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Science fiction authors, by their nature, spend a considerable amount of time contemplating the future, specifically a future defined by new technological developments. Yet, in the imagination these speculative realities seem far off and distant — possible futures that may or may not come to fruition.

But as I watched this latest demonstration of OpenAI’s Future One robot in action I couldn’t help but get a sense that I was looking at the Avatron character from the opening pages of Enigma (The Belt Book Four). A robot so advanced, and almost beyond imagination, that it requires an entire chapter to itself.

Now, here it is. The future has just arrived!

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