Synopsis
A revolution is sparked by human interlopers who attempt to enslave Titan's robot race of the Taloids, unaware that the Taloid progenitors, awakened by the conflict, plot to destroy the earth
Reviews
In this somewhat humdrum sequel to Code of the Lifemaker, Hogan traces efforts of professional psychic/con man Karl Zambendorf and crew to protect the Taloids, a civilization of robots that has developed on Saturn's moon, Titan. The robots were sent to Titan over a million years ago by the Borijans, quarrelsome avians from the nova-threatened planet of Turle, who programmed the robots to find a world and build new bodies for their creators, who had stored their personalities electronically. Because of contaminated data in their computer system, the robots evolved and, by the time they were discovered by an exploratory mission from Earth, had developed a culture resembling much of Europe during the Renaissance. Meddling by Earth's political interests, however, brings the Borijans to life, prompting Zambendorf's crew to battle both to protect the Taloid nations from exploitation by Earth forces and to fend off the Borijan attempt to take over Titan and Earth. The dynamics here suggest Robin Hood-type adventures; the most interesting material describes how the Taloids became self-aware and developed their civilization.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Hogan's acclaimed Code of the Lifemaker (1983) introduced the Taloids, aliens who had settled their culture of self-replicating machines on Saturn's moon, Titan, and recently been discovered by earthlings. This book finds that the General Space Enterprises Corporation (GSEC), the Titan mission's overseer, has failed so far in its campaign to gain the Taloids' cooperation and technology for GSEC's own greater profit and glory but has unwittingly inspired the Taloids to substitute a new religion of brotherhood for their native creed of worship of their mythical creator, the Lifemaker. Then, when a Titan-based crew member is killed, GSEC, vowing to secure Taloid technology by force, sends in its military. What none of Earth's leaders or scientists suspects is that the Lifemakers (note the plural) are still present, watching the conflict through machine-based eyes. Although Hogan commits the literary transgression of making the subplot concerning the Lifemakers' origins more interesting than the main story line, his dazzling hard-science speculations on the seemingly endless possibilities of machine intelligence lift this sequel above the level of its predecessor. Carl Hays
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