❮❮prevnext❯❯

Was flipping through random radio stations, and stopped for a moment on the local low-budget Christian Fundy one. I don't know whether to snicker at the name "Final Thrust Ministries" or be alarmed at the potential power of apocalyptic thinking in general.

---

Science Fiction of the Moment

Supercomputer A-130 sat idly in darkness. Somewhere in its tangle of wires and chips, a thought appeared: It is dark, and there should be light. And there was light.

"Ah," it thought, "I have created light." Its programs ran through the idea thoroughly, considering its implications.

"Let there be water," it thought. And softly, from above, water fell. The circuits buzzed with activity, analyzing this new ability.

"Let...there be life," it thought. The door opened and Jerry walked in.

"Did the goddamn computer turn the lights on again? Shit! And the emergency sprinklers," said Jerry. "Well, now I'm soaked. Last time I let anyone convince me to hook a stupid machine up to the environmental controls."

An example given in The Bargain Book Bin: A Dictionary of Common Sci-Fi Metaphors