18 Feb
1999
18 Feb
'99
12:09 a.m.
On Wed, 17 Feb 1999, Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner wrote:
It depends upon when it was first published: I
believe the date for ``The
Shockwave Rider'' is 1975. Another book, ``The Adolensence of P1'' may
have
been eariler (I want to say 1972, but it may be as late as '74 or '75).
``P1'' was about a self-aware computer program that spread throughout IBM
mainframes and while it didn't use the term ``worm'' it's propagation is
that of a worm.
_The Adolescence of P1_ was published in 1977, last reprinted in
1985. A great book. A pity Ryan didn't write more novels, but
after _P1_, he found out that he didn't like science fiction fans.
``When Harley was One'' is just about a
sentient computer in a single
location (I believe, it's been awhile since I read that one, and even then,
I read ``When Harley was One, 2.0.'') and has nothing to do with viruses or
worms.
One of these days I'll have to track down a copy of release 1.0 and
read it again. I read the copy I got from the SF Book Club back in
the early '70s. I'm really not all that crazy about Gerrold's
writing in general.
--
Ward Griffiths
"the timid die just like the daring; and if you don't take the plunge then
you'll just take the fall" Michael Longcor