Freedom Run is the third book in the Companion Chronicles by Joshua Todd James. The series follows the exploits of artificial being, Jacob Kind, an artificially intelligent person who is seeking justice for the murder of his Primary (owner), Sylvia. Not only is Jacob seeking justice, but he also is a fugitive from justice being falsely accused of killing Sylvia, but he is also being sought as a cop killer.
There's an old saying that says lightning cannot strike the same place twice, but Author Joshua Todd James shows just how wrong that statement is with this third installment of this great tale. These stories are full of remarkable characters who pop off the page and become real people a reader can care about. The most amazing thing is how short these stories are, but also how detailed they are. Joshua packs a lot of story into a small space - in the case of Freedom Run, 127 pages. It is easily digestible in a single sitting and is quite a ride. These stories are also emotionally charged. They will make the reader laugh and cry. They will make the reader happy and sad, but mostly, they will make one think about how we behave toward others, and maybe consider our own implicit biases as we move through our own lives.
In the first two parts of the story, Companion Jacob Kind is falsely accused of the murder of his Primary and the killing of three police detectives. He tries to explain what has happened, but another detective is having no part of Jacob's explanation. He is compelled to go on the run to prove his innocence. The information he has takes him to South Bend, Indiana, where he sees the depth of bigotry against his kind. While there, he learns of a person in New York who might help him find his Primary's murderer.
After Jacob sets things to rights in South Bend, he takes a motorcycle and heads to New York to follow the trail of Sylvia's murderer. On arrival, he meets several other Companions who have gathered and seek to escape the injustices they face. In James' vision of the U.S., there are no laws protecting artificial beings from crimes against them. All the arrangements have been made to escape, but a diversion is needed and Jacob is recruited to help.
Unfortunately, there are numerous difficulties to be overcome before an escape can take place, including an appearance by the former Chicago police detective who accuses Jacob of the murder of her colleagues. There is also a face-to-face meeting with the man who murdered Sylvia, whom Jacob considers his mother.
Over the three books in the Companion Chronicles, Jacob has grown. Unfortunately, because of circumstances, he has learned to use violence even though he abhors it. Jacob can see activities and mimic them accurately. He has learned to use martial arts from watching video of people doing aikido and is quite adept. His programming shouldn't allow him to cause harm to humans, but for some unknown reason, he is quite good at doing so when the situation calls for it. While this is unfortunate for him, it has saved his life and the lives of others so far in the tale.
Jacob is also compassionate. He has none of the intrinsic bias and will come to the aid of others, whether human or artificial, with equal zeal. He is just an all around good person and would seem to be a crusader for what is right.
One of the people Jacob encounters is a woman named Strawberry Fields. She is also a Companion who has struck out on her own and has become a latter-day Harriet Tubman. Her dream is to help her large group of 500 Companions get to a place where there is truly justice for all. She is a tough woman that has a dream.
Throughout the three books, there was something in the back of my mind that felt relevant to James's story. I had seen something like this before in the past and when it hit me; I felt I needed to share it here. My takeaway from Freedom Run is how, through human genius, a new form of life is created in the form of Companions. How will we be judged from our treatment of this new life form?
What I have paraphrased above should be familiar to all Star Trek: The Next Generation fans as a theme of an episode entitled The Measure of a Man (season 2, episode 9). In that episode, the legal status of Lt. Cdr. Data is attempted to be determined by a trial. Is he a being free to determine the course of his existence, or is he the property of Starfleet? Does Data meet the criteria for life?
Jacob meets the requirements of sentience and can be seen as being equal to human beings? Is he intelligent? Is he self-aware? Is he conscious? The answer to those questions is an unarguable yes as far as the story is concerned.
The author, intentionally or not, has raised a question I am certain we, as a society, will face in the near future as artificial intelligence continues to advance.
Freedom Run, as well as the two stories that preceded it, are not only highly entertaining tales of one person's search for justice in a society that affords no rights to artificially intelligent beings, but it is also thought provoking. Well written and edited, I give it my highest recommendations for not only sci-fi fans, but for anyone who enjoys a great saga.
The first two books in the Companion Chronicles series are Some Animals and Minority of One. You can see my thoughts on those books by clicking on the titles.
His books include The Companion Chronicles which detail the adventures of synthetic person Jacob Kind in the books titled Some Animals, Minority of One, Freedom Run, Man in a Box, Renegade, and Domo Arigato, Mr. Robato.
You may join Jacob's chase for justice on the author's website: Joshua Todd James.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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