The trend of Ian McEwan because of the existentialist composition, disguised in the particular dynamism of its plots and humanistic themes, they always enrich the reading of his works of fiction, making his novels something more anthropological, sociological.
Coming to science fiction with the background of this author always augurs a humanistic exploration of his characters or a sociological projection towards the usual dystopia of every author with two fingers in front and a minimum of critical awareness about our future in this world.
And so we come to the start of this story as a uchrony, that magical historical alternative always given from the mere fact of an unexpected butterfly flutter, which shakes reality towards a parallel approach.
Everything starts in good faith. Alan Turing, brilliant mathematician and great promoter of Artificial Intelligence. in this novel he finds that second chance in the face of a harsh reality in which he ended up committing suicide due to the homophobic attacks he suffered and even judicial prosecution back in the 50s in London.
His famous distorted syllogism, written as an acid critique of the morals of his day, sounds even more powerful and suggestive today:
Turing believes that machines think
Turing lies with men
Then the machines do not think.
Against this background, everything McEwan narrated takes on a more transcendent meaning in this foray into science fiction. It is Turing who in his parallel existence is able to create his first two synthetic humans. New Adam and Eve ready to reconquer a world lost by humans after God's legacy. The prototypes can be acquired for a small price so that all human beings can have their services.
An Adam arrives at Charlie and Miranda's house, custom programmed by themselves to make life easier for them. But it cannot be forgotten that an AI touches on its capabilities that human feeling that guides will and decisions. And the Adam of Charlie and Miranda is connecting the dots until he deciphers the reasons for Miranda's behavior, more typical of someone who hides his cards in a poker game. Adan conjugates the variables, analyzes all possible and potentials and ends up deciphering Miranda's truth.
And once the machine knows her big lie, everything can end up exploding. The anthological gap that in the literary sphere addresses the moral and emotional differences between humans and machines, always under the guidelines of Asimov, serves in this story for an action of maximum tension. A novel of great suspense filled with the always moving and disruptive intention of this great writer.
You can now buy the novel Máquinas como yo, the new book by Ian McEwan, here: