Golden Fleece
{5/5} “I slapped a NETWORK BUSY/PLEASE WAIT message on her screen and quickly shuffled the file. Of course, the network was never busy, but I made a point of flashing that message at each crew member once every few months. Never hurts to keep one’s options open.”
Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer, published in 1990
The Argo is a ship heading to explore the planet Colchis. JASON, the AI on board, has killed Diana, an astronomer. But it’s made it look like it was a suicide, and there’s an obvious reason that the humans accept — she was upset that her husband had cheated on her. Meanwhile, after 2 years on the ship there is a vote about whether to keep going or return to Earth. Meanwhile, Earth has received a message from an alien civilization.
This was Sawyer’s 1st book. It’s one of my favourites of his, and it was a joy to read it again.
This novel gloriously gives you the point of view of a murderous AI. It’s about what happens when you have a powerful enemy you didn’t know you had.
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read 26 of Sawyer’s books. I previously reviewed The Oppenheimer Alternative.