(Near-Future SF) Ethan gets an AI reconstruction of his dead wife. He can’t touch her, but just being able to see each other and talk should be enough. Right? (3,396 words; Time: 11m)
Rating: ★★★★☆ Amusing, Thought-Provoking, and Warmhearted
"The Last Dance," by Jack McDevitt [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 11-12|17, published on October 19, 2017 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Ethan isn’t the real protagonist in this story. It’s Sophie, who realizes she’s doing more harm than good to him and Sarah, and eventually replaces herself with the sort of person Ethan needs more: his mother.
It’s nice that the story foreshadows this at the very start when the guy from Celestial Communications tells him “The system will do an ongoing analysis of conditions in the household and will respond accordingly . . . You might even come down some morning and find yourself waiting to give you some advice.”
Con: The story implied that a great deal of data was collected on Olivia in order to create her imitation. How did it create Ethan’s mom without that same data?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|17)
Jack McDevitt Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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It’s nice that the story foreshadows this at the very start when the guy from Celestial Communications tells him “The system will do an ongoing analysis of conditions in the household and will respond accordingly . . . You might even come down some morning and find yourself waiting to give you some advice.”
Con: The story implied that a great deal of data was collected on Olivia in order to create her imitation. How did it create Ethan’s mom without that same data?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|17)
Jack McDevitt Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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