The Camille by Colby R Rice

Format: Kindle
Rating:  4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the final novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

In 2054, tech genius and AI mogul Andrea Daanik Ramoni has decided to step down as CEO of DeFTek because her husband has divorced her for one of her own creations, a sex-bot. But when the sex-bot asks for her assistance, then proceeds to do away with both Ramoni and Andrea in a murder-suicide, everything is over. But is it? Unknown to Andrea, some, known as The Camille, have taken her work and improved on it. But there’s a storm coming, and who will fight it?

I just loved Colby’s vision in this story. From the AI and robot advancements to sentient nanobots with a will to live (that really made me chuckle), there’s a whole lot of science fiction in here. And a very real story with danger lurking around many corners. A real roller-coaster ride, and clearly a lot more where it came from. Excellent stuff.

Melting Shlemiel by Jason Werbeloff

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the third novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

In the year 2054, Shlomo “Shlemiel” Menachem, resident of Jerusalem and member of a conservative Jewish sect, lives inside a shell, a personalised safety Bubble and something all humans in Jerusalem have (from what I could tell), that he was put into following his bar mitzvah. Being a clumsy individual, this transformation came as something of a blessing to his parents, but it still causes problems to Shlemiel. Communication is via some type of morse code that is either thrummed through thrummers located in the knee region, or by tapping on the other person’s carapace. Food – energy – is obtained by firing weapons of various types at the carapace – which presumably then converts the kinetic energy into energy the body can utilise. The only place the shell recedes is in the synagogue, when the devout step into a pool of water.

One night at Shabbos, a stranger enters an overflow pool at the mikvah – Shlemiel is the only other person in that pool – and Shlemiel is drawn to the “otherness” of this person. Some days later, Shlemiel comes across the stranger again, and follows them to a red door. What lies behind the red door?

Oh, there is so much to this story. From finding a solution to the “bubble-wrap” generation’s issues to taking current life in Jerusalem and fast-forwarding some decades, Werbeloff has created a really inventive future. His portrayal of the vulnerability created when one does something one perceives to be wrong was spot-on, and I appreciated his sensitivity to diversity and the need to bring together rather than divide. Shlemiel is a very endearing character, and this story was a delight – both from the human perspective as well as the technological advances envisioned.

The Memory Hacker by JT Lawrence

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the second novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

It’s the year 2054 and Talia lives a quiet, mundane life. Required to go for a standard medical checkup, she does so. Everything is fine until the AI examining her indicates that she has had children. The problem is, she has no recollection of ever having had a baby. Vacillating between believing the AI is malfunctioning and wanting to uncover the truth, Talia must follow the trail of breadcrumbs. But where will it lead her?

No, I don’t give spoilers, but I will say that I loved this vision of a future South Africa. Already a dab-hand at creating a grungy dystopic hi-tec future vision for the region, Lawrence adds a new twist to her repertoire with this story. And it’s good. There were surprises around many corners in this story, and a whole load of heart. A lot of fun was had here.

Deep Ocean Blues by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the first novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

It’s the year 2054 and fossil fuels are scarce. So the world turned to thorium, an atomic fuel that is non-weaponisable. Below the waters of the Bay of Bengal, some four kilometres down, are the rigs of the Bay of Bengal Corporation, an Indo-China concern, busily mining the thorium-containing monazite deposits. Unfortunately, an automated system above a certain size requires a human presence. Enter Parul Anand, human operator of Rig #443. 3D-printed on the rig while her real body is put on ice Topside (or is it?), with brain patterns transferred, and extra mechanical arms installed. Speaking of which, I never uncovered the reason for the extra mechanical arms, except their role as stabilisers after a hard night’s drinking was clearly illustrated. Maintaining the rig along with her is an army of cephalopods – octopuses, to be precise – called OctoPods and given unit numbers as businesses are wont to do, who have been bioengineered for their maintenance role – able to receive and follow instructions, and carry out basic repair and maintenance tasks.

In this cyberpunk vision of the near future, Wijeratne explores the relationship between humanity and nature, as well as that between humans and AI. I really liked the underwater setting, and the envisioned technologies used in the story. Especially the way in which current technologies are utilised and extended within the setting. In some ways, the underwater setting of this story reminded me of The Abyss. A lot of fun, with some dark elements too. And a very endearing octopod.