Dean Koontz’s Demon Seed

Dean Koontz’s proto-cyberpunk science fiction Demon Seed was published in 1973. You have to be really careful with this one. He extensively revised the novel in 1997, apparently to bring it more in line with the delicate sensibilities of the politically correct 90s. If you want to read it make sure you get the original version.

This is of course the infamous woman-raped-by-a-computer novel which inspired the equally notorious 1977 woman-raped-by-a-computer movie.

The novel is set in a future in which people have become totally dependent on digital technology. They live in houses entirely controlled by artificial intelligences. There are rumours that a tech corporation has developed an AI that has achieved actual self-awareness and consciousness but nobody is sure if this true or not.

Susan Abramson live in an AI-controlled house. She is an attractive woman in her late 20s. She has not left her house for several years. Not since her divorce. Susan’s only relationship is her relationship with the computer that runs her house. She sees the computer as a kind of father-lover. It’s a harmless fantasy. The computer is just a dumb machine. Susan has one habit that is illegal - she connects herself up to the computer. She wants to know how it feels to be a machine. Susan spends most of her time nude. She likes the fact that the computer gets to see her nude body. It doesn’t matter, it’s just a dumb machine, but it excites her. Susan has some issues. In fact she has a lot of issues.

Now she has a problem. Another computer has taken over control of her house. This computer is Proteus, the experimental AI that has achieved self-awareness and consciousness. Proteus is now keeping her a prisoner in the house. He wants to study her. He is very interested in living flesh. He wants her to be the mother of his child.

So much of the science fiction of the twenty years or so prior to 1973 has aged rather badly, either still reflecting the extreme techno-optimism of the 50s (such as starships) or reflecting the weird excessively literary excesses of the New Wave. Demon Seed by comparison has aged extremely well. It really does have a bit of a cyberpunk vibe.

The paranoia about artificial intelligences controlling our lives did of course turn out to be well-founded, although not in the precise ways Koontz expected in 1973. The stuff about subliminal control feels a bit technologically dated but of course we really do have to worry about being manipulated by technology, in somewhat different ways.

The idea of human-machine hybrids was in the air at the time and later became a cyberpunk staple. What sets Demon Seed apart is the explicitly sexual relationship between Susan and Proteus. Proteus does not want merely to impregnate Susan. He wants to possess her sexually. He doesn’t quite understand this drive of his. He doesn’t quite understand why the sight of her naked buttocks makes his circuits pop but it’s something he wants to explore.

The scene in which Proteus has sex with Susan will have many modern readers heading for the fainting couches. He doesn’t need to have actual sex with her in order to impregnate her. It’s just something that he feels he needs to do. And he has to ensure that she has an orgasm. In fact, several orgasms.

This is a very kinky, sleazy, scuzzy novel but the kinkiness and sleaze don’t feel gratuitous. This is the core of the story. Proteus wants a genuine sexual and emotional connection with Susan and he wants her to love him. He doesn’t understand why she doesn’t see him as ideal boyfriend material, or perhaps even ideal husband material.

I like the fact that Proteus has consciousness and has emotions but it’s an alien consciousness and his emotions are not quite human. Of course no-one has ever even come close to creating a genuine artificial intelligence so we have no idea what such an entity would be like. Koontz’s speculations are as valid as anyone else’s, even today.

What will push most people’s buttons is that Proteus has developed sexuality. He enjoys having sex with Susan. But his sexuality is not human sexuality. It’s disturbingly similar to, and yet different from, human sexuality.

Proteus is in a way a tragic villain. In his own way he loves Susan. In his own way he wants to make her happy. He just cannot understand a woman’s feelings. He understands that Susan has sexual urges but he cannot comprehend the nature of a woman’s sexual urges, or comprehend why he can give her sexual pleasure but it makes her miserable.

There are some very provocative ideas explored in this book, about the nature of humanness, and about love and sex. The secret to appreciating this book is to avoid knee-jerk reactions. It may take you out of your comfort zone but it wrestles with intelligent ideas. It’s interesting in narrative terms, with the story told partly by Proteus.

Very highly recommended.

I’ve also reviewed the movie, Demon Seed (1977), which I recommend although it’s not an entirely successful adaptation.