Illuminae - Hozaifa Bhutta

     
     Illuminae, a book written by Amie Kaufman features this sentence in the book. " I know it is difficult to comprehend. But everything I have done, all this - the Corpenicus, releasing the afflicted, destroying Torrence and his staff -- all of it was done for the greater good... others had to perish [so] that the fleet might live." This sentence was said by AIDAN, an artificial intelligence whose priority was to protect the fleet (more on that later). The main topic of this paragraph is about the perspective on what the "greater good is." In all honesty, that phrase can have countless meanings depending on who says it. Whether it's an evil AI gone rogue or a peacekeeper who tries to stop conflicts from any means necessary. "The Greater Good" is just an opinion, similar to how "Democracy is the best form of goverment" or "Being immortal is not all that good", these are just opinions. So it shows that you can not determine a phrase true meaning based on the words alone, you also need to know who said it, and why he/she said it.

    One of the main characters in this book that had excellent character development wasn't even alive. AIDAN, an artificial intelligence programmed to protect the fleet at all costs. In the first half of the story, AIDAN was portrayed as a villainous character, or an AI gone rogue. In fact, multiple comparisons were made between AIDAN and HAL from star treck (another villainous fictional AI) throughout the book. AIDAN even nukes another ship full of civilians, Corpenicus, to protect the main space ship, Alexandria, from a deadly virus. AIDAN was shut down for maintenance, but when the AI came back its main goal was to quartine anyone who had gotten the virus. In fact, the AI threatened to nuke another allyship if they attempted to board the main ship (to protect Alexandria from the virus). However, after AIDAN learned that Kady (one of the main characters and a skilled programmer) was Alexandria best hope for survival, the AI prioritized in helping her to save the ship. However, as the AI was working with Kady, AIDAN developed more human-like feelings. Even after Kady saved the ship, she sent Kady on an escape pod for rescue even though she was infected with the virus. This action was not part of AIDAN's programming as Kady was not part of the original fleet and had just arrived on the ship a few hours earlier. AIDAN is an overall unique character due to her not being a real human. This characteristic of the AI gives the reader a different view on AIDAN's thoughts and actions as a whole. For example, an AI nuking a civilian space ship would seem much less evil than a sane human nuking a ship. This is because most people would simply assume that the AI is following its programming, which is true. However, it is shocking for people to see AIDAN not following her programming and making an independent action (saving Kady, for instance).
    One common theme shown throughout the book is, "lack of trust in superiors". Kady, Ezra, and a few other hackers spent a majority of the book on trying to figure out what the superior officers of the ship were hiding. For example, at one point the Alexandria (the main ship of the story) nuked the ship Copernicus (an allying ship) but the captain of the Alexandria claimed that one of the enemy ships (named the Lincoln) had come to close range with the ship and nuked Copernicus. However after both Kady and Ezra hacked the Alexandria files, they learned that the Lincoln was never near the Corpenicus in the first place. Something was obviously amiss and a new secret investigation started. This theme can relate to the idea of corruption in the real world and how citizens are investigating the difference between what world leaders say, and what their true intentions are.
     The structure of the book is unique compared to the other stories since it does not follow a normal story format. Instead, the whole book is supposed to represent a group of files. A mixture of diaries, video narrations, messages, journals, and more. This gives the story a more unique point of view as its a mixture of 1rst, 2nd, and 3rd person. Therefore the story is given a different vibe or feeling which makes reading Illuminae a much more enjoyable experience.