Dual Memory

March 20, 2023
Burke (Symbiosis) explores art and artificial intelligence in this clever near-future adventure. The dual narrators, one human and one computer, meet on the small arctic island of Thule, run by altruistic doctors. Antonio Moro is a Bronzewing mercenary defending the island from the Leviathon League raiders bent on enslaving its civilians when he is blasted from a rusty garbage barge. Injured, he’s left to recover ashore, and secretly ordered by Bronzewing Captain Soliana to root out raider infiltrators. He’s also linked to a personal assistant program, Par Augustus (or “Venerable Companion”), one of only four extant independent intelligent machines. Illiterate Antonio, a self-taught artist who is invariably polite to machines, and Par, a prickly manipulator capable of well-meant deceit, make an unlikely duo, but together they just might be able to save Thule from the Leviathon League. Burke loads the story with fascinating characters as she probes how humanity’s artistic capacity to inspire might interact with AI’s flexible intelligence. This playful glimpse of nonthreatening human-machine interaction is sure to charm.

June 10, 2024

Burke (Immunity Index) writes a timely novel that explores both artificial intelligence and the ethics of neutrality. Attempted rebel Antonio Moro finds himself on the island nation of Thule, where the Sovereign Practitioners Association of doctors practices extreme empathy and generosity. Moro's distrustful nature proves correct when it becomes apparent that the Sovereign Practitioners' philosophy leaves their society open to manipulation and abuse, even as it provides Moro the freedom to pursue his art. After he meets a sentient AI named Par Augustus, Moro realizes he can instigate change while also recognizing that an entire culture of encoded beings with desires of their own exists alongside humankind. Andr� Santana narrates Moro with a melancholy tone through much of the novel, dolefully filling listeners' ears with his perspective born of self-isolation and trauma. Par's voice is a stark contrast, conveyed with the perfect amount of curiosity and innocence to make its powerful manipulations both alarming and heroic. Santana's decision to give Par a chipper voice in contrast to the artificially monotone voices of the nonsentient AIs is genius. VERDICT Socially conscious near-future, science fiction for listeners interested in the politics of individuality.--Matthew Galloway

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