Post
by random240 » Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:54 am
Sorry, but this is one of the worst stories put out in a while.
At first glance, the story being set in the future, the mechanical man, indeed even the steam engine that was referenced from which the story draws its name are all irrelevant. The former two, being set in the future and the android, simply give the main speakers (and minus a couple words every few minutes, the only speaker) a starting point for his 'what about next year, what about ten years from now, what about a hundred, what about a thousand' etc etc dialog up to the universe ending. I actually had to listen to this story in two parts it got so monotonous. I immediately thought of the first part of episode 200, Asimov's The Last Question when it appeared the entire story was going to be spent being pedantic about people saying "forever" instead of "so long its incomprehensible"
To me perhaps the lowest part was the speaker's stepping off point when he says something to the effect of "I'm going to be brutal here Jack, you're probably not going to live to be 83, you don't have my advantages" /which are?/ "good genes, I chose my ancestors well'. I can't remember if it was just a poor joke (you know its bad when an author doesn't right in laughter to their own jokes) or a reference to a different line about him being genetically engineered, but regardless it isn't mentioned again. He goes on to detail how cells seem programmed to die, so frankly his reaching senior citizen age seems more like luck next to the modular intelligent machine man who "defiantly" wants to live.
Swanwick's entire argument that the mech won't live forever, or even 80 some odd years apparently, is based on the assumption that eventually he won't be able to get replacement parts for himself any more. That's it, the extent of his reasoning. Its entirely undercut by the very lines he dismisses when the 'granddaughter' mentions seeing a car and he responds that it might still be around but isn't used for transportation anymore. So what? People, intelligent beings, have to have a purpose and have to keep doing those purposes until perpetuity? The cars in the story aren't used any more because something better was invented. In the real world take today's WW1 era biplanes or the fact that we didn't stop breeding horses when we stopped needing them for labor. When someone has a deep love and care for something, they figure out how to keep it around. Here (the mech) is a piece of technology that cares about itself, and moreover theoretically could live forever given a supply of parts. He's splitting hairs, reasonably, given the length of time that is forever, but if he's going to be an ass about it why not be an ass right back.
On a personal note, perhaps most significantly, Swanwick is dismissing synthetic modular life because it's physical body will be rendered obsolete without considering the idea of a transferable brain, consciousnesses, or at the very least that the mech man will be able to plant his head on a newer up-gradable body down the road. In fact, to me, an entity not tied to a body seems like a much more simple way of designing an immortal than the truly immortal and evolution-capable perfection that he apparently built, sitting at the table with them, one that apparently will never ever be improved upon or replaced (?!?). But I digress.
Upon completion and review its even worse. He's not convincing the mechanical man that he's not going to live forever, he's simply detailing what the future will likely hold for the true immortal sitting at the table with them. Convincing the mech that he's not going to live forever is simply a side effect of making it (painfully) clear how unimaginable the far future is, which kinda makes his whole thought processes moot at best. Nothing he said might come to pass, and/or his perfect invention/granddaughter could break down the next day. She may not in fact last 80 years, or may not last a million billion years which in this context is the exact same thing. For all his you're-not-going-to-live-forever attitude, early on he says something like 'some people try to live forever through their children'. To say that is in fact his intention in all actuality would be quite the understatement. Mr.-pound-the-table-while-saying-you-don't-give-up wasn't lying.
Furthermore, take the story from the mech's point of view, if he didn't realize that the conversation wasn't about him. This is the guy who designed him to be immortal telling him, at great length, he's not going to be. Given that its set in a bar I couldn't help but think of a drunk father telling his son he will never amount to anything. If the mech did realize the entire conversation was actually about the girl, and given that she is also designed by him and will live forever, its like a drunken father telling their son they'll never amount to their sister.
Also, how bout the random throwaway line about the android being sexist for being taken aback about the idea of a female immortal, and the old man verbally smacking down his 'granddaughter' for pointing it out. The old man clearly engages the question in earnest like its something people haven't thought of, and then to top it off tells the mech its okay to be sexist (if its true(?)) and makes her apologize to him (!!!) for actually saying anything, not the mech. When was this story written? Wiki says 1999. I was kind of taken off guard by the 50's era society, especially when the 'granddaughter' mentions "having a husband or a wife or two". Gay marriage and polygamy are okay, but only men can live forever apparently.
@Unblinking, I think the napkin eating at the end was supposed to be the hundred foot tall neon sign flashing "THIS IS THE IMMORTAL WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT" for everyone that hadn't caught on yet based on the early line in the story discussion about how you would make a better immortal, that they should be able to absorb what they need from their surroundings (which the granddaughter expands to include drinking alcohol), and what's she doing? Eating things from her surroundings and washing them down with booze.
Mike Boris didn't do a bad job, he voiced the three (well four with the drunk at the beginning) characters, but they had not a single inch of range between them. The closest any came was the drunk at the beginning, the rest was a barely modulated conversation. Not his fault, just not somewhere to showcase one's skills. I don't recall a single sound effect or note of music.
Not impressed by the story, not impressed by the podcast, very armature all around.
