When an artificial intelligence falls in love
Autonomous By Annalee Newitz (Tor; 301 pages; $25.99)
It’s 2144, and synthetic biologist/ pharmaceutical pirate Jack Chen is beginning to think she has made a terrible mistake. Workers across the globe are becoming dangerously obsessed with mundane tasks after dosing themselves with a productivity enhancer known as Zacuity. Jack previously created a reverse-engineered version of the drug to be sold on the streets, and she fears that she’s partially to blame for the outbreak — even though it seems it was Zacuity’s original developer who intended to make the drug addictive.
Hot on Jack’s trail are two agents of the International Property Coalition, Eliasz and Paladin. Eliasz is thoroughly human, sure of himself and his mission, while Paladin is an indentured military bot trying to figure out how the world works — a kind of badass version of Pixar’s Wall-E.
As they relentlessly pursue Jack and her allies, the seemingly mismatched partners develop a closer than normal relationship, one that raises questions about gender, sex, ownership and equality. What does it mean for an artificial intelligence to fall in love? How does identity change with the addition or subtraction of body parts?
As the founding editor of the influential science and science fiction site io9.com and the current tech culture editor for Ars Technica, Newitz is best known for her nonfiction and journalism. She puts her years of experience writing about computer networks to excellent effect in “Autonomous,” creating a future world where biotech and artificial intelligence no longer seem magical but are unsettlingly commonplace.
Newitz will have her readers rooting for Jack as she tries to correct her mistake by revisiting places and people from her past, but Paladin is the real star of the show. Newitz isn’t interested in depicting an AI apocalypse in which computers overthrow their human creators. Rather, her novel addresses the mysteries of emotion and connection among entities organic, inorganic and digital. Paladin’s quest for understanding and self-awareness is surprisingly moving and unexpectedly romantic.
With wit, clarity and boundless compassion, “Autonomous” has plenty to say about the present moment, when health care seems a privilege and corporate entities may be afforded more rights than individual citizens.
Landscape With Invisible Hand By M.T. Anderson (Candlewick Press; 160 pages; $16.99)
National Book Award-winning author M.T. Anderson is perhaps best known for his books for children and teens, such as “Burger Wuss” and “Thirsty.” Sometimes, though, he delivers novels with enough substance to interest adult readers, as was the case with “Feed” and “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation.”
Anderson’s new novel, “Landscape With Invisible Hand,” is an alien invasion novel likely to enjoy wide appeal.
Once the extraterrestrial vuvv arrive, it’s economics that brings humanity to its knees. Even if the aliens were actively hostile — which they are not — there’s no need for death rays or the like. The free, advanced technology the vuvv bring puts most of the planet out of work, leaving folks with no cash for food, rent or potable water.
Adam Costello is a talented teenaged artist, one who sometimes works with actual paint rather than only with pixels. His father has run off, his mother can’t find a job, and he suffers from a gastrointestinal condition that could be easily fixed by vuvv technology, if only it weren’t so expensive. But it’s up to Adam to bring in enough money to keep the household running.
The vuvv like to observe certain human behavior, but the aliens have a warped view of reality, believing that people crave still-life paintings, doo-wop singing and public displays of true love. Adam agrees to be remotely monitored for the viewing pleasure of an online audience of vuvv.
Despite their endearments and affectionate behavior, Adam and his reluctant partner, Chloe, come to hate each other. When he’s tapped to participate in an exclusive art show, Adam sees a chance for escape, but at a cost to his artistic vision.
Anderson’s depiction of frazzled Earthlings trying to make sense of their reduced circumstances will likely bring back memories of the Great Recession for adult readers. Many teen readers will relate to Adam’s iconoclastic streak. His quest for security, independence and personal integrity is both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut on a satirical roll, “Landscape With Invisible Hand” has plenty of currentday relevance. The struggle between art and commerce never ends, but the plot’s resolution is both unexpected and apt.
An Excess Male By Maggie Shen King (Harper Voyager; 408 pages; $15.99 paperback)
Thanks in part to a history of male preference, the onechild policy has created in China a vast disparity between the number of marriageable men and women. In her debut novel, Bay Area writer Maggie Shen King looks ahead to 2030 and foresees a society where more than a quarter of men in their late 30s will not have a family of their own, inviting the communist state to establish harsh rules about who may marry and reproduce.
By almost any measure, Lee Wei-guo would seem a top contender as a potential fiance. He’s in good health, runs a successful small business and has two fathers willing to pay a modest dowry. But those qualities are only enough to earn him a single offer from a matchmaker. To make the grade, he must choose to be the third husband in a polyandrous relationship.
Wei-guo doesn’t know how dysfunctional his potential mate’s family may be. May-ling is beautiful, intelligent and graceful, but she is blind to the behavior of her two husbands. Hann is gay (or “Willfully Sterile”) and endangers the household through his forbidden trysts. His tech prodigy brother, who insists on being addressed as XX, can’t seem to deal with the complexities of human discourse, particularly when it comes to handling the family’s aggressive toddler Bei Bei.
Comparisons to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” are perhaps inevitable, but despite its dystopian leanings, “An Excess Male” is a different sort of novel. The narrative takes a dark turn near its midpoint, but until then it has more in common with a comedy of manners than the usual “if this goes on ...” near-future thriller.
Disturbing, funny, suspenseful and keenly observed, “An Excess Male” demonstrates the toll exerted on individuals when the government takes too deep an interest in love and marriage. Although frequently chilling in its depiction of an authoritarian state, the novel celebrates the resilience of hope and the strength of family ties.