Amy, the main character of Madeline Ashby’s debut novel vN, is a self-replicating humanoid robot. Her race was originally created in the hopes of protecting and serving the poor humans who would be left behind on Earth after the Second Coming. The Rapture has failed to materialize as the novel starts, so the growing number of vN (short for von Neumann machines) are slowly becoming part of humanity on a vastly changed Earth.
Amy is an example of some people’s desire to integrate the vN with regular, organic humans. This includes trying to bypass their usually rapid growth by slow-feeding them to simulate a regular, organic childhood. Because her human father and vN mother carefully ration Amy’s food to match her growth to the human children in her mixed school, Amy still looks like an actual five year old.
[Read more]