Paper Man

by Tom Jolly

Clank is a sarcastic, too human robot AI, built in a time where the rights of robots as self-driven thinking entities are still in question. But Clank is exposed to a bizarre table-top game that seems to have its own form of Artificial Intelligence, a mind of its own, an AI so strange and unique that it inevitably becomes an ally in the robotic fight for rights in a human society troubled by their independence.

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2014

Reviews

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novella. Very Good (~4.4 stars). There is a faction that is against granting AIs rights, so when Clank meets the Sentience Review Board the outcome is no surprise. A human friend introduces him to the Paper Man game. The game was designed to create a new organism. The Church of Children of God are offended by this attempt to create life, much as they despise robots and AIs.

There are lapses between the chapters, generally tough to pull off, but Jolly is able to retain continuity. Well done. Clank is likeable and funny. Having read The Ruby Dice, where quis is a game played all over Coba where strategies affected the world, it was easier for me to conceptualize Paper Man being able to evolve.

[Richard H Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and Awesome

The core conjecture that forms the meat of Paper Man is both startling and inevitable, especially coming out of Jolly's Bougie cerebellum.
Loved it even more on reread.