Operation Bounce House

Because I was sick the past week, with little thought, I chose this to listen to and probably fell asleep to it a few times. Nonetheless I enjoyed this story about a 20ish-yo Oliver Lewis, his friends and the queen-bee AI, “Roger”, defending their earth farming colony planet of New Sonora when combat robots suddenly invade. A big media/gaming corporation has made up a story about how terrorists have taken over the colony and built a monetized game (“Operation Bounce House”) out of eliminating terrorists: children and gamers of Earth pay to outfit, then competitively run, combat robots which are invading New Sonora. The AI queen bee is the last remaining AI from the establishment of the colony 100? years previously; it controls a hive of other robots to run the farms but, now, to defend the colony. The colony has been isolated from earth by many light years distance (how interstellar travel is never explained - who cares if the story is good) and the colony has been handicapped/damaged in solving a genetic defect somehow tied to the colony.

The voice acting and the characters of Oliver, Roger, etal are likeable and fun. Oliver and his buddies are part of an amateur rock band, they are having children and they have faced a great deal of loss from the struggle with the genetic cancer. The battles against the gamer/invaders are amusing with the expected trash-talking serving as a counter to the brutality. Lastly, AI Roger’s personality which is locked it seems into a cross between shepard and prickly schoolmarm wielding a ruler/stinger when necessary, is the most vivid, charming character.

As the story progresses it is made clear that the invasion scheme is not really about reclaiming the land from the independence-minded colonists but about restoring earth control over (or destroying) Roger which the story calls a “traducible AI” which, long story short, means “not-tied-to-hardware”, which means “free”, which means, “god-like, independent AI”: the greatest fear of earth’s rulers. It is also revealed that the genetic defect affecting New Sonora may have been introduced through sabotage during the initial migration trip and that Roger may have something to do with it.

After a fun, cataclysmic climax, the book ends with New Sonora safe and free but with a much less obviously good and charming Roger on the loose.