Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

Equal to Hyperion, perhaps in many ways even better. Well-paced, intricate in detail and provocative. I listen to a weekly podcast called “Skeptics Guide to the Universe” (winner of the best science podcast in 2010). They covered a news story this past week about federal legislation to introduce an “internet kill-switch” as part of a package to protect the U.S. from cyber-based terrorist attacks. The thought is that since many basic services and components of our national infrastructure are now dependent upon an intact internet, the executive branch should have the ability to shut down the internet so that it may not be commandeered by an enemy force (ostensibly to protect key national security systems like the defense department, nuclear reactors, communication systems, and so forth). There is much debate since bringing down the internet may precisely be the goal of an enemy. They also discussed its feasibility. Since there are hundreds/thousands of service providers, it would necessitate getting a sizeable proportion of them cooperating in order to bring the system down. The Farcaster system in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion novels was created and is maintained by the Artificial Intelligence core (“AI” or “AI Core” or “Technocore”) created by man many centuries earlier. Now an independent sentient entity, the AI/Technocore advises humans and maintains much of the technologic infrastructure of man’s existence. No one knows where the Technocore physically exists (and to reveal that here would ruin a nice part of the story) and one part of the dramatic tension in the story is the search for it. The story of the internet kill switch reminded me of the ubiquity of the AI core in Simmons’ story. I’m not a big science fiction reader. I’ve read Dune, some Asimov, Revelation Space (see earlier post) and some others a long time ago. These Hyperion novels are more than your garden variety science fiction. They are well-crafted philosophical exercises that are germane to our current world. Well worth the read. Oh, and did I mention the Shrike? Quite a creature. Enjoy.