So, let's see if we can get a truly
comprehensive list of all the computers that count as characters from
Sci-fi. I hold a
robot to be
different from a
computer, because it's
mobile; although they count as characters, their mobility
anthropomorphizes them. Therefore, the fact that they are full characters isn't as interesting. So here's what I came up with off the top of my head. I'm mostly thinking of movies and TV; books are cool too!
Computer or A.I. characters in Sci-fi
Television
Books
- Iain Banks' The Culture gets its own node!
- Neuromancer and Wintermute from William Gibson's Neuromancer
- Continuity from Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (thanks Zerotime!)
- AIVAS from the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (also from Zerotime)
- Frost, The Beta-Machine, Divcom and Solcom from Roger Zelazny's excellent For A Breath I Tarry.
- H.A.R.L.I.E. from When HARLIE was one
- VISAR, JEVEX and Zorac, the Shapieron's computer from James P. Hogan's Giants Trilogy.
- Cortana from Halo: the Fall of Reach and the game Halo (Thanks mirv!)
- Jane from the Ender trilogy.
- Aleph, Memex (aka HeyMex) and the Adviser (aka Mr Johnson) From Tom Maddox's superb novel Halo.
- Mandrake - Jack Butler's novel Nightshade.
- Mycroft Holmes - Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.
- Minerva, Athene and Gay Deceiver - Time Enough For Love and its sequels.
- The Librarian - from Snow Crash.
- Ghostwheel - from the Amber series by Zelazny.
- AM - in Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream.
- The Central Computer ("CC") from John Varley's Steel Beach.
- Master System - from Jack L. Chalker's series, The Rings of the Master.
- Big Boppers - from Rudy Rucker's Software, offers eponymous.
- The First Sirian Bank from Terry Pratchett's book The Dark Side of the Sun, contributed by Zerotime.
- Melchizedek, the computer which runs Salem in the manga Gun Dream, a.k.a. Battle Angel Alita (from Glowing Fish).
- Hex from the Discworld series, also by Pratchett, contributed by Uberbanana.
- Deep Thought from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, since as Uberbanana points out he's got a (critical) speaking part.
- Hactar from Life, the Universe and Everything, according to Oneiromancer and Polkovnik.
- The Solid State Entity from Neverness, by Zindell, contributed by auraseer.
- Holmes IV a.k.a. 'Mike' from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, contributed by Browncoat.
Games, RPG
Star Trek: TOS gets its own section. See also The Star Trek Project for more/better info!
Comics: Okay, we're drifting from Sci-Fi here.
This list is deliberately sparse...add on!
Thanks to General_Wesc, Starrynight and Magenta for corrections!
Other contributions from ratbastid, fondue, samgrover, Gorgonzola, Segnbora-T, getzburg, Wyclef, et. al