Escape Artists

Escape Pod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Russell Nash on April 23, 2009, 04:00:54 PM

Title: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Russell Nash on April 23, 2009, 04:00:54 PM
EP196: Evil Robot Monkey (http://escapepod.org/2009/04/23/ep196-evil-robot-monkey/)

By Mary Robinette Kowal (http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/).
Read by Stephen Eley.
First appeared in the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, vol. 2 (http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844165426/escapepod-20), edited by George Mann.

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Sliding his hands over the clay, Sly relished the moisture oozing around his fingers. The clay matted down the hair on the back of his hands making them look almost human. He turned the potter’s wheel with his prehensile feet as he shaped the vase. Pinching the clay between his fingers he lifted the wall of the vase, spinning it higher.

Someone banged on the window of his pen. Sly jumped and then screamed as the vase collapsed under its own weight. He spun and hurled it at the picture window like feces. The clay spattered against the Plexiglas, sliding down the window.


Rated PG. Contains one angry chimp with a potty mouth. Sort of.


(http://escapepod.org/wp-images/podcast-mini4.gif)
Listen to this week’s Escape Pod! (http://media.rawvoice.com/escapepod/media.libsyn.com/media/escapepod/EP_196_EvilRobotMonkey.mp3)
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: stePH on April 23, 2009, 04:02:56 PM
 :( stoopid monkey.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Zathras on April 23, 2009, 04:16:42 PM
Really good story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  But...Hugo?
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: DKT on April 23, 2009, 04:49:45 PM
When Steve said it was short, I looked at the remaining time on my iPod and said "Feh." Still like 15 minutes left.

He wasn't kidding, though! I liked it, but I think I'm going to listen to Mary Robinette Kowal's reading of it before I really comment.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Void Munashii on April 24, 2009, 02:53:38 PM
  Short, but very enjoyable. I would love to see this idea expanded on in a longer piece.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: stePH on April 24, 2009, 04:05:06 PM
Short, enjoyable, worthy of EP, but "Exhalation" is still far and away the best of the Hugo nominees this year.  I doubt next week's "monkey story" will top it, but I'll give it a fair chance.

PS: A chimpanzee is not a monkey.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: birdless on April 25, 2009, 06:44:54 AM
Really good story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  But...Hugo?

(with apologies to Zorag, but it was my thought exactly)  8)
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Zathras on April 25, 2009, 07:05:04 AM
Really good story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  But...Hugo?

(with apologies to Zorag, but it was my thought exactly)  8)

If you're sharing the same thoughts as me, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.  The rest of the forum is probably a good place to start with the apologies...
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: thomasowenm on April 25, 2009, 05:59:07 PM
A story of an intellegent ape who is not at home with his species or humans.  Didn't I already see this on Futurama's Mar's University episode?  I did however like it, but nowhere near a Hugo.  Just a nice piece of fluff flash fiction.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: stePH on April 25, 2009, 07:41:05 PM
A story of an intellegent ape who is not at home with his species or humans. 

"Barnaby in Exile"
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Boggled Coriander on April 26, 2009, 05:05:21 AM
I liked it alright, but I have to agree with Zorag and birdless.

I guess my problem with it is this.  In EP169, "How I Mounted Goldie, Saved My Partner Lori, and Sniffed Out The People’s Justice", the protagonist is a talking dog, and he never sounds like a human inhabiting a dog's body.  He sounds like a talking dog.  Barnaby of "Barnaby in Exile" managed to convince me that he was an ape, not just an unusually hairy human.

But Sly the Chimp sounds like a human trapped in a chimp body. 
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Listener on April 27, 2009, 01:16:38 PM
I didn't really enjoy this one. There was no new ground covered.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Heradel on April 27, 2009, 03:16:51 PM
A story of an intellegent ape who is not at home with his species or humans. 

"Barnaby in Exile"

Half right. Barnaby was perfectly at home with humans, he just couldn't interact on the same level with his fellow species members, which is why it was such a tear-jerker.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Fredosphere on May 04, 2009, 06:21:26 PM
That the monkey's occupational therapy was shaping clay was useful as a story device because it gave the monkey a turdlike object to toss around.  But I also instantly thought of the clay as a reference to the biblical creation story, shaping a rational creature from the dust of the ground (especially as retold by poet Wilfred Owen:  "was it for this the clay grew tall?").  I.e., the uplifted monkey is a son of man, created in man's image, and now is empowered to create in his turn.

I wonder if the author was conscious of that connection.  I wonder if any other listener noticed it . . . or was it just my busy little mind making oblique connections?
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Loz on May 05, 2009, 06:18:07 PM
Very odd. A perfectly decent first scene... That then turns out to be the entire story. Where's the conflict? Where's the argument and it's being either proved or disproved in the story? Not only is it surprising that it's been nominated as a Hugo, it's surprising that it was accepted by any editor in order to be published and so be nominated for a Hugo, it's not bad, it's just not a story. I would love to see these characters in a proper story, and the almost human chimp being used to examine the human condition. As is, this scene is not it.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: MacArthurBug on May 05, 2009, 06:46:21 PM
I wasn't feeling this one- solid Meh material.  Not BAD.. just I'm jaded and I need GREAT
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Russell Nash on May 07, 2009, 07:06:45 PM
I was surprised by the ending.  I said, "what, it's over?"  Where's the rest of it. 
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Wilson Fowlie on May 08, 2009, 06:54:09 PM
Monkey artist. (http://www.dependablerenegade.com/dependable_renegade/2009/05/hmm-maybe-oils-arent-my-metier.html)  (Okay, not a monkey. But neither is the chimp in the story a monkey.)
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Talia on May 08, 2009, 08:20:39 PM
as an aside, I disagree with the implication that new ground has to be covered to make a story worthwhile.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: DigitalVG on May 12, 2009, 04:54:04 PM
I enjoyed this one because the chimp was very real.  He wasn't hyper-intelligent.  He wasn't perfectly enlightened.  He was like us.  His reactions to body language and stuff were very nicely done and for such a short piece, it really shone that the writer had done a good deal of research on the subject and tried to stay as accurate and true to the character as possible.  This is what really makes good sci-fi for me.  Not just exploring an idea but carefully researching the ideas you're exploring, subtly giving your audience bits of information that will add to their knowledge and improve understanding of the world in the framework of a good story.  This chimp is a self-actualized being.  The implants may give him a slightly greater intellect, but it is his choice and conscious effort to be more than an animal.

On a more personal level, I think this also struck an interesting chord for me.  A couple of years ago, I visited the San Diego zoo with my partner and her family and sat down by the orangutan's habitat to sketch.  The oldest of the orangutans there came and sat beside the glass so we were only inches apart and both let me draw her and watched me draw her.  It's hard to explain exactly, but there was definitely some communication happening.  My understanding was that from the glances I would give her and the drawing I was doing, she definitely understood I was drawing her because she definitely also knew what other orangutans look like.  We spent a good half hour sitting like that and I'd periodically show her the drawing which she would look at until I took it away to work some more.   The session only ended when a group of noisy children came through and pressed up against the glass.  Then she and I both shuffled away.  Really a neat experience and very similar to experiences I've had when drawing children. 

I'm not sure she was pleased with my drawing, but she was definitely interested by it, and I'm betting anything that in her 30+ years there, I'm not the first person that's sat and drawn or painted pictures of her and that makes me imagine that she is genuinely interested in art, or at least in the limited interaction and communication that we were able to share.  It's something different from the people who are just looking at her and snapping photos.  Something she can see and experience that's outside her world.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: JoeFitz on May 13, 2009, 01:16:39 AM
This was interesting as these things go. Not extraordinary. It did remind me of a recent news item: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16726-missilethrowing-chimp-plots-attacks-on-tourists.html (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16726-missilethrowing-chimp-plots-attacks-on-tourists.html)
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Djibril on May 23, 2009, 01:44:04 PM
I enjoyed this one. Yes it was more of a vignette than a full story, but I found it expertly sketched and emotionally convincing. (Of course the chimp was anthropomorphized, but that's not the result of inexpert characterization, it was the result of human meddling with its brain--both the prosthetic interface and the humans that were its only intellectual interaction all its life.)
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: wakela on May 25, 2009, 06:30:17 AM
I agree that it felt more like the beginning of a story than a whole story. 

There was one part that I found intriguing.  When the chimp was trying to control his rage and the trainer leaned in close, closer than any other human did, to tell him something.  It could have been the climax of the story if the intensity had been built up a bit.  The danger to him was very real, and he knew it.  Not only was he showing trust in the chimp, he was using the confrontation to calm him down.  "You want to hit something?  Hit me."   
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: monkeystuff on September 19, 2009, 05:23:53 AM
this story is freakin great, it doesn't need to be long to get the point across.  i was kind of disappointed in some other peoples posts that said this story didn't live up to what it should have been.  to this day evil robot monkey has been one of my favorite short stories yet.  it have deep concepts of right and wrong vs our more primal urges.  as well as communication with animals and even animals judging people, usually we are the ones to judge.   the fact that the monkey thought that some people needed the same technology that made him smart was very humorous.  was the monkey really evil?  for a caged semi intelligent animal i'd say he was doing pretty well.   and he relationship with the one employee who took the time to befriend him was awesome.   the punishment that wasn't really punishment... perfect      it was short but it made me think and i won't ever forget this story...   

and one more thing  SSA
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Gamercow on October 12, 2009, 07:09:39 PM
Short, but memorable for me.  I thought that the characters were done well, and they left me wanting more.  Perhaps not Hugo caliber, at this length, for me, but memorable, and good.  7/10
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: monkeystuff on October 13, 2009, 03:19:59 AM
This story left me wanting more as well.  I have herd that it is a sign of a good story teller to leave you wanting more.  Either way it was short but to the point.  It didn't need to be long.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Unblinking on April 30, 2010, 01:37:24 PM
This story didn't do much for me, and as with many Hugo nominees, left me thinking "This was really a Hugo nominee?"  My faith is somewhat restored when the Hugo nominees that blow my mind tend to be the ones that win.

Barnaby in Exile did the intelligent ape plot better, and I liked that one so much that this one really hurts from the comparison.  It was an interesting opening scene, with two interesting characters, but then it just ends without warning.

And the title was just terrible.  I'd been looking forward to listening to Evil Robot Monkey ever since I downloaded the whole EP archive and did a quick flip through the titles.  With a title like that, it doesn't take much to satisfy me, just a story with an evil robot monkey.  I would've forgiven all kinds of faults as long as it delivered on it's promise.  But this story had no evil, no robot, and no monkey.  Very disappointing.  If it had been given a title that actually described the story, instead of just a one-liner from a moronic secondary character, then I think I would've liked it quite a bit more.
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Talia on April 30, 2010, 02:09:37 PM

And the title was just terrible. 


I could not disagree more. I loved the title. :) (but then I loved 26 monkeys and the abyss to absolute death too so its pretty clear we have different tastes).
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: DKT on April 30, 2010, 04:16:51 PM
So you're actually saying it's not the title that's terrible, but that the story didn't live up to it?
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Unblinking on April 30, 2010, 04:54:31 PM
So you're actually saying it's not the title that's terrible, but that the story didn't live up to it?

Yeah, you're right.  I actually love the title, but it gave me expectations that weren't met.  Imagine going to Snakes on a Plane only to find out that the film contains neither snakes nor planes.  I mean, whether or not that's an example of quality moviemaking, at the very least it delivers on expectations--if you're excited by the title you'll probably love it, if you hate the title you'll probably hate it. 

So, if someone publishes a story titled "Evil Robot Monkey" that actually has an evil robot monkey, I'll probably love it.  :)

I thought the title "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" kicked ass.  And that storied actually had 26 monkeys.  And it also had an abyss (in one sense of the word, at least).
Title: Re: EP196: Evil Robot Monkey
Post by: Scattercat on April 30, 2010, 09:54:30 PM

And the title was just terrible. 


I could not disagree more. I loved the title. :) (but then I loved 26 monkeys and the abyss to absolute death too so its pretty clear we have different tastes).

FWIW, "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" is one of my favorite stories period, but I was underwhelmed by this story for pretty much the exact same reasons as Unblinking.  "Evil Robot Monkey" is a real attention-catcher as a title, and I think it would be pretty hard for any story to really fulfill that promise.  (Though having an actual evil robot monkey would, indeed, have helped.)

I liked this story, but the title wrote some checks that the prose just couldn't cash.