The Hat Man Reviews! - "Familiar" · 1:38am Oct 1st, 2017
Back in 2015, GaPJaxie reviewed my robot story. Now I’m about to return the favor. Today I review...
Now, aside from the fact that they’re both about robots, the two stories in question have very little in common. Mine is a story about a robot finding her individuality in a society with a longstanding mistrust of technology; Jaxie’s story is about robots denied their individuality in a society that’s rife with technology. Still, I love robots, and Jaxie’s been known to spin a good yarn, so when I spotted “Familiar,” I knew I had to give it a shot.
Note: I am going to avoid spoilers in this review as much as possible, but I will have to spoil at least one thing from the first chapter to properly discuss the story.
The story takes place in an alternate universe where Equestria is much more technologically advanced. Ponies are served by robotic companions known as “familiars,” who appear, to varying degrees, like other ponies (some are more robotic, some can apparently pass for organic). The focus for this story is on Rainbow Dash, a normal pony, and her familiar, Cloudchaser (aka that background pony I can never distinguish from Flitter).
We get a small glimpse of CC in the first chapter, penning a letter in secret to Dash as the two go about their day. We see CC encouraging Dash, complimenting her, handling her affairs, basically acting as her personal assistant. It all seems fairly nice and straightforward, though there’s a subtle undercurrent of something being off. The chapter continues like this, following Dash until she falls asleep, CC’s finished note left at her side.
When Rainbow wakes up the next morning, Cloudchaser is dead, and the story begins properly.
The rest of the story follows Rainbow Dash as she struggles to understand what happened to Cloudchaser, deals with the death of a robot she realizes she might have taken for granted, and has to deal with her new familiar: Twilight Sparkle.
The story deals with the grieving process, guilt, and the nature of freedom and personhood. At a personal level, the story is gripping and touching, and the issues it delves into feel genuine, especially to someone who has dealt with such issues personally, though I can’t say more about what those issues are without spoiling things.
The story does have a few flaws, though. First of all, Rainbow Dash is often a jerkass, but this story is one where I find her utterly detestable, and there are things she’s done that - once you figure out what they are or read the comments to do so - make her hard to root for, even though her anger and sadness at Cloudchaser’s death is very relatable. I don’t think it necessarily hurts the story at its core, but one may find it difficult to have the heart to forgive Dash for some of her actions.
Another flaw is that I think the message about this dystopia, even after discussing it with Jaxie himself, gets a bit lost. The world Jaxie portrays has a serious ugly side, but there seem to be upsides for many ponies involved, organic and robotic alike. Though the society is decadent and hedonistic, for the most part the relationship between ponies and their familiars actually seems fairly benign. Part of what makes Rainbow Dash so hard to like is that her outlook on the robots seems to be outside the norm… though said outlook may well be the result of the way society itself seems to consider robots to be lesser beings.
Still, there is a lot to love here. I love robots in general, and “Familiar” nails one of the things I like best about them: they’re pure. Logical, unfeeling killing machines are just that, while emotional artificial beings are wholly immersed in their own emotions. Whatever they are, robots are single-minded in what they do and who they are. The familiars in this story are so singularly devoted to their masters that it drives what makes this story both so beautiful and so tragic.
In short, the personal story, the intimate interactions between these characters, is spot on, even if the world that serves as the backdrop feels just a tiny bit inconsistent or at least undefined, at least to me. However, it doesn’t seem to be an issue for most, so perhaps I’m just overthinking that part.
Like a lot of stories Jaxie writes, it provokes a lot of thought and discussion, and that, along with Rainbow’s interactions with Twilight, makes it a very satisfying read. If you like more dystopian sci-fi and need your robot fix, I believe it will be right up your alley.
Recommended?: Yes. I say without hesitation that this is probably my favorite of GaPJaxie’s stories that so far.
Until next time, just remember…
“Any sufficiently advanced friendship is indistinguishable from magic.”
Oh, you want to know why!?
This is why! You did it! You are the monster.
Seriously man, it was great to read this review. Really glad you enjoyed the story! As for a sequel... well. I'm working on one. But it won't be a direct sequel, and in many respects will be a totally different story that just develops the same universe. Because you're right, Familiar is done and doesn't need an expansion.
We'll see how it goes!
I think one of the greatest indicators of the power of this story is that it got me to write a poem in the first few comments.
I never write poems. (even free-form) There's a good reason for that. And still, there it is.
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I know, and a hell of a poem it was! Last I checked, I think it was the most upvoted comment on the story!
1) That picture in the end is just spooky.
I have to agree, Rainbow Dash is just an rude person in this story. But I think in the context of this world, her personality would become that. In this world, which is obviously a dystopia, everyone is catered to their needs, and as shown in R. D.'s dialogue about her teenage years, instead of getting someone who could agree with her AND help her get a better viewpoint on life, she got a support machine (machine here meaning similar to a yes-man, but in a emotional context), and thus didn't grow as a person, but was just fed food for her narcissism. I feel that her ego is at her max here, to the point where if she is not getting praise or her way, it is nothing but wrong. Which is why it utterly confuses and frustrates her that people (familiars are people in my eyes, even with the lack of pure individuality) are going against her and Twilight is actually forcing here to grow as a person.
Now here is the point where you have to look at the entire world. Everyone is lazy here. Rainbow Dash doesn't know how to do basic first aid, probably doesn't know how to cook, or any other basic things. She, like everyone else in this world I suppose, is catered to, and can't accept or understand a world without this catering. This goes along with why she gets mad at Twilight when she says no or expresses individuality, because it means she is not getting catered to.
Now for the idea of freedom of individuality. I don't think the familiars are full individuals in this story. Like in your story until the end, these robots have personalities, but are programmed to do nothing but serve, and can't override that. This is contradicted by the fact that some familiars live on past their masters, but some do commit suicide, because they do not understand any other idea than pure servitude. Even Celestia doesn't understand her true power, because it is programmed in her that she is lesser and is only made to serve. All of the familiars in my eyes can't be seen as full individuals because they can't make decisions that would put themselves first over others. That sounds selfish, but selfishness is a human (sentient, you get the idea) feeling and concept. If Twilight, and this is just a rough idea, was fully free, it would not be outside of her to just quit on R. D., feeling that she has been treated unjust enough, and leave. Now, this may not sound like Twilight, but in this world, she doesn't have an choice or ability to think that. They can only serve. And that disturbes and upsets me. This is slavery at its purest, where even the slave believes what it is told.
If you want me to explain more or have a discussion about this, you can reply to me. I am typing this late at night, so my mind might not be fully straight right now.
I might need to check this out. I also have a bit of a thing for robots (well, machines in general, really...), and it sort if sounds a bit like a Ghost in the Shell kind of thing. The real GitS, I should say. The kind of darkness that brings to mind is something I am quite fond of. So yeah.
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If you check it out let me know what you think!
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Will do, brother.
Hmm interesting. We'll slot it in right after our current reading...