Cobb Anderson created the "boppers," sentient robots that overthrew their human overlords. But now Cobb is just an aging alcoholic waiting to die, and the big boppers are threatening to absorb all of the little boppers--and eventually every human--into a giant, melded consciousness. Some of the little boppers aren't too keen on the idea, and a full-scale robot revolt is underway on the moon (where the boppers live). Meanwhile, bopper Ralph Numbers wants to give Cobb immortality by letting a big bopper slice up his brain and tape his "software." It seems like a good idea to Cobb.



"Delightfully irreverant. . . This is science fiction as it should be."



"A genius. . .A Cult hero among discriminating cyberpunkers"



"One of cyberpunk's most inventive works"


Book Description

It was Cobb Anderson who built the"boppers"--the first robots with real brains. Now, in 2020, Cobb is just another aged "pheezer" with a bad heart, drinking and grooving an the old tunes in Florida retirement hell. His "bops" have came a long way, though, rebelling against their subjugation to set up their own society an the moon. And now they're offering creator Cobb immortality but at a stiff price: his body his soul ... and his world.It was Cobb Anderson who built the "boppers"--the first robots with real brains. Now, in 2020, Cobb is just another aged pheezer with a bad heart, drinking and grooving on the old tunes in Florida retirement hell. His "bops" have come a long way, though, rebelling against their subjugation to set up their own society on the moon. And now they're offering creator Cobb immortality, but at a stiff price: his body, his soul. . .and his world.

About the Author
Rudy Rucker is a world-class mathematician and two-time winner of the Philip K. Dick Award. He is the author of the cyberpunk classics Software, Wetware and Freeware, as well as numerous other novels, including The Hollow Earth and The Hacker and the Ants. in addition to writing sf and popular mathematics books, he teaches computer science at San Jose State University in California and has co-authored a number of software programs, including an adaptation of James Gleick's Chaos and, more recently, a freeware flicker-cladding simulator known as CAPOW! He lives in Los Gatos, California.

ANNOTATION

The year is 2020 and millions of aging flower children have been transplanted in Florida. They're content staying stoned, but Cobb Anderson has bigger plans. He's just been handed a ticket to immortality that may blow him away. HC: Ace.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It was Cobb Anderson who built the "boppers"—the first robots with real brains. Now, in 2020, Cobb is just another aged "pheezer" with a bad heart, drinking and grooving an the old tunes in Florida retirement hell. His "bops" have came a long way, though, rebelling against their subjugation to set up their own society an the moon. And now they're offering creator Cobb immortality but at a stiff price: his body his soul ... and his world.It was Cobb Anderson who built the "boppers"—the first robots with real brains. Now, in 2020, Cobb is just another aged pheezer with a bad heart, drinking and grooving on the old tunes in Florida retirement hell. His "bops" have come a long way, though, rebelling against their subjugation to set up their own society on the moon. And now theyre offering creator Cobb immortality, but at a stiff price: his body, his soul. . .and his world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Rolling Stone

One of cyberpunk's most inventive works.

San Diego Union-Tribune

A genius. . .A Cult hero among discriminating cyberpunkers.

Washington Post Book World

Delightfully irreverant. . . This is science fiction as it should be.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING