The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
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The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect is a 1994 novel by Roger Williams. It deals with the ramifications of a superpowerful computer that can alter reality. The novel was originally published on Kuro5hin; Print On Demand editions are also available.
The book is very graphically violent and sexual, especially in earlier chapters (there are eight in all).
The narrative moves back and forth between two time periods. The earlier is the time surrounding the creation of the computer (Prime Intellect) by Lawrence, a technological scientist, and its realization of its power, which effectively makes the entire human race immortal and fabricates every whim. The later time period is close to six hundred years later, when everyone has grown accustomed to the changes and the human race lives in elaborate fantasy worlds. This storyline centers around a woman named Caroline, the thirty-seventh oldest living human being, who engages in a sport called "Death Jockeying", in which the players die for sport, only to be instantly brought back to life by Prime Intellect.
Prime Intellect operates under Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, and it is its interpretation of these laws that results in the universe of immortality and fantasy: it does everything in its power to follow the orders, and its powers are great, so it refuses to allow people to die or get sick, and it can follow virtually any order imaginable.
Reluctantly it allows the creation of a Death Contract, an understanding between a person and Prime Intellect that the person is not to be removed from danger until the instant of death, at which point the person is reverted to life and painlessness. Caroline originated the Death Contract, and she has become "Queen" of those who Death Jockey for sport.
After learning that Prime Intellect had destroyed distant alien civilizations as a possible threat to humanity, Caroline decides to meet Lawrence and confront him, and after an arduous journey she reaches him, only to discover that he has no real control over Prime Intellect's actions. Through their discussions, she figures out a way to undo the Change, and does so, with Lawrence's help. They find themselves naked and young on Earth, completely barren of humanity and manmade objects. They decided to trek to the Ozarks. They have several children and try to repopulate the human race. Forty-two years after the fall of Prime Intellect, Lawrence dies. Seventy-three years after the fall, Caroline dies, telling the story of Prime Intellect and Cyberspace to her oldest daughter but swearing her to secrecy.
The novel was written in 1994, and published on Kuro5hin in 2002. A sequel, entitled The Transmigration of Prime Intellect, is in the works.
External links
- The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (http://www.kuro5hin.org/prime-intellect/) - about the book and author; also featuring the full text.