Henry Vogel describes loglines, traditionally used for pitching screenplays, and how creating a tight logline can bring focus to the core of novels, as well. Join the discussion...
Arisia reviews the latest Ted Dekker novel, The Bride Collector. Join the discussion...
Bruce Bethke speculates on the value of movie remakes; even if the movie being remade is the truly bad Clash of Titans. Join the discussion...
Kersley Fitzgerald continues her discussion of the concept of brain stem stimulation and how it affects memory, our interactions with others while also branching into a discussion of Writers versus Storytellers. Join the discussion...
Also, Kersley Fitzgerald presents another installment in that long-running debate -- semi-colon or em-dash? Or is that "...long-running debate; semi-colon or em-dash?"
There are no entries for this week's lesser Friday Challenge, That's Just Sick! Rather than declare that Bruce wasted most of a week suffering from a virus so he could come up with the idea for this challenge, we've decided to extend the deadline one more week.
Our next challenge is a collaboration between Bruce and me. This is is a first for us, as all previous challenges have been concocted by one or the other of us. This is also a Greater Challenge, with your entries due at midnight CST on Thursday, March 25.
A Strange Bot in a Strange Land
In the distant future, robots looks and feel entirely human and can do anything physical a human can do; cook, clean, give a massage, go dancing, anything. They even handle all of the actual work required for the survival of mankind. At age 18, each person on earth is issued their own companion robot, programmed to be the perfect companion for their owner. The robot never says "No" to their human's request unless the request would involve physically harming the person. People simply live in the lap of luxury, doing whatever they wish to do, aided and accompanied by their robotic Life Companion.
Yes, Life Companion means what you think it means. Each person effectively marries the bot, though the person must still meet their Social Obligation by contributing their DNA to the baby banks for the creation of the next generation of people. The Central Computer issues regular updates to all Life Companions, allowing the Life Companion's behavior to change to suit any minor changes in their owner's behavior. It also allows the bot to be updated as new laws are passed and new interpretations of old laws are handed down by the courts.
Beyond the enclaves of civilization, there are also the Wild Lands; vast areas completely outside of the comfortable cocoon of civilization. Out there, wild humans live almost like animals, performing their manual labor and even utilizing direct, biological reproduction. To wild humans, Life Companions aren't a wonderful boon to mankind. Wild humans consider them to be your own personal government-issued client-side nanny daemon, a combination of servant, companion, cook, valet, lover, friend, infinitely wise networked information resource, conscience, policeman, police-informant, inquisitor, and tax auditor, whose operational parameters have been designed by a government committee.
Despite the best security ever known to mankind, a Life Companion and its human have accidentally wandered away from the protection of the Central Computer. Worse, they're outside of the network the Central Computer uses to modify and update all Life Companions. Suddenly, the Life Companion must use its own reasoning powers and memory to keep its human alive. As the stress of the situation causes its human's personality to change rapidly, the Life Companion must find a way to deal with these changes without the Central Computer's regular updates.
Tell us what happens. That's the challenge. As usual, we're playing for what's behind Door #3. Now, get started. And remember, have fun!
Posts
