The Cookie Monster (novella)
Encyclopedia
The Cookie Monster is a short story
/novella by Vernor Vinge
. It was first published in the October 2003 issue of Dell Magazines
' anthology publication Analog
, and has subsequently been collected in several science fiction
anthology
collections. It won the 2004 Hugo Award
for Best Novella
.
While they talk, several mysteries arise and convince them that the email may be a kind of warning about something going on at Lotsatech involving a professor named Gerry Reich, who seems to be involved in all the projects on the campus. Ellen finds another clue in the email leading the three to another building where, to their utter astonishment, a second Ellen appears. The only explanation of this is that they are being simulated by a computer. Further clues from another person in the building lead them to an underground lab where they find two researchers working on improving methods of producing and preserving Bose-Einstein Condensates.
When Dixie Mae and the Ellens reveal that they are all actually simulations, the researchers explore the email and find a clue that leads them to a 'cookie
', a file that is passed from each iteration to the next with messages from the centuries of time they have been simulated over and over. They also find out that it was actually Dixie Mae herself who wrote the email in order to make it as offensive as possible to herself, allowing each iteration of the researchers to access the cookie. The story ends with a sad Dixie Mae realizing she can't do anything herself to stop the endless cycle they are all in, but through the passing of information and ideas from one iteration to the next someday they will have the ability to stop the simulations.
This is reminiscent of the debate in philosophy of artificial intelligence
about whether or not a fully sentient AI can be considered alive. In this story the ethical question changes from "Does an artificial intelligence have rights?" to "Does an uploaded personality retain any of the rights the original person has?"
science fiction magazine
Analog
(Oct, 2003). As one of the year's best short stories - and subsequent winner the 2004 Hugo Award
for a Novella - it was reprinted in two annual compendiums of science fiction: Science Fiction: The Best of 2003, edited by Karen Haber
and Jonathan Strahan
(iBooks
, Feb 2004 ISBN 0-7434-7919-X), and The Year's Best Science Fiction
: Twenty-First Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois
(St. Martin's Press
, Jun 2004 ISBN 0-312-32478-2).
As of June 2009, the only in-print version of "The Cookie Monster" is in the Gardner Dozois-edited Nebula Award
s Showcase 2006 (Roc
, Mar 2006 ISBN 0-451-46064-2). It is also partially available online at the Analog science fiction magazine web page.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
/novella by Vernor Vinge
Vernor Vinge
Vernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep , A Deepness in the Sky , Rainbows End , Fast Times at Fairmont High ...
. It was first published in the October 2003 issue of Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines was a company founded by George T. Delacorte Jr. in 1921 as part of his Dell Publishing Co. Dell is today known for its many puzzle magazines, as well as fiction magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Asimov's Science Fiction, and...
' anthology publication Analog
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
, and has subsequently been collected in several science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
collections. It won the 2004 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
.
Plot summary
The story begins following the first day of Dixie Mae Leigh's job as a customer support employee at a fictional company called Lotsatech. She receives an insulting and mysterious email and, in a fit of rage, decides to find out who sent it. She and a fellow employee Victor search the Lotsatech campus looking for the author of the email, following clues in the email header. They meet up with Ellen, a grad student in computer science, who decides to try to help Dixie Mae.While they talk, several mysteries arise and convince them that the email may be a kind of warning about something going on at Lotsatech involving a professor named Gerry Reich, who seems to be involved in all the projects on the campus. Ellen finds another clue in the email leading the three to another building where, to their utter astonishment, a second Ellen appears. The only explanation of this is that they are being simulated by a computer. Further clues from another person in the building lead them to an underground lab where they find two researchers working on improving methods of producing and preserving Bose-Einstein Condensates.
When Dixie Mae and the Ellens reveal that they are all actually simulations, the researchers explore the email and find a clue that leads them to a 'cookie
Magic cookie
A magic cookie or just cookie for short, is a token or short packet of data passed between communicating programs, where the data is typically not meaningful to the recipient program. The contents are opaque and not usually interpreted until the recipient passes the cookie data back to the sender...
', a file that is passed from each iteration to the next with messages from the centuries of time they have been simulated over and over. They also find out that it was actually Dixie Mae herself who wrote the email in order to make it as offensive as possible to herself, allowing each iteration of the researchers to access the cookie. The story ends with a sad Dixie Mae realizing she can't do anything herself to stop the endless cycle they are all in, but through the passing of information and ideas from one iteration to the next someday they will have the ability to stop the simulations.
The morality of uploading a person's mind
The Cookie Monster develops many ideas of mind uploads and neural simulations. The main theme of the story is that someone with the ability to simulate many people over and over again in any situation could be considered to be using a form of intellectual slavery. The person in the story who conceived and implemented the upload procedure, Gerry Reich, used the personalities he uploaded to produce scientific breakthroughs that he passed off as his own.This is reminiscent of the debate in philosophy of artificial intelligence
Philosophy of artificial intelligence
The philosophy of artificial intelligence attempts to answer such questions as:* Can a machine act intelligently? Can it solve any problem that a person would solve by thinking?...
about whether or not a fully sentient AI can be considered alive. In this story the ethical question changes from "Does an artificial intelligence have rights?" to "Does an uploaded personality retain any of the rights the original person has?"
Publication history
Vinge's "The Cookie Monster" was first published in the near-monthly AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction magazine
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
Analog
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
(Oct, 2003). As one of the year's best short stories - and subsequent winner the 2004 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for a Novella - it was reprinted in two annual compendiums of science fiction: Science Fiction: The Best of 2003, edited by Karen Haber
Karen Haber
Karen Haber is a science fiction and non-fiction author and editor, as well an art critic and historian. She is the author of nine novels including Star Trek Voyager: Bless the Beasts, and co-author of Science of the X-Men...
and Jonathan Strahan
Jonathan Strahan
Jonathan Strahan is an editor and publisher of science fiction. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986....
(iBooks
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.-Early life and career:...
, Feb 2004 ISBN 0-7434-7919-X), and The Year's Best Science Fiction
The Year's Best Science Fiction
The Year's Best Science Fiction books are a series of science fiction anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois. In 2005 Dozois produced a "Best of the Best" review with a foreword by Robert Silverberg. The series is published by St. Martin's Press ....
: Twenty-First Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
(St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, Jun 2004 ISBN 0-312-32478-2).
As of June 2009, the only in-print version of "The Cookie Monster" is in the Gardner Dozois-edited Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
s Showcase 2006 (Roc
Roc Books
Roc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
, Mar 2006 ISBN 0-451-46064-2). It is also partially available online at the Analog science fiction magazine web page.
See also
- Simulated realitySimulated realitySimulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....