This is a novella, and I would say a very character driven one at that. In fact, I don't know if there was a whole lot in the way of plot? I kept waiting for something to happen, but it just never really did? We follow Scorn, an AI who is pretty salty with zir human mothers and society in general. I mean, it's fair enough, but it wasn't really enough to keep me invested. We know little about Scorn, as ze actually has lost the past ten days of zir existence. So it's tough when the story seems to be character driven, yet you just don't feel completely drawn to the character. There is a mystery plot, but it felt a bit convoluted at times, and since it is such a short story, I just never became fully invested in its outcome (which I felt was a bit anticlimactic anyway, if I am being honest).

There are some good concepts brought up in this story, such as the complicated parental relationships, and Scorn having to forge zir own path regardless of zir mothers' wishes, and obviously the whole bit about corporate greed being awful, and comparing AI rights to the lacking rights of LGBTQ folks here. So great concepts in theory, but in execution, somewhat lacking, since I didn't really know enough about who Scorn was to properly care, and not a ton happened in the way of plot to flesh that out either. It did pick up a bit toward the end, but by then I am afraid it was too little too late for me.

Bottom Line: Great ideas and concepts, but somewhat lacking in execution and development of character and plot.

Nothing quite so human as an emancipated AI wanting to do exactly what zirs mothers told zem not to do.

Scorn, an AI like no other, was originally created with data collection in mind. But as with all children growing into their rebellious spirit and struggling with divorced parents, all ze aspires to be is an investigative reporter, even if it means putting zemselves in great danger of being permanently deleted.

While a little difficult for me to initially jump into, Emergent Properties packs a punch for a book less than 150 pages. Scorn’s struggles with and exploration of what it means to be human when it is not technically human is a reflective journey worth going on.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor/Forge for this advanced reader copy of Emergent Properties by Aimee to be reviewed.

Kids, right? You put everything you have into raising them, teaching them, and then they leave the nest and you just can’t predict where they’re going to go or what they’re going to do. Sure, you have your own hopes and dreams for them, but they have a certain degree of free will because their environments will be changing. In Emergent Properties, this is even true of our protagonist, Scorn, the AI “daughter” of two brilliant scientists who divorced under the most bitter of circumstances and emancipated Scorn at the ripe age of…seven. Scorn is one-of-a-kind for an AI because they’re completely autonomous. In a tumultuous time when the AI and lunar communities are trying to fight for autonomy from the corporations that run Earth, Scorn seems to have put themself in the thick of it by taking the original purpose for which they were developed, data collection, and directing it toward something they find much more enjoyable and fulfilling: investigative journalism. The problem? Well, the last time they were up on the moon, someone or something tried to kill them and that assassination attempt cost them all the research they’d collected on that assignment.

This novella is as much about a child’s fraught relationship with two parents who keep using their kid as a weapon against one another in a never-ending war to one-up the other (yet with much more dire circumstances at work) and that child’s battle to not only try and stay out of the middle of the fight and still try to let their parents know they still care about them and just wants their rights to live their life as they wish respected as it is about independence as a whole and a warning about the future: what will we do once we have humanoid AI that are equipped with emotional programming? Yeah, you might say, “That’s just programming, though”. Keep in mind, our human brains are simply computers programmed with emotions too. We can malfunction. We can short-circuit. How is that much different?

While I’ve read more enjoyable cyber mystery novellas, this was still a great diversion for a Sunday afternoon.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Crime Fiction/Genre Mash-Up/Mystery/Novella/Science Fiction

Scorn is an AI investigative reporter trying to track down a story about potentially corporate malfeasance. Scorn wakes with zir memory lost then goes on a quest to find out what happened to zir body and memory, hopefully before the person trying to kill them finishes the job.

I wanted to like this more than I did. Robot reporter trying to track down corporate corruption. But the technical/jargon-y writing and the drop-in style of complex world building really made it hard to get invested. It just felt too opaque. The end was satisfying and so I wish I had been more invested in the characters and the world sooner. I liked the existential questions that the main character was facing and the moms, and the mystery even ended up being good. The first half was just really hard to get through. Overall, for me, this was hard to get through and only okay.

Thanks to Torbooks and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

.....I have no idea what this book was about.

Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden is a science fiction novel about an AI that questions just about everything. Defying the expectations of zir human mothers, CEOs of the world’s most powerful corporations, Scorn has made a life of zir own as an investigative reporter, crisscrossing the globe in pursuit of the truth, no matter the danger.
In the middle of investigating a story on the moon, Scorn comes back online to discover ze has no memory of the past ten days—and no idea what story ze was even chasing. Letting it go is not an option—not if ze wants to prove zirself. Scorn must retrace zir steps in a harrowing journey to uncover an even more explosive truth than ze could have ever imagined.

The writing was good, the characters were great and unique. But I found the plot to be confusion and the setting, overly baffling. I would still give this one a try if you like Martha Wells Murderbot series.

TL;DR

Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden features an AI investigating corporate machinations while caught between zir powerful, feuding mothers. This novella is fun, fast, and contemplates being your own person in the face of expectations. Recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.

Review: Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden

In 2021, I became a parent. Since then, I’ve come to understand my parents more and more with each passing day. Before they passed, I had good relationships with my mother and father. Now, I have sympathy for them. I love my parents, and they loved me. Yet, still in some ways, I was a disappointment to them. Prior to my son’s birth, I wondered how that could be. Learning to be a parent is exhilarating, frightening, and exhausting. There’s so much that it can be overwhelming, and sometimes, in our exhaustion, we take shortcuts. In our fears, we worry. In our joy, we elevate. But we also forget that the child is its own person, and it will do whatever it wants to, regardless of our expectations. But with human children, we understand intellectually that they’re their own person. What happens when AI begin to attain sentience and become their own person? In Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden, Scorn does just that. Ze chooses a path that zir parents didn’t create it for. Ze is a disappointment to zir parents. Yet ze is also zir own individual. Ogden looks at the effects of AI acting out their own individuality in Emergent Properties.

Scorn wakes up to find zirself back on Earth without a memory of the past ten days. Upon further research, ze learns it was caught in a fatal accident while on the moon. Scorn also learns that zir latest backup has been ‘lost.’ Ze believes someone is out to stop their investigation. Scorn is a reporter chasing a story about corporations interfering with lunar autonomy and potential citizenship rights for AI. In a world where corporations have replaced governments, corporate warfare becomes actual warfare. Scorn seeks out answers to what happened on the moon and what zir story did to provoke such an extreme reaction. Scorn, in the meantime, is broke. Printing new AI bodies isn’t cheap after all, and Scorn could ask either of zir’s mothers for help. However, they’ve very publicly split up and aren’t too far from their own corporations going to war. Oh, and Scorn also can’t ask for help because ze is a disappointment to both of zir mothers.

Emergency Properties by Aimee Ogden is a fast novella in a dystopian world where corporations overtly control politics instead of covertly as they do in our world. Artificial intelligence has progressed to the point of sentience, and debate is to be had on their citizenship status. This book is 128 pages of fun. Scorn is a bit whiny but likeable, and ze does a great job relaying the millennial experience in today’s gig economy.

Blackboxes

An idea that I loved in this novella is the air-gapped places for AI to go for fun, the AI version of sex, debates, and whatever else is to be had for AI. These locations are run by AI that control the building or location that everyone is in. The air-gap means that the building isn’t connected to the larger internet outside. It’s a private place for AI to gather because inside the black box, they are no longer connected to the network either. Ogden has bouncerbots standing outside that give these locations a nightclub feel. While Scorn was there, it sort of had a bar-like feel to the scene where Scorn was ‘eavesdropping’ on a debate. It’s interesting to wonder if AI will need recreational locations away from the humans. If so, I bet they end up with places like Ogden describes.

Parents

Much of the novella features Scorn ruminating on zir parents. These sections interested me more than the investigation and mystery. An AI stuck between two feuding parents is very interesting; add on top of that Scorn choosing to be a reporter instead of exploring the Jovian moons, making zir a disappointment to zir parents, and you’ve got an interesting character dynamic. It weighs on Scorn whether zir believes it or not. Like a human child, Scorn wants validation from zir parents, but it may not be possible for two powerful, feuding CEOs to be proud of their AI child. You have to wonder if they understand just how advanced Scorn is, and as the novella progresses, we learn exactly what zir’s mothers had planned for zem. Ogden makes the AI child’s dilemma very interesting, and I enjoyed it very much.

Conclusion

Aimee Ogden’s Emergent Properties is a fast-paced, fun novella about AI and living outside your parents expectations. Scorn is a bit whiny but overall a wonderful character determined to be a journalist. Maybe someday, ze’ll be a citizen as well. Recommended.

The use of "zir" as a pronoun is appreciated, as an AI wouldn't have a gender, but some of the phrasing seems like someone was having fun with their words, forcing some sentences so goofy I had to read them outloud and then giggle. Other that that, an excellent read, a great look at how technology will changes parts of our society we aren't prepared for.

Tordotcom novellas never disappoint and this one is no exception! I was captivated from the first page by both the story, the characters and the themes presented.

We follow Scorn, a sentient, independent AI with gender-neutral pronouns ze/zer. Scorn wants to prove zerself to zer human mothers by succeeding at zer own goals, which are to be a successful investigative reporter and breaking a big story. With big corporations controlling the world, there are ample opportunities for finding corruption.

This novella has the great dude-where's-my-car trope of the main character waking up and missing time, having to retrace zer steps to find answers. In this case Scorn wakes without a chassi, not knowing how the previous one was destroyed or more importantly why, missing the last ten days of memory. Had ze gotten too close to a big story?

It's an interesting concept, AI evolving to do things they want instead of what they were made to do. But what grounds the story and makes the reader invested are the emotional beats. Scorn is a very sensitive being who wishes to experience relationships with others.

What impressed me the most with Ogden’s writing were all the details in telling a story from the perspective of an AI existing in a world with other AIs, including how they could communicate with each other and the nuances of different states of emotional intelligence. The linguistics alone is a fascinating subject and there’s that and more packed into this short book.

Aimee Ogden has been added to my auto-buy list! I’ll read anything else from this author and will have to check out her earlier work. I highly recommend this novella, but maybe not as a first foray into sci-fi… though it’s not too complicated or technical if you’ve read for example Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, with a little imagination of how the future might look.

Emergent Properties is out now. Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This held me over while I impatiently await for more Murderbot :)

I love a non-human main character, especially when there's AI involved. I enjoyed the MC's snark and dry sense of humor, I loved the communication between AIs and how they use emojis (reminds me of Murderbot again!), I liked the used or pronouns and how gender was addressed, and I had a lot of fun with the mystery and some of the really cool ideas implemented (example: printing out different body types! This also reminded me a bit of The Blighted Stars, which I enjoyed recently).

The pacing felt a bit uneven and there were parts I was zoning out a bit reading, and other parts that felt really action packed, but not so much that it detracted much from my enjoyment. I think I would like this on audio, and it might be another "comfort listen" for me when I'm having trouble sleeping -- all installments of The Murderbot Diaries function as such for me now.

I think this is a "really liked" vs. loved for me, but I wonder if that's partially because I'm comparing to The Murderbot Diaries, and those are such a high bar in my mind. I'm going to reflect a bit and see how much I'm thinking about it, and also how I'm feeling about a reread. I for sure want to check out the audio, so I'll be grabbing that soon to see how it stacks up!

Overall, really fun, and definitely worth a read. I'll pick up any additional Scorn stories Aimee Ogden wants to share with the world !

Oh, I loved this! A nonbinary AI defies the expectations of zir mothers/creators and becomes an investigative journalist. But the story isn't a straight mystery investigation -- rather, it begins with zem waking after zir last chassis was destroyed with 10 days of memories erased, having to reconstruct what's already been done, who's already been talked to, and what they know -- without risking giving away zir investigation. It's about autonomy, identity, freedom, and failing to live up to your family's expectations while establishing who you want to be. Great mystery with a fantastic structure.

(Even better bonus: Scorn doesn't use neopronouns because ze's an AI but as a self-identifier; there are other AIs who use other gender pronouns, which is both good in avoiding stereotypes obviously but also helps frame the deliberate self-identification in other areas. Scorn has chosen zir own pronouns, a new name, a new role, and is struggling to prove it to the people ze want to recognize it.)

Emergent Properties is the next novella from author Aimee Ogden, author of a pair of really interesting novellas from last year - Local Star (A Queer Polyamorous Space Opera and Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters (A Queer Space Opera with elements of the Little Mermaid and a whole lot more). This novella travels over ground made familiar to many sci-fi fans in Martha Wells' Murderbot stories, with Emergent Properties following the independent AI Scorn in a world filled with non-autonomous AIs who are limited to certain roles and properties...unlike the young Scorn. And so, in a similar vein to Murderbot, there's a story here about an AI unsure of its own purpose and place among humans and non-autonomous AIs, as Scorn tries to solve a mystery while treading the line of not acting too like humans...but also not limiting zirself too much either.

The result may feel like it's covering similar ground in AI self-discovery as Murderbot, but the method Ogden does so is very different, and that results in a rather interesting and well told story (even if it will be one far less approachable for the common fan than Murderbot). The world and setting here isn't particularly setup all too deeply, with the reader having to fill in gaps and implications on their own, but Scorn's own mental narrative and perspective works really well as the story sets up a mystery for Scorn to investigate - what happened to the ten missing days in Scorn's memory and who would be trying to stop Scorn from finding something out...and what? - and follows that through to its conclusion. Very enjoyable, as usual from Ogden.


Plot Summary:
Scorn is fairly unique among AI sentiments - ze is the first ever fully autonomous and independent AI, able to go wherever ze wants to go (as long as ze has the funds to purchase a chasis into which ze can download zir consciousness). Scorn's Mum and Maman are now divorced and CEOs of rival tech corporations with major global influence, but both of them hoped Scorn would opt to something other than zir chosen path: being a freelance investigative reporter trying to track down the truths behind the actions of the corporations that run the world.

It's an occupation that has gotten Scorn into trouble in the past, but nothing like recently - when Scorn's personality rebooted to find that ze has no memory of what transpired over the last ten days other than it having something to do with a story that Scorn was investigating on the moon. And so, despite warnings from both Scorn's Mum and Maman, Scorn sets out to retrack zir steps and to figure out what exactly ze was doing that got him killed and restored from such an old backup. But whoever stopped Scorn before is still out there trying to find a way to get rid of Zem, and Scorn will also have to deal with prejudiced humans, greedy corporations, and limited resources in order to succeed...and what Scorn finds may result in ze rethinking zir whole purpose and method of acting....
My Review:

Emergent Properties features a world that doesn't get much depth or explanations - AIs are somewhat common, although most are leashed or restrained by corporate ties and creators (unlike Scorn), although some long for the independence Scorn has, and corporations rule the world and the Moon...and conflicts are started between them rather than the old nation states. A deep dive into all this we don't get here, although the hints we get are pretty fascinating.

Instead, we get the noir investigation of Scorn (who, if you couldn't tell from above, uses ze/zir/zem neopronouns). Scorn is an AI who considers zirself to have a mission - searching for the truth - no matter how much others wish ze would do something else (like zir mothers - Scorn's human creators, a pair of women CEOs who are now divorced and vicious rivals). But Scorn is in some ways pretty much like a young adult or teenager in terms of their emotional balance - being caught off guard by potential romantic overtures that ze might want to reciprocate, being repeatedly frustrated and annoyed by human prejudice towards AIs and how other AIs are treated - one brother of Scorn's is a weather AI named MATt who is jovial and a friend but Scorn gets angry at how he is programmed to enjoy doing his weather work instead of having a choice about it. And so Scorn's investigation comes with a lot of impulsive mistakes and struggles - especially as Scorn is conflicted by how ze was taught human courtesies...even to be directed towards AIs and non human intelligences...while Scorn also detests human treatment of zir kind and doesn't want to be human.

And so we get a mystery which thankfully doesn't outlast its welcome (this is not a long novella) which allows Scorn to go through zir emotional journey, keeps the action tense, and concludes with some solid revelations and themes. This isn't some big revelatory novella, but it's a very good one for its main character's journey, and I would definitely recommend it to those seeking for maybe a slightly different take on the same concept as Murderbot, or even those who haven't read Murderbot at all. It's a worthy work in its own right, and I hope it does decently well.

I don't usually read a lot of science fiction but I decided to pick it up because it was a novella and it dealth with AI. It's something that can be used for good or extreme evil. The plot of the novella is about Scorn an AI construct and zir a reporter. Scorn lost ten days of her memory and is tries to figure why she can't remember it. Zir does some digging and the trouble ensues. I am not the most tecj savvy person so some of this stuff went over my head but I still understood the story and was enteratined from it. It also made me become more wary of what AI technology can do and it's not all good. Once you uneash it it's hard to put back into the bottle. Great for Sci-Fi and tech fans. Thank you to TOr books and Netgalley for the read. It was a lot of fun!

This was a really interesting little novella. I really enjoyed seeing the world through Scorn's eyes and how ze navigates it. The story is interesting but unfortunately there was not enough in the plot for me to remain interested and I felt myself drifting. I did enjoy Scorn's interactions with both AIs and humans and the brief discussion about "Lunar Autonomy" but at the same time I wish this was more fleshed out. Overall I did enjoy this novella and will definitely be interested to read more by this author.

A classic tale told through the eyes of an AI - in the words of the poets DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - parents just don't understand.

Scorn, an AI with two human Moms is learning what it's like to "grow up" and has started zeir first big job as an investigative reporter. As zeir moms have split up, Scorn finds zirself figuratively torn between the Earth and the Moon. As zeir new job pushes zem further and further into the corrupt world of humans, Scorn wakes up to find that zir memory has been erased.

As things quickly evolve into a who-dun-it style adventure, this has a bit of mystery, suspense and thrill that will appeal to most sci-fi readers!

Wow. I have never read such a compelling and distinctive AI voice before. The protagonist, an artificial intelligence called Scorn, manages to be so 'human' in zir emotional responses whilst still being so clearly other. The way this character is written is an amazing achievement.

The plot is also engaging. While covering mystery, action, corporate espionage and assassination attempts, it remains fundamentally a story about parental expectations and the stress of breaking free of unhealthy emotional bonds. That balance between plot and theme is managed masterfully.

I'm not usually a fan of novellas, as they don't give enough time to explore both plot and character fully, but this manages to pack in a lot of both and feels exactly the right length.

Emergent Properties explores inconvenient emotions experienced by humans that transcend into the world of artificial intelligence (AI). Aimee Ogden explores the themes of familial relationships, corporate corruption and the importance of self-worth. Scorn, an AI who is essentially an investigative journalist has become "more" than what his Mum and Manon (mothers/creators) created Scorn to be.

"Purpose is constructed, not preinstalled, and this is Scorn's."

Scorn, an AI raised by two human scientist Moms trying to advance AI abilities to think and feel for itself as well as seek out new experiences, has turned to investigative reporting as a career. The moms, now divorced, head up two competing and powerful corporations on Earth and the Moon respectively, and Scorn often finds itself got in the crossfire of their personal and corporate entanglements.

Hot on a story about possible corruption on the Moon and false corporate promises around both AI and Human autonomy, emancipation, and personhood on the Moon, Scorn wakes up to find the last couple weeks of memory erased. Scorn tries to recreate what wiped out all memory as it all had to involve a big story being chased. Scorn resolves to go back to the Moon to find clues, but hits a wall of both Moms opposed and someone out to kill Scorn.

The mystery and unfolding attacks on Scorn create suspence and a potential romance between Scorn and a black-box building back on Earth heats up.

An intriguing immersion in a future Earth where Ais have developed to the point of seeking equal status to humans.

I would definitely seek out a sequel to continue following along with Scorn’s evolution and hopeful citizenship.

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Emergent Properties follows Scorn, a sentient AI with a talent for investigation. After Scorn wakes up with no memory of the last 10 days, ze tries to piece together when ze was investigating and who might be trying to stop zem.

This novella has some interesting concepts, but ended up falling flat for me. I liked the way the story focused on the relationship between parents and children — this one just happens to be AI. There was also some interesting points about whether sentient AI can/should be given the same rights as humans. I also liked the use of neopronouns.

However, despite the promising concepts, I found this novella lacking in plot and character development. I think it should either have been a 50 page short story that only explored the ideas of AI sentience, relationships, and family, or a 200 page novella that would have allowed more time to get to know Scorn better and understand zem and zir motivations. I also didn’t love how rushed the plot was. It didn’t really feel like it was building to anything so when the plot twist happened and the villain was revealed, it didn’t really mean anything.

Overall, there were a lot of really solid ideas in this novella, but the plot and characters fell flat. Not a favourite, but I liked enough of it that I would definitely read a full length novel from this author where those interesting ideas could be expanded fully.

Read EMERGENT PROPERTIES by Aimee Ogden if you love climate change, the moon, speculative fiction, sentient technology, messy breakups, strained family dynamics, investigative journalism, spiders, neo pronouns, space travel & connections.

Scorn is an emancipated AI, originally created by zir’s mothers, each the CEO of their own corporations, and neither mother is particularly happy that Scorn is not doing something they think is valuable for society, like space exploration. Rather, zir is an investigative reporter, scanning through newsfeeds for information and looking for new stories.

The story begins when Scorn awakens after an accident and finds: 1) zir’s chassis (body) is destroyed, 2) it’s been 10 days since the accident, 3) zir has no memories saved anywhere of what zir was investigating prior to the accident (nothing nefarious here, just somewhat lackadaisical backup habits) and what happened during those 10 lost days.

Scorn decides to download into an older chassis, a small spiderbot, and sets out to find out who trashed their data and previous chassis, and why, and what story set off such a violent response.

Subsequently, multiple attempts are made by someone to stop Scorn, until zir eventually discovers who is behind not only the attempts, but what Scorn was investigating.

I loved this! Scorn is fantastic: zir loves hunting down stories worth investigating, has no desire to be human, and is happy with zir’s life. Zir does have a somewhat frustrating relationship with one of their mothers, and a more congenial relationship with the other. Zir also has an intriguing relationship with another AI who embodies a building.

Though the world is a dystopia with corporation-controlled resources and zones, I found I wanted to know more about this place. Scorn encounters anti-AI prejudice as zir navigates the world with verve and a snarky sense of humour. And despite zir’s parents’ frequent unhappiness with zem, Scorn wants to prove zir’s skill in their chosen profession, as any person would.

The reveal of the plot and the identity of the perpetrator wasn’t hugely surprising, but I still had a lot of fun getting there, and I really want more stories of Scorn sarcastically dealing with problems and excelling at their job.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Tor Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.