“Pwning Tomorrow” by Dave Maass

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Rating: 4/5 Stars

Book can be downloaded from https://supporters.eff.org/donate/pwning-tomorrow.

An anthology of stories by various writers released by the EFF. The quality and themes vary a lot, but there are a few stories that stand out for being thoughtful looks at what a future with less freedom could be like. Stories I liked include those by Paolo Bacigalupi, Cory Doctorow, Ramez Naam, Hannu Rajaniemi and a long, sex charged story by Carolyn Jewel.

• “Be Seeing You” by Madeline Ashby: in an enclave, a woman who is tasked with being a bodyguard needs to be fitted out with sensors that reveal her whereabouts. But when she tries to help a friend who is in trouble, being caught in a situation where people can’t locate her will bring dangers.
• “I’ve Got The Music In Me” by Charlie Jane Anders: people are being punished for playing songs without paying the artist: even if the song is just one that plays in your head.
• “The Gambler” by Paolo Bacigalupi: when a coup overtakes Laos, and it drops off the internet, the refugees do what they can to keep in touch. In this story, a journalist from Laos who prefers to write environmental stories that few people read and is in danger of losing his job is given the chance to get eyeballs by interviewing a well-known Laotian. But will he use it to keep his job or will he keep writing what he wants, in an echo of his dissident father, still caught in Laos?
• “Slipping” by Lauren Beukes: set in a future where exoskeletons and bio enhancements are up for bidding, the story follows a girl from Africa who loses her legs in a running accident but is now given the chance to show off her abilities. But is it her running abilities on show here, or is she just a ‘product’ showing off her enhancements to the highest bidder?
• “The Smartest Mob” by David Brin: an excerpt from his novel, Existence, it follows a journalist who, while travelling on a floating dirigible, gets a chance to investigate a possible terrorist plot on it. But she will need the help of a networked smart-mob forming around her to help her investigate it.
• “Business as Usual” by Pat Cadigan: people may be told to do or not do certain things that may be bad for their health. But what if this is taken further and home appliances are the ones now telling you to stay healthy; and reinforcing it by monitoring your food intake (and output).
• “Scroogled” by Cory Doctorow: when Google run the Immigration services and gets to set what ads were displayed for your Google searches, Google Mail, etc. you better be careful of what you search for as one woman finds out. Yet, the story shows how easy it can be for people to rationalize their decisions, especially after a friend goes on the run for helping her to sanitize her search items.
• “Nanolaw with Daughter” by Paul Ford: in a future where terms and conditions are rampant, and you will get sued for not strictly following it, a man helps his daughter to navigate through the letters of demand for payment.
• “Changes” by Neil Gaiman: a story about a future when the cure for cancer can also do other changes on a person, leading to all kinds of social and cultural upheavals.
• “The Light Brigade” by Kameron Hurley: on a devastated Earth, one soldier in a war against aliens finds out that what he has been told about the war isn’t the truth; and that he has the power to not only end (or start) the war, but to also save numerous lives.
• “Declaration” by James Patrick Kelly: a group of students working together are tasked to put together a declaration of independence and to spread its message. But the message and its intent has deeper meanings to some students, for in a world where people can be physically or virtually present, some want to be independent of their physical selves.
• “Water” by Ramez Naam: in the future, access to implants comes with a price: ads that implore you to buy their product, unless you can pay for ad-free access. The story follows what happens when a malware causing product rejection is introduced into one company’s water product, leading to a world-wide free-for-all as other companies vie to win over that company’s customers (including its now unemployed salespeople).
• “Unclaimed” by Annalee Newitz: a story that starts out interesting but has an unsatisfactory ending. A private investigator is asked to search for an author who has hidden herself from the world. The search would end when the investigator finds the author in an altered state, and became murderous when the author discovers what the media companies have done with her books about altered biological beings. But what I find hard to accept is that the author would not know what has happened to her books (made into games, movies, etc.) after all those years, despite having ready and quick access to the world, as made clear near the ending.
• “His Master’s Voice” by Hannu Rajaniemi: a dog and a cat gain intelligence in the hands of a master. But their world comes tumbling down when the master creates an illegal copy of himself and is sent to prison for his troubles. Missing their master, the cat and dog hatch a plan to rescue him.
• “Hive Mind Man” by Rudy Rucker and Eileen Gunn: a man who likes to hook into social networks and other online activities gets more than he bargains for when a deal to become even more connection for commercial purposes gets him really connected with the world.
• “Stompin’ at the Savoy” by Lewis Shiner: a rather dated piece about a cashier who suddenly ends up with a list of things “the government doesn’t want the people to know”. That leads to a chase and refuge among mutants who want to bring the government down.
• “The Brain Dump” by Bruce Sterling: a day in the life of a hacking community in Eastern Europe.
• “RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: MICROWAVE IN THE BREAK ROOM DOING WEIRD THINGS TO FABRIC OF SPACE-TIME” by Charles Yu: what happens when people don’t follow email instructions and leave things in the microwave oven that can open time warps.
• “Dance Dance Revolution” by Charlie Human: Soldiers dance to control their weapons. Okay.
• “OMG GTFO” by S.L. Grey: written as a series of snippets, including social media post and comments about people suddenly speaking in tongues and relaying information from dead people who are in hell. It initially causes a drop in crime and misdemeanours and people try to repent, but then a further set of dead people in hell make themselves known, leading to a backlash from the still living.
• “Free Fall” by Carolyn Jewel: a long, interesting story about a world where witches, warlocks, mages and demons live among us. In this world is one witch who is aware of her powers but is barely able to contain them as she is untrained. Add to this mix a mage who may be physically and magically abusing her. She wants out of the relationship and calls on the help of the only man she trusts, who turns out to be a very horny (in the sexual sense) demon. The mage turns out to have been abusing magical beings to enhance his powers and now wants them dead. Before the climax of the story, there is a long section on sex between the demon and witch which probably is necessary to highlight their relationship, so be prepared for a lengthy digression.

Book read from 2017/06/15 to 2018/10/19