Theme:
My main themes are the same topics I decided to include in my personal manifesto about the future, as I consider them most important to me. The story I wrote is a mix of climate change and AI, and I focused on what could happen to our planet if we don’t make enough progress in cleaning up our Earth. The protagonist, Eric, lives in a world where his society acknowledges humanity’s past mistakes, and is tasked with cleaning up plastic from the Pacific ocean. He also struggles with the morality of valuing artificial life just as he does his own, which is another theme showcased in the story.
Setting:
I set the story in Cairns, Australia, the biggest city on the coast of the Great Barrier Reef. I did this because I wanted to write about the effects of pollution on the Pacific ocean, and I feel as if the reef is a landmark people would regret losing in the future. It takes place several decades after our own, around 2060/2070, because I wanted enough time to see the full effects of climate change in the Pacific if we continue to pollute at the rate we do. It also gives a reasonable timeframe for humans to progress to a society inhabited with advanced AI, so I could introduce both themes of the story.
Plot:
Character:
Even though Eric lives in a world that is high concept, his story and journey he goes through feels simple. Eric signs up for a government initiative to clean up the great barrier reef, and is sent out to a loading dock in Cairns, Australia. There are inflatable boats and government workers everywhere, and the dock sometimes receives DNA samples of animals they plan to repopulate the reef with. He is given orders by his boss, Baxter, to clean-up an area next to a mountain, and is assigned an AI named REEF, as his partner. At first, Eric is disappointed, as he considers AI to be inhuman, and prefers to keep his distance from them. However, after REEF commits a surprise act of kindness out in the field, Eric decides to get to know him on the boat ride back, slowly changing his mind and outlook on Artificial Intelligence. Eventually, he invites REEF back into his room to play cards, ignoring the potential judgement of others.
Eric is the main character of this story. He comes to Cairns after his application to become an astronaut and move to a colony on Mars is rejected, as he feels he can make a difference to clean up the planet so nobody else has to leave. He keeps to himself, and has a soft spot for animals, especially octopus. After watching a training video and getting to see what the reef looked like decades ago gives him the dream of swimming with all the animals he’s seen in pictures. He’s very judgemental of AI, and hesitant to surround himself with them, as their bodies and movements feel inhuman. He does not want to create relationships with them, as he knows they have been programmed to predict responses beforehand and produce artificial reactions. However, at the end of the story, he begins to change his mind, as he realizes that REEF may be a lot more human than a lot of people he knows.
Figurative Language/ Other Literary Devices:
The main literary device in this story is the octopus. It serves as a metaphor for REEF and other AI, as Eric compares the two by as they both create their shapes to be pale imitations of something else. Eric initially believes that REEF is just a pale imitation of himself, with movement and dialogue that isn’t quite human. He’s just someone else’s basic interpretation of one. Eric also uses the octopus metaphor because he wants to change who he is in the beginning, or at least change his situation. He wants to change to a person living in a world free of pollution, so he could swim freely in the reef with the animals he’s learned about. He doesn’t want to worry about what others think. Finally, when Eric changes his mind about REEF, he compares him to an octopus once again, but this time to compare them as beings that are a lot smarter and more “human” than people give them credit for.
Connection to Emily Eternal:Emily Eternal played a big influence on REEF, as the struggle of both characters is existing as a sentient computer and wanting to be regarded as human. While the issue from REEF’s perspective is never really explored, they both add depth to the issue of whether their lives should be valued the same as their human partners. Eric’s arc throughout the story is beginning to realize that REEF is lot more human than he initially thought, just as Emily’s companions did with her. REEF and Emily both showcase qualities of humanity that surprise the people they surround themselves with, such as empathy, kindness, and having personalities that differentiate themselves from others. They change the perspectives of their human counterparts by presenting a reflection of themselves. In both cases, they don’t really expect AI to have a personal life, humanity, motivations, and emotions, but their outlooks change by the end of the story.
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