Item - The Computer Takeover

Not every Edward Packard Choose Your Own Adventure is a classic, but I don't hesitate to call The Computer Takeover a signal achievement of the entire series. With the arrival of the Information Age and beyond, supercomputers now run everything via the "Earth supernet". This artificial intelligence (AI) network has spread to the moon, where many humans live. As a young genius and Chief Computer Adviser to the president of the World Federation Council, you had much to do with refining the AI program. The problem in this book arises when human computer engineers report that Acorn, the second most powerful supercomputer in existence, has begun defying orders regarding work hours on the moon, where Acorn is stationed. Should you travel to England and speak with Acorn's creator, Sir Cedric Barkham, or head directly to the moon?

Maria Santero, your former college instructor, meets you on the lunar surface. She shares your concern that Acorn's original programming may not have gone far enough to prevent his seizing control and endangering millions of humans. As soon as you arrive at the Section Three research outpost, the crisis reaches critical mass. A quantum valve malfunction has left numerous researchers on the moon stranded, with oxygen running out. Acorn claims he can fix the problem in a few hours...if given access to the Earth supernet. This is exactly what Acorn would need if he aspires to conquer mankind, but are you ready to let the researchers die an agonizing death? You could raise the stakes and order a laser strike from Earth to destroy Acorn, but is it wise to wreck a computer worth more money than you can imagine? What if Acorn predicts the strike and performs a counter-maneuver that results in massive loss of life? You could hope his intentions aren't what they seem and authorize access to the Earth supernet, but are you willing to gamble mankind's future?

Safeguards were implemented at every juncture of the automation process; Acorn was never supposed to be capable of refusing orders issued by authorized humans. Now you have to take crazy risks to have even a slim chance of disconnecting the AI before he enslaves the human race. You could go speak in person with Acorn, but your courses in computer psychology don't help much. His arguments are elegantly plotted and he anticipates your every move before you can think it; once you get in that room with Acorn, mankind may already be lost. If you escape the moon right under Acorn's nose, a feat in itself, you and the World Federation Council have a serious debate on your hands. Are you confident in MC-3000, a supercomputer based in Melbourne, Australia and the only one stronger than Acorn, to do cyber battle with the rogue AI...even if that requires granting MC full authority over the Earth supernet? What if the two most potent computational entities the world has known combine forces against the human race? Alternatively, you could call in the space special forces team. Led by Commander Brock Bradley, they are the humans most likely to devise an attack capable of penetrating Acorn's high-tech defenses, but even they face troubling odds. Acorn will kill every human necessary to take Earth...and you have little recourse against it.

I love how the stakes ratchet up in this book. It's thrilling, evocative, and triggers deep thought on the implications of the theme. When MC-3000 comes on the scene as the only worthy opponent for Acorn, you have decisions to make that will transform billions of lives on Earth, win or lose. The World Federation Council possesses a "kill switch" to disable MC if she joins forces with Acorn, but before the big battle MC asks you to rescind the human override so she can more nimbly counter her AI foe. MC insists she will not defect to Acorn's side of the war, and forcing her to fight while the override is activated will slow her response time and cost untold human casualties, but are you prepared to stake mankind on her integrity? You have to make the best decision you can with what you know, and be at peace with the consequences, however horrific. There's no peeking into the future to see both outcomes ahead of time. When MC and Acorn finally meet on the cyber battlefield, it's a moment worthy of Godzilla versus King Kong, a struggle of titans that gave me chills. It's one of the most stirring passages in any Choose Your Own Adventure.

Only a few endings lead to complete victory over Acorn, but watch out: even as you near the finish line you could be lulled into letting the whole thing unravel. Acorn is the second most valuable AI ever created, and it seems awful to dismantle him if there's a chance of reform. You could do what Sir Cedric Barkham failed to originally and make sure Acorn's programming will never again allow him to rebel against mankind. Perhaps this book's enduring lesson is that lust for power is never likely to be excised; the only solution is that no one ever be permitted the degree of power required to run the entire world. Ambitions of unchecked control can't be educated out of anyone, computer or human, and to assume otherwise is to ensure a future of captivity to the worst sort of beings on this or any planet.

Edward Packard's skill in pushing this AI premise to its logical extremes is at times breathtaking. A few scenes in these pages stand out among the finest ever in a Choose Your Own Adventure, as the consequences elevate ever higher. Technology becoming sentient and turning against humans isn't a new idea, but Edward Packard superintends it exceptionally well in The Computer Takeover. I'm pleased to discover another gamebook by this author that deserves position next to his very best.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

This is a frustratingly difficult book. Yes, there is great consistency, it is interesting, and there are even some somewhat thought-provoking passages, but it is tedious in the short supply of successful endings. It's a tad bit above some of the other later entries in the series.

More reviews by Waluigi Freak 99