The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons #1

“Can God play a significant game with his own creature? Can any creator, even a limited one, play a significant game with his own creature?”

This fascinates me, sort of.

My first thoughts are of the chess super-computers we've built. And Watson.

They have been programmed well enough that humans do not stand a chance against them. Hell, my computer, when set to the highest difficulty mind you, will demolish me in a chess match every single time.

If I lower the settings I can easily crush my computing adversary.

Set in between, I can have a challenging, mentally stimulating game. A good game.

But is it significant? No, not at all. My computer, for all of it's benefits, is a pathetic little machine that is at the mercy of me and my bathtub.

Even the supercomputers. Snip a wire or two and they are meaningless hunks of materials. We can certainly have engaging games with our creations but not a significant one.

I don't think children, in this regard, count as creations, they are perpetuations of the already created.

There isn't really a point in thinking about this. It's pure speculation on every level.

I don't think a creator can play a significant game with their creation, but so what? It changes nothing for either party.

What a dumb line.

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