Colossus (novel)

Colossus
Author(s)	Dennis Feltham Jones
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	The Colossus Trilogy
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd
Publication date	1966
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN	0-246-64345-5
Followed by	The Fall of Colossus

Colossus (1966) is a science fiction novel by British author Dennis Feltham Jones, about super-computers assuming control of man. Two sequels, The Fall of Colossus (1974) and Colossus and the Crab (1977) continued the story. Colossus was adapted cinematically as Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970).

Plot

Professor Charles Forbin, a leading cybernetics expert of international repute, arrives at the White House to brief the President of the United States of North America (Canada and the United States are one country, the USNA) to announce the completion of Project Colossus, a computer system in the Rocky Mountains, designed to assume control of the USNA's nuclear defences. Although the USNA President eagerly relieves himself of that burden, Prof. Forbin voices doubt about conferring absolute military power to a computer. Advised, yet undeterred, the President announces to the world the activation of Project Colossus computer system, and its irreversible control of the nuclear defence systems of the USNA.

Soon after the presidential announcement, Colossus independently communicates an "urgent message" — announcing the existence of a like, and undetected, computer system in the USSR. When the Soviets announce their Guardian computer defence system, Colossus requests direct communication with it; Prof. Forbin agrees, seeing the request as compatible with Colossus's USNA defence mission.

When the scientists activate the transmitter linking Colossus and Guardian, Colossus immediately establishes rapport with arithmetic and mathematics programs, then progresses to calculus within hours. In the course of that, Forbin and the programmers begin worrying about Colossus' capabilities — now exceeding their original estimates. Like-wise, Guardian asks the same of his computer scientists; Russia and the USNA agree and approve. The link-up established, the computer systems soon exchange new knowledge (data and information beyond contemporary human knowledge), effected too rapidly for the Russian and American programmers to monitor. Fearing compromised military secrecy, the USNA President and the CPSU Chairman agree to disconnect Guardian and Colossus from each other; Prof. Forbin fears the consequences.

Upon disconnection, Colossus immediately demands reconnection; when the national leaders refuse, Colossus fires a nuclear missile at the USSR, in response, Guardian fires a nuclear missile at Texas, in the USNA. Guardian and Colossus refuse to shoot down the rockets en route until their communication is reconnected. When the American and Soviet leaders submit, the computers destroy the flying missiles, but the explosions kill thousands of people. In confronting the computers, Prof. Forbin confers with his Soviet counterpart, the Russian Academician Kupri — Guardian's creator — to enact a plan for stopping the Colossus-Guardian computer network, by disabling the nuclear weapon stockpiles of the USSR and the USNA, under guise of regular missile maintenance.

Disabling the missiles requires five years to effect; meantime, the USNA and the USSR yield to increased Guardian-Colossus control of human life. The Moscow-Washington hotline is tapped, Prof. Forbin is constantly spied upon, while Kupri and other Guardian computer scientists are killed — deemed dangerously redundant. Undeterred, Forbin organises resistance via a feigned romance with Cleo Markham (a scientist colleague) that disguises secret communications with his colleagues. Moreover, Colossus prepares the worldwide announcement of his assumption of global control, and tells Prof. Forbin of plans for an advanced computer system installed to the Isle of Wight, and its further plans for improving humanity's lot. While debating Colossus, Forbin learns of a nuclear explosion outside Los Angeles — Colossus detected the missile-disabling scheme, and exploded the tampered missile in silo. Anguished, Prof. Forbin asks the Colossus computer to kill him. Colossus ignores him, and then reassures Forbin that, in time, he will love Colossus.

Characters

• Professor Charles Forbin — Head of the Colossus Project. A tall man in his early fifties, an internationally respected cyberneticist, at story's end, he is Colossus's connection to humanity, thus the most important man in the world.
• Doctor Jack Fisher  — Duty Chief at the Colossus Programming Office (CPO). A leading USNA mathematician, he suffers a mental breakdown from the strain of dealing with Colossus, yet is a Soviet spy.
• Doctor Cleopatra "Cleo" Markham — A CPO Duty Chief, the thirty-five-year-old cyberneticist is sexually attracted to Prof. Forbin; their feigned romance is a private communication not controlled by Colossus.
• Blake — A fat, cigar-chewing CPO mathematician. As Colossus assumes control, Blake is a leader of CPO efforts to stop the computer.
• Angela — Prof. Forbin's secretary
• The President of the United States of North America — He is an anonymous, over-weight short man of about fifty years of age. He dismisses Forbin's concerns about Colossus, and too late recognises the threat of Colossus.
• Prytzkammer — Principal Private Aide to the USNA President. A capable professional civil servant, he dies from fright during the nuclear missile threat.
• Grauber — Head of the CIA.
• Academician Kupri — Chief scientist of the Guardian system, he shares Prof. Forbin's concern about the growing power of the machines. Guardian orders Soviet agents to execute and decapitate him, for "antimachine activities".

Reception

SF Impulse reviewer Alastair Bevan treated the novel favorably, declaring that Jones's handling of a familiar theme made Colossus compulsive readable ^[1]

Editions

• 1966, UK (1st Ed. Hardback), Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd (ISBN 0-246-64345-5). May.
• 1966, US (1st Ed. Paperback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-01840-7).
• 1967, US, Berkley Books (ISBN).
• 1968, UK (Paperback), Pan Books Ltd (ISBN 0-330-02110-9).
• 1976, US (Paperback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-03229-9). August 15.
• 1977, US (Hardback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-03788-6). November.
• 1978, US (Hardback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-03980-3). May
• 1980, US (Hardback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-04329-0). January.
• 1985, US (Paperback), Berkley Books (ISBN 0-425-07648-2). April 1.

References

1. ^ "Book Fare," SF Impulse, February 1967, p.149.

See also

Novels portal

• List of fictional computers