![]() Three of us had vomited, turning away from one another in a reflex as ancient as the nausea that had produced it. When Gorrister joined our group and looked up at himself, it was already too late for us to realize that, once again, AM had duped us, had had its fun it had been a diversion on the part of the machine. There was no blood on the reflective surface of the metal floor. It had been drained of blood through a precise incision made from ear to ear under the lantern jaw. The body hung head down, attached to the underside of the palette by the sole of its right foot. I really enjoyed reading Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and I recommended it to everyone I know.Limp, the body of Gorrister hung from the pink palette unsupported-hanging high above us in the computer chamber and it did not shiver in the chill, oily breeze that blew eternally through the main cavern. “AM appeared to us as a burning bush that said we could kill the hurricane bird if we wanted to eat.” The “burning bush” is a reference to the bible story Exodus 3, which says, “There the angel of the lord appeared to him in flames of fire within a bush.” This is a major reference for the story, which further implicates AM portraying himself as a God.Īs a whole, Harlan Ellison created a unique short story of a post-apocalyptic society which captures the reader within the first page. Later on, when they are searching for food, they find a giant bird. He speaks on how he is losing hope that there will be an escape from the toucher that AM is putting them through. It also became hideously clear: If there was a sweet Jesus and if there was a God, the God was AM.” These are the words of Ted, one of the main five who are captured underground drown by AM the super computer. The machine hated us as no sentient creature had ever hated before. At that moment I think I realized completely, so that I was able to verbalized it: AM was intent on keeping us in his belly forever, twisting and torturing us forever. “Oh, Jesus sweet Jesus, if there ever was a Jesus and if there is a GOD, please please please let us out of here, or kill us. While reading, we get the implication that AM sees himself as a kind of God. AM has captured these five people, mutated them, and made them immortal, but still able to feel the pain of hunger. He uses his powerful “mind” to come up with ways to torture the last remaining humans he saved.Įllison uses a series of biblical references throughout this short story that add to the severity of the situation he is depicting. He is not human so he cannot physically go where he wants to. He is mad at mankind for creating him because he has nothing to do with himself. He has nothing to do with his self except torture these five people. ![]() If the word hate was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles, it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant for you. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. “Hate, let me tell you how much I’ve come to hate you since I began to live. The computers mentality itself is fascinating. His use of religious references and technological “abilities” makes this short story an intense, provocative, read. We may find ourselves on the brink of a third world war that may force us to use new technology. With the continuous technological advancements in society, there is no telling where we will be in the years to come. This story makes the reader seriously think about the future. Ellison’s characterization of the computer throughout the story gives the reader small hints of his feelings toward the five humans left, only in the end do we realize why it is doing what it is doing. One single thought came to mind while reading this story, the question is, why? What could the reason be for the computer to be so cruel? Especially since it saved these last five people. You were able to feel the pain of starvation, dehydration, and mutation, all while staying alive. Within those years, AM has built a cavern under the earth, a place where death was virtually impossible, as well as aging. The story takes place 109 after the destruction of the earth. But one day AM woke up and knew who he was, and he linked himself, and he began feeding all the killing data, until everyone was dead, except for five…” “Everything was fine until they had Honeycombed the entire planet, adding on this element and that element. AM is a super computer that was designed to fight off other country’s weapons during World War III. ![]() Ellison uses a variety of symbolism, and imagery through diction, to depict a future where mankind creates the ultimate killing machine, AM. In Harlan Ellison’s short story, I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, the intense diction captivates the reader. ![]()
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