** [[spoiler: Sonya in the first book]]
** [[spoiler: Admiral Abrams, Stephen, Whueler, and Paula in Book two.]]
** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, Dylan, and Jacob.]]

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** [[spoiler: Sonya and Sean in the first book]]
** [[spoiler: Devin, Admiral Abrams, Stephen, Whueler, and Paula in Book two.]]
** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, Dylan, Jacob, and Jacob.Enzo.]]
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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and Dylan]]

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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, Dylan, and Dylan]]Jacob.]]
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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and ]]

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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and ]]Dylan]]
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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and

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** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and ]]
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* AnyoneCanDie:
** [[spoiler: Sonya in the first book]]
** [[spoiler: Admiral Abrams, Stephen, Whueler, and Paula in Book two.]]
** [[spoiler: Book three kills off Vinnick, Vladimir, Faust, and


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* NoGender: In the SequelSeries, it's explained that Quasing do not have a concept of gender and designate themselves as male or female according to their current host.
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* ParentsAsPeople: [[spoiler: Roen and Jill are estranged during ''The Deaths of Tao'' as over their roles in the war, but eventually reconcile. And despite their disagreements, they still care for each other and their son.

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* ParentsAsPeople: [[spoiler: Roen and Jill are estranged during ''The Deaths of Tao'' as over their roles in the war, but eventually reconcile. And despite their disagreements, they still care for each other and their son. ]]
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* ETGaveUsWifi: Nearly every major scientific development of human history was created by either the Prophus or Genjix.

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* ETGaveUsWifi: Nearly And cars, and machines, and customs, and the wheel... In summary, almost every major scientific political, social, scientific, and technological development of human history was created by either the Prophus or Genjix.



* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADeomn: The [[BreedingCult Genjix Hatchery]] deliberately invokes this trope in breeding future vessels. They're even referred to as Adonises

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* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADeomn: FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: The [[BreedingCult Genjix Hatchery]] deliberately invokes this trope in breeding future vessels. They're even referred to as Adonises
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* ApocalypseCult: [[spoiler: The Genjix are seeking to teraform Earth to match the conditions of the Quasing home world, Quasar. Doing so will kill all non-Quasing life on Earth.]]

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* ActionDad: [[spoiler: Roen becomes this in between the first two books.]]
* ActionMom: [[spoiler: Jill becomes this in between the first two books.]]
* AncientAstronauts: The Quasing crash landed on Earth back in the time of the dinosaurs



* BadassGrandpa: Several older hosts on both sides of the conflict. The Prophus have Admiral Abrams and Stephen, while the Genjix have Sean and Devin.

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* Badass Family: [[spoiler: The Tan family becomes this in the third book.]]
* BadassGrandpa: Several older hosts on both sides of the conflict. The Prophus have Admiral Abrams and Stephen, while the Genjix have Sean Sean, Devin, and Devin.Vinnick.



* EnergyBeings: The Quasing. The reason they form symbiotic bonds with hosts is because their energy forms cannot survive more than a few minutes in Earth's atmosphere.

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* TheCoup: [[spoiler: In the final third of ''The Deaths of Tao'', Enzo launches a coup to assassinate every Prophus agent in Washington D.C.]]
* EnemyCivilWar: [[spoiler: A major subplot of ''The Rebirths of Tao'' is a power struggle between the younger and more fanatic agents lead by Enzo, and the older veteran Genjix under the leadership of Vinnick.]]
* EnergyBeings: The Quasing. The reason they form symbiotic bonds with hosts is because their energy forms cannot survive more than a few minutes in Earth's atmosphere.



* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADeomn: The [[BreedingCult Genjix Hatchery]] deliberately invokes this trope in breeding future vessels. They're even referred to as Adonises



* OfficialCouple: Roen and [[spoiler: Jill]]
* ParentsAsPeople: [[spoiler: Roen and Jill are estranged during ''The Deaths of Tao'' as over their roles in the war, but eventually reconcile. And despite their disagreements, they still care for each other and their son.
* PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs: The Quasing spaceship crash is responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and the subsequent ice age.



* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain: Roen isn't necessarily ugly, but it's repeatedly stated that he won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. Meanwhile, Genjix hosts are bred for physical perfection and high standards of beauty.

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* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain: Roen isn't necessarily ugly, but it's repeatedly stated that he won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. Meanwhile, Genjix hosts are bred for physical perfection and high standards of beauty.beauty.
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: [[spoiler: In the third book, the Genjix are fighting with each other as much as they're fighting the Prophus and the IXTF.]]
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* EnergyBeings: The Quasing. The reason they form symbiotic bonds with hosts is because their energy forms cannot survive more than a few minutes in Earth's atmosphere.
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None


* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain: Roen isn't necessaril ugly, but it's repeatedly stated that he won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. Meanwhile, Genjix hosts are bred for physical perfection and high standards of beauty.

to:

* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain: Roen isn't necessaril necessarily ugly, but it's repeatedly stated that he won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. Meanwhile, Genjix hosts are bred for physical perfection and high standards of beauty.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

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One morning, an out-of-shape IT technician named Roen Tan starts hearing voices in his head. At first, he thinks he might be going crazy, but he soon learns that he's unwittingly [[SymbioticPossession playing host to an ancient alien named Tao,]] whose people, the Quasing, crash landed on Earth millions of years ago and have been influencing the development of human society in an effort to go home. As Tao forces Roen to get into shape, Roen learns that the Quasing are divided into two factions: The Prophus, who want to protect humanity, and the Genjix, who are willing to throw Earth under the bus in order to get home.

The Lives of Tao is the debut novel of Wesley Chu, and was released in April 2013. It has since received two sequels:
* The Deaths of Tao, released in October 2013
* The Rebirths of Tao, released in 2015.
The trilogy was followed by a sequel series titled "The Rise of Io" set years after The Rebirths of Tao and focusing on a new generation of characters involved in the war between Prophus and Genjix.

! The series contains the following tropes:
* AncientConspiracy: The conflict between Prophus and Genjix has been going on since the Spanish Inquisition.
* BadassGrandpa: Several older hosts on both sides of the conflict. The Prophus have Admiral Abrams and Stephen, while the Genjix have Sean and Devin.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Several famous real world historical figures were Quasing hosts, notable examples include:
** Genghis Khan
** Galileo Galilei
** Napoleon Bonaparte
** [[OccamsRazor William of Occam]]
** [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution Marquis de Lafayette]]
** [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Gene Roddenberry]]
* BreedingCult: The Genjix have The Hatchery, a program designed to breed the next generation of hosts.
* ButterflyEffect: Discussed as the reason some of Roen's seemingly innocuous assignments have significant impact in the long run.
* CoolBoat: The Prophus have a submarine , the ''Atlantis''
* ETGaveUsWifi: Nearly every major scientific development of human history was created by either the Prophus or Genjix.
* EvilIsSexy: Invoked by the Genjix, who breed the next generation of hosts for looks as well as brains.
* AGodAmI: The Genjix hosts believe themselves to be gods, or close to them.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Everyone listed under BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy.
* TheMasquerade: Very few people not involved in the war are aware of the existence of the Quasing.
* OccamsRazor: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed.]] Roen brings this up to justify his argument that Schizophrenia is a more likely explanation for Tao's voice in his head than Symbiotic Possession. Tao's response is that Occam was a host and invented the trope to uphold the Masquerade.
* SecretWar: Between the Prophus and Genjix hosts and their supporters.
* SymbioticPossession: The reason the Quasing do this to humans is because they are EnergyBeings that cannot survive prolonged exposure to Earth's atmosphere.
* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain: Roen isn't necessaril ugly, but it's repeatedly stated that he won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. Meanwhile, Genjix hosts are bred for physical perfection and high standards of beauty.

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