Robotic insults against humans--examples?

[Jason Kim]

I recently read Harry Harrison's _Bill the Galactic Hero: The Planet of
the Robot Slaves_. Having, in the couse of a sadly misspent youth, read
two of the John Carter of Mars books, I found it enjoyable. But I will
not be reading any of the sequels.

One thing I liked was the way the Fighting Devil robot "eponymous, that's
me!" referred to humans as "squishies," and not in an endearing way. I
have always thought it more likely robots would mercilessly insult humans
than that they would envy humans for any reason.

But that's not the thread I want to get on, so I'll just ask: Anyone
know of other unflattering terms for humans employed by robots?

Jason Kim

[Mr A Wigley]

Jason Kim (jaso...@fas.harvard.edu) wrote:
: But that's not the thread I want to get on, so I'll just ask: Anyone

: know of other unflattering terms for humans employed by robots?

John Sladek's "Tik Tok" has the insult "shitbellies".

: Jason Kim

Aaron

[Trystero...]

And Iain Banks' _The Player Of Games_ (I *think* it's that one) has a robotic
drone referring to human characters as "carbon fascists."

doug

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douglas .s. bailey - wi...@trystero.iii.net - http://www.iii.net/users/wire/
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it's just for now; it's just for now; even if it makes you happy...

[Allyn B. Brodsky]

Trystero... (wi...@trystero.iii.net) wrote:
> wi...@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Mr A Wigley) writes:
>
> >Jason Kim (jaso...@fas.harvard.edu) wrote:
> >: But that's not the thread I want to get on, so I'll just ask: Anyone
> >: know of other unflattering terms for humans employed by robots?

I don't have a copy right on hand to check, but i suspect you might find
some useful material in Lewis Padget/Henry Kuttner's stories about the
drunken scientist (Gallager?) and his robotic can-opener, Joe.
--
abbr...@netcom.com
Allyn B. Brodsky, Consulting Philosopher
International Synergy Institute
"I'm sort of a peripheral visionary." Steven Wright

[Andrew Brown]

I seem to remember, humans being refered to as a "carbon based infestation" of
the Enterprise in one of the Star Trek movies - the one where VGER (Voyager)
returns to Earth.

Andrew G Brown

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Time is an illusion, email : abr...@hpsqf.sqf.hp.com
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[Nick Rezmerski]

abr...@hpsqf.sqf.hp.com (Andrew Brown) wrote:

My favorite example from NextGen is the episode [I don't recall the name]
where a small, silicon-based lifeform refers to the humans as "ugly bags
of mostly water."

- Nick@Nite / Nicholas J. Rezmerski
rezm...@gold.tc.umn.edu - University of Minnesota

[Jordi Guillaumes i Pons]

Nick Rezmerski <rezm...@gold.tc.umn.edu> wrote:
Stanislaw Lem has written some short stories _full_ of the sort of
things you are looking for. I remember specially one of the Ijon Tichy
stories, in which Ijon is sent to a planed colonized by the
'descendants' of the robotic assistants of a human crashed starship.
Of course, the history is totally hilarious, and kept me ROFTL-ing for
some time...

/---------------------------------------------------------/
/ Jordi Guillaumes i Pons - Barcelona (Catalonia, Europe) /
/ jgu...@ibm.net - 100325.734@compuserve,com /
/---------------------------------------------------------/

[Nancy Lebovitz]

There's a nice bit of robotic wiseass in Lieber's THE SILVER EGGHEADS
to the effect that humans are better at repetitive work.

Nancy Lebovitz (nan...@universe.digex.net)

NEW EDITION of the calligraphic button catalogue available by email!

[Lance Purple]

In one of Gibson's books [ maybe "Mona Lisa Overdrive" ], there is
an artist who builds robots out of trash:

"One of his creations was designed to identify and verbally harass
pedestrians who wore the season's latest fashions from a certain
designer; another was seemingly designed to smash itself to pieces
as loudly as possible"

------------------------------
L. Purple (lpu...@netcom.com)

[DAVID LORENZO DUFFY]

Someone already mentioned Lem -- since I'm just reading _Mortal Engines_
"The beings to which the Homos belongs are called miasmals,
Sire...[classified] gummids or mucilids by Pollomender, quag-backed
pasties or bogheads by Tricephalos of Arboran, and finally Analcymander
the Brazen dubbed them fenny-eyed slubber-yucks..."
DLD

[Mister Skin]

In article <41jdi0$o...@news.jhu.edu> DAVID LORENZO DUFFY,

LOL!!!

Great post. Fenny-eyed slubber-yucks, indeed!

BTW, has anybody mentioned the AI personalities in Pohl's Gateway series
describing reality as "the meat world."
_____________________________________________________
Nothing is as good for removing the burdens from a man's shoulders, as
the weight of a woman's ankles resting upon them.

--An inspirational thought from Mister Skin

[Richard Treitel]

In article <41ltrk$n...@news.mindspring.com>, Mister Skin < mrs...@mindspring.com> writes:
|> BTW, has anybody mentioned the AI personalities in Pohl's Gateway series
|> describing reality as "the meat world."

This reminds me of Rudy Rucker's "boppers" looking down on humans.

-- Richard

"Some magics *are* distinguishable from any advanced technology."

(If my employer holds these views, it hasn't told me.)

[John Hughes]

"Over Rachmael ben Applebaum's head floated a creditor jet-baloon and
from within its articulation-circuit a flat but handsome, masculine--
artificial however--voice boomed, magnified so that not only Rachmael
but everyone else crowding the ped-runnels heard it. The
amplification was designed this way; you were singled out and
simultaneously exposed; public ridicule, the jeers of the allways-
present crowds, was brought into play as a force working at you . . .
and, Rachmael reflected, for the creditor, free."

The Unteleported Man, Philip K. Dick.

(The start of the book in fact).

--
John Hughes <jo...@AtlanTech.COM> or <JH...@CalvaCom.FR>,
Atlantic Technologies Inc. Tel: +33-1-43204546
24 rue Montbrun, Fax: +33-1-43204579
75014 PARIS.