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Apr 02, 2018forbesrachel rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Newitz addresses quite a few modern issues in such a quick-paced, engaging story, including gender identity,the moral obligations of scientists, and whether healthcare is a right or a privilege. The dichotomous concepts of freedom and slavery are the core themes though, and are examined from quite a few different angles. On the freedom side there is intellectual freedom, legal freedom, individual freedom, and even a type of freedom that one can gain by working outside the rules. As for the other, the author depicts a world where big corporations maintain their "rule" by indenturing people in one way or another. The class divide that they have exasperated through the patent system is key to this, but we also learn more about the different types of enslavement through the characters. There are the humans like Threezed who were raised to be sold, the people who have taken Zacuity (a drug which purposefully addicts them to their work), and there are the indentured bots who must work off their cost to obtain freedom. The majority of the narrating duties are split between the pragmatic pirate Jack, whose morally questionable side-job allows her the chance to do good, and Paladin, a war bot who seeks to understand their burgeoning individuality and sexuality. Both are complex and fascinating from the moment we meet them. Other characters are not as well developed, but are given enough voice-time to understand. While the main cast get their happy endings (which does feel a little out a place, even though it ends in the way we hoped), Newitz leaves one unsettling thought... the matter of justice. As corporations become more powerful, and bind themselves closer to the state, will anyone be able to hold them accountable for their transgressions both accidental and intended? What would it mean for the world if individuals and groups could easily shackle Lady Justice? The brilliantly written Autonomous is a warning against such a world. Our freedom and rights and societal well-being are the cost when these entities are left unchecked and under-regulated.