The so-so Canadian-produced TV series based on William Shatner's (ghostwritten) Tekwar novels had an interesting closing theme that included the lyrics
"Are you real or not?
It's a fine line..."
This story drops us into a situation where the line between real and artificial has become sidewalk chalk in a rainstorm. You may have to read it twice to really understand the events depicted.
Go. Read. Comment.
Starport by Joe Pezzula
- Robert_Moriyama
- Editor Emeritus
- Posts: 2379
- Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Contact:
Starport by Joe Pezzula
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
Jack London (1876-1916)
Jack London (1876-1916)
- Lester Curtis
- Long Fiction Editor
- Posts: 2736
- Joined: January 11, 2010, 12:03:56 AM
- Location: by the time you read this, I'll be somewhere else
And after reading this story three times, I wonder if I don't need an inhibitor chip, too . . . as it is, I just think that Allison needs a new OS and a good, swift reboot -- and I'm wondering why she hadn't gotten them long ago. Maybe she'll get that after someone repairs the boa-inflicted damage . . .She wondered when the day would come for her own inhibitor chip to be installed to stop these feelings of uncertainty and disconnect.
Could this be the ultimate in teenage rebelliousness?
- Robert_Moriyama
- Editor Emeritus
- Posts: 2379
- Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Contact:
Past her Best Before date?
Ah, but do higher artificial lifeforms (sentient humanoid types) in this world have the right to remain unaltered even if they begin to develop eccentric behavior? To take this story further, what if Alison decided that she was having trouble connecting emotionally with her human (or human-form robot?) family, and tried to remove THEIR inhibitor chips?
Beware of machines that are capable of deciding that YOU are malfunctioning, and have the ability to try to FIX you. (viz. also "Thy Kingdom Come, My Will Be Done", where the penalty for violating religious precepts may be death).
RM
Beware of machines that are capable of deciding that YOU are malfunctioning, and have the ability to try to FIX you. (viz. also "Thy Kingdom Come, My Will Be Done", where the penalty for violating religious precepts may be death).
RM
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
Jack London (1876-1916)
Jack London (1876-1916)