Evie is created in 2091, seventy-two years from the time of writing. For certain there will have been fundamental breakthroughs by then, transforming science fiction into everyday fact. Bioengineering, perhaps the next frontier, will surely be generating new substances and structures to far surpass the humble limits of traditional materials.
Artificial intelligence will fuel this, with AI entities sharing and learning and then harnessing that knowledge to improve upon themselves in a virtuous loop. It is fiercely debated among scientists whether these entities will ultimately achieve ‘consciousness’, and what even that means, but from their inception they will be capable of independent analysis and decision making, the usefulness and safety of which will be completely dependent on how well their goals are programmed.
Such entities of course do not require a human-shaped shell, and in many ways such a structure would be limiting. On the other hand, a familiar exterior, a mirror unto ourselves, would facilitate interaction and the commercial applications are more than obvious, indeed they would be screaming out to corporations like Realhuman.
In The Actuality, the lowest of such devices are the mannequins collected by Maplin, designed to assist humans but limited both physically and intellectually. Above them are advanced service models, such as the assistant David and Evie encounter on the train, programmed to perform repetitive tasks with dexterity but not to go further. Above them are the so called AABs – Artificial Autonomous Beings – able to operate independently, the most sophisticated of which are physically indistinguishable from humans. At the top of the pyramid are those AABs which have had the opportunity to develop human-like thought processes and the associated messy baggage of conscience and morality. These are the legacy of a braver time, before a global crackdown. Very few still exist. Some of those that do are in private hands, as Evie is at the start of the novel, some are corporately owned like David and some, like Yuliya, having outlived their original owners, survive below the radar.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, thanks to Joanna Swainson, my agent, for believing in me and making this possible.
Thanks to everyone at Sandstone Press and in particular my super-talented editor, Kay Farrell, who always knows what is needed and has a nice way of asking.
Thanks to my friends and family for being patient over the years and have read my previous work. You know who you are and I know who you are!
And of course thanks to Mary and Thomas – who have had to put up with me talking about all of this for far too long and have been so enthusiastic about my success. This is my dream come true.
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Copyright
First published in Great Britain by
Sandstone Press Ltd
Willow House
Stoneyfield Business Park
Inverness
IV2 7PA
Scotland
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © Paul Braddon 2021
Editor: K.A. Farrell
The moral right of Paul Braddon to be recognised as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN: 978-1-913207-16-8
ISBNe: 978-1-913207-17-5
Cover design by Heike Schüssler
Typeset by Biblichor Ltd, Edinburgh