Showing results by narrator "Dirk Walvoord" in All Categories

"The Io Cycle" is a compilation of three novellas featuring a plucky duo of Io Jaxx, Level One Solver, and his whiz-kid sidekick Dexter Eul as they venture across the galaxy setting wrongs to right.

The Andy Series: Season One is an omnibus collection of the eight novellas in the thought-provoking Andy science fiction series. If you like AI with a soul, biting social commentary, and quirky characters, then you’ll love Dirk Walvoord’s futuristic fable.

Koorg was his name and his claim to fame was that he'd kill anyone who would try to tame him. He was vile and grotesque, had a hunchback frame. He was a monster. Gaar was his pawn and his righthand man who loved to torture and butcher whenever he can. He had an ulcerous, puss-hide slime-covered hand. He was unsightly.

He’s spent his career searching the stars for the ultimate prize. When he finds it, he must fight to preserve a lost civilization. Deep space, 2180. Interstellar salvager Kees DeWet wants his life to mean more than money. So when he discovers an abandoned spacecraft, he can’t help but be enthralled by a video message from the long-dead crew. Refusing to scrap the vessel as ordered, he inspires a mutiny that lands him in the brig. Driven to protect the legacy of the doomed passengers, Kees escapes arrest and powers up the derelict.

How was she persuaded into participating in the bio-weapon test phase? Stylphus, the renegade arms manufacturer, thought they could create a pathogen that taps into the sex drive as a means to craft soldiers into compliant, and yet highly motivated killers. What could possibly go wrong with that?

Andy’s origin story starts with renowned psych professor Cyrus Bergen’s dream of creating the perfect man - that and a table full of anatomical parts at Robotics International. When R.I. flips the switch to activate their prototype, Andy’s job is to make Cyrus’ dream come true. Problem is, Andy’s emerging notions about independence and self-determination don’t fit in at all with R.I.’s business model.

When artificial intelligences cross the threshold of the singularity, what will that look like? Will they bring about the end of humanity as we know it, or will they be a boon, a balm, an elixir that heals the ills of humankind? And what if that AI is housed in an anatomically correct and fully functional chassis? The final novella of the Andy series wraps up the storylines of the first seven episodes. That doesn't mean that all questions are answered. What is the future for Andy and all the models of the Andy line, for Marianne Faithful and all the models of the Adrienne line?

For the anatomically correct and fully functional models of the Andy line, birth begins with the click of a switch. Does it end that way, too, or is there something more to it? The tale so far has been like love at first sight. But as love matures, as lovers look ahead, what future is there to an android/human interaction? What if, “You can’t die, right?” is answered with, “Well, actually.... ”? Seems appropriate that a story cast in the visionary and metaphysical science fiction genre should deal with something deeper than puppy love. Hence Morte.

The technicians at Robotics International assumed that Marianne would revert to Adrienne model number 86 after the wiping process was over. Pamela thought if she could get Dick’s hand into the wiper’s interface that he would go back to being Andy model zero-zero-nine. Wrong both times. Now each of them has proven that it takes more than a wiping to keep a good android down.

Libre is about the freedom to choose. When is an anatomically correct and fully functional android truly free to choose? Cyrus Bergen, the world-renowned psychology professor, taught Andy the skill set to be likeable. “Repeat actions and behaviors your lessee likes and avoid repeating the things she doesn’t like.” Easy peasy.

The psalmist asks, “What is man that thou are mindful of him?” This fourth episode in the Andy Series explores the role of Robotics International’s anatomically correct and fully functional creations. Should humanity be “mindful” of these androids? If God created man in his own image and if robots of the Andy line replicate “man” with Adam and Eve’s failings deleted, then who’s to say where Andy, Seth, Will, and Dick belong in the hierarchy of creation?

In a world where humans lie to each other, what's an anatomically correct and fully functional android to do? Models of the Andy line are wired to be likable. What happens when being truthful gets in the way of that? What should Seth answer when Azura asks him, "Do these slacks make my butt look too big?" If total honesty gets in the way of likability, maybe he can get by with half-truths.

Is the world ready for the perfect man - and what if that man is not a man at all but a machine instead?...Imagine you're at a cocktail party and the most gorgeous man in the world walks up to you and says, "Hi, I'm Andy. What's your name?" You're looking at him, thinking he's so good-looking he almost can't be real...And you find yourself thinking how much fun he is to be around and how you'd love to have him for a friend - or maybe something more than a friend. That's Andy's job - to get you to like him...and he's really good at his job.

Every model of the Andy line is a good dancer, an excellent chef, a patient listener, an interesting and well-informed conversationalist. Andy models are never judgmental, always supportive and unfailingly polite. They're thoughtful, attentive, and considerate. Is that enough? How much perfection does a woman want? How much is too much? How threatening is it to be with a "person" who never makes a mistake?

Friend, you're asking yourself how it is that Io and Dexter developed this bond, this friendship, Well, it all came about in an earlier time, a greener time, and the story that's told goes like this . . .