Kiln People challenges traditional notions of the self and identity.
Kiln People challenges traditional notions of the self and identity.
Ever wished you could send a copy of yourself off to work and complete your daily chores? In the world of David Brin’s Kiln People, that’s exactly what people do. These clay duplicates, or ‘dittos,’ as they call them, retain all the memories of the original person. They even come in different colored tiers to suit different tasks – for example, green for routine errands and black for higher level processing.
But here’s the kicker. These clay golems expire at the end of the day, often with the desire to upload the day’s memories to the original, in order to achieve some semblance of continuity. It’s not difficult to see the tragedy of coming to life fully sentient, remembering everything, but knowing you’re only a pale copy of another and won’t live to see tomorrow.
When the novel’s protagonist ends up transcending to a higher plane of existence, and the consciousness of one of his golems supplants his own in his original body, disturbing questions arise. Can there really only be one of you, or is a copy of you as good as you?
PICTURE PICTURE HARPER VOYAGER.
