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The Logical Solution

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Billy is not happy. He should be. Statistically speaking, everyone is happy. Robots do all work, everyone is paid equally and enough to live well and do what they like – usually watching TV and playing videogames with their virtual suits.
Billy decides to take a walk outside, and realises something was missing from his life. As he tries to travel farther afield, however, he discovers there are problems with his way of life, and the Artificial Intelligence program which now runs things for humans has come upon a solution – the logical solution. Is Billy part of that solution? Does he have a choice?

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

David J. O'Brien

28 books1 follower
David O'Brien is Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and University Professor of Faith and Culture at the University of Dayton. He has served as President of the American Catholic Historical Association

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Profile Image for Cathy Geha.
4,348 reviews120 followers
September 1, 2020
The Logical Solution by David J. O’Brien

“Every dystopia was someone’s idea of utopia.”
~ Mallory Van Hoven ~

William “Billy” Coldfield lives a rather solitary life engaging with friends online but rarely in person. He has started to feel there must be more ~ he is experiencing the glimmer of an awakening but is not sure where it will lead. His friends question his decision as they are content as they are. Will Billy find what he is looking for and if so, what will he find?

What I liked:
* Billy: a young man that wants and needs more and is willing to search to find it.
* The walks Billy takes. What he sees and thinks and experiences as he walks further from his home will change his life.
* The discussion Billy has with Phaedra and how it impacts his life.
* The look into what could happen in 2018 if life were to progress as this author imagines it.
* The people Billy meets and aligns with – four men and four women that see the world in a similar manner and are not sheep. (Annabel Sanz, Mallory Van Hoven, Philip Chen, Sarah Ortiz, Simon Papadopoulos, Shameeka La Sante, Levi Rooney, Trevor Embutu, Eneko Smyth.)
* Thinking about why the nine were different and what lives they might have lived before the story began.
* The creepy logic that AI has used to come up with their “solution” for the world.
* The starkness of the story
* The glimmers of light that came through as Billy began to truly see what was outside his door – the birds, plants, ants and more.
* That in the darkness of the solution there was a hint of light that might mean some would find a positive future.
* That this story made me think about what it would be like to live in the world Billy found himself in. Would I be one of the sheep or…not.

What I didn’t like:
* The coldness of the cyborg-robot caretakers and the solution they came up with.
* Knowing that if humans don’t change the way they treat the earth then the outcome of this story could easily come to be…if not exactly…at least in some part(s).

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

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