When a robot wants to be human. “SI” – book review

What is LitRPG?

Before I move on to discussing AI , it is worth devoting a few words to the author himself and to the genre of LitRPG. Let’s start with Mr. Wartanów. He is Russian by origin. He was born in Moscow in 1964 and moved to Canada after thirty years. He wrote his first science fiction stories back in the 1980s. Even then, he predicted the development of technology in the future and it must be admitted that many of his visions actually saw the light of day. So far, none of his books has been published on the Polish market. SI is therefore the author’s debut in our country.

Stepan Wartanov is also considered one of the precursors of the genre called LitRPG. As you might guess, it is a combination of literature and games. And it’s not about books based on games like Diablo or World of Warcraft . We have here a combination of classic narrative with system messages. Just like the data about the hero or the statistics of a given item is displayed on the computer screen, we get similar information in the book. By the way, while reading, we follow the development of the hero similar to that of the games. He gains new levels, achievements, and new enemies to defeat stand in his way. So far, most of the titles belonging to this genre come from Russia.

Four robots and a man

It is very difficult to summarize the plot of the AI . It has a lot of plots and lots of characters. The leitmotif, however, is that four robots strive to become human. Until now, they were used in the army, where they were used to test various weapons. They didn’t like the role very much, especially when they realized that sooner or later they would be destroyed and scrapped. So they hijack a helicopter and flee the base, and then stay in hibernation for nine years, thus eliminating the pursuit. After that, they end up with the unlucky rabbit farm owner and cyberpunk all rolled into one, Bob. It is he, along with his colleagues from the Internet, who will try to teach our AI how to be human.

The task is not easy. Our metal heroes only understand what is put into their system, they often misinterpret words, have no emotions or human reflexes, and cannot understand many things. Meanwhile, near Bob’s house, four drug dealers chose to rest, and quite by accident and for another purpose, a couple of FBI agents were sent to the same area. In addition, a group of children is staying in the nearby forest. When a sixteen-year-old computer genius arrives, inadvertently blocking the airport and thus taking down the National Guard, real chaos ensues.

You need to focus

As you can see, we have a lot of threads in AI . And so I only presented the most important ones. Of course, they are all related to each other. Therefore, when reading, you need to concentrate very much so that you do not miss something and do not get lost. In addition, the author often introduces descriptions in which he explains various concepts in his own way. For example, more than a page is devoted to chaos theory and half a page to fries and coffee. This makes it even harder to focus on the plot. Fortunately, the book is divided into three parts and a dozen or so short chapters. Thanks to this, reading goes faster, and it is easier to take a break or find a fragment that we missed somewhere.

The biggest advantage here, however, is humor. Wartanov shows us the future and the world in which machines should facilitate human life in an extremely funny way, but they do not always come out as we would like. It is also impossible not to laugh when Bob and other Internet users try to explain to AI how human works, and they rework it in their own way. A series of random events that eventually come together has also been presented hilariously. Personally, the style and manner of narration at times reminded me of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , which may prove how well-written this book is and how humorously the fate of the characters is presented here.

Summary

SI is a very good book and certainly a successful debut by Stepan Wartanow on the Polish market. It is not an easy title. To understand what the intricate plot is all about, you have to really focus. The descriptions posted by the author are at times too long and may break the rhythm. Fortunately, the light style of writing and humorously presented fate of the characters balance this situation. It is worth noting that this is not a classic representative of LitRPG, but it certainly belongs to this genre. The title should appeal to fans of games and science fiction, as well as provide every reader with plenty of reasons to laugh.