Computerworld (1983)

by A. E. Van Vogt

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En ces anne es 2090, le Grand Ordinateur gouverne les Etats-Unis. Ou, plus exactement, il exe cute les ordres de ceux qui gouvernent : des militaires partisans de l'ordre... Cependant, la complexite de la machine est telle, ses me moires sont si riches, ses interventions si multiples, qu'on peut se demander si ce n'est pas lui le ve ritable mai tre. Et contre ce mai tre, une petite ville de l'Ouest se rebelle. Glay Tate, le chef des re fractaires, hait cette socie te programme e et passive. L'e nergie vitale, la cre ativite , voila les armes avec lesquelles il va affronter l'Ordinateur. Et si, gra ce a lui, la machine ultime allait apprendre la liberte ?… (more)

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I haven't read a lot by A.E. van Vogt; what I have read has been pretty hit or miss. This one was sort of both, in some ways better than I expected, offering moments of humor and effectively building towards a climax (that unfortunately ended up being disappointingly hokey). Having the all-seeing AI as the book’s protagonist felt original and ambitious and all in all was pretty well done.

For a book published in 1983 Van Vogt’s ideas on how technology-dependent and networked we would soon find ourselves seem insightful. And the basic premise of the book probably feels more relevant in a post Snowden-NSA-revelations world than it did when first written. This is certainly a world in which power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Having said all that the human characters are frustratingly superficial and the ending disintegrates into quasi-religious silliness. Still, original enough to be worth your time. (

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clong | Jun 25, 2014 |

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Canonical title

Original title

Computerworld

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1983

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Epigraph

Dedication

First words

A man stops in front of a computer Eye-O port on the corner of Second and Main streets in the town of Mardley.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Variant Titles: Computerworld, Computer Eye, and La Machine Ultime

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En ces anne es 2090, le Grand Ordinateur gouverne les Etats-Unis. Ou, plus exactement, il exe cute les ordres de ceux qui gouvernent : des militaires partisans de l'ordre... Cependant, la complexite de la machine est telle, ses me moires sont si riches, ses interventions si multiples, qu'on peut se demander si ce n'est pas lui le ve ritable mai tre. Et contre ce mai tre, une petite ville de l'Ouest se rebelle. Glay Tate, le chef des re fractaires, hait cette socie te programme e et passive. L'e nergie vitale, la cre ativite , voila les armes avec lesquelles il va affronter l'Ordinateur. Et si, gra ce a lui, la machine ultime allait apprendre la liberte ?

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