A Boy and his Tank

Work Title: A Boy and his Tank
Medium: Novel
Episode Title:
Year: 1999
Writer(s): Leo Frankowski
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

By Leo Frankowski; "Centuries in the future, on the distant and dirt-poor planet of New Kashubia, young Mickolai Derdowski is sentenced to death for getting his girlfriend, Kasia, pregnant. His only alternative is to become a mercenary, a human backup for the artificial intelligence and virtual reality capabilities of a Mark XIX tank. After training in the VR "Dream World" (and falling in love with Agnieshka, the female personality of his tank), Mickolai is sent to fight Serbs on the planet of New Yugoslavia. There he meets Kasia again, persuades a division of Serbian tanks to change sides, undergoes a crash course in military science and winds up a victorious commanding general. But in Agnieshka's VR world, nothing is what it seems, and Mickolai (and the reader) must wait until the end of his mission to discover what has really happened." (from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671578502/104-1588544-9083916?v=glance)

Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

It is several centuries in the future. Many planets in various galaxies are populated with people from Earth. In fact, due to overcrowding on Earth, all minority's are given thier own planets which they must live on. (it's a seems a little bit rascist, although it never actually says that only white people live on Earth). However, interstellar travel doesn't really occur - all trade must go through Earth.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Agnieshka - Dream World
  • Description of the technology: Agnieshka, is the tank that Mikolai, the protaginist, rides in during the war. She is a fully sentient machine, but has a very distinct personality which adapts to Mikolai's preferences. They have a very intimate relationship and communicate without words. In the tank, Mikolai may visit Dream World, a virtual reality, where anything/everything imaginable can occur, but usually only pleasure. It is extermely realistic in DR, and Agnieshka's personality is very human like, although she knows she is not. She can act superior and controlling, but only when she's mad at Mikolai.
  • Nature of task or activity: He constantly interacts with Agnieshka the entire time he is in the tank, fighting the war and in DR. In DR he does physical training, simulates war games, attends school, has sex, does everything you could do in the real world.
  • Performance of the Technology: Very well.
  • Description of creator(s): unknown, although possibly the Japanese - they built the factories the tanks were constructed in.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): War and profit.
  • Description of users of technology: Mikolai is 24, male, fairly intelligent, heroic, moralistic, religous - he has pretty conservative values. Most people in the tanks are convicts or drafted, forced to fight.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: both
  • Description of presence experience: Very pleasurable and extermely realistic.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: He thinks he is. Later he finds out that when he thought he was not in the tank, he really still was.
  • Valence of experience: Usually, they find it pleasent.
  • Specific responses: Enjoyment, and education, as he goies to school in the DR in the tank. Also, they physically train in the DR and when emerging from the tank, are in shape. He also has improved miitary skills, from fighting.
Long-term consequences:

Happy ending, good consequences, except for the fact that he learns he has been in the tank for 5 years and nothing was real. but he is still happy.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University