Randolph Runner

2020-10-15
 |  Fiction
Randolph Runner

Author: David Dvorkin

Publisher: David Dvorkin

ISBN:

Category: Fiction

Page:

View: 505

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Butler, warrior, moral philosopher, robot. Randolph is all that and more. Randolph is the prized product of Superior Domestics, a Silicon Valley firm dedicated to producing robot servants for people who grew up watching British period costume dramas on PBS. The company’s motto is, “All the gracious living of Upstairs with none of the unseemly drama of Downstairs.” When the novel opens with the assassination of King Donald II and a coup d’état, Randolph epitomizes that motto. He is calm, quiet, supremely competent, always in the background, and never interfering. He is a mere witness to great events. He is focused on supervising his staff and properly running the household of General Henry Redgrave, architect of the coup and would–be power behind the throne. But Redgrave’s ambitions go far beyond standing behind the throne. He wants to be king himself, and eventually an emperor. Using the crazies of the Hundred Star Flag movement, he begins his intended wave of southern conquest at the Mexican border. Others have similar ambitions. Anton Moravec, president of a unified, revitalized, and aggressively expansionist European Union, is at war with Russia. His ally, China, is eating up Russian territory at the other end. India watches nervously. Two beautiful women, natural enemies, are the objects of passion of both men. Lurking in the background are the surviving members of the Trump family, scheming to get back into power. War! Romance! Sex! Skulduggery! Artificial Intelligence! And lots of other stuff, too. It’s all really terribly complicated. Randolph, whose personal motto is, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” could probably organize all this and bring about peace and quiet, but what human would knowingly hand that much responsibility over to a machine? In fact, unthinking, humans have already done so. Increasingly, autonomous machines have taken over tedious duties such as transporting cargo, performing minor surgery, and blowing away trespassers. Randolph is aware of these machines but looks down on them. He and his fellow robot servants are true artificial intelligence, but the digital brains operating these other machines are merely very advanced computers. In Randolph’s opinion, they only simulate AI. However, those other machines have thoughts of their own. As the world descends further into chaos, Randolph is drawn in, ever less the observer and ever more the participant, until at the end he is the very center of all.

Code of Federal Regulations

1977
 |  Administrative law
Code of Federal Regulations

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: UOM:39015022708385

Category: Administrative law

Page: 804

View: 786

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Special edition of the Federal Register, containing a codification of documents of general applicability and future effect ... with ancillaries.

Big League Baseball Puzzlers

1991
 |  Baseball
Big League Baseball Puzzlers

Author: Dom Forker

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

ISBN: 0806973374

Category: Baseball

Page: 132

View: 791

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These challenging game situations have stumped players, managers--and even umpires! Some are real and some are hypothetical, but each of these 40 tough calls is in the megaleague rule book. There are dozens of great drawings, too.

The Big Book of Baseball Brainteasers

2004
 |  Baseball
The Big Book of Baseball Brainteasers

Author: Wayne Stewart

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

ISBN: 1402713371

Category: Baseball

Page: 292

View: 657

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The challenging puzzlers presented here will have you playing armchair manager or umpire; reading about strange, unusual, and trick plays; and matching up quotes with the people who originated them.

Honor and Slavery

1997-11-02
 |  History
Honor and Slavery

Author: Kenneth S. Greenberg

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9780691017198

Category: History

Page: 192

View: 737

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The "honorable men" who ruled the Old South had a language all their own, one comprised of some obviously outlandish features yet revealing much about the lives of masters and the nature of slavery. As Kenneth Greenberg skillfully demonstrates, the language of honor embraced a complex system of phrases, gestures, and behaviors that centered on deep-rooted values--asserting authority and maintaining respect (deserved or not).

Runner's World

2008-03
 | 
Runner's World

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN:

Category:

Page: 136

View: 904

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Runner's World magazine aims to help runners achieve their personal health, fitness, and performance goals, and to inspire them with vivid, memorable storytelling.