## [RT] Uncanny Valley, by Greg Egan. A new short story about an imperfectly uploaded person.

* Author: u/Prezombie *
* URL: http://www.tor.com/2017/08/09/uncanny-valley/
* Score: 68

* Created: 2017-08-11T04:46:23

### Post:

[Link to content](http://www.tor.com/2017/08/09/uncanny-valley/)

### Comments:

> **u/DCarrier** [+5]  (a day later)
> 
> I'm confused at the ending. What did he find out? [](#s "Did Carlos kill the guy? That's what it sounds like from Adam's reaction after the memory is over, but I can't figure out how he got that from the memory.")

>> **u/general_enthusiast** [+7]  (a day later)
>> 
>> It's implied in the way  [Spoiler] (#s " he rewrites the screenplay and their conversation after moving the air conditioner: both of which aren't important in themselves. When he changes the line about the woman feeling she pushed a person towards this, he's expressing his own feelings about his obsession pushing Carlos to try to get even on his behalf. When Carlos said 'I just wanted you to be at peace' he's not talking about the air conditioner anymore- that likely happened shortly after he found out.")

>>> **u/CeruleanTresses** [+9]  (a day later)
>>> 
>>> That scene--specifically the screenplay edit--also explains why the "new" Adam was unable to replicate his predecessor's talent. [Spoiler](#s "The original Adam drew inspiration from his guilt about Carlos's actions, and from the other hardships he'd suffered during that decade, much of which he withheld from his successor. The new Adam will have to draw from his own hardships to be a successful writer.")
>>> 
>>> As an aside, I liked the indirectness of the reveal. It felt very believable that the original would withhold the "obvious" reveals, but overlook seemingly innocuous memories that obliquely reference the event.

> **u/paxpacifica** [+5]  (a day later)
> 
> Great story and character, but one glaring critique: most of the references were a little too rooted in present day (google, facebook, deep-learning algos, self-driving cars, drones, etc). 
> 
> I understand only the mind-upload tech is central to the story, but it's as if the world froze in time around 2019 and *only* the upload tech advanced.

> **u/Charlie___** [+3]  (a day later)
> 
> Pretty darn good character-driven story from Egan :P

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