The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer

I enjoyed downloading this short science fiction novel by the multiple award-winning Sawyer to my e-reader. Readalikes include The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben Winters and Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. Characters include a robot who dislikes Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, which amused me.

Astronauts headed on a sublight journey to Proxima Centauri upload their consciousness to a quantum computer, where they enjoy what seems like four years of their preferred virtual reality simulations. Only Captain Letitia Garvey can visit their virtual silos, if needed.

Another group of characters are prisoners with 20-year prison terms who have agreed to an upload which will feel like 20 years but last only 10 months in the real world. Roscoe Koudoulian regrets his crime, and is eager to not miss his daughter’s whole childhood. His experience is much less pleasant, as he is in a virtual prison and must regularly revisit his crime scene, with only short videos of his daughter to keep him going during what feels like 24 years, not 20.

Both groups are downloaded at almost the same time to their cryopreserved bodies, where the astronauts learn that they’re still on earth, in Waterloo, Ontario. They also learn that way more than 20 years have elapsed, and the city is deserted, with only peaceful farmers living nearby. The groups elect a mayor, surprisingly not Captain Garvey, and explore their surroundings, trying to decide how they shall live. Also, how many of the former prisoners are dangerous? And who is interviewing the groups via holographic image? This thought-provoking novel was a quick, compelling read. It’s available as an Audible audiobook narrated by Brendan Fraser, and as a print book.

Brenda