The Girl With Acrylic Eyes
SAPIENT & SENTIENT ANDROIDS
Book 1 of the SOPHONT trilogy
A sexbot appears to have feelings and intuitive wisdom. How and, more important, why?
As a sexbot, Coppélia must be completely compliant to her clients’ demands, no matter what they may be. But this time it’s different. She’s had enough. She tells her client no. The client ignores her and forces himself on her. She has the strength to rip his head off with one hand but that would contravene her programming. Besides, she has no desire to hurt any human — not even this brute.
In this genre-bending first book of the Sophont trilogy, Detective Inspector Karen Chambers is called in by NewMet City Special Victims Unit to interview a prospective rape victim and is shocked to discover that the victim is an android. The DI’s curiosity is piqued and she resolves to find out more about Coppélia.
Why does the android appear to have feelings and emotions? Who built her, and why?
*Also available as part of The Sophont Trilogy Omnibus
4.3 Rating
Reviews
An excellent read. Greg Krojak is a modern-day prophet, asking questions about AI that few dare to even think, let alone utter on the written page. The characters, themes, and events in the pages of this book could be the headlines of the future.
Articles and news coming out of the robotics and AI communities are eerily following the overtones of this book. At times deep and philosophical, the book is tempered by Krojak’s flowing, conversational writing style, making this book a page turner and a refreshing read.
Thoughtful and challenging, it’s not preachy. Sexy and provocative, it’s not smut. This is a must-read for anyone interested in robots, artificial intelligence, and ethics.
Adam J. Stump
Author Greg Krojac shines a light on what is certain to be a controversial topic in the future of humanity in his Sci-Fi thriller, “The Girl With Acrylic Eyes”... Artificial intelligence, aka AI. This futuristic novel begins with an in-depth police investigation as to the origin of what appears to be a unique and mysterious female sexbot who—against her basic programming—is claiming to have been raped, and turns into a noble quest that will forever affect the course of humanity.
Krojac’s main protagonists are quite realistic and draw much empathy from readers while his secondary characters tend to be a bit stereotypical. Although the plotline of this story is at first dark and seedy as a detective and her team become embroiled in an investigation into the sex industry’s lurid black market and dangerous corporate underworld, the twists and turns in this page-turning tale will keep readers on edge and guessing as to the true intent of Coppelia’s makers. While the detective leading off the investigation, Karen, develops an affinity for, and later a close-knit relationship with her AI victim, Krojac springs surprise after surprise on his readers as Coppelia’s questionable background emerges. The author closely examines the ethics and morality surrounding the development of an artificial life-form whose special purpose is to serve and please its owners. Once the shocking truth of Coppelia’s purpose is revealed and the highly-engaging, intrepid android is sent off on a troubling solo voyage to secure the future of the human race, further ethical issues come up regarding the future sovereignty of artificial life forms and whether they are disposable or have the right to control their own destinies.
In the telling of his story, Krojac presents several scenarios in which sexbots, that are mass manufactured for private use, are sold and distributed to the public on the common mass market. As with any product in high demand, a global black market clandestinely tweaks these artificial beings to go beyond their programming and serve their masters in ways which were not intended by the law. “The Girl With Acrylic Eyes” does contain sexual situations, including non-graphic references to sexual-deviation between owners and their AIs—including sexual abuse and pedophilia.
The overall theme of this novel, however, is Coppelia’s life-purpose which clearly develops into an incredibly noble humanitarian goal. Although I urge caution for individuals who are sensitive to sexual rights and sexual abuse issues, I highly recommend this read for any avid Sci-Fi fan ages 18 and up.
Jeannie Richards
What would happen if a machine became sentient or even sapient? What if a machine could experience emotions just as fully as any human being, one that could produce creative solutions to problems? No such machine exists now, but it is only a matter of time before it occurs. What would happen then?
Many folks would immediately call out "SkyNet!" thinking they had correctly assessed the question, but they would be wrong. The Girl with the Acrylic Eyes takes an entirely different look at what an artificial consciousness might be like. In this story, the android Coppelia is an artificial consciousness with no ill feelings at all for humanity. A refreshing break from the rampaging robot trope. Author Greg Krojac explores how humanity as a whole might respond to a machine that feels just as much as any human being. Predictably, humanity's response is not all uniform. A policewoman finds a friend she can connect to, even love, more than anyone else before. Others, and I don't want to give anything away, see her as no more unique than a toaster. Who is right? How will humanity respond to something we've had no experience with before?
The science in this book is real science, producing a believable story you can dive into and believe will one day come true. A trip to Proxima Centauri uses current technologies now in development and takes a believable amount of time to reach Earth's closest stellar neighbor. For anyone interested in what the future of artificial consciousness will bring, I highly recommend this book!
E.A.Wicklund