Thigmoo

by Eugene Byrne

At the University of Wessex, Sir John Westgate and Dr Katherine Beckford have used computer power to create over 200 fictional characters from all periods of history, known as "erams", who respond to questions as a real human being would. With such a wonderful idea, something is bound to go wrong.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

Published June 7, 1999

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/306301.html[return][return]ThiGMOO is about a set of artificial intelligence computer personalities, based on fictional historical constructs, created as part of an academic project. When they are threatened with being closed down and eliminated, they rebel, and plot to take over the world. (The title referes to an Old Labour cliche, This Great Movement Of Ours, which becomes the code word for the AIs' sanctuary and battle plan.)[return][return]I really enjoyed this book. But I'd be very surprised if it was even slightly comprehensible to anyone who either knew nothing about or never found anything to like about the old-style Labour movement in Britain. Like Kim Stanley Robinson, Eugene Byrne wears his heart on his sleeve. Like Charlie Stross and Ken MacLeod, he is dealing with the politics of liberation combined with the consequences of artifical intelligence. But the tone here is gentle satire rather than Robinson's earnest endeavour or the Scotland-based writers' dazzling visions. His targets include earnest academic pagans, readers of and writers for the Daily Mail, old-style communists, New Labour, the President of the United States, mail order brides, the electronic media in general, and soap operas in particular.[return][return]The book is effectively an admission that it would take the intervention of rogue computers to put matters "right". I am just about old enough to remember a time before Thatcher, and Eugene Byrne convinces me to suspend my vague memories of the awful mistakes of the Wilson and Callaghan governments for just about long enough to find some sympathy with his vision of a world that now can never be. Fun, as long as you can cope with the cultural context.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of artificial personalities are created by historians to be part of a Museum of Mind, but they acquire sentience, escape into the world's computer networks, and decide they need to destroy capitalism to keep themselves safe. On the plus side, the book is a fun read, with interesting new ideas, surprising settings and situations, and great characters. On the down side, the opening scene shows an artificial personality in the physical world, which does not fit with anything in the rest of the book, and the last sentence of the book includes a crude image which left me with a bad taste. But the many great characters and the good-natured tone throughout the book make me forgive its weaknesses.

[Marcus Wallis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A range of interesting ideas - government by computer, artificial life and societal revolution - delivered with optimism and a 'Monty Pythonish' sense of fun.

This book was an unexpected treasure which had been sitting on my shelf for years.

[Steve Scanlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir John Westgate and Katherine Beckford are the major force behind the Museum of the Mind, an interactive computer program that teaches history. They, along with others, have created a number of characters/personalities that are meant to represent people of particular ages.

Some of these computer generated people or erams have escaped into the world's computer networks where they get up to mischief. The erams at MoM wish to pursue greater independence and when they learn that they are about to be shut down, they plan to escape and establish themselves elsewhere.

The story is told by one of the erams, Myles, who recounts events to Sir John. Myles was programmed to be a hack pornographic writer, but intends to publish the flight of the erams as his first serious work.

I found this to be a very enjoyable and humorous story. The pursuits of the characters, both real and virtual, were a pleasure to follow and Byrne's sense of humour made ThiGMOO, his debut novel, a constant delight.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever and very funny