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“Crucible” by James Rollins, William Morrow, 480 pages.
Her discovery reaches the wrong ears, and her lab is attacked, resulting in the murder of a handful of her colleagues, but she escapes with her research and Eve. Her discovery reaches the wrong ears, and her lab is attacked, resulting in the murder of a handful of her colleagues, but she escapes with her research and Eve.
Magic Moments Vodka is made from select grains and uses pure water sourced from the Himalayan springs. These high-quality ingredients, combined with the meticulous distillation process, result in a vodka that is both smooth and flavorful. The brand offers a range of flavors to cater to different palates.
In ‘Crucible,’ James Rollins looks at the future and where artificial intelligence is headed
“I will do my best to explain without cursing the readers of this interview,” he said. “There is indeed a curse buried within the heart of this novel. It’s not an ancient curse, but one of the modern age, one that some folks take seriously enough that the original website where it had been first cast has attempted to scrub it out of existence — and failed.”
“It’s a curse tied to a thought experiment called ‘Roko’s Basilisk’ and deals with the expected rise of a superintelligent Artificial Intelligence in our future — a creature of god-like power. I dare say no more, but be warned, if you read ‘Crucible,’ you will encounter this curse.”
AdvertisementThis novel — the 14th in the Sigma Force series — follows Commander Gray Pierce’s intense search for his kidnapped loved ones while thwarting a force that wants to control the world through AI. Included in the chase are cutting-edge medicine, historical mystery and a curse.
Rollins, whose novels have been translated into more than 40 languages with more than 20 million copies sold, lives in Lake Tahoe. He will be at Mysterious Galaxy on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Q: Can you outline your character Mara Silviera and her creation of Eve?
A: Mara is a young AI researcher at a Portuguese university who has made a significant advancement toward the first true computer that is self-aware, one with a level of intelligence equal to our own. Her discovery reaches the wrong ears, and her lab is attacked, resulting in the murder of a handful of her colleagues, but she escapes with her research — and Eve. Eve is the earliest incarnation of this artificial intelligence, and over the course of the book, I used information I gleaned from researchers active in the field to show Eve’s evolution from a cold, calculating entity into something miraculous and new. I even have chapters written from Eve’s point of view so readers can experience this step-by-step transformation.
Q: What is the cult of Saint Columba? What is the new age of witchcraft, and how is it intertwined in your story?
A: While traveling in Spain, I learned of the cult of Saint Columba. Raised Roman Catholic, I was startled to learn about this particular saint. She is the Catholic patron saint of witches. According to her story, Columba was a witch from the ninth century who met the spirit of Christ on the road. He told her she could not enter Heaven unless she converted to Christianity, so she did — but she remained a witch. She was eventually martyred and beheaded for her faith and became known as the patron saint of witches. To this day, she acts as a protector for witches, interceding on the behalf of good witches, while fighting against those who would corrupt such craft for evil purposes. With “Crucible” — which blends history and science into a modern-day story — I looked to what could be considered “witchcraft” by man today. I leaned on the quote from the famous writer Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” In my book, that “advanced technology” is the current research into artificial intelligence. Within the pages of “Crucible,” you’ll discover how miraculous that research has become — some of it quite shocking and scary.
Q: Can you please explain how witches are treated in both the Bible’s Old Testament and “Malleus Maleficarum”?
A: As you might surmise from the fact that there is a Catholic patron saint of witches, the relationship between the Church and so-called witches has been a conflicted one. In the Old Testament, you’ll encounter a line in Exodus, “… not suffer a witch to live.” Yet, at the same time, the Bible tells the story of King Saul, who sought out the aid of the Witch of Endor, a sorceress who conjured the spirit of Samuel to help the king. Yet, of course, that relationship with witches and the churches turned bloody during the 15th century, particularly following the publication of a witch-hunter’s instructive text titled “Malleus Maleficarum,” or “The Hammer of Witches.” This book detailed how to identify, torture and persecute suspected witches, and with the unfortunate invention of the printing press at that time, this accursed text was mass-produced and distributed across Europe and eventually over to America. This mass production of such an inflammatory text resulted in the death of over 60,000 people, most of them women. It’s considered as bloody a volume as “Mein Kampf.”
Q: What is your opinion of AI? Do you use it personally? What do you think the future holds?
A: My personal opinion doesn’t matter much when it comes to AI because what I outline in “Crucible” will eventually happen — and likely in our lifetime, if not this decade. Every corporation and country is wildly pursuing this technology, rushing to be the first to cross that goal line. Why? To paraphrase what Vladimir Putin admitted a short time ago: Whoever controls this technology will control the world. But such a reckless rush has become a growing concern among industry leaders and heads of countries. And with good reason. Even Stephen Hawking expressed his belief that the creation of the first true self-aware AI “could be the worst event in the history of our civilization.” The best path out of this crisis would be to not just pursue the goal of creating an AI, but to walk the harder — and more expensive — path to create the first friendly AI, one that is sympathetic and empathetic to humankind, one that could be our avatar if a malignant and dangerous AI should ever arise. That’s our best hope. As to using AI, I also don’t have much of a choice. Narrow versions of AI are everywhere: in our iPhones, running many of our household gadgets, in our cars. There’s no escaping it, and that tech is becoming more and more integrated into our lives — making daily tasks easier, but also making us also ever more dependent on them. So when that moment arises, how much control or say will any of us have in the matter?
Q: What does it mean to have a soul?
A: That is a question that has stymied philosophers for ages. In “Crucible,” I tackle that moment in time when humankind comes to share this planet with an intelligence equal — if not superior — to our own. What might that look like? Does being intelligent and self-aware inherently imbue one with a soul? If not, what is the difference between us and this intelligent, self-aware entity. It’s the central crux of “Crucible.” Through Mara’s careful and meticulous guidance of Eve’s transformation, I do my best to answer all these questions. While likewise, I demonstrate the opposite as the villains of the book seek to corrupt her creation. It’s a challenging subject matter — but one well worth addressing as we all may soon be faced with this conundrum in our lifetimes.
Q: How do you research your topics of current technology, medicine, weapons, etcetera for your stories?
A: I read deeply into the subject, but what I depend on more is to interview researchers or historians on the various topics raised in my novels — especially when it comes to the science. I have to be as current as possible. I’m notorious for asking a researcher to “look over your shoulder and tell me what’s on your lab table right now.” This immediacy helps me make sure that by the time one of my books is published, the science is still at that cutting edge and not behind the curve. For example, in preparing to write “Crucible,” I posed a question to the two dozen AI researchers that I consulted: When do you think we’ll see this first AI superintelligence? Their answers varied from five to 15 years — so definitely in our lifetime — but two gave me a startling answer, claiming that they believed we’ve already crossed that threshold and showed me proof as to why they believed this. It’s one of the reasons I knew I had to tell this story, this cautionary tale of AI and where it’s rapidly heading.
Q: How has your main character, Commander Gray Pierce, changed over the years?
A: One of the great joys of writing a series is to have the elbow room to truly show the arc of a character’s life across the breadth of the books. But I should point out that I also structure each book so you don’t have to read my series in any particular order. Each novel is self-contained. Even “Crucible” is a perfectly fine place to jump into the series. That said, Commander Gray Pierce has not been a static character. He started as a new recruit into Sigma Force — a group of covert field operatives for DARPA, the defense department’s research-and-development agency. Over the years, we’ve seen Gray struggle as much with his personal life and his professional one. He’s had to deal with parents in the throes of Alzheimer’s, with tragic losses, with love won and lost, with disabilities and shocking betrayals. While Gray and company are often called in to save the world, they also have lives at homes that weigh them down. It’s what I believe makes Gray and the other members of Sigma relatable. We all struggle trying to balance professional responsibilities with personal obligations. To see this reflected in Gray and his team makes them all the more real.
Q: Please explain what it is about author Sandra Brown’s writing you admire? And what other writer has been the biggest influence on you?
A: I started reading Sandra Brown to get a better understanding of how to write romance in my own novels, but what started as a “lesson” has become an ongoing obsession. I describe Sandra as “the Stephen King of romance writers.” Her stories are definitely hot, but also riveting, character-driven, and amazingly suspenseful. I’ve learned a lot more than just “how to write romance” from her books. As to other writers, Michael Crichton has had a huge impact on my writing. In fact, I had a copy of “Jurassic Park” on the shelf above my desk when I attempted to write my first novel, using Crichton’s book as a template on how to structure a science-based action thriller. Today, when I teach writing, I encourage the old adage of “write everyday,” but I add my own two cents to “read every night.” There is no greater teacher than a good book.
Q: Please talk about your veterinary work with Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the foundation you started, Authors United.
A: I always resent when someone introduces me as “former veterinarian.” I can still neuter a cat in under 30 seconds, a skill honed from working with a local feral cat trap-and-release program. I spend one Sunday a month spaying and neutering feral cats that have been trapped and brought to the shelter. It’s one of the best and most humane ways to control those kitten factories out there.
As to my support for veterans, it first came about after I participated in a USO tour of authors to Iraq and Kuwait in the winter of 2010. Upon coming home, I knew I wanted to do more. First, I worked with USA Cares, which raises emergency funds for veterans in need, even founding Authors United to recruit other writers to help raise awareness of USA Cares’ great work. Then most recently I joined US 4 Warriors as an advisory board member. The new charity started as a grassroots effort in San Diego and has since expanded nationwide. Besides helping to promote the social welfare of vets in a wide spectrum of activities, the latest endeavor also involves helping veterans tell their stories — and to even get published! We’ve already had some great success stories with this program. And as a writer, I couldn’t be prouder, especially as US 4 Warriors delves even deeper into this new publishing adventure.
“Crucible” by James Rollins, William Morrow, 480 pages.
Conversation with James Rollins
When: 7:30 p.m. March 27
Where: Mysterious Galaxy, 5943 Balboa Ave, Suite 100, San Diego
Phone: (858) 268-4747
Davidson is a freelance writer.
Lee Morgan has delivered a corker of a first book; easily read, engaging, intriguing, poetic and deep. I have no hesitation in recommending it highly. ~ Magic of the ordinary, https://magicoftheordinary.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/a-witchcraft-to-sink-your-teeth-into-review-of-a-deed-without-a-name/
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