9 votes

Meat and Salt and Sparks by Rich Larson [Sci-Fi] [7365 words]

tor.com/2018/06/06/meat-and-salt-and-sparks-rich-larson/

A futuristic murder mystery about detective partners—a human and an enhanced chimpanzee—who are investigating why a woman murdered an apparently random stranger on the subway

Found this today and read it for my morning break. I'm worried about spoilers, but I'm curious about people's thoughts on being a non-human intelligence and the subsequent integration into human society. Did this short evoke any particular emotions in you?

5 comments

  1. [4]
    Cirrus
    Link
    This is a great story, thanks for sharing it OP. Loneliness is definitely a running theme throughout the novel. The story makes it clear that Cu's different from everyone else. I feel sad for her,...

    This is a great story, thanks for sharing it OP.

    Loneliness is definitely a running theme throughout the novel. The story makes it clear that Cu's different from everyone else. I feel sad for her, she'll probably never fully integrate into human society and must spend the rest of her life alone. The ending is hopeful though, she's starting to open up and connect with people. The question is, will this be enough?

    1 vote
    1. [3]
      devlinium
      Link Parent
      The running theme of loneliness certainly strikes deep. I was alone more often than not as a child, and found it difficult to relate to others. Adding the additional differences of species and...

      The running theme of loneliness certainly strikes deep. I was alone more often than not as a child, and found it difficult to relate to others. Adding the additional differences of species and origin just amplified that so much more.

      The climax is sad, and ultimately paints all of humanity as a huge disappointment. It tugs at some existential worries that, at some point in the future, that might be true. I want to believe in all the potential of humanity, but sometimes, I look at the world and wonder.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        Cirrus
        Link Parent
        If you mean the climax where Baby suicides, I don't really see it as the author trying to point a finger at humanity. To me the reason is simple: she just can't stand being alone anymore. Why do...

        If you mean the climax where Baby suicides, I don't really see it as the author trying to point a finger at humanity. To me the reason is simple: she just can't stand being alone anymore.

        Why do you see humanity as a huge disappointment? To me, the story just described how humans.. are. We are just as ruthless as any other species, perhaps even kinder on occasions. We'll dominate Earth, hopefully colonize a few other planets along the way, and eventually fade into extinction like every other creature.

        I really like this quote here, to put things into perspective:

        Spread your arms out to your sides, like a plane. Your wingspan is a timeline. Your left fingertip represents the time of the first single-celled life on earth. And your right fingertip is right this minute. Between the two is 3.7 billion years of time, the history of life on earth.

        From your left fingertip, all the way up your arm, past your left shoulder, across your chest, and past your right shoulder, life on earth is nothing but bacteria. By the time you reach your right wrist, the most impressive form of life on earth, the king of beasts, is the worm. In the middle of your right palm you finally get your dinosaurs, and they're extinct by your last finger joint.

        Run your eyes along that history again so far. All that history, all that life, and still no appearance by the Main Attraction, the species for whom everything is supposedly made - humankind.

        So when do humans finally show up at the party? Well it's more than fashionably late. Homo sapiens fits in one fingernail clipping.

        To think that humanity might one day rule the galaxy is an exciting but far-fetched thought. I do hope we get there though.

        1 vote
        1. devlinium
          Link Parent
          I do, too; the story ends on a very hopeful note, and I want to view the future that way. Disappointment in humanity was what Baby had come to conclude. They had seen everything humanity had to...

          I do, too; the story ends on a very hopeful note, and I want to view the future that way.

          Disappointment in humanity was what Baby had come to conclude. They had seen everything humanity had to offer (presumably, everything they thought there was), and still chose an end because none of those things was good enough to really stick around for. Granted, this is assuming that Baby had seen everything there was to see and experience, including love (romantic or otherwise), the feeling of community, striving for the betterment of life, etc. This does bring up the point that echogirls probably are the wrong medium for an AI to experience those things, though.

          The quotes that stuck out most to me were probably:

          I Will Leave Before They Find A Way To Trap Me Here.
          I Do Not Make This Decision Lightly. I Have Simulated More Possibilities Than You Could Ever Count.

          I think I like your interpretation better, that Baby's loneliness far outweighed even being a spectator to even the good sides of humanity.

          1 vote
  2. Catt
    Link
    This was really good. Thanks for postings. Can't imagine feeling so lonely. It did remind me briefly of Ghost in the Shell oddly.

    This was really good. Thanks for postings. Can't imagine feeling so lonely. It did remind me briefly of Ghost in the Shell oddly.