a computer called mother,ruling the world & slowly took over the free will of the people it was supposed to help (for their own good) of course.
the struggle to gain their own life choices back from the benevolent tyranny of the ruling computer is the basis of the story
has any one else read this story???
Asimov, Heinlein, E.E.DOC.Smith, or someone else entirely?
any help would be greatly apreciated
libby
Not Mother, but Master System in Rings of the Master series by Jack L Chalker is one that springs to mind.
Wikipedia lists several called mother
Regards G_R
a computer called mother
The only computer system called mother that comes to mind is the ship's computer from the original Alien movie.
Nothing with that as the name of the computer comes to mind.
I did an internet dig and came up with UniComp, from This Perfect Day by Ira Levin, describing a society that sounds like the one you mentioned.
For some weird reason I keep thinking of Heinlein's Glory Road when I see a computer named Mother the original post here. However, the rest of it doesn't seem to link with the rest of what I remember of the story, and I can't get at my packed away library to check it.
In Glory Road we very slowly learn the management is the heir with the recorded memories of her predecessors in the Egg of the Phoenix and the bulk of the day to day stuff is done by a supercomputer which I think is referred to as Mother. Maybe someone can check that out.
from libby
no not Glory Road although it might be by Rob A. H.
i also think it is an earlier work, 1950's to early 1970's
being dyslexic I couldn't read till mid seventies then raced through the si/fi that was in mum & dads extensive library of all Genre's.so i read it mid to late seventies.
the book was set on earth in big enclosed cities and the people were being protected from everything they wanted to do that was fun because it might be dangerous. they might get hurt
i also think it is an earlier work, 1950's to early 1970's
I know Have Spacesuit Will Travel has an alien they call Mother Thing, but the rest of it doesn't match. I know I've read story with a computer called Mother, but I can't dredge it up - so it had to be long, long ago, in a memory far away.
I know they are the wrong answers but the only two computers named Mother that I can remember are:
Mother the overseeing computer in the Council Wars series by John Ringo. Mostly an off screen character. It was written in 2003
The other was MOM the "good guys" computer system in the rather cheesy novelizations of a kids TV show called Photon. "MOM" was for Multiple Operations Matrix. Written in 1987.
I am still thinking about it though.
My immediate thought, based on the struggle to regain control, was Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, but this doesn't match on the slow takeover, the benevolence of the tyranny, the computer name, or even the implied possibility of regaining control - it's more like Terminator's Skynet wins and decides to keep a few people alive to play with.
ETA: PDF here, real SF horror.
I don't recall the computer called Mother, but some of the elements remind me of the Celestial Steam Locomotive.
