Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Rover, by A.T. Sayre

[Analog]
★★★☆☆

(Robot SF) Against all odds, the little Mars rover keeps exploring and collecting data, even it has been many years since anyone on Earth responded. Then it detects a radio beacon not far away on the surface. (6,029 words; Time: 20m)

Recommended By: πŸ‘STomaino+1 (Q&A)


"Rover," by (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in issue 03-04|20, published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Review: 2020.112 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: The best part about the story is the anticipation as to what went wrong on Earth. At each step of the Rover’s story, we learn more and more, leaving us more and more curious.

Con: The answer is a disappointing, hard-to-believe letdown. Why would the people on Earth (all of them) not even want the data?

Beyond that, the rover isn’t believable technology. Its ability to repurpose parts from other Mars problems defies belief, and it approaches its mission like a human being (e.g. being in a big hurry and cutting corners) rather than as a machine would.

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