True Names. . . and Other Dangers

I usually don't enjoy short stories, but I made an exception for this book because I had heard good things about True Names. Vinge does an amazing job of character/plot development in each of these short stories. The common theme of "singularity" is explored in each.

"True names", predates this pseudonymous age, by twenty years, but it seems remarkably current. Vinge, predicts and anticipates a lot of technology, and I am looking forward to neural browsers! Perhaps more important, is the ethical question of whether one that avoids the temptation of self interest, should be trusted .. indefinitely, even if in a non-physical form? There is some talk about making this into a film, so that would be exciting!The "Apprentice" is perhaps most significant for its collaboration, with then wife, Joan Vinge. The piece "The Ungoverned", is the connection between "The Peace War" and "Marooned in real time" (the "Across realtime" edition includes that story). Vinge's introductions are a delight in themselves, and the way he approaches "the singularity" (a particular state of technological self awareness) from different angles is thought provoking.

Science fiction fans should be very impressed with this collection of five stories by Vernor Vinge. The real standout is the title story, "True Names", a uniquely imaginative piece that cleverly combines the magical conflict of the swords and sorcery genre with modern high-tech computers. In the world of the not too distant future, virtual reality technology has completely replaced contemporary operating systems so that talented computer hackers can virtually live in a pseudo-magical realm called the Other Plane. The very best are effectively sorcerers who can mold their reality in any way imaginable, at least until they break the connection and return to the real world. In order to avoid reprisals, they only need protect the secret of their true names. Against this backdrop, a brilliant sorcerer is recruited to hunt out the mysterious new destructive force known as the Mailman, who seems to be using the computer realm to gain power in the real world. But in a universe where nothing is as it seems, how can he tell who are his friends and who are his enemies? This is a fascinating piece of speculation that seems more and more plausible every day.The other strong entries are "Bookworm, Run!" which features a chimpanzee whose mind has been experimentally augmented with a computer hookup, and "The Ungoverned" which shows private security agents trying to fend off an invasion in a United States that has been decimated by nuclear war. "Bookworm" is primarily a long chase, as the terrified chimp tried to escape his captors before they can punish him for the terrible crime he's committed, while "The Ungoverned" covers one key battle of a potentially major war. Both stories are heavy on action and excitement, but present some interesting ideas as well. Less successful are "The Peddler's Apprentice", in which a traveling salesman sets an angry young man on the path to greatness, and the tedious "Long Shot", which seems little more than a setup for the clever ending.These stories are fast, easy reading with plenty of action, and should be eminently suitable for younger readers, but adult fans of science fiction will also find this a superb collection.

In 1981, vinge published the book that conceived the cyberworld that exists on the internet today. Software bots, node-hopping, 3D chat rooms, warez, avatars, a hacker underground...they are all here....and were described in this book before IBM sold its first personal computer. I am amazed at Vinge's ability to see the future. ...or, as I believe, he created the future by giving a generation of computer programmers the vision to build what he saw. True Names is a feast for the imagination. I set the book down many times while my mind reeled with extrapolations of the ideas he wrote into his story. The characters are richly developed. the climax was terrific.Read this book if you can find it. Remember when it was published (14 years before Neuromancer). I have bought 5 copies. But over the years, friends have 'liberated' 3 of them. This book is a prize.

Want to know the future of the human race? A lot of authors explore the future and make it gripping or entertaining; Vinge explores the future and gets it right. True Names is a story of amplified human intelligence. Intelligence determines the rate of technological progress. Once technology is used to amplify intelligence, a positive-feedback loop of enormous power is created. No mortal can ever write of that future - but Vinge creeps up on the edge of human history and shows that Something lies beyond. This is the story that introduced the Vingean Singularity of SF legend: "Every time we consider the creation of intelligences greater than our own... extrapolation breaks down and new models must be applied... the world will pass beyond our understanding." The Singularity is seriously projected, by Ph.D.'d folk, to occur around 2030. And in my opinion, it's that or nuclear war. Choose. Be ready. Read this book.