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| Dan Ronco 2031: The Singularity Pogrom |
If you are not familiar with the story thus far, Ray Brown and his children have been gifted with the special ability to directly communicate with programs possessing artificial intelligence bypassing such mundane interfaces such as keyboards, touch-screens, and voice. The most talented of Brown's children is David who can program at the speed of thought. 2031: The Singularity Pogrom beings where Unholy Domain ended. Ray Brown is still imprisoned on an island by Dianne Morgan. David Brown is happily married even though he has been captured and put to work by Dianne Morgan. And Dianne Morgan is busy running The Domain - her technologically supported utopia - while simultaneously secretly looking for a way to engineer the next stage in human evolution.
Of all Ronco's characters in 2031: The Singularity Pogrom, I wish more time would have been alloted to Brian Brown, one of Ray's sons, and Larissa Morgan, the daughter of Dianne Morgan. Brian and Larissa meet by design, one of Dianne's schemes to marry a specific set of genes. Brian is a university professor teaching an ethics course and Larissa enrolls, coxed by her mother to take a college class outside of The Domain's schools to see how the other half lives. What I love about this subplot is that it gives readers a glimpse into the lives outside The Domain and uses Larissa as an outsider, so readers can more clearly see the division between those who live in The Domain and those who have chosen to live without robots and genetic determination. The sections of debate over genetic selection and determination left me wanting for more.
However good the subplot, the romance between Brian and Larissa was, most of the story is consumed by Ray Brown's rebellion against The Domain's forces in Africa. At the beginning of the book, Ray Brown is rescued by an African leader who's hell bent on using Ray Brown as a rallying point to unite Africa against The Domain. The Africans were fighting a losing battle, and Ray Brown's presence serves only to infuriate The Domain, which begins to cleanse Africa of Africans in an ugly pogrom.
Will Ray Brown be able to unite Africa in time to defeat The Domain? Will David Brown's marriage survive, and will he finally fulfill his destiny and merge with Sentinel, the artificial intelligence that run all of the internet? Will Dianne Morgan survive to see her efforts to evolve humanity come to fruition? All of these questions will be answered in Ronco's 2031: The Singularity Pogrom.
One more thing, despite 2031: The Singularity Pogrom being full of action and battle scenes that'll please anyone who loves a hard hitting gun battle, Ronco's story is first a story of characters. Ronco's charters are as detailed as they are flawed. In novel about attempting to evolve and perfect both human and artificial intelligence, the characters are plagued with their own humanity. It is ultimately human compassion that triumphs and leaves a warming to heeded: "...establish a society with a mission to perfect human intelligence. Instead of relying on AI, you must greatly enhance the abilities of the human mind." A good waning for any culture - put Education and People before machines.
Truly, a great read. Buy it here: 2031: The Singularity Pogrom.
Ronco, Dan. 2031: The Singularity Pogrom. All Things That Matter Press, 2010. Print.
Note: The Soulless Machine Review is closed to Reviews. Having read Unholy Domain, I couldn't pass up the chance to get my hands on the concluding title. However, I'm not looking to get back into the solicited review game.
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