A sci-fi tale by David Brin. Set in a not too distant future where a new technology makes it possible for people to imprint themselves into clay “dittoes” (copies). The dittoes are like personal deputies who go off and uncomplainingly do all the things that the “rigs” (originals) don’t want to do – such as housework, a boring job, or risking life and limb. The ditto has a short 24 hour lifespan but memories of its experiences during this time are able to be “inloaded” to its rig, giving the person several lifetimes of accumulated memories.
The story revolves around Al, a clever detective who has been hired to find the missing lead scientist from United Kil’n, the company that first developed the clay dittoes. Along the way it deals with the implications of Kil’n technology on many different levels – the social, philosophical, moral and physical. Narrating in first person and as each of Al’s several duplicates at the same time would seem to be a near impossible task but Brin rises to the challenge, and uses it skilfully as a device to speed up the pace of this page turning thriller.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, very cleverly written and even the regular use of puns (ditective/detective) was a good touch which added to the entertaining tone of the story.