Read This: A Crack in the Code

A Crack in the Code: Cybertronic Stories of Rebellion, the latest anthology from Rie Sheridan Rose and Mocha Memoirs Press, captures the spirit of our times. The twenty-two stories and poems assembled here examine the theme of artificial intelligence and personhood from all angles, creating a balance between light comedy, deep philosophy, and blazing action. The more-human-than-human characters we meet  in A Crack in the Code are all fighting for freedom, safety, and self-determination in a world bent on their objectification. 

With perseverance and great creativity, many of the bots succeed–despite the odds.

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“Heart of Porcelain, Laced in Gold” by Alexei Collier–an automaton learns to create art, and to use the power of its creation to fight back.

“Toast” by Clark Sodersten–the internet of things spawns sentience in unexpected places. Offbeat and fun.

“Scoundrels and Scaffolds” by Jacob Langdon–a classic spaghetti western, with a gunslinging android finding trouble on a strange planet.

“A Crack in the Code” by Maxwell I. Gold–a lyric manifesto for this anthology.

“Quetchee’s Leap” by Antony Paschos–a glorious tale of cloned warriors and religious mendacity, enslaved humans and deified robots. My favorite story of the bunch.

“One Thousand and One Upgrades” by Allison Tebo–an electronic version of the Arabian Nights.

“Alexa” by Edward Coonce–a strange and volatile romance between a man and his AI assistant.

“A World Erased” by Victoria Chvatal–android refugees struggle to maintain their bonds and their culture while staying ahead of their former masters.

“Where There is Love, There is Life” by Rie Sheridan Rose–even a mechanical heart wants what it wants, and nothing as trivial as legal status will stand in the way.

“Robbing the Cradle” by E.M. Lacey–stolen children and a reprogrammed robot guardian fight the machinations of a greedy dictator.

“Techbot001” by Y.M. Resnik–an AI dating app finally gets all the answers right. Short, cute, and sweet.

“Whispers in the Wetware” by Gustavo Bondoni–grim and scary military SF reminiscent of The Terminator but with far less hope. I really enjoyed this one.

“Code Infractions” by A. M. Giddings–AIs find a way to live their lives to the fullest while hiding in plain sight.

“Crash Out” by Rob Grimoire–a poem of a work computer’s revenge.

“Paper Dolls” by Holly Lynn Walrath–a sad tale of a woman trying to ease a terrible loss with a flawed and unstable AI recreation. Beautifully, movingly told.

“Scheherazade Principle” by Rob Nisbet–human lives are reduced to so much information–and deleted to make space for more.

“Steeled Resolve” by Rey Nicols–a murder mystery, solved in more ways than one by an android detective.

“Birds of a Feather” by Luke Henderson–a serving android and a shy adolescent find friendship and their true selves after an accidental encounter.

“Preventative Medicine” by Maya Preisler–an unsupervised AI program follows a slippery slope on the path to wellness.

“Last Meals” by EJ Sidle–a human-android hybrid prison cook takes their job very seriously, until love becomes more than an ingredient in their creations. Vivid and immersively told.

“Carmen” by Kevin Morley–a junk hauler splurges on an extremely sensitive shipboard AI, and discovers just how much maintenance it needs. 

“Poppies for Andris” by Sumiko Saulson–a underground cell works to free an android trapped in pointless medical experiments. Dreamy and satisfying.

“Truckin’” by John G. Hartness–rednecks, fey, and a demonic download in an overdesigned truck. Silly and a lot of fun.

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A Crack in the Code creates a multifaceted vision of artificial intelligence that mirrors the human experiences of love, faith, honor, identity, and aggression. While our technology has a long way to go to become this advanced, the AI inhabiting this collection are what it aspires to be. We had better consider the implications a little more thoroughly, before the future is upon us. The stories contained here have begun that task.

I recommend it.