Review: They'd Rather Be Right/The Forever Machine, by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley

They’d Rather Be Right/The Forever Machine, by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley

Published: Astounding Science Fiction (Analog), 1954; Carroll & Graf, 1992

Awards Won: Hugo Award

The Book:

“When the government orders that a psychologist design an airplane autopilot system, the psychologist in question, Dr. Billings, promptly concludes that the only way forward is to build a machine that has all the capabilities of a human mind.  To aid in his endeavour, he recruits a lonely young telepath named Joe to help spur his team onward.

It soon becomes clear that what they are creating is something else entirely. Their new artificial intelligence, ‘Bossy’, is able to build an understanding of the universe from various facts fed into her by her creators.  She can then use her understanding to conduct psychological therapy on patients, rendering them telepathic and eternally youthful.  But what is the price for Bossy’s rejuvenation, and is the world ready?” ~Allie

This book has a reputation as one of the worst Hugo winners, so I knew what I was getting into when I picked it up.  I’d like to have read all of the Hugo winners one day, so that means checking out a few weaker books (I have yet to read The Wanderer) along with the good ones. In this case, I’d say the reputation was well earned. I actually read the later-published version of the novel, The Forever Machine, which also includes two related short stories.

My Thoughts:

A science fiction novel’s level of predictive power is not necessarily the most important gauge of it’s quality, but I think They’d Rather be Right is about as successful as these folk. Computer languages were a pretty new development in the 1950s, so I can see how it would be hard to predict what sorts of things would be easy, hard, or impossible with computing systems. In another area, I thought it was pretty funny that citizens in this fictional world found corporations to be more trustworthy than governments.  I know speculative fiction is bound to get some of its predictions wrong, but when something is this dated and off, it tends to get in the way of engaging with the story.

I was also not really aligned to the biases of the novel, which were applied to the narrative with a heavy-hand. For instance, there’s a strong anti-scientist and anti-education vibe, where educated people, particularly professors, are shown as having rigid mindsets and an inability to adapt to new situations.  This does not make sense to me, since it seems obvious that educated people must have chosen their path because they enjoy learning new things. There’s also a weird contempt for psychologists, paired with a respect for paranormal psychology.  All the ‘orthodox’ psychologists are portrayed as uncaring, arrogant, and incompetent. On the other hand, unconventional psychology is able to magically grant open-minded people eternal youth and telepathic powers. It’s possible that the novel might have been in line with some common ideas in the 1950s, but I don’t think it fits particularly well with our society’s reality anymore.  

The characters were also a bit inconsistent, and their actions did not always seem to follow how real people behave. For instance, Joe seems to have basically unlimited power to control the thoughts of all the people around him, but for some reason he seems to forget about this ability during a few crises they face.  In one of these crises, they are attacked by a mob of people who declare themselves to be on a witch hunt, and who use witch-hunt rhetoric.  I don’t know if things were different in the ‘50s, but nowadays the term ‘witch hunt’ is generally used as a derogatory term for a mob attacking innocent people over perceived differences.  It didn’t really make sense to me for a group to proudly claim the label for themselves. Given all of my complaints about the book, it might seem strange to say that I appreciated the way it ended.  If a magical psychology machine like Bossy did exist, their final approach to handling her existence is something I can get behind.

My Rating: 1.5/5

I think They’d Rather be Right was a pretty controversial Hugo win at the time, and it has since earned a reputation as one of the weakest Hugo award winners.  It hasn’t aged well at all, and many of its ideas about the future are entertainingly wrong.  The novel also carries some pretty blatant biases that I don’t agree with, which I find kind of ironic in a book that is about the need for humanity to throw off their prejudices and preconceptions.  I liked how they ended up dealing with Bossy, though, and parts of the story were pretty (unitentionally, I think) funny. Still, it was interesting to see what fans voted for as the best novel written in 1954. I would only recommend this one to other Hugo-winner completionists.

Review: Permutation City by Greg Egan

Permutation City by Greg Egan

Published: Millenium, 1994

Awards Won: John W. Campbell Award

Awards Nominated: Philip K. Dick & British Science Fantasy Association Award

The Book:

“When it becomes possible to make an electronic copy of a human mind, the practice is initially the domain of the eccentric rich who want to cheat death. Over time, though, the reasons people have for copying themselves have begun to change. For instance, Maria is neither rich nor in fear of her own death. After grieving over the death of her father, she’s determined that she’s going to make enough money to copy her mother before it’s too late.

Maria’s interest in the Autoverse, a software environment with simplified natural laws, leads her to contract with a man whose motives are even stranger.  He claims to offer his electronic-copy clients true immortality--free of the fear of loss of computing power--in a universe that can offer all the joys of our physical world, even up to the possibility of alien life.  He is either wrong, a charlatan, or a man who is about to learn the meaning of eternity.” ~Allie

This is the first book I’ve read by Greg Egan, but I plan to seek out more of his work in the future.  I listened to this one on audiobook, and was not really a fan of the voice patterns of the narrator, which seemed too monotonous to me.  Once the story got going, though, I was so interested that my personal dislike of the narration style didn’t matter.

My Thoughts:

This was basically everything I wanted in a book about mind uploading.  It addresses the hardware problems of the copies, the idea of whether they represent a continuation of self, what motivates different people to copy themselves, how it might affect them to exist while knowing they are not a physical entity, how the existence of copies is dealt with in the physical world, and much more.  It’s clear that a lot of thought went into exploring all the implications of this kind of technology, and that is exactly the kind of speculation that I most enjoy reading about.  One point I especially enjoyed was the exploration of flexibility of one’s sense of self. For instance, if you can directly modify the way that you think and feel, does your choice to do so change who you are?  If not, then what is it that defines your core self?  Maria once pointed out that a single person at two random points in their life might seem like two different people, but their lived experience gives a sense of continuity of identity.

On the tech side, Permutation City has a few pretty accurate predictions of the future, and further entertaining speculation.  For instance, this was published just a year after WWW was declared a public asset, but Egan already predicted grid computing and trading of processing power.  I think Egan also accurately concluded that accurately modeling humans would not be a reasonable feat in terms of computing power, and the story acknowledges that many ‘short-cuts’ are required to make copies a reality. Even with the shortcuts, minds can only be run at a maximum ratio of 17:1 real time to subjective experience.  For software environments, I also thought the idea of the Autoverse was really interesting.  It kind of reminds me of the appeal Minecraft seems to have (I may be wrong, I’ve never played it), providing the user with tools, resources, and defined rules for how this specific version of ‘reality’ works.

The second part of the novel takes a turn towards the weird side, and I think that how readers will respond to that will largely depend on how they feel about the “Dust Theory”.  I thought it was a very fun idea, and I liked the direction that it allowed the novel to go.  I don’t want to explain the theory here, since I don’t want to give away any major plot details.  In general, the first part of the novel is embedded in a pretty believable near-future world with some speculative technology, while the second half launches confidently into complete ‘what-if’ territory.  Many of the ideas introduced earlier in the story are allowed to run to their extremes, and the result was fascinating.

My Rating: 5/5     

I think this is the best novel I’ve read about mind uploading thus far.  It addressed pretty much all the aspects of the technology that I find interesting, including the hardware limitations, the social implications, the effects on those involved, and how the it could stretch the idea of a sense of self.  A variety of perspectives and reactions to mind uploading are presented through the handful of viewpoint characters.  The second part of the story veers off wildly from the ordered near-future world, into the idea of the “dust theory” and the potentially eternal lives of electronic copies.  Permutation City was an engaging story from start to finish, and I am looking forward to reading more of Greg Egan’s work!

Read-Along: Kushiel's Dart, Part 9

Welcome to part 9 of the read-along of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart.  Our host this week is Emma Maree, and her questions cover chapters 74-83.  Keep in mind, therefore, that there will be spoilers up through chapter 83 in the questions and answers below!  Also, remember to visit all the participants blogs to see what they have to say about this week’s section!  Next week is going to be the final section of the book, and I am really hoping all my favorite characters make it through the repelling (I hope!) of the Skaldi invasion.

1) Hyacinthe being trapped on the isle is a particularly cruel punishment for the people-loving Prince of Travellers. If you had his choice – a cutthroat life back in Night’s Doorstep, surrounded by friends and adventures, or a lonely but safe and privileged life on the island – which would you choose, and why?

I would probably choose the island, but that’s mostly because I have a very different personality than Hyacinthe.  I enjoyed reading about his cutthroat life in Night’s Doorstep, but actually living it sounds like a nightmare!  For Hyacinthe, the one silver lining in the situation is that now he is in a place where he belongs, is wanted and is valued.  I’m really hoping, also, that once he becomes the Master of the Straits, he can open up the waters to travelers.  Then, maybe he can get lots of visitors on his little island.  

2) Phedre remarks that the island people are truly human, and very different from d’Angelines with god blood in the veins. Through the story, the lines between myth and reality have become steadily blurrier: the gods are gone but they’ve left a kind of magic behind, and faces can rise up from the ocean. Is Phedre’s conceit just a form of Terra d’Ange vanity, or do you think there’s really something inhuman about the d’Angelines?

I think that they are meant to literally have a tiny bit of God’s blood in their lineage. I think they are pretty vain, on top of that, though. I roll my eyes a little, every time someone talks about how inhumanly beautiful d’Angelines are.  Actually, given the Christian idea that beauty does not always correspond to goodness, it’s a little weird that their conception of God seems to be of a supernaturally handsome man. 

The water face though, is now reminding me more of Wizard of Oz than Poseidon, now that we know it was just something the guy on the island made to communicate impressively.

3) Phedre doesn’t share any of the details of her last night with Hyacinthe. After her no-holds-barred descriptions of previous lovers, this scene really standards out as unique. How do you feel about Phedre’s goodbye, and Hyacinthe leaving the spotlight? How do you think Hyacinthe will keep himself occupied in his new life -- will he create a network on the island like he did on Night’s Doorstep, spying on the affairs of the world?

I’m starting to think that Phedre really needs to cultivate her other skills.  I know she is a servant of Naamah, but surely that’s not the only thing she can do.  In this case, I can kind of see why it was a nice goodbye, and a way of making sure he didn’t just remember her from his time grieving for Moiread.  However, I think it would have been just as fitting if they had spent the night talking about the times they had spent together and remembering happier times.

I can see him using his Master of the Straits powers to learn a lot about the affairs of the world.  I suppose he would not really need a network anymore, because he’ll have his scrying bowl!  I’m really hoping people will come to visit him a lot.  It seems like he could make the passage smooth and safe for them.

4) When Phedre's addressed as “Delauney’s Whore” by Ghislain de Somerville, everyone around Phedre draws a blade to defend her honour. Was it an over-reaction, or a fitting sign of Phedre’s new rank in society? How much has Phedre’s self-confidence evolved through the story: back to when she was an orphaned she often called herself a “whore’s get”, and later she called herself Delauney’s whore quite comfortably. This time, she’s as quick to correct Ghislain as her companions are.

I kind of think it was an overreaction.  It seems like this was one of those cases where it wasn’t exactly what Ghislain said, but that he said it with a lack of respect.  In every situation we’ve seen, even in her position as the queen’s emissary, she has relied primarily on her bedroom abilities to make things work.  At the same time, she has accomplished more than pretty much anyone in Terre d’Ange, and I think she is certainly worthy of respect.  I would say the problem is not with the definition of the word ‘whore’, but with the unfair and disrespectful connotation. Also, she does have an official title now (the queen’s emissary), so it is more proper to address her as such in formal company. 

5) We’ve nearing the end of the story, and it’s been a heart-breaking ride this week, so let’s step back and look at the wider world of Terre d’Ange. If you were part of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, which house which you end up in? Have you changed enough from your childhood self that it would it be different from the House that raised you? (A quick list of the houses, their motto and values can be found here.)

This is a difficult question.  I think I am most attracted to House Eglantine, which values creativity and has the motto “To Create is to Live”.  I guess I was a bit of a perfectionist as a child, so maybe I would have started in Camellia House.

6) Moving even further beyond the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, where this all began, and into the wide world: if you could belong anywhere in this world, where would you be? Sunning yourself in exotic Persian-inspired Khebbel-im-Akkad, fighting in rainy Alba, or harsh Skaldia, sleeping in front of crackling fires on a pile of warm furs? Would you be roaming in the Long Roads with the Tsingano, a scion of the Night’s Court, a player in the theatre or a pub landlord on Night’s Doorstep? Where would you like to be most, out of everywhere, and where would you absolutely *hate* to be stuck in?

To be honest, while I really enjoy reading about this world, I don’t think it has enough safety and stability for me to want to be in it.  I think I would be most comfortable in rural Terre d’Ange (kind of like where I am in the real world), but it’s currently being invaded by Skaldi.  I don’t think it would be very nice to be a woman in Khebbel-im-Akkad, Skaldia, or with the Tsingano, and I don’t think I have the temperament to enjoy living in the Night’s Court.  Maybe I wouldn’t mind Night’s Doorstep, as long as it isn’t too highly populated.  I guess I’m an odd person, but I really enjoy living in small, peaceful towns in areas with an overall warm climate and four distinct seasons. …Considering that, maybe what I would really want is to live in a southern, relatively isolated city-state of Caerdicca Unitas.

Other things:

--Do you think the Master of the Straits would have come up with some other reason to kidnap them, even if they hadn't killed an eel?  It seems like he was really just looking for an excuse to grab Hyacinthe for his replacement.

--I really hope Drustan doesn't die before he gets to Ysandre.  That would be a horrible end to their romance, and would also pretty much ruin the rest of the story.

--I respect Phedre for trying to rescue as many of her 'boys' from the battle as possible, by sending them with her message.  I suspect it is a hard thing to know that people are going to risk death in your name.

--What a cliffhanger at the end!  I'm hoping that, given the circumstances, the other d'Angeline army can be an ally instead of a new enemy.  Even if it is d'Aiglemort, surely he'd have to turn against the Skaldi at this point!