Contemporary or Future

Computers in movies fall into two categories, contemporary PC like machines and futuristic, intelligent computers found in science fiction.

This is a comparison of some of the more famous computers. Each has a small entry for name, interface (how they talked to people), gender (usually of their voice), self aware (yes or no), and no. of users (number of simultaneous converstions they can hold).

Please check out my Computers in Contemporary Movies entry. I have written a seperate entry on Androids in Science Fiction.

Star Trek | 2001 | Knight Rider | Andromeda | Alien Cargo | Red Dwarf | Terminator Movies | Red Planet | Quantum Leap | Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy | Truckers, Diggers, Wings | Blake's 7 | The Culture | Babylon 5 | Alien | Discworld | Flight Of The Navigator

Star Trek

Name: Computer
Interface: Voice/Screen
Gender: Female
Self aware: No
No. of Users: Unlimited

Possibly one of the most famous computers in science fiction. The Star Trek computer was introduced in the original series (TOS) and continued through the next generation (TNG), Deep Space Nine (DS9), Voyager, and all the Star Trek movies.

Comprising a largely voice activated system, the computer can be queried and given orders and respond in a synthesied, female voice (played by Majel Barrett Roddenbury). The computer always refers to itself in the third person.

The computer also acts as an interface for the Universal Translator, which allows species who speak different langueages to communicate.

The computer itself (referred to as the computer core) is massive, usually being several metres in diameter and several desks high. The core is surrounded by a sub-space field that allows the computer to process at faster than light speed. Some ships, such as the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-D and U.S.S. Prometheus have several seperate computer cores. The U.S.S. Enterprise for example has two cores in the saucer section (between decks 5 and 14), and one core in the stardrive (or engineering) section (between decks 30 and 37). This design was used because the two sections could seperate, and needed independant, autonomous computers.

Early computers used duotronic circuits, designed by Dr Richard Daystrom. Daystrom initiated a disastrous experiment with multitronics when he installed the M4 computer in the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC 1701) under the command of Captain Kirk. M4 was essentially a "thinking" computer. It took command of the Enterprise to run a simulated battle with four other constitution class ships. Normally, there would be no way for one constitution class ship to defeat four others. During the mock battle, M4 turned the weapons systems back on to their normal settings and killed everyone aboard two of the ships. This happened because M4 had neural engrams based on Dr Daystrom's mind, which was unstable. He had created duotronics when he was 24 and had been struggling to re-create his previous levels of genius. The effort had made him mentally unstable.

Later era computers (TNG, DS9, Voyager) all use optronics (optical electronics) as they technology base. These comprise optric chips, about 10 mm by 40 mm by 4mm with optical pathways built into them. Deep Space Nine's optical chips are cylindrical rods, because the station was built by Cardassians. They can be removed and replaced, or re-ordered to change the way a device functions.

The computer also offers a screen based interface called LCARS (Library Computers Access and Retrieval System). This is a highly customisable operating system that uses unmarked buttons (often refered to as "Okudagrams," after the inventor of the interface, technical consultant Mike Okuda) and meaningless reference numbers on screens to give access to computer information. All ship stations (Helm, OPS, Tactical, Engineering and Science stations, etc are LCARS interfaces.

More information is available at Star Trek Official Site

2001

Name: HAL 9000
Interface: Voice/Screen
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Possibly limited

HAL 9000 (Heuristic ALgortithm) was the computer in the cult classic 2001. He is the computer system onboard the U.S.S.S. Discovery, the first manned scientific expedition to Jupiter. HAL does refer to himself in the first person.

"I enjoy working with humans, and have stimulating relationships with them."

The crew believe that their are on a scientific mission, but in reality they are being sent to investigate an alien monolith in Jupiter orbit.

Basic plot: As the Discovery approaches Jupiter, HAL apparently malfunctions, predicting failure in the AE35 antenna that is used to communicate with Earth. The two crew investigate the unit and can find nothing wrong with it. They come to the conclusion that HAL is malfunctioning and devise a plan to turn him off, but HAL is evesdropping on their conversation by reading their lips. HAL kills one crewman (Frank Poole) outside the ship (by ramming the pod into him in eerie silence) and the three other members who are in suspended animation before the final crew member, Dave Bowman, disconnects him. As Dave is disconnecting him, HAL seems to realise his own mortaility.

"Please stop Dave. I'm afraid."

Reason: HAL's malfunction is caused by the simplest of computing errors. Frank Poole and Dave Bowman are unaware of the real mission they are on. HAL was given full knowledge of the mission and autonomy to complete it on his own should the crew become incapacitated or killed.

HAL was instructed not to reveal to them the true nature of the mission. He was instructed to lie. Since the function of the 9000 series computer is the accurate processing and storage of information without distortion or concealment, the two commands contradict and HAL became trapped in a feedback loop. He became paranoid. This fact was revealed by Dr Chandra, HAL's creator, in 2010, when a Russian expedition to Jupiter tries to determine what went wrong.

The irony of the situation is that the AE35 unit does fail, meaning that the antenna can no longer be moved. Dave has to orientate the entire spacecraft in order to communicate with Earth.

Author Arthur C. Clarke denied using the letters HAL to stay one step ahead of IBM.

HAL also has a twin sister called SAL 9000. She is virtually indentical, but has a blue eye, as opposed to HAL's red one, and a female voice. She is Dr Chandra's personal assistant, and he used her for diagnostics on HAL during the nine years after he malfunctioned.

Other computers ctreated by Clarke include David in "The Hammer of God", who jumps ship to save himself by transmitting his presonality and memories to Earth when he thinks the ship he's in charge of will be destroyed.

Knight Rider

Name: KITT
Interface: Voice
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

The Car's The Star was certainly true on this show. Knight Rider was a huge hit in the US and UK. KITT or Knight Industries Two Thousand was the computer in the car (Pontiac Firebird).

KITT was the second (or third, depending on how you count it) attempt at a totally safe, ultra fast, thinking car for law enforcement. He was friend to Michael Knight. KITT's basic processor was design to create a personality to compliment Michael's. Where Michael was sometimes reckless, KITT urged caution. KITT also had an ego though, and would often show off. In Michael's maiden drive in KITT, he is urged by Devon Miles to accelerate while driving behind the semi. Michael does this as Devon explain's KITT's thinking.

Devon: "KITT has two choices. Override your acceleration, or overtake the semi."

KITT then overtakes the semi.

Michael: "Why'd it overtake? Why didn't it slow down?"

Devon: "It's showing off."

KITT was maintained by Bonnie Barstowe and then April Curtis in F.L.A.G.'s semi-articulated lorry. It was here that he was fitted with any mission specific equipment he would need.

KITT was very selfless in protecting Michael. Despite his molecular bonded shell, which made him almost invulnerable, he was endangered several times and chose to sacrifice himself, rather than risk injuring Michael. At one point, KITT even ejected Michael from the car to protect him. KITT certainly obeys the Three Laws of Robotics.

Andromeda

Name: Andromeda
Interface: Voice / Screen / Hologram / Romy
Gender: Female
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Unlimited

Gene Roddenbury's Andromeda is set on the starship Andromeda Ascendant, the last ship in the Highguard fleet, which defends the Commonwealth of Worlds (sounds strangely familiar to Starfleet's relationship to the United Federation of Planets).

Basic plot: The ship and its captain, Dylan Hunt (played by Kevin Sorbo), have been trapped near the event horizon of a black hole for over 300 years but the temporal dilation effect means it only lasted a few seconds for the ship. Being frozen in time is a shame for Dylan as he misses the fall of civilisation, but then vows to restore it.

When the series starts Andromeda is a disembodied personality in the ship who has a female figure (played by Lexa Doig) that can be displayed on screens and using holographic projections. Later the new engineer, Harper, builds her an android body, who later takes the nickname "Romy". Dylan admits it's wierd being able to talk to her face to face.

Dylan: "All those times you've seen me..."

Romy: "...getting out of the shower."

Dylan: "Can we just say 'On numerous occasions' ?"

Andromeda is everywhere on the ship and can answer the crew's queries by voice, hologram projection, or through Romy, if she's near enough. Andromeda can even talk to herself.

Dylan: "You know they say talking to youself is the first sign of mental decay."

Romy and Andromeda together: "Only for wetware. "

(Meaning humans)

Andromeda is a warship, so she has a warship's mentality. Romy is an accomplished hand to hand combat expert. In one episode she takes out five attackers while Tyr (a born warrior) just stands there watching.

More information available at Andromeda Official site

Alien Cargo

Name: Shoshone
Interface: Voice
Gender: Female
Self aware: Possibly
No. of Users: Two

This rather obscure TV movie is, despite a relatively low budget, an excellent film.

Basic plot: Its main storyline is a spacecraft freighter that becomes lost above the eliptic (the orientation of the orbit of the planets), and with 97% of their fuel spent which puts them effectively beyond rescue.

The eight crew work two man shifts for a few months each. The rest remaining in hibernation. The second crew awake to find a year has passed, the ship is lost and the interior is wrecked and the other two crew members dead, apparently having killed each other.

The onboard computer is called Shoshone (pronounced sh^ô-sh^ô'n^ê). She is remarkably unhelpful, being relatively dumb and incapable of operating beyond her programming. When asked why she didn't wake them earlier, when there was a chance to save the ship, she responds;

Shoshone: "During my last system upgrade lines two hundred and twenty thousand, two hundred and two to two hundred and sixty eight thousand eight hundred were commented out."

The female character (love interest/systems programmer) knows exactly what those line of code do. (They control the hibernation system. In the event of massive system failure the hibernation pods default to their 365 day routine.) Sheshone was unable to wake the crew earlier, and was also unable to countermand the navigation order that has stranded the ship beyond help.

One part of the story involves the two crew trying to find each other. The male lead asks Sheshone to find his girlfriend.

Shoshone: "There is a human heat signature in the main access corridor."

"That's me, you idiot!"

The name Shoshone comes from a Native American people. More information available at dictionary.com

Red Dwarf

Name: Holly
Interface: Voice / Screen
Gender: Male then Female the Male again
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Dubious

Holly, a tenth generation AI computer onboard the Jupiter Mining Corporation ship Red Dwarf, must be the most senile computer in science fiction.

Basic plot: Dave Lister (a 3rd class vending machine technician) is punished for bringing an unvaccinated cat onboard by being put into stasis for months, and rather neatly survives the radiation leak that kills the rest of the crew. Awoken 3 million years later, Holly informs him they are millions of light years from Earth and the only people on board are Arnold J. Rimmer (a computer simulated hologram of his old bunkmate) and the Cat (a humanoid creature descended from the race that Lister's cat spawned). Later the crew if joined by Kryten (a mechanoid).

Holly is played by Norman Lovett, then later by Hattie Hayridge. The more awake of you may have noticed those names are different genders. Holly is a disembodied head which appears on screens around the ship and on a wrist watch that Lister wears. Holly can also see from this.

"There's a hole in your pocket. Its absolutely terrifying. It was like 'Attack of the Giant Gooseberries.' "- Holly

Holly originally had an IQ of 6000 (the same IQ as six thousand PE teachers), but as his (her) IQ is linked to runtime (essentially life expectancy), Holly was forced to deliberately become stupid in order to still be "alive" when the radiation levels became low enough and Listen could be brought out of stasis.

Unfortunately, once Lister was released from stasis Holly discovered several things.

• He couldn't remember how to increase his IQ back to its original level.

• He did know where Red Dwarf was.

• The ship had been accelerating for the last 3 million years and was about to break the light speed barrier.

Holly piloted Red Dwarf out of the solar system in order to avoid speading the radioactive contamination.

Holly's low IQ also means that he/she often can't come up with plans and the crew have to fend for themselves.

"We have three realistic alternatives: (1) Sit here and get blown up, (2) Stand here and get blown up, (3) Jump up and down, shout at me for not being able to think of anything, then get blown up."
- Holly, Bodyswap

See also www.bbc.co.uk/reddwarf

The Terminator Movies

Name: SkyNet
Interface: Unknown
Gender: Unknown
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Unknown

The computer in these two movies is called SkyNet and it is waging a war against humanity.

Basic plot: SkyNet was originally designed to run the USA's national defence systems, controlling nuclear missiles, stealth bombers, orbital weapons and the like. However, once activated it began learning at a geometric rate. It eventually became self-aware. The generals in charge paniced and tried to unplug it. SkyNet retaliated by launching its nuclear missiles at Russia, knowing that the Russian counter-attack would kill it's enemies in America. SkyNet then started waging a war on humans, with machines, and ultimately terminators (machines that look human). Unable to defeat the humans, SkyNet sends two terminators back in time to kill the human's leader, John Connor. One was sent to kill his mother, the other to kill John as a child. Both failed as they were defeated by a warrior sent by the humans.

SkyNet actually creates a
Temporal Paradox by trying to kill John. The first warrior sent to stop the T101 terminator was in fact John's father. SkyNet could have won the war by not creating the time portal machine at all.

However the paradox gets worse. The first terminator was crushed, but part of its processor survived and made its way into the hands of scientists at the computer company Cyberdyne. Cyberdyne used this processor to make a quantum leap in their research and create neural processors, eventually winning a military contract to make autopilots for steath bombers and eventually creating SkyNet. So if SkyNet hadn't sent the first terminator, it would never have been built. This also means that SkyNet, because it designed the terminators, created itself. It is unclear if SkyNet is aware of the paradox.

Anyone lucky enough to have been on the Terminator2:3D ride at Universal Studios, Los Angeles will know about a small sub-plot to the story. It involves another terminator taking John to the future (on a motorcycle) to destroy SkyNet.

John: "What's that building?"

Terminor: "SkyNet."

John: "I see. And remind me, why are we going towards it?"

Red Planet

Name: Cecile
Interface: Voice
Gender: Female
Self aware: Possibly
No. of Users: One

This film had some good computer technology in it.

Basic plot: Oxygen creating algae is sent to Mars to terraform it. A year later and oxygen levels are dropping and the algae is starting to disappear. The spacecraft Mars One is sent with a scientific crew to investigate, but a solar flare damages the ship, forcing the crew (minus the captain) to abandon ship and flee to the martian surface. Their lander crashes miles from their base, HAB, and one by one they get bumped off by accidents, and then by AIME (see below).

The crew all have portable computing units comprising a canister from which they can pull a sheet of film to varying lengths. The film acts as a display, can take photographs, interpret voice commands and process information. Val Kilmer's character uses his computer to reverse a picture of three mountains, overlay it with the view from HAB, and use geometry to calculate the bearing to HAB.

"This is it gentlemen. The day they told us about in high school. When geometry would save our lives."

Mars One also has an onboard computer, called Cecile (female). It can talk to the crew and can even offer advice. When Commander Bowman (the captain, played by Carrie Anne Moss) is trying to put out a fire, the extinguisher canister throws her across the cabin. Cecile reminders her this is a zero-g fire and to brace herself.

AIME is the team's naviagion aid on the surface. She is a cat like robot on loan from the marines. During the crash she is damaged, but only goes "postal" when the crew find her and try to pull her battery as a power source for themselves. She reverts to "military mode" and plays a guerilla warfare attack strategy on them. She seems self aware and willing to defend herself.

Quantum Leap

Name: Ziggy
Interface: Voice / Handlink
Gender: Male, then Female
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Unknown

Ziggy, the first sex change computer in mainstream science fiction (excluding Holly from Red Dwarf, which is sci fi comedy).

Basic plot: Sam Beckett creates project: Quantum Leap and takes a time travelling journey, leaping into people to change history for the better, then discovers he can't get home and his brain has been turned to "swiss cheese" and he's forgotten a lot of his life. In fact, in his first leap, he forget he was Sam Beckett - time traveller and thought he was a US test pilot with amnesia.

Sam designed this parallel hybrid computer to run Project Quantum Leap. Ziggy's main function is to analyse the original history of the person Sam has leapt into and calculate probabilites about what Sam is supposed to "fix". Sam occasionally ignores Ziggy's predictions. Sam gave Ziggy an ego, which was a real breakthrough in computer development. Originally, the computer was male, but after Sam leaped home to 1999, it was shown Ziggy had a female voice after Tina had done some reprogramming. She thought a female computer would be easier to work with.

Ziggy ego proved a real problem for Sam. During Sam's first Leap, Ziggy refused to accept responsibility for not being able to bring Sam back, and cut power to most of the Project, leaving only essential items available. The computer is prone to mood swings and sometimes won't predict what will happen for fear of being wrong. Ziggy also shut down the heating/cooling system in the project, which in the desert, so Al appeared in bermudas during the day and in antarctic gear during the night. Ziggy crashed once and put an extra zero on everyone's paycheck. Then the computer began to spit out data in foreign languages. Al blamed the problems on foreign microchips.

While Al is in the Imaging Chamber, he communicates with Ziggy, Gooshie and the others via a handlink. The handlink has undergone a few design changes, most likely to make them hardier. Al tends to abuse them quite a bit, and one handlink died spectacularly while Al was attempting to retrieve information.

Ziggy digested the entire works of Shakespeare in a matter of seconds, explaining that with a one-million-gigabyte capacity, she was perfectly able of rubbing her belly, patting her head, and doing a trillion floating point operations at once. She also has an appreciation for the human figure. When Sam undressed infront of her she remarked:

"Ooh, if you weren't my father..."

Ziggy is programmed by Gooshie with a little help from Tina (Al's girlfriend.)

More information available at Quantum Leap - Virtual Seasons

Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

Basic plot: Arthur Dent escapes Earth's destruction with friend Ford Prefect, who is in fact from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and not from Guilford as he had previously thought. They then go on to wander the galaxy rather aimlessly before returning to the Earth several minutes before it is destroyed.

Name: Deep Thought
Interface: Voice
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

Name: Eddie
Interface: Voice / Tickertape
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

Name: Earth
Interface: None
Gender: None
Self aware: No
No. of Users: Unknown

Deep Thought, created to give the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. After 3 million years, he comes up with his answer.

Deep Thought: "Are you sure you want to hear it? You're really not going to like it."


Deep Thought: "Very well. The answer to Life,"

Elders: "Yes."

Deep Thought: "the Universe"

Elders: "Yes."

Deep Throught: "and Everything"

Elders: "Yes?"

Deepthought: " is..."

Elders: "Yes?"

Deep Thought: "....is..."

Elders: "YES?"

Deep Thought: "....42."
Pause

Elders: "42!?!"

Deep Thought: "I told you, you weren't going to like it."

Deep Thought argues that the people who made it really didn't know what the question is. So it designes the greatest computer ever built, one so complex that organic life would form its matrix. And it was called "The Earth".

The Earth ran its program for millions of years, accumulating data, processing and storing. And then five minutes before completion, the Vogons demolished it to make way for a new hyperspace by-pass. Which just goes to show, you need to backup your work.

Eddie is the computer on the Heart of Gold spaceship that Zapphod steals. The ship runs on an infinite improbability drive, which allows it to occupy every point in the universe, without all that mucking about in hyperspace. He talks to the crew and also spews out ticker tape. Eddie has a backup personality. The main one is rather over-entusiastic, the back up one is overly protective of the crew.

More information available at Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

Truckers, Diggers, Wings

Terry Prattchet's gnome trilogy.

Name: The Thing
Interface: Voice
Gender: Possibly Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

Basic plot: Masklin's clan of gnomes are forced to take refuge in The Store, where they discover other gnomes. The Thing (a small back box) that Masklin's family have carried for generations comes to life and tells them the Store will be demolished. Masklin leads the gnomes to safety by stealing a truck. The Thing also tells Masklin that the gnomes came from the stars in the Ship, and travelled to Earth in a small survey craft, but it crashed and stranded them on the surface. The gnomes must return to their home world, Earth is not ready for them and is too dangerous for them. They hijack a satellite and order it to call the Ship, which they left burried on the moon, so they could keep an eye on it.

Masklin: "I used to spend ages looking at the moon. Maybe deep down I realised its significance."

Thing: "No, that was just primal instinct."

Masklin: "Oh."

The Thing is capable of many computations at once, but the more time it spends on one task, the less it can on another. It is capable of being struck with considerable force. Although it is a sleek, featureless black box, it can open panels and extend pointers, a radar dish, and various other tools. When closed, the "hatches" are not visible.

Blake's 7

Name: Zen / Slave / Orac
Interface: Voice
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

Blake's 7 had three computers of note: Zen, Orac and Slave were all voiced by Peter Tuddenham.

Basic plot: Blake and his band of chums (similar to Robin Hood) are on the run from the evil Federation. They have a ship called the Liberator, which gets blown up, so they get another ship called the Scorpio. It all ends in tragedy as they are all shot.

All three computers were self-aware with a voice interface. Zen was built into the Liberator and had a screen, Slave was built into the Scorpio (he had little lights which flashed on his rotating display, which looked like an egg timer), and Orac was a perspex box that looks cheap by today's sci-fi budgets but at the time probably cost a small fortune.

Orac was built by Ensor, while Slave was built by Dorian, and Zen by the Altans, the race that built Liberator.

Orac was the most usless computer ever built. It could predict the future with 100% accuracy, but in the most vague terms imaginable. He did have other uses such as monitoring Federation transmissions, breaking Federation codes, taking over other computers, etc. He got his irritating personality from his creator, Ensor. However, as far as his original purpose was concerned, he was pretty useless.

Blake: "Show us the future."

Orac displays the Liberator exploding.

Blake: "When will this happen?"

Orac: "Soon."

Blake: "Yes, but when?"

Orac: "It is even closer now."

Eventually they get fed up with him and unplug him.

More information is available at Blake's 7 BBC site.

The Culture

Iain M. Banks's Culture novels have achieved a cult status, despite being modern works of fiction.

Name: Various, refered to as Ship or Mind (or Orbital, or Hub.....)
Interface: Voice / Screen / Neural Lace / Drone / Avatar
Gender: Unknown
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: Billions, possibly unlimited.

Basic plot: Each book has its own plot, but all share common themes. The Minds are AI cores that sit in hyperspace wells to allow them to think faster than light. Star Trek employs a siliar design in their computer cores (they sit in a sub-space field). They are several metres tall and roughly cylindrical. The Minds are sentient and devote most of their time to serving humans, talking to each other, making more Minds and more ships and simulating universes.

Mind: "Imagine a sheet of paper covered in text. Now imagine a filing cabinet full of paper. Now imagine a room filled with filing cabinets. Now imagine a building filled with rooms, filled with filing cabinets. Now imagine a city filled with buildings. Now imagine the city covers the entire surface of a planet, and that still isn't close the amount of information I can recall."

In the Culture universe, humans have long given up resposibility for their environments, be they ships, orbitals (a ring thousands of kilometres lone in space that rotates around a hub), or any other kind of habitat. Minds run everything and humans do, well as much or as little as they like. Humans live about 400 years as standard, but can elect to live forever in a perpetual ageing and anti-ageing cycle. They can also change gender or even species if they want.

The Minds have personality, some are agressive (warships mainly), others are passive.

More information available at A Few Notes on The Culture by Iain M. Banks

Babylon 5

Name: Computer
Interface: Voice / Screen
Gender: Female
Self aware: No
No. of Users: Unknown

The computer on Babylon 5 is crystal based. In a similarity to Star Trek, all Earth Force computers appear identical, able to accept voice commands, deliver messages, run vital systems and interface with other machines. Another similarity is the computer refering to itself in the third person.

Basic plot: The five year plot line of Babylon 5 centres around humans (and the other races) taking their place in the galaxy. In the end they "evict" the last of the ancient races and take their fate in their own hands. They screw it up a little, but on the whole end up running things fairly well.

Computer data can be stored in crystals for easy transportation, although it is difficult to see how such small crystals do not get lost through holes in pockets more often. Possibly the futuristic fabric of their pockets are tear proof. The crystals are read by being placed on a special pad on a computer terminal. Little more is known about the computer. Babylon 5 was a character orientated show, not a technology orientated one. For example, the acronym for their pulse guns (PKG) is never explained, but Photo Kinetic Gun, is a good guess.

More information is available at the Babylon 5 official site

Alien

Name: Mother
Interface: Screen (Keyboard interface)
Gender: Female (assumed)
Self aware: No
No. of Users: One

Mother, computer onboard the ore freighter Nostromo had a small part in the film Alien.

Basic plot: Mother detects an unknown signal coming from an unexplored planet and diverts to investigate, then awakens the crew from hibernation. The crew are a little puzzled to be awoken outside the solar system, and land to investigate. The conditions of their contract require them to investigate any unknown signal source.

Mother's interface is quite strange. Only the captain can access the computer's interactive interface and he must be in computer control room to do this. Queries are typed into the keyboard and Mother answers in text on the screen. When the crew awake, the captain asks:

"What's the story Mother?"

It is unclear if this is a valid system query, or if Mother can understand human colloquialisms. In either case, Mother tells him there is a signal coming from the planet. Later in the film, Ripley uses Mother to ask for the secret mission Nostromo is on. Mother tells her that the mission is to capture an alien and bring it back to Earth.

Many things about the Alien universe are unclear. For example; have humans met any other alien races? Have they found any other alien artifacts for races they have not met? Why were the giant elephant like aliens transporting the alien eggs? Why did their ship land / crash on the planet? For the most part, fans of the film say its better with the mystery intact. (It also has the advantage that subsequent films can explore these questions without violating any canon rules laid out in the original film). For the curious, the signal coming from the alien ship appeared to be a distress call.

The last film in the Alien series, called Alien: Ressurection, was set on a military ship with a computer called Father.

Discworld

Name: HEX
Interface: Voice & Keyboard Input, Quill and parchment Output.
Gender: Male (assumed)
Self aware: Apparently
No. of Users: Several, but gets confused easily.

HEX is a computer (of sorts) featuring in some of Terry Prattchet's discworld novels.

HEX was built at the Unseen University, the wizards college in the city of Ankh-Morpork. He is situated in the High Energy Magic building, where some of the younger wizards, like Ponder Stibbons, do experimental magic mixed with science. The older wizards do not approve. HEX's keyboard interface allowed him to catch madness from the Bursar when he typed out 'Dried Frog Pills'.

HEX was built to help the wizards calculate new spells. His construction includes;

HEX: "+++ Waah! Want Teddy! Waah! +++"

HEX is quite a complex machine. In Hogfather, Death, who is pretenting to be the Hogfather (imagine Santa Claus but with pigs), gets HEX to believe in him. HEX then starts writing a list of things he wants for Hogswatch Night (akin to Christmas).

Death: "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HALF THIS STUFF IS."

HEX was also used to calculate the magical vectors to return Rincewind from the Demon Dimensions to the university. Unfortunately, a butterfly landed on the glass tubing, which had a crack in it. It deposited a small grain of pollen, which an ant picked up.

As a result, the answer HEX generated was, except for one very small error, entirely correct.

This is the butterfly effect, Discworld's version of chaos theory.

HEX is very delicate, and does not respond well when the Arch-Chancellor Ridcully starts tapping on the glass tubes with a pencil. HEX has crashed on several occasions, and needs constant upgrades to continue working. Errors include: "+++Out Of Cheese Error+++" and "+++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++
"

Jokes in the dicsworld novels about HEX include: Hex doesn't work if it doesn't have enough bugs in it. Also, it has an 'Anthill Inside' sticker. Hex also appears to be building itself: often completely new things appear in the morning, with no-one having a clue how they got there.

Flight of The Navigator

Name: Max (Nickname)
Interface: Voice via robotic "head"
Gender: Male
Self aware: Yes
No. of Users: One

One of the best science fiction films, because it deals directly with temporal dialation caused by light speed travel.

Basic plot: David is abducted by a Trimaxian survey ship, which takes him to their homeworld for study. The trip, experiment and return journey take only eight hours. They want to see how much data his memory will hold. Unfortunately because of human physiology it is not possible to return David to his point of origin in space and time, and because of the light-speed flight, David is returned to Earth eight years later. This is naturally a shock to him and his family. He then steals the spaceship and gets back to his own time.

Max obeys all of his instructions, but after attempting to copy the data stuck in his head, Max accidentally copies part of David's personality. This causes him to have mood swings, sulk and even release control of the ship so that David has to figure out how to fly.

Max is a highly advanced computer, but little is known about him, his entire interior and exterior is made of a silver like material that can be molded into any shape at will. Although he appears on radar, he can move so fast that no Earth aircraft can catch him.

Pilot: "He just took off!"

NASA: "Can you follow him?

Pilot: "Follow him? I can't even see him!"

Despite his complexities, Max is vulnerable and fallible, which is surprising for a computer. He is captured after he crashes into electrical pylons while looking at daisies. the crash erases all of his navigational data, including his star charts. This is why he needs David, to download the charts stored in him.