Spin State

Work Title: Spin State
Medium: Novel
Episode Title:
Year: 2003
Writer(s): Chris Moriarty
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

From Publishers Weekly Despite incorporating nearly every well-worn SF theme, Moriarty still manages fresh insights into humanity-and posthumanity-in this highly atmospheric debut, a hefty far-future exploration of AI, human cloning, class conflict and plain old-fashioned murder. Major Catherine Li and her fellow UN Peacekeepers battle hive-minded Syndicate genetic constructs for domination of planets settled through FTL (faster than light) migrations enabled by mysterious crystals, quantum-level anomalies of unimagined substance mined only on Compson's World. Resembling the Victorian British empire, the UN's vast interstellar commercial empire runs on the blood and sweat of a few thousand pitifully exploited miners like Li's father, who died so she could remake herself and escape the miners' fate. Now wired into "streamspace" with an AI lover who interacts with her through both male and female hosts, Li is tapped to investigate the murder of physicist Hannah Sharifi, her cloned twin who hoped to share the crystals' power. Based on the short, dangerous life of miners as well as the heady scientific stuff of quantum physics, the book can be heavy slogging for the uninitiated. Moriarty effectively postulates the Faustian price of enhancing humanity with silicon, of playing God through genetic manipulation. Beneath this complex tale ominously simmers Orwell's question: If all animals are to be equal, what can prevent some from making themselves more equal than the others? Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

  • Self-Written?:
  • Source Name: Publisher's Weekly
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Instantaneous space travel, Earth is uninhabitable, artificial intelligence is commonplace.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: an artificially intelligent personality named Cohen
  • Description of the technology: The artificial intelligent personality, Cohen, has been 'alive' since Earth was inhabitable, and has many, many memories, which shape his personlaity. He exists in the 'slip steam' of information, the ever changing flow of information streaming around, akin to the internet. He can jump into human hosts if they are altered to accept him. He is extremely intelligent and rich, keeps a luxurious home, and works freelance for the technology syndicates. He is very real.
  • Nature of task or activity: Cohen does all the things normal humans do, through his hosts.
  • Performance of the Technology: Works very well.
  • Description of creator(s): a middle aged white scientist from our time.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to store memories of the creator and continue himself after death.
  • Description of users of technology: N/A
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: both
  • Description of presence experience: The protaganist can enter the Internet, a world of information, by entering the 'slip stream'. Her body remains at rest, but her mind flies through information. Cohen is in the slip stream as well. She can interact with him in virtual reality or in regluar reality when he is in a human host. In virtual and regular reality, they interact as normal humans would.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Yes, everyone is aware.
  • Valence of experience: The protaganist, Catherine Li, falls in love with the artificial intelligance, Cohen. Pleasant.
  • Specific responses: The relationship between Cohen and Li is intense. Separatley, after entering the slip stream, she is sometimes disoriented or in poain if there is too much information for her brain to handle.
Long-term consequences:

It is a happy ending - Li and Cohen are joined together.

Other:

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