Sunday, 30 October 2022

Two Computers

"Starfog."

We are told that Daven Laure does not anthropomorphize the computer that is like the brain and central nervous system of his spaceship, Jaccavrie, but then:

"Laure had a brief, irrational vision of Jaccavrie nodding. She would be a big, calm, dark-haired woman, handsome in middle age though getting somewhat plump..." (p. 712)

So Laure does not relate to Jaccavrie as a person but sometimes visualizes her as one.

This leads to a comparison with Robert Heinlein. In Time Enough For Love, the memories of a conscious computer are transferred into a female human body so that the computer is literally anthropomorphized. But I prefer Laure and Jaccavrie. Furthermore, "Starfog" is an excellent capstone to the Technic History whereas I do not even accept Time Enough For Love as a valid addition to the Future History.

The Technic History ends with "Starfog." The Future History climaxes in Methuselah's Children with Orphans Of The Sky as a short appendix.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I would still argue Lauren at least sometimes anthropomorphizes 'Jaccavrie.'

Ad astra! Sean