Fish Lakes: Knowledge to Die For

About the Book

The world didn't collapse overnight. AI devices once solved everything: they diagnosed illnesses, designed medicines, crafted legal arguments. People took on new roles: mechanics, caregivers, shepherds. Then—it's not clear exactly why—AI was banned.

A világ nem egyik napról a másikra omlott össze. Előbb még mindent megoldottak az AI-eszközök: diagnosztizáltak, gyógyszert terveztek, jogi érvelést írtak. Az embereknek új szerepek jutottak: szerelők, gondozók, pásztorok lettek. Aztán – nem világos, pontosan miért – az AI-t betiltották.

Dimitar, who worked as a programmer on AI systems, flees to the Rila mountains with his three children. When his youngest daughter falls ill, he confronts the fact that knowledge alone isn't enough. He must roll up his sleeves and learn to do everything the machines once did for us.

Dimitar, aki programozóként AI-rendszereken dolgozott, három gyermekével a Rila-hegységbe menekül. Amikor a legkisebb lánya megbetegszik, szembesül azzal, hogy a tudás önmagában nem elég. Fel kell tűrnie az ingujját: meg kell tanulnia mindent, amit egykor a gépek végeztek el helyettünk.

He has a secret many would kill for: a rudimentary, but working AI system. In the struggle between haves and have-nots, only those can survive who don't believe that knowledge is the answer to every problem.

De van egy titka, amiért sokan ölni tudnának: egy kezdetleges, de működő AI-rendszer. Az erőforrásokért vívott harcban csak azok maradhatnak életben, akik nem hiszik, hogy a tudás minden problémát megold.

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For fans of Emily St. John Mandel's intimate Station Eleven

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And Peter Heller's wilderness-centered The Dog Stars

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A slow-burning post-apocalyptic tale

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Explores technology vs. nature in crisis

From the Book

"The knife moved slowly through the wood, its edge constantly getting stuck. Dimitar cursed quietly. He wasn't yet used to there being no people around him whom he might disturb. He worked slowly."

— Dimitar

"They needed no words to understand that those scrambling up the path were predators. A Karakachan doesn't concern himself with moral questions. There are sheep. There is family. And there are predators."

— Boris, Goran, and Rada, shepherd dogs

"Kalina was only half-watching the screen. She was more occupied with the lentil stew remaining at the bottom of the bowl, which she was trying to scrape out with a piece of bread crust. She could get up and go to the kitchen for a spoon, but right now she was talking with the Machine after all."

— Kalina

About the Author

Miklós Koren is an economist. His research explores how technology and talent jointly contribute to economic development. He first visited the Rila Mountains in 1984. Fish Lakes is his first novel.