★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
(Military SF) The war has gone on for decades, with bots assisting the humans. But the badly-maintained bots are starting to ask what the point is. (3,255 words; Time: 10m)
"Tactical Infantry Bot 37 Dreams of Trochees," by Marie Vibbert [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 01-02|19, published on December 27, 2018 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.041 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The scenes of the bot operating in combat were very effective.
Con: The premise, that a company profits from the war and deliberately designed the bots to prolong it by ignoring ceasefires, is pretty silly. The ending, where the bots essentially “override their own programming” and become pacifist poets is equally silly.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Marie Vibbert Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The scenes of the bot operating in combat were very effective.
Con: The premise, that a company profits from the war and deliberately designed the bots to prolong it by ignoring ceasefires, is pretty silly. The ending, where the bots essentially “override their own programming” and become pacifist poets is equally silly.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Marie Vibbert Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Reminded me a tiny bit of Murderbot, but with a thing for poetry instead of shows.
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