The Colossus Trilogy (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: D. F. Jones
- First Published: 1966
- Type of Work: Novels
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—artificial intelligence
- Time of Work: The second half of the twenty-second century
- Setting: Primarily the United States of North America and the Soviet Union
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Future, Nuclear warfare or weapons, Computers, Soviet Union or Soviets, Artificial intelligence
- Locales: United States, Soviet Union
The Plot
Charles Forbin, a scientist about fifty years old, is the mastermind behind Colossus, a computer built to react automatically to nuclear aggression against the United States of North America. The country’s president is eager for the computer’s activation despite Forbin’s own misgivings of its potential. A similarly concerned colleague suggests that Frankenstein (1818) should be banned reading for scientists. Forbin replies that it should be required reading for nonscientists.
The president’s announcement that the nation’s nuclear defense is now...
[The entire page is 1498 words long]
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