Feed Them on Your Dreams by E.N. Auslender (audio)
Summary
This episode features Kate Baker narrating E.N. Ausländer’s sci-fi story "Feed Them on Your Dreams." The tale follows Vacuil, a prodigy raised in isolation by an AI library on a space station to serve as a corporate experiment. After inventing revolutionary engine technology, Vacuil realizes his confinement is based on fabricated fears and attempts to escape his gilded cage.
Topics discussed
Introduction to The Fifth Story and guest Ian Ausländer
The origin of Vacuil and the sailor labor force
Vacuil's upbringing by the Library and its automates
The creation of the android mother and isolation
Vacuil's curiosity about the outside world and ships
Invention of the spatial displacement acceleration engine
Corporate exploitation and failed engine prototypes
Vacuil designs a durable ship and loses enthusiasm
Psychological conditioning and the illusion of danger
The escape attempt and the android mother's injury
The truth revealed: Vacuil's non-existent status
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