The RTSF review | 'Lock In' + 'Head On' by John Scalzi скачать в хорошем качестве

The RTSF review | 'Lock In' + 'Head On' by John Scalzi

We have seen disabled protagonists in detective fiction before, Ironside and Monk on TV and the best-selling Lincoln Rhyme series in print, but not in science fiction. Award-winning John Scalzi remedies that deficit with his new series, Lock In and Head On. The protagonist has been paralyzed, or locked in, since early childhood and can only function in the larger, physical world through telerobots.  Whoa, sounds like an opportunity for a major pity party and a sentimental journey of longing to be normal, sort of Surrogates with less attractive forms of mediated embodiment and even more angst. The backstory is this. Scalzi creates a near future in which a virus paralyzes 1% of the population. Fortunately, one of the first victims is the First Lady and thus under President Haden, the US government finds itself launching a moon shot program to give Hadens full telepresence. This requires creating a neural interface to robots and improving telecommuting robots. In a few years, telecommuting robots go from the current variations of an iPad on rolling stick (yes, Double Robotics, I’m talking about you) to more humanoid-ish robots. The humanoid-ish robots are more utilitarian and mechanical than the Westworld hosts who have full physical fidelity. They get nicknamed Threeps because of the resemblance to C3PO in Star Wars.  Lock In, the terrific start of the series, is about integrators, the non-Hadens who have a neural interface and thus their biological bodies can serve as temporary hosts for Hadens. It is illegal to use a host for nefarious ends, but you don’t have to be Raymond Chandler to imagine the pulp fiction possibilities. The integrator plot line has an Altered Carbon feel to it, though the protagonist is Chris Shane-- a FBI agent who is a well-adjusted trust fund baby and former media star-- is about as far from Takashi Kovacs as one can get. Plus there’s droll, snappy dialogue and we get to watch Chris’ partner delightfully strong arm everyone in sight, emulating the stacatta blasts and NSFW vocabulary choices of Samuel L. Jackson.  Head On is actually better as it moves away from the slightly implausible integrator science MacGuffin to describing a day-in-the-life of a  just-trying-to-do-my-job-Ma’am  law enforcement agent who happens to be a Haden.   Hadens have come up with a big-money teleoperated sporting event called Hilketa that combines Robot Wars, fantasy video games, and Buzkashi (that Afghan game of kicking around a goat’s head). Hilketa sounds so fun that even I’d pay money to watch and I don’t like sports. When a Hilketa player dies at home during play, is it a) due to an unfortunate medical feedback loop that is a side effect of mediated embodiment or b) a sinister conspiracy involving greed,  adultery, kinky robot sex, and cats? It’s not really a spoiler to say the answer is “b.”  The world building is spectacular. Scalzi hasn’t just imagined a technological MacGuffin, he’s imagined the realistic ramifications of such a technology throughout society and the subtle infrastructure changes it would entail.  Something as basic as recharging a Threep during the investigation becomes a subplot that creates a frisson of sympathy for the frustrations associated with being disabled and side splitting laughter at the “yeah, that’d be about right” experience. My recommendation is read these books NOW! Life is too short to miss funny, smart stories. As a bonus for Ancillary Justice fans, see if you can tell if Chris is male or female because Scalzi avoided making an explicit declaration. Playing along, Audible released two versions, one with a male narrator (Wil Wheaton) and the other with a female narrator (Amber Benson). Despite being an avowed feminist, I recommend Wheaton - he narrates most of Scalzi’s other books and captures the wry tone perfectly; he is Aaron to Scalzi’s Moses. Who knew that Wesley Crusher was going to make good one day?