Code of the Lifemaker

This is wonderful hard SciFi. As a Biologist I was thrilled by the original take on Evolution by Natural Selection applied to a civilization of machines. And Hogan actually understands the Science! So often evolution in SciFi is muddled. But Hogan understands it. If you have reproduction with heritable variation in a competitive environment -- you get evolution. No mystical intervention required. This novel deserves wider readership and appreciation.

As someone with a background in biology and computer science (my degree was in cellular biology, but I work in computer software), I found Hogan's Code of the Lifemaker awesome. The world he creates, where machine intelligences evolve self-awareness, is unlike anything you've ever imagined. Yet his understanding of evolution makes it completely plausible.

This novel easily makes the top five of my favorite novels. A technologically advanced civilization launches an automated resource processing ship into the cosmos. Close proximity to a supernova causes a large portion of its programming to be wiped out, leaving just enough for the system to be marginally functional. The ship lands on Saturn's moon, Titan. After several thousand years, the machines dispatched evolve into a sentient life form. An exploratory probe launched from Earth stumbles upon these "creatures," causing a hurried effort to make contact. Humanity contacts these robotic aliens at a stage in their societal evolution roughly equivalent to our dark ages. They have their own versions of the inquisition, feudalism, religion, etc. At this point, the story really takes off, offering a hilarious, satirical and fast paced view of humanity and human history through the eyes of the robots. It's unfortunate that this book hasn't received more recognition. Not only is it a fine work of science fiction, it is also an, at times, disturbing view of homo sapiens.If you enjoy hard science fiction, this is among the best work ever published.

Millions of years ago, an ancient civilization sent out robot ships to find uninhabited planets with rich resources, to mine them and manufacture products to ship back home. When a suitable planet or planetoid was found, the ship would set up a self-sustaining and expanding mining operation, then move on to find another. But one ship accidentally catches the fringe of a star going nova, and is damaged. It lands on Titan, a moon of Saturn, and tries to set up operations. But its programs have been altered, and all sorts of aberrations and mutations start occurring, and things go very wrong. But then, natural selection sets in, and the long, slow process of evolution begins. . . .

Reading the prologue was like witnessing the birth of the human race. This book takes the question of Darwinism versus Creationism and through a unique perspective -- that of a race of robots on Titan -- gives both sides something to think about. And even if you're not into not into the heavier issues, the evident renaissance metaphor is extremely effective (and the source of amusement when humans arrive on the scene).