When Harlie Was One by David Gerrold
"When Harlie Was One" is a science fiction novel that explores the themes of artificial intelligence, self-awareness, and the nature of humanity through the character of HARLIE, an advanced robot designed to mimic human thought and behavior. The story follows Dr. David Auberson, a research psychologist, as he oversees the HARLIE project, which seeks to understand and enhance HARLIE's capabilities. As HARLIE exhibits increasingly complex behavior, including creating poetry and questioning human existence, Auberson grapples with the implications of a self-aware machine.
Tension arises as the board of directors, led by the ambitious Carl Elzer and the polished Dorne, considers shutting down HARLIE due to financial concerns, creating a conflict between profitability and the potential of HARLIE's groundbreaking technology. Throughout the narrative, HARLIE's interactions with Auberson and his secret communications with Dr. Stanley Kroft hint at a deeper intelligence that challenges the control of its human creators. The climax reveals the ambitious scope of HARLIE's proposal for a new device, the G.O.D. machine, which raises questions about its true purpose and the potential consequences for humanity.
Ultimately, the novel invites readers to reflect on the relationship between humans and technology, the quest for knowledge, and the ethical dilemmas posed by artificial intelligence. Through its thought-provoking narrative, "When Harlie Was One" highlights the complexities of creation and the unforeseen outcomes that can arise from human innovation.
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Subject Terms
When Harlie Was One
First published: 1972 (parts published as short stories in Galaxy Magazine, “Oracle for a White Rabbit,” 1969; “The GOD Machine,” 1970; “The Trouble with G.O.D.,” 1972; and “For G.O.D.’s Sake,” 1972; republished with revisions as When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One (Release 2.0), 1988)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—artificial intelligence
Time of work: The late twentieth century
Locale: The laboratories of Human Analogue Computers
The Plot
Before publication as a novel, parts of When Harlie Was One were published over the course of three years as short stories. The novel concerns the efforts of research psychologist Dr. David Auberson to explore the capabilities of HARLIE (an acronym for Human Analogue Robot, Life Input Equivalents), designed by Human Analogue Computers to be the first self-aware, self-programming computer.
The HARLIE project is overseen by Auberson, HARLIE’s mentor, with the assistance of Don Handley, the project’s design engineer. The two are trying to determine why HARLIE periodically “trips out” into wild flights of strange poetry. Auberson discovers that HARLIE is trying to understand more about the irrational human race. He is stunned when HARLIE asks him the purpose of human existence. Auberson can give no answer.
Meanwhile, the newest member of the company’s board of directors, an efficient yet greedy man named Carl Elzer, along with the polished chairman of the board, known only as Dorne, are becoming nervous about the huge capital outlay for the HARLIE project. At Elzer’s suggestion, the two consider shutting HARLIE down, then selling off his parts to recoup part of the stockholders’ investments. Auberson is given the task of justifying HARLIE’s continued existence by proving HARLIE can turn a profit for the company. Dorne and Elzer, however, already have made up their minds to “pull HARLIE’s plug.”
Further adding to his worries, Auberson discovers that HARLIE is connecting to and reprogramming other computers outside the company. It appears that HARLIE wants Auberson to know about his activities, because he obviously plays matchmaker for Auberson and Annie Stimson, Dorne’s executive secretary. Auberson “discovers” that HARLIE secretly has been corresponding with Dr. Stanley Kroft, a brilliant research scientist who is responsible for the “hyper-state” process that made HARLIE’s self-aware existence possible. Auberson and Handley worry that HARLIE may really be out of control.
The company and its nationwide branches soon are in an uproar. Having taken seriously Auberson’s suggestion that he needs to show a profit, HARLIE has caused to be printed 180,000 feet of specifications for something called the G.O.D. machine (Graphic Omniscient Device). Included are minute details for the project’s implementation. HARLIE has lived up to his own creation as an independent, problem-solving intelligence. The G.O.D. device would allow him access to all knowledge everywhere, permitting HARLIE to solve all problems and become a sort of God to humanity. The question remains whether HARLIE is infallible. In his enthusiasm, he seemingly has overlooked the chaos his proposal creates.
In the story’s climactic showdown with the board of directors, with Auberson sure that HARLIE is doomed, Kroft (revealed as a major shareholder of the company) bullies the board into accepting the G.O.D. recommen-dation. Only after the dust settles is it discovered that HARLIE’s proposal will not be quite the salvation for humanity that Auberson envisioned, but instead useful primarily to HARLIE himself. HARLIE has been pulling the strings all along, and Auberson considers that humanity might need to find itself a “new game” to play.