The Lifecycle of Software Objects

Very cool ideas make this worth the short read. (The illustrations are fantastic as well.) I have loved Chiang's short stories for their minimalism, but this novelette reads more like an outline for a longer book. I kind of want Chiang to flesh more out here, so it wasn't as enjoyable a read as the other stuff of his that I have read.

3.5/5
Former zoo-trainer Ana is given a unique opportunity in the meta-verse, raising digital pets with the moniker Digients who are powered by Artificial Intelligence. We also get the viewpoint of Derek, a visual designer on these cute beings who are initially products to be sold and played with in online worlds.

What grows from this initial start-up experience is a true love and attachment to the pets, as well as all the real troubles of running a business and maintaining personal hobbies. I thought this was one of Chiang's strongest character works, as both Ana and Derek have believable lives and motives that shift over the course of the narrative as obstacles arise. This is likely due to the fact that The Lifecycle of Software Objects is Chiang's longest work to date, something I could unfortunately feel throughout my reading experience.

There was also a lot to take in technologically here, with quite a few different developments that each have multiple outcomes. The story is also unafraid of exploring a whole range of growing experiences, questions and products. However, a short story is short and not everything can be properly explored here. Whilst I appreciated Chiang's emotional through-line, it leads to a somewhat heavy-handed and didactic conclusion that leaves the rest of the world's storytelling and discussion potential untouched.

I have to admit I loved how the Digients and their competitor counterparts developed, with Marco, Polo, Jax and others all wearing suits and exploring the tactile nature of the physical world before slowly but surely learning to read and possessing independent thinking concepts that shape a unique worldview. I found the central message of the story much more digestible after reading Chiang's Story Notes afterwards, which explains how robots/ AI can learn certain things at “hot-house”/ fast computer-only speeds, but will likely always need to undergo experiences including making and living with life-consequences to properly be free-thinking beings.

Just utterly beautiful and hugely thought provoking.

I read this about five years ago when it was first published in an online magazine, and it has stayed with me since. I really should reread it, but it is blazed into my memory as if I read it yesterday.

Both the beauty and thoughtfulness build slowly in a surprising fashion. What initially seems just another modern tech-inspired SF short slowly metamorphoses into something very special indeed.

It's not about technology, not below the surface, it's about what it means to be a person, what it means to care, and what it means to love another.