Author Topic: EP174: Private Detective Molly (Read 30920 times)

Russell Nash · **on:** September 06, 2008, 08:02:44 AM

EP174: Private Detective Molly

By A.B. Goelman.
Read by Stephen Eley.

That’s when I see my new boss. Four feet of trouble. Brunette variety. Tear tracks cutting through the dirt on her face, wearing jeans that were already old when Molly Dolls were nothing more than molded plastic and fantasy homes.

She’s no idiot, though. “I want the Debutante persona,” she says. “You’re still not Debutante Molly are you?”

I like a girl who doesn’t need me to explain everything. “That’s right, kid,” I pull my blonde hair back into a pony tail and cover it with my fedora.

“Why do you keep coming out as a Petey persona?” Poor kid sounds like she’s about to cry. Don’t blame her for wanting Debutante Molly. Debbie’s the kind of girl who reminds me why God bothered with Adam’s rib in the first place. As wholesome and satisfying as a virgin daiquiri on a hot day. Everything I’m not. “Petey’s not even a girl’s name,” the kid says.

Rated PG. A somewhat dark kid’s story; contains parental tragedy and complex social issues.

Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

Lagbert · **Reply #1 on:** September 06, 2008, 08:45:52 PM

Fun story! I'm glad to see escape pod showcasing stories with, if not lighter subject matter, lighter narration.

It's a good thing only the third law of robotics has been thrown out in private detective Molly's world, but what does it say about the future when it's the robots, rather than people, that value physical well being over financial well being. I just hope Molly's new incarnation is too vapid to be useful to the social agents.

As a side note - Why does sci-fi almost always assume the republicans are in charge?

Zathras · **Reply #2 on:** September 06, 2008, 10:38:43 PM

Had to turn it off at about the 5 minute mark. I don't know what it was about it, but I was more annoyed than anything.

I'll give it a shot again Monday, just in case it's my mood rather than the story.

alllie · **Reply #3 on:** September 07, 2008, 12:45:27 AM

Quote from: Lagbert on September 06, 2008, 08:45:52 PM

Fun story! I'm glad to see escape pod showcasing stories with, if not lighter subject matter, lighter narration.

It's a good thing only the third law of robotics has been thrown out in private detective Molly's world, but what does it say about the future when it's the robots, rather than people, that value physical well being over financial well being. I just hope Molly's new incarnation is too vapid to be useful to the social agents.

I didn't find it light. I liked it but troubled me a bit. I’m political. A leftie. The world in the story made me think about how political action needed to be taken, even revolution, and that you can’t depend on the programming errors in a child’s toy to make things right in the world. (I assumed the manufacturers didn’t really mean the toy to have that much independence.) When the morality of a child’s toy or, last week, of an ancient robot, is better than that of their societies, it gives me pause. Still, I understand that you have to have conflict for there to be a story, and a story about how society properly cared for its ill and dying members regardless of income would have left no place for Sammie’s emotional and moral development. A story about how a little girl and her mother were properly cared for without the mother having to commit suicide to try to get health care for her child would have left no place for the Molly doll’s story. They were both good stories, I enjoyed them, but I am ready for stories about revolutions and social justice movements set in a scifi future.

These stories, enjoyable as they are, teach us no lessons, give us no guidance about how to make the world a better place.

Maybe that is too much to ask.

Even Richard Morgan stopped writing about Quellcrist so it probably is.

Talia · **Reply #4 on:** September 07, 2008, 03:04:36 AM

This has got to be my favorite episode of EP ever. I was totally charmed. What a wonderful, fun idea for a story. PD rocks! Now I really want one of these Molly dolls

MacArthurBug · **Reply #5 on:** September 07, 2008, 04:21:23 AM

I don't want to sound ungrateful- but I cringed a bit at hearing that Anna Eley would be reading. Sometimes she gets the voices right - sometimes, not so much. I liked the story content. It was weird. It was fun. I too was a bit more than unsettled by the idea of sentiant toys with no self preservation drive. It's more the sentient part that really bothered me.. well that and the idea that my girl may one day want a Debutante Molly. I shudder to think of the rampant vapidness that would inspire. I liked the P.D. character- even the "twist" ending I saw coming from a bit off. OVerall good story. I'll allow that once I got over my reservations I even enjoyed Annas reading.

TristanPEJ · **Reply #6 on:** September 07, 2008, 12:15:52 PM

This story was fun to say the least; though I do get the feeling that it would have gotten old if it had gone much longer. I was very pleased with the narration of the complete change of Molly's disposition at the end. I also think now that when I hear that Anna Eley is narrating I'll get an optimistic feeling about the next 45 minutes or so. She could read the day's stock changes and I'd find it entertaining.

zZzacha · **Reply #7 on:** September 07, 2008, 01:20:25 PM

This was a very fun story indeed! Definitely one I put on my list of "fun episodes to re-listen".

I also did enjoy Anna's reading and I thought to myself: "WoW, Alex is one lucky boy. Having two parents who understand the power of stories and who can both really read a story very well." Reading a story - bringing a story and its characters to life - is an art and I think you two are great artists.

I do, however, understand MacArthurBug's criticism about Anna's voice. The first time I heard a story read by Anna I had to get used to her voice as well. Now, after months of digging into the EP archives, I have gotten to 'know' a lot of voices and their familiarity is very comfortable to my ears. Anna, as well as a lot of other readers, has a specific voice that works really well for specific characters and stories. And I love that. To me, it brings that extra power to a story that really scores a bull's eye for most of the EP episodes.

As I said at the start, the story was great! I am always a great fan of stories told by a point of view that is 'not ours'. It always points out great flaws in the things we ourselves take for granted. Although that was not really the issue in this story, but I still enjoyed it very much!

bolddeceiver · **Reply #8 on:** September 07, 2008, 10:06:21 PM

Great story.

This got me thinking about several other EP stories. There's something really powerful to me about the unreliable first-person narrator, and we've had several stories over the years using the limited programming of AI poking around the edges of a much deeper story -- right away I can think of Little Worker, Edward Bear, and last week's Robots Don't Cry, to some extent. Heck, the one way back at the beginning with the balloon penguin had a similar vibe, though without the AI angle.

On the political angle, I think it's no mistake that we have so many stories about the negative impacts of over-privatization of social services. SF has a long history of presenting cautionary futures, and the movement away from welfare liberalism that's been underway in the US since the Reagan administration(and since the Thatcher administration in the UK, for that matter), it's no surprise that that particular extrapolation has been explored so much in SF over the past few decades.

JoeFitz · **Reply #9 on:** September 07, 2008, 11:30:11 PM

Seemingly a light enough story, though a tad predictable. I liked the PD character enough, but I was a little amused at several of the ideas about government in this cautionary polemic.

Let's see: a sentient toy "feels" for the child and decides to commit fraud because it is better to "save" a dying child than conform to the government health care system (hence it must be "bad"). A government so "bad" that it offers a 50% commission for privateers to uncover fraud against the government (or concoct it). Just having a snitch line for fraud obviously wasn't enough, and the crack government investigators just weren't motivated enough to root out fraud. Now that's a pretty "bad" government.

My quibble here is that we are given no context to judge the key moral question in this story. Not "is it okay to cheat an evil government" - I think that's (ahem) a red herring; but rather why should another child die to "save" this one? (I use "save" because we don't even know if the operation is a cure or just treatment).

I ask this because it seems that medical technology is either scarce or expensive in this universe. Even if the money or technology is not the issue - I presume that lungs for transplant are rare. Given that, I think it very likely that if this girl is "saved," another child will die. We are not told (although I suppose we could infer) that government would just waste the money. But if health care is fairly rationed to the "deserving poor" (as I think we could, alternatively, infer) then another child maybe whose mother actually was working two jobs and was actually killed in a car accident is going to die.

biondolino · **Reply #10 on:** September 08, 2008, 05:28:47 AM

The thing that struck Me About the story is the personal conflict of interest. For a child's garden to be able to profit by denying that child life saving treatment is a mark of a country that I would not care to live in. [regardless of witch party is in power].

Lionman · **Reply #11 on:** September 08, 2008, 04:01:15 PM

I had mixed-emotions about this story. It was drawing me along until PD was re-formatted into Debbie. Then I was suddenly crest-fallen, that lasted too long before the mention of only having one personality now, the doll out-smarting the Guardian. $:-\$

Zathras · **Reply #12 on:** September 08, 2008, 04:35:32 PM

Ok, finished the story on the 5th try. I haven't not finished an EP yet, and this one was kind of short.

William Shatner sums up my feelings on this.

From the video for Celebrity by Praid Paisley.
Shatner: I liked the end (paraphrasing now) You know, where the story stops, and there are no more words? I like that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEPe4fZNf74 you can just jump to 4:20 if you don't want to watch the video, but the whole thing is pretty funny.

wintermute · **Reply #13 on:** September 08, 2008, 06:03:30 PM

Politics aside, I loved this story. "Kid noir", indeed; and it's a genre that needs to be explored further. I can't wait until I can get a PD Molly of my very own. Any toy that can outsmart humans like that is surely well worth having around.

stePH · **Reply #14 on:** September 08, 2008, 06:06:50 PM

Just a quick note that my favorite Anna Eley reading is the flash piece "Wetting the Bed" from a year or two ago.

Heradel · **Reply #15 on:** September 08, 2008, 08:08:15 PM

The political discussion has been split and moved to this thread: http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1924.0

Hatton · **Reply #16 on:** September 08, 2008, 08:13:15 PM

Mod request - can we take the politics out of the story thread please? While I'm always up for a good conversation about the roles of government and responsibilities of individuals, I don't want them clouding the reviews of story-time! Thanks for moving that!

For the story - I really liked this one! After so many "meh" stories it was refreshing to listen to this one, even to figure out how PD worked around her own programming to thwart the "Social Inspector".

Thinking about it, I'd have to say that if I were to envision the world around this very encapsulated glimpse into the future, I'd have to put it into something akin to Blade Runner.

Leon Kensington · **Reply #17 on:** September 09, 2008, 01:06:49 AM

I really loved this story. And I have to admit, it was the first one to make me cry. If you haven't noticed I haven't been on the forum recently mainly due to dealing with some family issues one of which being a close family member with a disease. I really felt for the little girl and found PeeDee a great mother-figure in the story. The style was right up my alley (if you hadn't noticed I have a Dresden Files cover as my avatar so that shouldn't be too surprising, anyways I digress) and the idea of a watchdog type of doll was very interesting.

Frankly there were only two things that made me feel...is the correct term out of place? The first being the social worker sounding a little like Agent Smith. I'm not saying I think Anna sounds like Agent Smith, her reading was wonderful! It was just that has dialog and characterization seems a little bit similar, though this could be from watching all three Matrix movies plus the Animatrix over the weekend. The second thing was Debbie at the end of the story. I understood the point of having that character but I couldn't help but think, "Wow, and here's Barbie!" It was such a contrast from PeeDee, a foil if I could go so far as to say.

All in all, great story I would give it a solid 9.5 out of 10.

taueret · **Reply #18 on:** September 09, 2008, 11:04:44 AM

I loved this story- and I enjoyed the reading too.

Listener · **Reply #19 on:** September 09, 2008, 02:50:18 PM

Didn't like it. I don't think it actually covered any new ground. The toy/robot/AI-somehow-transcends-its-programming-and-rebels-against-an-evil-somethingorother has been done before and better. The whole governmental angle didn't interest me at all, though the fact that Alasdair was the good guy and the social worker the bad guy for once was a nice touch. The ending (when she becomes Debutante Molly) went on too long, though the narration was very good.

I do not care for Anna Eley as a reader. Her voice is difficult for me to listen to. She plays young characters well, but her manner of speaking and accent, to my mind, do not fit well for narration.

Overall, I was not pleased with this story.

Chivalrybean · **Reply #20 on:** September 09, 2008, 02:58:04 PM

I don't get how programmed robots can decide to ignore their programming when it suits them, and all that happens is they start to 'hurt'. Unless some programming allows them to disobey other programming, this just doesn't seem right.

Other than that, great story.

Listener · **Reply #21 on:** September 09, 2008, 03:07:01 PM

Quote from: Chivalrybean on September 09, 2008, 02:58:04 PM

I don't get how programmed robots can decide to ignore their programming when it suits them, and all that happens is they start to 'hurt'. Unless some programming allows them to disobey other programming, this just doesn't seem right.

Other than that, great story.

Well, in the STNG novel "Metamorphosis", the author spends a few pages having Data explain his version of pain... that he receives "unpleasant sensations" in his positronic network, and when he ceases doing the painful thing, they cease as well. Pleasantness, however, is a relative term -- just ask anyone who's the bottom half of a BDSM relationship.

But yeah, I agree with you.

Ocicat · **Reply #22 on:** September 09, 2008, 06:06:09 PM

Quote from: Chivalrybean on September 09, 2008, 02:58:04 PM

I don't get how programmed robots can decide to ignore their programming when it suits them, and all that happens is they start to 'hurt'. Unless some programming allows them to disobey other programming, this just doesn't seem right.

It's called anthropomorphism, and it's lazy. That being said, I don't think this story was too guilty of it. For example, that whole bit about having no self preservation, which was really quite good. As to ignoring programming... this robot/toy was trying to reconcile conflicting program goals (help the owner vs. obey guardian). It did seem to "like" one goal far more than the other, but it found ways to technically fulfill both.

Though most of the story I was expecting PD to discover that the mother's death had actually been faked. Then it would have been able to decide that the social inspector wasn't the legal guardian at all, and would start lying to him.

ScottC · **Reply #23 on:** September 09, 2008, 07:32:54 PM

Hearing a hard-boiled detective say "Goo." nearly killed me.

Void Munashii · **Reply #24 on:** September 10, 2008, 03:49:00 AM

Like zombies, sentient toys are another of my weak spots. ever since I was a kid I've loved living toys from "Child's Play" and "Puppetmaster" to more family friendly fare like "Toy Story". I've always collected toys, and the idea that they have lives of their own when I am not around has always appealed to me.

given the above statement, it's obvious that I really enjoyed this story, especially because it was not a really child-safe tale. Underneath the frosting of lightness and fun there was this thick layer of dark cynicism that really appealed to me.

I want a P.D. Molly doll now.

DKT · **Reply #25 on:** September 10, 2008, 04:23:44 PM

Quote from: Chivalrybean on September 09, 2008, 02:58:04 PM

I don't get how programmed robots can decide to ignore their programming when it suits them, and all that happens is they start to 'hurt'. Unless some programming allows them to disobey other programming, this just doesn't seem right.

Other than that, great story.

Yeah, this was my one disappointment with the story. It felt a little too easy.

I loved pretty much everything else about it -- obviously the sentient toy bodyguard, (part of me wants to see how this would play out during recess -- toy bodyguard wars featuring Chucky!), the evil social worker who gets a premium for figuring out a reason why someone shouldn't receive healthcare, the line about wishing Alasdair had died instead of mommy, that Alasdair ended up being one of the good guys, and the disturbing reprogramming PD went through at the end. Quite the bittersweet victory.

So all in all, great, fun story, and I'm glad EP ran it.

Chivalrybean · **Reply #26 on:** September 11, 2008, 04:07:15 PM

Quote from: DKT on September 10, 2008, 04:23:44 PM

Quote from: Chivalrybean on September 09, 2008, 02:58:04 PM
I don't get how programmed robots can decide to ignore their programming when it suits them, and all that happens is they start to 'hurt'. Unless some programming allows them to disobey other programming, this just doesn't seem right.

Other than that, great story.

Yeah, this was my one disappointment with the story. It felt a little too easy.

Maybe call it some Deus Ex Programma?

ieDaddy · **Reply #27 on:** September 11, 2008, 08:06:12 PM

So it was a fun story - there were parts you sort of had to gloss over to enjoy it, but that was minimal, and probably would have lengthened the story for too much of the audience to actually treat it right.

The reading was meh - i found her voice a little too distracting, but again with a little patience and gloss you can get past that too.

Felt bad for the Molly doll - sounds like they can't have a self-preservation routine if every time they go into the generator they die. I had a flashback to the carousel on Logan's Run with that one for some reason. Renew!

I really didn't like the political angle here and the whole "cheating the evil system". From what I understood - The child's mom was working 60 hours and as such qualified for public benefits (including the surgery for her child) but as she was about to lose the second job due to her being sick and missing it so much, that would put her below the threshold so by killing herself in a car crash before she died of being sick when she still had 60 hours of work her kid would get all public benefits.

Politics aside - the premise itself felt a bit too heavy handed and the government weasel was a bit to stereo-typical. It really tried to push the reader in one direction and could have been more effective by leaving more "grey" - I probably would have been more sympathetic to the mother's predicament if i didn't feel like a horse being lead with blinders on and having my face shoved into the "government is evil" trough - subtle would have been stronger; instead I found myself mentally digging my heels in. This was a caricature and as such was hard to consider seriously.

But, like i said to begin with, it's a fun story; enjoyable and a light brunch for my ears, just no nourishment for the soul.

Rain · **Reply #28 on:** September 11, 2008, 08:19:34 PM

I liked it, it was cute

veganvampire · **Reply #29 on:** September 12, 2008, 02:24:19 AM

I loved this story. I just find it incredible how much a SF author can add character to a robot, while still being a robot, and I'm seeing that alot here.

I loved the reading, except for a few extremely-high pitched lines.

Just one of my pet peeves: why do the high-official bad guys always look "sly," "oily," and "weasel-like?"

rowshack · **Reply #30 on:** September 12, 2008, 04:51:42 PM

A kid should never know the sacrifies that a parent, uncle, or 18 inch doll make for them, just that they are loved.

Zathras · **Reply #31 on:** September 12, 2008, 06:02:47 PM

Quote from: rowshack on September 12, 2008, 04:51:42 PM

A kid should never know the sacrifies that a parent, uncle, or 18 inch doll make for them, just that they are loved.

STEVE!!!!!!!!!!! Comment of the week right there!

Void Munashii · **Reply #32 on:** September 13, 2008, 04:27:03 AM

Quote from: veganvampire on September 12, 2008, 02:24:19 AM

Just one of my pet peeves: why do the high-official bad guys always look "sly," "oily," and "weasel-like?"

Have you ever held a government job? You have to be at least two of the three to get that type of position in the first place.

I used to work with a guy who was all three, but that was in a toy store, and is totally off topic. I'll shut up now.

sayeth · **Reply #33 on:** September 13, 2008, 05:04:20 PM

I think my favorite part about this one was the concept of a doll designed to be a caregiver as a clear subordinate toy, not as a nanny-servant like in last week's episode. Molly mentions the other functions of her alternate personas: doctor, social worker and herself as bodyguard. The disturbing part, on the other hand, was that parents would use their child's doll's journal to spy on their own children. It's a creepy thought that I'm sure many parents would have no trouble with at all.

MacArthurBug · **Reply #34 on:** September 14, 2008, 03:03:59 PM

Quote from: sayeth on September 13, 2008, 05:04:20 PM

I think my favorite part about this one was the concept of a doll designed to be a caregiver as a clear subordinate toy, not as a nanny-servant like in last week's episode. Molly mentions the other functions of her alternate personas: doctor, social worker and herself as bodyguard. The disturbing part, on the other hand, was that parents would use their child's doll's journal to spy on their own children. It's a creepy thought that I'm sure many parents would have no trouble with at all.

Well- I wouldn't say no trouble with at all. However, I can see making reasons with myself for doing this. PErhaps this is partially due to the fact that I am the partent of a VERY troubled girl child. She's wonderful and I love her, however there are times I'm tempted to look into her more private things. I havn't yet, but for how much longer?

mudguts · **Reply #35 on:** September 15, 2008, 12:44:09 AM

I can see some underlying truths in the story. Overall, I enjoyed it's 30's noir 'private dick' feel. It could have had a bit more teeth in the story but it was a simple mystery for a simple 'doll' to discover.

As a parent who enjoys gadgets, I could see the benefit in purchasing a doll like this to track my kids movements and keep me informed. Just as I can understand a parent wanting a tracker GPS in their car to keep tabs on their kids on a Saturday night.

I'd like to hear more of this 'doll' character. I think that it would be fun series to follow, much like that 'police dog' story while back.

Ersatz Coffee · **Reply #36 on:** September 15, 2008, 07:32:52 AM

This is one of my favourites on Escape Pod for a good while. Clever idea, well executed. And like most good short stories, based on a pretty simple scenario. Somehow the characters and motivations all seemed just right - a massive improvement after EP173. And I like Mrs E's quirky reading voice!

Slyasthefox · **Reply #37 on:** September 15, 2008, 09:39:54 PM

HELLO! this is my first time posting, and I would like to say hello to all fellow sci fi fans and how much this podcast good. I have just herd the ep 174. To me I liked it, but it reminded me much like the Twilight Zone "Number 23 looks just like me" (i think), but if it was a doll. It was a good story overall. And in this age of new smart toys who knows, a molly doll might be on next years chrismas list. I know what Steve ment about kids being rough on the their toys. More then once my USS Enterpirse played a submarine.

But the doll being sentent and not having any self-protection is a bit unsettling. Its like erracing a whole diffrent being for good. The part for me was the end, where she was turned back into the debutant doll and the closing about how she could make he owner look good and how the doll who was just perfict as human. Not to tall not too small. That is the part that got to me. If everyone was perfict how would boring would this world be? People can E-mail me if they like about the comment.

slowmovingthing · **Reply #38 on:** September 16, 2008, 01:31:10 PM

I loved this story.

I usually don't like children's stories. But "Kid Nior" works for me.

Anna Eley is my favorite female reader (with Mur a close second). She had me charmed since she spurted the phrase "The little shit..." In Mur's Christmas story about the time dilating Santa.

I'm surprised that Steve and others are so surprised about the theme of lack of self-preservation on the part of the Molly Doll.

This very theme was touched upon in the original Toy Story and really hit home in Toy Story 2.
Been done, especially in kid-friendly media.

Last week I completed the first piece of fiction I have written since it was a required assignment in high school English.

It was a "nior" detective short story set in the Bubbas of the Apocalypse universe.
Although the closest thing I have ever come to reading that kind of story was Sue Grafton novels and Guy Nior on Prairie Home Companion, I thought I did a good job.

Then this week I listen to this story and it was kind of like making the second story on a house of cards for the first time, then turning your head and seeing someone's multiple story card palace right next to you.

But Private Detective Molly was too fun and too well crafted not to appreciate.

eytanz · **Reply #39 on:** September 17, 2008, 08:20:09 PM

Let me echo something Steve said - there are a lot of things to think about from this story. Indeed, I don't think I have a single cohesive reaction to it, just a lot of random thoughts that don't necessarily fit well together:

- Taking the story on face value, as "noir for kids", I thought it really worked well. I liked it a lot.
- But thinking about it a tiny bit more made me realize that it's full of inconsistencies. For one, Molly's lack of a preservation instinct didn't seem to mesh well with her fear of rats. More importantly, how could she sabotage her own kit? Or explain to a third party (the uncle?) how to do it, quite clearly against the wishes of the kid's legal guardian? Wouldn't there be safeguards against that ever happening? Otherwise, any kid could talk their doll into letting them override their parents' restrictions.
- And while I don't want to get into a debate about health insurance systems, how did the insurance investigator end up being the legal guardian in the first place? Yes, he worked for the state, but so do, persumably, hundreds of other people. Could any state employee have the same authority?
- Also, what sort of insurance would give its investigators a 50% commission for refusing operations? Even if they were entirely corrupt, that's just not cost effective. Especially since the insurance here was a state-run insurance, wouldn't it be easier to just make the laws more draconian rather than give up half the money you're saving?
- Dorothy was resentful of her uncle and perfectly willing to disregard her mother's last wish of letting him take care of her. She liked the investigator because he bought her a doll. I guess it was convenient that the scene in which Molly changes her mind happens off-screen, since I don't think there's any way it could play out convincingly.
- I like Anna as a reader a lot, but I felt she was miscast for this story. She does many things well, but "hard boiled" isn't one of them.
- The mystery was too straightforward to work as adult noir; I figured it out the first time the operation was mentioned, and then spent 15 minutes or so waiting for Molly to catch up. I found that easy to forgive since the story did seem to be aimed at children.
- But all nitpicks aside - fun story! I enjoyed listening to it a lot.

alllie · **Reply #40 on:** September 17, 2008, 08:58:29 PM

I liked Anna's reading of this. I could see her as a doll but a hard-boiled detective at the same time.

Roney · **Reply #41 on:** September 17, 2008, 09:38:13 PM

Quote from: eytanz on September 17, 2008, 08:20:09 PM

- But thinking about it a tiny bit more made me realize that it's full of inconsistencies. For one, Molly's lack of a preservation instinct didn't seem to mesh well with her fear of rats. More importantly, how could she sabotage her own kit? Or explain to a third party (the uncle?) how to do it, quite clearly against the wishes of the kid's legal guardian? Wouldn't there be safeguards against that ever happening? Otherwise, any kid could talk their doll into letting them override their parents' restrictions.

In my limited time (one decade) working in IT, this is pretty much what happens with security in areas that aren't under the spotlight. If there are any safeguards at all it's because some unusually perceptive tester has spotted one loophole; instead of fixing the whole class of problems of which that loophole is an example, some simplistic block is put in place; no real effort is made to design security into the system; any curious human (or intelligent doll) can poke the edges of the security model and find the gaps.

If I find a UK bank that doesn't offer internet banking I think I may transfer my money to it. I thought I was with a bank that understood computer security but actually... little things they do smell like the scenario I described in the paragraph before. If all banks get it wrong, I don't see why toy manufacturers should be expected to get it right.

Quote

- I like Anna as a reader a lot, but I felt she was miscast for this story. She does many things well, but "hard boiled" isn't one of them.

I don't think PD does hard-boiled well either. PD's a jumble of hard-boiled detective cliches in doll form. If she had spoken with a 40-a-day noir growl she would never have convinced as a doll. I thought that Anna's reading neatly expressed a young girl trying on her parent's clothes, which was the effect (a particular charming precociousness) that I thought the author wanted for PD.

Quote

- The mystery was too straightforward to work as adult noir; I figured it out the first time the operation was mentioned, and then spent 15 minutes or so waiting for Molly to catch up. I found that easy to forgive since the story did seem to be aimed at children.

Initially I had the same reaction (and assumed that the heavy-handed politics was intended as an accessible cautionary tale for children, like Animal Farm) but then I wondered who would read their child a story about insurance-fraud-based suicide. I can't think of anything that would have upset me more when I was young. So if it's not for kids, who is this story for? (Except me, I liked it.) And if it is for kids... again, who is it for?

stePH · **Reply #42 on:** September 18, 2008, 02:45:20 PM

Quote from: eytanz on September 17, 2008, 08:20:09 PM

- The mystery was too straightforward to work as adult noir; I figured it out the first time the operation was mentioned, and then spent 15 minutes or so waiting for Molly to catch up.

We're not all so perceptive and insightful.

veganvampire · **Reply #43 on:** September 19, 2008, 03:14:11 AM

I remember that someone posted something about an inconsistancy about life preservation--why was she scared of mice? I can't find the exact quote.

Anyway, I'm fairly certain that the programmers made sure that Molly dolls wouldn't mind being put into the Generator (which is what the line in the story was referring to,) but they made the dolls able to save themselves from mice, so that animals wouldn't start nibbling on their product. I think that the Molly dolls might have a similar reaction to teething puppies, but we obviously didn't get to see that, did we?

Loz · **Reply #44 on:** September 19, 2008, 06:11:32 AM

I was wondering about that... I would have thought the dollies, or at least the PD version, would be programmed to try and fight off mice. How big was Molly supposed to be? I started off thinking she was Barbie size but then thought that, with things like giving her journal to the social services guy, that she would have to be considerably taller.

Anyway, I enjoyed the story, loved Anna's reading but actually found it quite sad. I would have preferred some mention from Molly about what she did to ensure that whatever had been done to her personality matrix to make it only turn out PDs had been reset to bimbos, it did seem a little 'out of nowhere'.

wintermute · **Reply #45 on:** September 19, 2008, 11:43:46 AM

I think the story said she was two foot tall. And being scared of rats (or, in the Débutante Mollie, the dark) is more of a character quirk than a self-preservation thing, I think.

veganvampire · **Reply #46 on:** September 22, 2008, 11:21:50 PM

Quote from: Loz on September 19, 2008, 06:11:32 AM

I was wondering about that... I would have thought the dollies, or at least the PD version, would be programmed to try and fight off mice.

PD Molly now not only is a body guard and a detective, but a rodent exterminator as well! I can see that! I wonder why it wasn't?

Anarkey · **Reply #47 on:** September 23, 2008, 04:16:22 PM

I liked this story ok, it was neither a favorite nor an unfavorite, and I was present with it while it lasted but then easily put it aside when it was over.

However, I had saved it for several weeks in the hope of getting an opportunity to listen to it with my daughter. She loved the Squonk stories, and is a regular listener of clonepod (except the Union Dues stories, which I don't think are appropriate for her age) and I find it interesting to gauge her reaction to podcasts that are ostensibly for kids. She often really likes stories that I think are trite and predictable, frex. She can find things that I think are creepy funny, and things I wouldn't think twice about disturbing.

If this story works for a kid (a real kid, and not the generic kid that it seemed aimed at), it wasn't my kid. She was bored, bored, bored.

wakela · **Reply #48 on:** September 27, 2008, 12:15:10 AM

Steve's right. There are a lot of dark corners in this one. One of the creepiest for me is how much Molly is able to violate her own programming and how warped her sense of reality is. The purpose of Molly is to help a child live an exciting fantasy. Debutante Molly talks about suitors and balls that don't really exist, maybe PD Molly invents mysteries. So I wonder how much of this happened at all. I would assume that Viper Pilot Molly would think that the social agent were a cylon.

Zathras · **Reply #49 on:** September 27, 2008, 12:41:52 AM

Quote from: wakela on September 27, 2008, 12:15:10 AM

Steve's right. There are a lot of dark corners in this one. One of the creepiest for me is how much Molly is able to violate her own programming and how warped her sense of reality is. The purpose of Molly is to help a child live an exciting fantasy. Debutante Molly talks about suitors and balls that don't really exist, maybe PD Molly invents mysteries. So I wonder how much of this happened at all. I would assume that Viper Pilot Molly would think that the social agent were a cylon.

Nice

ieDaddy · **Reply #50 on:** September 30, 2008, 10:29:28 PM

Quote from: wintermute on September 19, 2008, 11:43:46 AM

I think the story said she was two foot tall. And being scared of rats (or, in the Débutante Mollie, the dark) is more of a character quirk than a self-preservation thing, I think.

Umm... Norwegian Roof Rat? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rat

It is a brown or grey rodent, with a body up to 25 cm (10 in) long, with the tail a similar length; the male weighs on average 350 g (12 oz) and the female 250 g (9 oz).

Yup, nose to tail - it's 20 inches long. If you extrapolate that out and say Molly was a 5 foot girl, that's like having a rat just over 4 feet come at you. That's what I call a Rodent Of Unusual Size.

Planish · **Reply #51 on:** October 04, 2008, 08:14:22 AM

Quote from: sayeth on September 13, 2008, 05:04:20 PM

The disturbing part, on the other hand, was that parents would use their child's doll's journal to spy on their own children. It's a creepy thought that I'm sure many parents would have no trouble with at all.

The genie has certainly popped out of that bottle. Behold! NannyCams:

-

Although, properly, they are meant to spy on nannies, not to be nannies.

ieDaddy · **Reply #52 on:** October 16, 2008, 08:51:17 PM

Quote from: sayeth on September 13, 2008, 05:04:20 PM

I think my favorite part about this one was the concept of a doll designed to be a caregiver as a clear subordinate toy, not as a nanny-servant like in last week's episode. Molly mentions the other functions of her alternate personas: doctor, social worker and herself as bodyguard. The disturbing part, on the other hand, was that parents would use their child's doll's journal to spy on their own children. It's a creepy thought that I'm sure many parents would have no trouble with at all.

I wish I had one of these 2 days ago. Daughter came home from the park with a big gash just under her chin that required 2 stitches. She had apparently cleaned it up herself, there was no blood on her clothes, and she didn't want to talk about it. Eventually we got it out of her that she was swinging around the pole to the swing set and got knocked - but it was weird that it was so deep with so little blood and she didn't cry or anything (well, not until the doctor put stitches in).

I would totally use anything I could to spy on my daughter. It's all in the interest of keeping her safe. I'm probably one of those mean parents who believes that her privacy starts the day she moves out, but until then...I remember what I was like as a kid and I'll do whatever I can to protect her.

I'm all for the illusion of privacy, but lets face it, when you have kids running off with strange men they've met over the internet, teenage drinking, and (an example our possible next VP has provided) teenage pregnancy, not to mention cyber and regular bullying, pedophiles, all all the other ills of society, the day I can put a GPS chip in her I'm going to do it, in the past day we've even had a kidnapping of Cole Puffinburger, and it took us 10 years to put OJ behind bars because they finally caught him for doing something wrong that was just to outrageous for him to get off (yup, I think he did it too). There's way too many people out there with bad intentions, hell, there are people out there with good intentions that create bad situations.

If I had a way to come home from a hard day, sit and talk about stuff over dinner, and then read about what she didn't want to tell me - I would so take it. I'm all about trust, but there's nothing wrong with "Trust but verify".

JoeFitz · **Reply #53 on:** October 16, 2008, 10:43:56 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on September 23, 2008, 04:16:22 PM

If this story works for a kid (a real kid, and not the generic kid that it seemed aimed at), it wasn't my kid. She was bored, bored, bored.

I was just flipping through a Calvin and Hobbes book and it struck me that the noire style used here reminded me Watterson's Detective personality for Calvin, Tracer Bullet. The strips were full of cliches that would probably fly over the head of most young children: ex. "I've got 8 slugs in me. One is lead, the rest are burbon." It's not quite a send-up of the style, but rather an admittedly flawed use of the cliches to tell a story aimed at adults knowing that it is playing with the chosen style.

Anarkey · **Reply #54 on:** October 17, 2008, 12:14:38 AM

Quote from: JoeFitz on October 16, 2008, 10:43:56 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on September 23, 2008, 04:16:22 PM
If this story works for a kid (a real kid, and not the generic kid that it seemed aimed at), it wasn't my kid. She was bored, bored, bored.

I was just flipping through a Calvin and Hobbes book and it struck me that the noire style used here reminded me Watterson's Detective personality for Calvin, Tracer Bullet. The strips were full of cliches that would probably fly over the head of most young children: ex. "I've got 8 slugs in me. One is lead, the rest are burbon." It's not quite a send-up of the style, but rather an admittedly flawed use of the cliches to tell a story aimed at adults knowing that it is playing with the chosen style.

You may be right about that, although that same kid that found this story so boring also loves Calvin and Hobbes with a deep and abiding passion. Of course, Watterson's a genius, and his strips work on many levels (unlike the story) so perhaps it's an unkind comparison.

Father Beast · **Reply #55 on:** October 24, 2008, 04:41:05 PM

OK, here's my two cents.

Loved it.

Not as much as Impossible Dreams, but up there.

I enjoyed how the doll had to follow her programming, but found ways to protect the child (as she saw it) by going around her restrictions. I imagine a doll of this type would do something similar if there was some sort of abuse going on, even though it was clearly against the wishes of the parent/guardian.

So the story was good.

I was also fascinated by the doll herself. I found myself wanting to play with it, see what it would do. Yes, I played with dolls as a boy.

I wondered how much extra the social worker had to pay for the multiple style Molly, seeing as he really only wanted the P. D. type. If he'd just gotten the debutante Molly, it probably wouldn't have had the extra expensive converter kit. but he wanted the PD, which probably meant he had to get the ultra deluxe seven (or however many it was) version Molly, and then go through the trouble of breaking the selector. Quite the investment. All because PDs aren't that much in demand for girls.

If the mice are a problem, I think warrior princess Molly could dispatch them with her sword.

On another note: the job of a reader is to make the listener forget there is a reader and focus on the story. Ana Eley did just fine. It felt as if I was just reading it myself. which is how it should be.

Windup · **Reply #56 on:** October 27, 2008, 04:00:45 AM

Quote from: ieDaddy on October 16, 2008, 08:51:17 PM

I would totally use anything I could to spy on my daughter. It's all in the interest of keeping her safe. I'm probably one of those mean parents who believes that her privacy starts the day she moves out, but until then...I remember what I was like as a kid and I'll do whatever I can to protect her.
....
If I had a way to come home from a hard day, sit and talk about stuff over dinner, and then read about what she didn't want to tell me - I would so take it. I'm all about trust, but there's nothing wrong with "Trust but verify".

I feel like I should give you the secret hand sign for the Holy League of Parental Facists (or however my daughter thinks of it). I agree on all points -- sometimes the risk is just too great. Though I find that for me, the trick is often to know, but not to act. She's reaching the point where I need to let her muddle through a lot of things on her own, and that's hard.

Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY · **Reply #57 on:** October 27, 2008, 10:29:25 PM

Speaking as one of the kids here, I find this extremely creepy. I mean, toys that spy on your every move? Has our society become so absolutely obsessed with security and control that we're spying on our kids?

I really think this is overkill. Great story though!

Bdoomed · **Reply #58 on:** November 02, 2008, 11:48:12 PM

Ana is one of my favorite readers

Windup · **Reply #59 on:** November 03, 2008, 12:02:39 AM

Quote from: Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY on October 27, 2008, 10:29:25 PM

Speaking as one of the kids here, I find this extremely creepy. I mean, toys that spy on your every move? Has our society become so absolutely obsessed with security and control that we're spying on our kids?

I was spied on extensively as a kid. The agents were called "Moms of friends," "teachers" and "neighbors." They were adults who knew me and knew what I was up to, and if I got involved in anything dangerous or stupid, they would (and did) inform my parents. Coverage wasn't 100% -- it never is -- but it was complete enough that it tended to keep me out of trouble.

That's a much preferable system to some sort of technology spy, but its underpinnings are gone. In most suburban homes, both parents work outside the home, and kids are unsupervised on a daily basis when they hit middle school. The elderly neighbors who formed part of my personal safety net have, for the most part, relegated themselves to retirement communities. And we just don't know each other as well.

This was brought home to me several years ago, as I was biking home from work, and suddenly two little boys -- probably around 12 or 13 years old -- came exploding out of the culvert under the bike path, trailing the distinctive odor of marijuana smoke. I thought that if I were my age in the town I grew up in, I'd know who those kids were, and I'd know their parents. And when I got home, i would have given them a call and said, "Look, I'm not taking a position on this, and I have no intention of involving the police, but I think you should know this happened, and I'd want you to do the same for me if the situation was reversed." And hopefully, there's a reasonable conversation about risk that follows. However, since I am where I am, I didn't have the foggiest idea who the kids where, and I just have to hope they are going to be OK.

If that's creepy, then well, I guess I'm creepy.

eytanz · **Reply #60 on:** November 03, 2008, 12:23:15 AM

Quote from: Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY on October 27, 2008, 10:29:25 PM

Speaking as one of the kids here, I find this extremely creepy. I mean, toys that spy on your every move? Has our society become so absolutely obsessed with security and control that we're spying on our kids?

I really think this is overkill. Great story though!

Well, that depends on the age of the kid, no? I don't think the age of the girl in this story was made explicit, but between her behavior and the fact that she was four feet tall, I'd say she was probably 6 or 7. Kids that age need to be supervised.

McToad · **Reply #61 on:** November 13, 2008, 12:50:38 AM

Good story overall. I had this nagging feeling I had heard it before, then I saw it was a 'reprint' from Strange Horizons. Comparing the two, I think I like this one better in audio.

-McToad

Unblinking · **Reply #62 on:** June 23, 2010, 05:13:25 PM

Mixed feelings about this one. The doll noir act was cute, and Anna's voice meshed with it very well. The interchangeable Molly dolls were a cool idea.

But the message was a little too heavy handed for me, maybe it's just the timing that I listened to it while the health care bill was in heavy debate. Molly circumvented her programming much too easily for my tastes--that sort of thing would probably be hard coded, not in self-modifying code. How did a private detective know how to tamper with the machine in the correct way?

Author Topic: EP174: Private Detective Molly (Read 30920 times)

Russell Nash

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