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A review by silentcat7135
Meat and Salt and Sparks by Rich Larson
5.0
This story was intriguing, thought-provoking, and ultimately heartbreaking, all in a very small package. A little cyberpunk world-building, an ethical minefield of animal experimentation, and the ache of a form of loneliness the depth of which none of us can fully experience. I teared up at some of Cu's, a neutrally enhanced chimpanzee, memories and again at the ending of the story.
Oh, and it's also a murder mystery. Cu works with the police department.
We've barely scratched the surface, in our human hubris, of understanding the baseline intelligence of other species, even among our closest ape cousins let alone other highly intelligent species which may have substantially more different ways of thinking...cetaceans, cephalopods, corvids, etc.
I suspect Cu will stick in my mind for a long time.
Also, on a lighter note, "meat and salt and sparks" now ranks right up there with "ugly giant bags of mostly water"* as a description of us in all our organic, biologic glory.
* The description of humans as "ugly giant bags of mostly water" comes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Home Soil, a humbling assessment indeed.
Oh, and it's also a murder mystery. Cu works with the police department.
We've barely scratched the surface, in our human hubris, of understanding the baseline intelligence of other species, even among our closest ape cousins let alone other highly intelligent species which may have substantially more different ways of thinking...cetaceans, cephalopods, corvids, etc.
Spoiler
And, of course, we may, intentionally or accidentally, create an AI that blows past the Turing test, which comes into play late in the story.I suspect Cu will stick in my mind for a long time.
Also, on a lighter note, "meat and salt and sparks" now ranks right up there with "ugly giant bags of mostly water"* as a description of us in all our organic, biologic glory.
* The description of humans as "ugly giant bags of mostly water" comes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Home Soil, a humbling assessment indeed.