The Jacobs Project: In Search of Pinocchio

Symbiosis #0.5

by Samuel J.M. King

The SYMBIOSIS introduction

The mid 22nd century… It is in many respects a world we would recognize. Like our own, it’s a world with instantaneous, worldwide communications, computers of ever increasing sophistication and permanent human occupancy of outer space. But it is also a very different world, a world in which a project started a century earlier by famed cyberneticist Irwin C. Jacobs, has solved the riddle of “artificial intelligence”. Determined to fulfill his lifelong dream of creating a cognitive entity, Jacobs forges ahead in 2047, daring to face the mockery of his colleagues, one of whom even accuses him of acting out Geppetto's dream.

The Jacobs Project, the introduction to SYMBIOSIS, tells the story in a series of vignettes of those who came after him, bringing his dream to fruition and changing our world forever.


SYMBIOSIS - The Series:

Introduction - The Jacobs Project: In search of Pinocchio

Book 1 - Tales of the Symbiont Safety Patrol (each title also available separately)
.The First Angry "Man" (published by Damnation Books) *
.Helen
.Confidence Man
.The Pleasure Palace
.Growing Pains

Book 2 - Naught Point Naught

Book 3 - Love with the Proper Hologram (coming in June 2013)

Book 4 - East of the Sun and West of the Moon (coming in 2014)

* Although The First Angry 'Man' is the first story in the sequence, it must be purchased separately on Amazon. The author apologizes for any inconvenience.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 2013

About the author

Samuel King was born in Boston, Massachusetts, grew up on the “South Shore” and attended high school in historic Plymouth. Tired of school at the tender age of seventeen, he joined the Marine Corps and after basic training, spent the next eighteen months—you guessed it!—going to school. A stint at the Naval Communications Training Center in Pensacola, Florida was followed by nine months at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California studying Russian. He spent the remainder of his four-year enlistment in Japan.

After receiving an honorable discharge, he attended a computer programming school and spent a number of years in computer applications, first as a programmer and then as a systems analyst, designer and project leader. Later, he traded in his application’s hat for a more technical role, becoming a field software support specialist for Digital Equipment Corporation, the largest of the late, great mini-computer companies. After moving to New Hampshire, he studied Computer Engineering Technology at the New Hampshire Technical Institute and went on to design and program computerized industrial control systems for companies across New England.

Having written a prodigious amount of technical documentation, he began to write fiction in 2003. In addition to Symbiosis, he has written a screenplay, as well as several other novellas and short stories. He currently resides with his wife Donna in the heart of New Hampshire’s “Lakes Region” where he is working on the final novel of the Symbiosis series: East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Reviews

[Midu Hadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free, in exchange of an honest review, from Making Connections. Get your copy here.

What I liked:

the inclusion of enough "science" to make it sound authentic

how the author was able to make me feel sorry & afraid for Helen

the conclusion was satisfying

that the time of lapse within the telling of the story doesn't feel rushed

how it seems natural that the invention of sentient beings would lead to sexbots (not the term used in the novella) and their exploitation

I'd like to read more by this author and hope that the full length novel would be as good as this short novella.

What I didn't like:

the salesman!

Also reviewed at:
Shelfari
Amazon

[Eliza Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story we meet Helen, a sentient, or artificial intelligent unit. We begin to understand that there is more to these created 'units' than just hardware and software. They are feeling, living beings that are exploited by the very people who created them.

A great read.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good:

Succinct: Mr. King packs a whole lot of content into a small space and he does it really well. The story spans about 8 years, but it doesn’t feel rushed. You just kind of pop in at important times to find out how things are progressing.

Sci-Fi Goodness: This story is about AI and how the world would react to developments in this science. Sure, it’s something that has been done before, but Mr. King does it very well. It actually seems like a reasonable prospect and [creepily] almost exciting (though terrifying too). It’s just techy enough that you believe what’s going on, but not too technical (so those of us with less scientific minds can follow along).

The maybe not so good:

NAMES: There were a LOT of characters for such a short story and all of those characters have names.I had to flip back quite a few times to figure out who the heck was involved in a scene (this may just be me) and if I’d met them already.

Final Thoughts: This story is fantastic. It manages to discuss technical developments, social issues, and human nature in the matter of a few pages. Mr. King has a talent for sci-fi and I would seriously recommend his Symbiosis Series to anyone who’s interested. I know I will be reading more of these stories. Soon.

[Rosver · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an introduction, this is very successful. It piqued my interest and make me want to read more.

However, I know that often the introduction surpasses the body introduced in quality, whether in speeches or books.

I hope the following books defy my expectations.

[Michael Mullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Intriguing throughout. Should be a full-length novel. Keep going with it!