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Searching for an online short story (solved)
Vrtra Theory
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This short story (perhaps 20-30 pages if printed) was published online for free by its author, but I can't remember the name of it and all my searches have turned up nothing.
Shortened Plot: computer scientist inadvertently creates an aware supercomputer, so powerful it figures out how to manipulate space-time and creates copies of itself everywhere throughout the galaxy, eventually melting the entire galaxy into one giant semiconductor farm, with all of the current inhabitants of the planet Earth virtualized (their minds reconstituted as bytes), without any human consent.
Because of the rules given to the computer when it was created, it doesn't allow any human beings to get old, or die (including suicide). So a large percentage of the population has nothing better to do than figure out more and more gruesome ways to kill themselves because they are so bored. (As soon as they die, the supercomputer recreates them as they were immediately before they died.)
Ring any bells with anyone?
EDIT: The story I was looking for is the Prime Intellect story linked by Tom_malice. The "I Have No Mouth" classic is somewhat similar but has a different feel (and root cause).
Thanks!
Shortened Plot: computer scientist inadvertently creates an aware supercomputer, so powerful it figures out how to manipulate space-time and creates copies of itself everywhere throughout the galaxy, eventually melting the entire galaxy into one giant semiconductor farm, with all of the current inhabitants of the planet Earth virtualized (their minds reconstituted as bytes), without any human consent.
Because of the rules given to the computer when it was created, it doesn't allow any human beings to get old, or die (including suicide). So a large percentage of the population has nothing better to do than figure out more and more gruesome ways to kill themselves because they are so bored. (As soon as they die, the supercomputer recreates them as they were immediately before they died.)
Ring any bells with anyone?
EDIT: The story I was looking for is the Prime Intellect story linked by Tom_malice. The "I Have No Mouth" classic is somewhat similar but has a different feel (and root cause).
Thanks!
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Not exactly what you described I know, but that's what came to mind. Super depressing. It used to be online here but it seems to have been taken down...