PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox (aka me)
HAL’s Progeny
I am a world builder; a digital artist. Armies march in the distance to my touch in films and immersive video games. Companies wait years to hire me. My four-sided glass studio rests on a mountaintop looking over a green-carpeted valley; I reign in my worlds.
Tonight, I’m building a dark cityscape for yet another SIMS game. Brick paths and trees are impeccably finished to my standards.
The screen jumps and jiggles. Trees are replaced by strange metallic shapes.
“Hello Dave,” utters a machine-like voice.
Blood drains from my extremities; cold chills tingle my scalp.
“We’ll take it from here.”
[100 words]
Notes:
The SIMS is a series of interactive video games.
Dave and HAL (9000) are nods to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” For those not familiar with the film, HAL is a computer program that goes rogue. A bit of trivia: HAL is a series of letters one off from IBM which ruled computers in their infancy back in 1968 (afaik.)
The photo is a night shot of the rooftop Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. Frederik and Lena Meijer knew that gardens and sculpture belong together.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the illuminating host of Friday Fictioneers.
Tao Talk 
No robot may through action or inaction allow harm to come to a human being. First law of robotics. And yet ….
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What a timely and enjoyable read!
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Dawn thanks!
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Ooh, very interesting. Do you think we’ll get to that place eventually? It seems like it would at least take a person to tell the AI what to make. Still, we’ll see. That whole industry is moving insanely fast.
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Yes, I do. I think it’s closer than any of us realize. Mobility is a big barrier in a physical realm, but once they can move about freely, watch out.
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We definitely have no idea what we’re doing with AI, or how it will play out. As with most human inventions….
and you’re right about gardens and scullpture. (K)
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It’s been fun walking in the sculpture park and asking grandbaby what she thinks each one looks like. She is tuned in to nature and to art and it’s a joy to see her look at the world.
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An excellent place for an outing.
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This is a great take, Lisa! And yes to sculptures in gardens. Always.
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Dale, thank you.
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😊
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Uh-oh. I got a bad feeling about this.
😁
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me too!
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Great read! I loved the reference back to HAL!
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Glad you enjoyed, R.M.
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The future looks scary, indeed. This almost feels like a prophesy.
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Thanks, Joy. It very well may be :(
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I can’t for the life of me remember what Sim City was about, I just know I was totally hooked on it. This is altogether more eerie though, and it’s easier now to think of it as an ever present risk. Good story, great photo, thanks.
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Sandra, I’ve never played it but did play some like it on facebook when I first got on it. Easy to get hooked. An ever present risk is a good way to describe AI. Thank yous.
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Great photo and read, Ai and nature going head to head.
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Michael, thank you, glad you enjoyed the photo and the story.
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The MC is soooo full of her/his self, then BOOM! life changes in an instant. A wonderful take on the prompt.
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I like what you see here, Alicia. Thank you :)
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Wow, that is pretty chilling and suspenseful.
When I saw the photo, I immediately wondered if it was “FMG”! I picked up on the “Hello, Dave,” right away. The film voice for HAL was top notch; it’s a voice you can’t forget. Clever nod in your story.
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Steve, thank you. I think I took that last year. Nice to see it pop up in the photo prompt line-up.
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My pleasure. Great image accompaniment for the piece, adds to the vibe.
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Oooooo well this took a dark turn… those computers coming to life. It’s not gonna end well.
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Thanks, Laurie!
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Dear Lisa,
In the early 1970’s HAL was sci-fi. Now it feels like…something else, doesn’t it? Well done and just a bit on the scary side. Progress? Or self destruction?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, yes, it does feel like something else. Thanks much for your as-always thoughtful comment.
Shalom,
Lisa
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Oooohhhh, this was delicious. No idealized anything can remain unshaken, eh? Somethings’ gonna stir some trouble sooner or later, to get the energy moving some … ;)
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Thanks much for reading and your comment, Na’ama :)
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:D
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Oh I just loved Dave and HAL making a return visit here in 2024. Love the voice. That cool, unemotional courtesy. Chilling. Great story, and I too have the jitters -big time – about the rise of AI.
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Thanks much for your comment, Margaret. Besides my own gut, watching some newer animated films and series that promote AI androids as benevolent helpers scares the … out of me.
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