Torn Branches: A Science Fiction Review

You may remember Chuck Tingle from his rebuttal (hehe see what I did there) of the Sad Puppies slate for the Hugos. Well, he's done it again. This time taking aim at British voters decision to exit the EU. Pounded in the Pound by the Pound: how I was turned gay by the socio-economic implications of Britain exiting the European Union.

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!    Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes. Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,    Vulture, whose wings are dull realities? How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,    Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,    Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing? Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car,    And driven the Hamadryad from the wood To seek a shelter in some happier star?    Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood, The Elfin from the green grass, and from me The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller is one of my all-time favourite books. It holds this distinction  for me as it is one of the few works that nearly made me change my world view on a difficult moral issue – Euthanasia. The plot of a Canticle for Leibowitz is as follows. At some unknown point in humanity’s future, we manage to effectively destroy ourselves in a great conflict – probably nuclear. The remnants of society are scattered and have little to no knowledge of the technology that we once harnessed. A group of monks, who follow a religion inspired by Catholicism, are the inheritors of a library that contains the only known collection of ‘pre-apocalypse’ humanity. Unfortunately, the monks have no way of understanding the contents of their library, due to language barriers and the lack of understanding of the scientific method to put the knowledge in context. The story follows the monastery over many hundreds of years as humanity eventually develops enough to un...

"Grief is a waste of time. If it's between emptiness and grief, give me emptiness".  Episode 3 When an obsolete android model with a cult following starts committing mass 'suicide', Section 9 are called in to investigate. After investigating the plant that the 'Jeri" model android is manufactured in, Kusanagi believes that a hacker introduced a virus into the mainframe, probably by having an infected Jeri sent in for repairs. The Jeri Model android was technologically obsolete even upon introduction. It's cult following stems from its good looks and 'cute' personality. Through a process of elimination, Section 9 discover that the culprit is Marshall McLachlan, the son of the Canadian ambassador to Japan. Marshall is in love with his 'Jeri', whom he considers a real person. His motive for killing off the other Jeri androids is to ensure that his Jeri is unique. Unfortunately, Marshall's Jeri doesn't feel the same...

At my last update, Duncan had gone through a bit of a transformation. After ruining a selfish brat's childhood Duncan's mind had become a little warped - paranoia and multiple personality level warped. The last month has been a little uneventful for Duncan. You see, Duncan is actually a father, and his little so-and-so hasn't been sleeping well - and as any parent will tell you when the little one isn't sleeping, nobody sleeps. There is, however, a little more to tell after the events of the brat's birthday party. Our underworld contact was able to provide the location of our intended target and also threw in a bit of intel for us. Turns out the target has both a suicide mechanism and a mind wipe to be used in case of attack. On a side note. One of my team members, Uusul, was acting a little funny around the underworld figure. Maybe he has had a past history in the underworld that he hasn't revealed? Anyhow. No matter how well defended someone thinks t...

Where is the boundary between human and machine when the differences between the two become more philosophical than physical? Episode 2 A new model multi-pedal tank has been hacked by an unknown assailant and breaks out of the military compound. Section 9 is called in to stop the tank, which appears to be heading into suburban Tokyo. Section 9 first try and stop the tank through brute force, but any attempts to target the tank with their satellite-linked weapons is useless as the tank can simply hack the satellites to throw their aim off. Togusa interviews the tanks co-designer, who eventually caves in and reveals that the tanks primary designer, who recently passed away, requested that his mind is placed into the tank. He further reveals that the tanks designer hated his parents, whose religious beliefs forbade him from seeking the medical treatment he needed while still alive. With this information in hand, Section 9 assume that the tank is heading to the parent's h...

"What exactly is the definition of 'human' in a society where a mind can be copied and the body replaced with a synthetic form?" Episode 1 Section 9 is requested to assist in a hostage situation. Cybernetic geishas have been hacked and are holding a key military figure and the Minister of Foreign Affairs hostage. In a fantastic action sequence our protagonist, Kusanagi, storms the building and takes down the geishas. She also manages to hardwire herself into a geisha and find the source of the hacking. After a chase scene, Batou apprehends the hacker, but before he can be questioned he burns out his memory. Back at HQ, the military reveals that the Minister of Foreign affairs is being investigated due to his interest in a report detailing the steps the military would take in the event of a national crisis. The military had granted the request but had posted an agent to follow the Minister just in case. There is an interesting exchange between Kusanagi ...

This is the first time I have read anything by Mieville. Having read excellent reviews of his work I have high expectations. A short scan through his  Wikipedia profile  provides an insight into his Marxist political ideals, particularly as it relates to international law and relations. In brief, Mieville considers international law in capitalism as a sham and a cover for the ‘real’ international law – the law of the jungle.  Armed with this knowledge, I picked up a copy of China Mieville's collection of short sci fi stories,  Three Moments of an Explosion,  last night. Instead of reviewing the whole collection, I thought I would instead review a few of the stories contained in the collection in a little more depth. I will choose stories that I, subjectively, think best highlight what I believe the author is trying to achieve with his work. The first story I will review is the first and eponymous ‘ Three Moments of an Explosion’. In  Three Mom...