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''The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect'' is a 1994 novella by Roger Williams, a computer programmer living in New Orleans.〔(Confessions of an Unrepentant Code Commando ), 2002-03-10〕 It deals with the ramifications of a powerful, superintelligent supercomputer that discovers a method of rewriting the "BIOS" of reality while studying a little-known quirk of quantum physics discovered during the prototyping of its own specialised processors, ultimately heralding a technological singularity. After remaining unpublished for years, the novel was published online in 2002, hosted by Kuro5hin; Williams later published a print edition via print-on-demand publisher Lulu.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 date = April 16, 2006 )〕 One reviewer called the novel "a well-written and very creative, if flawed, piece of work" and ranked it as one of the more important works of fiction to deal with the idea of a technological singularity. ==Publishing history== Roger Williams started writing ''The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect'' in 1982, while studying at college. After writing a basic plot outline, Williams realized that he "had no clue how to end it", and thus put it to one side for over a decade. In 1994, with the initial plot outline now lost, Williams claims to have had an unusually vivid dream which compelled him to start writing—resulting in the completion of the first chapter.〔 This continued intermittently, with each chapter resulting from a burst of inspiration, culminating when the final chapter—the ending—was written approximately a year after the first. As Williams describes it, the actual writing time was about 14 days in total.〔 At this point, Williams showed it to a few friends, but otherwise claims to have made no serious attempt to publish the work.〔 This differs, however, from Henrik Ingo's account, as he states that Williams made "numerous attempts" to find a publisher. In 2002, Williams was writing articles for Kuro5hin, and was encouraged to publish it there.〔 Thus it was finally published approximately eight years after completion. It was published online under a copyright scheme that permits free distribution and printing of the electronic version of the novel, but prohibits distribution of printed copies of the work. Printed versions were later made available by the author through Lulu.com, who provide print-on-demand services.〔 While the online version was free, Williams provided a PayPal tip jar, which had raised $750 US by April 2003. This is considerably under the typical advance paid to authors, and led Williams to describe internet tip jars as an insufficient model for authors hoping to pay for "the rent and groceries".〔 Nevertheless, Williams was happy with his success. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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