#12: The Daemon in the Machine

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns//hack//hack12.phtml

Summary:

What can computers do to people?

Go to the column for more information.

[fmitchell]

One nit to pick: the Buffy demon was Moloch, a demonic name often associated with human sacrifice.

[unterhund]

"Malloc" is funnier, though. And the column reminds me of one more thing computers can do to people: provide too much information. Read A Logic Named Joe by Murray Leinster for the classic tale of just that. You can listen to the Dimension X radio adaptation, but it adds in an annoying kid that doesn't improve the story any.

[Kaylee]

Originally Posted by fmitchell

One nit to pick: the Buffy demon was Moloch, a demonic name often associated with human sacrifice.

As well, the demon's name wasn't the title of the episode, at least in the first-run American market. The episode in question is actually "I, Robot, You, Jane". (Which, as an Asimov fan, tickled my funny bone more than "Malloc" would have.)

[Clay]

Malloc is what stuck in my mind because at the time I was a UNIX systems programmer, and my boss was in the process of unteaching bad habits that I'd developed. So the tendency of malloc to bite was foremost in my mind.

I'm not sure I ever saw the spelling of the name in the episode, which might also explain why I used the spelling I did.