THE PINOCCHIO CHIP

In Moskovitz’s SF novel, a continuation of his Brink of Life trilogy, a humanlike robot in the high-tech future becomes a fugitive.

In an advanced future society, a female-presenting robot named Photina is connected to the family and extended circle of Marcus Takana, a man lured into a conspiracy by elites to extend lifespans and achieve immortality via technology. These intrigues were foiled, thanks to an Oregon-based hacker enclave and journalist Lena Holbrook (and, in part, to Photina). A domestic automaton, Photina is classified derisively as a “SPUD” (Sentient Processing Unit and Sentient Processing Device). The Takanas cherish Photina as an equal, but “human supremacist” agitators and politicians rally against her kind and oppose attempts to grant SPUDs legal rights and recognition. The demise of Photina’s mentor (who had spurned immortality) stirs feelings of grief in the robot, but, during the burial, Photina almost attacks Marcus’ daughter, Natasha Takana, despite Isaac Asimov’s Rules of Robotics (“a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, cause a human being to come to harm”) being hardwired into her. Subsequently, Photina experiences turbulent visions and memory gaps as deadly assaults are carried out on both Holbrook and an anti-SPUDS crusader. Photina logically decides laws of robotics permit her to flee the household for everyone’s safety. The fugitive robot meets a sympathetic SPUD called Drew who helps remove Photina’s malware and find answers to who may be manipulating her. Many readers have gone down this road before via SF grandmasters like Asimov and Brian Aldiss, following the conflicted travails of machines verging on human. A tight page count and a terse narrative voice lend a quick pace to the plot’s twists and surprises but also mute the story’s emotional resonance and leave little time for worldbuilding (do not expect detailed explorations of tomorrow’s New York City or Washington, D.C.). Fairy-tale ingredients from sources including Pinocchio and The Velveteen Rabbit are telegraphed by the title and effectively enhance the narrative. Disquietingly, the author credits the online AI called ChatGPT4 and Autocrit software as collaborators.

A succinct SF yarn tackling longstanding genre themes of machine-life and consciousness.