The first book in the Cardinal Machines series, by Tracy Eire begins to explore the relationship between advancements in technology and what that means for humanity, good or bad. This book is a gentle introduction into artificial intelligence for a young audience set in the near distant future in California. The story follows Katherine Zoey Cardinal (Zoey Collins), a high-school age emancipated private investigator and an android named Ocean, created to look and function mostly like a human, inherited from her recently deceased Great Aunt Katherine as they solve a mystery that happens in town.
Zoey is grappling with a few heavy life situations, the recent death of her uncle, financial struggles, high school when a reminder of her powerful and wealthy family that she’d alienated herself from, shows up on her doorstep. The Mother of AI & robotics pioneer, Katherine Cardinal dies, leaving her custom android prototype to Zoey. Zoey struggles with adapting to life with an expensive machine designed to protect and serve, while maintaining her own set of values in which she prides herself in taking care of herself, with help from no one. Ocean is a reminder of all of the wealth, prestige, and power that come with the Cardinal name. He was built to serve in law enforcement, but he also seems to possess a real curiosity to understand humans.
We also get to see the response of the general public to the presence of Ocean. Unless one is looking very closely, Ocean could pass for a very handsome young man. Upon closer inspection, his clothing which denote the fact that he is an artificially intelligent being and his mannerisms cause some individuals in the story to voice and show their prejudices, concern, and distrust of machines. The Sherrif office, the high school students, random strangers on the street recoil, react, and respond in ways that show that even though technology might advance rapidly, the beliefs of humans may take awhile to catch up. We do get to see a few relationships between Ocean and humans that are positive, from his former LAPD partner, to one of Zoey’s friends who has a crush on him, to Zoey herself. Over time, Zoey begins to develop an affection for Ocean, while Ocean tends to care for Zoey even if he doesn’t fully understand the emotional impact of their relationship. Through Ocean, Zoey learns to lean on others so she’s not taking on all of the heavy burdens alone.
From a genre perspective, there’s a little something for many different types of readers. There’s the romance budding between Zoey and Ocean and the mystery that unfolds when a murder occurs that showcases how other androids and machines are being used to commit and cover up a larger crime. Additionally, the science fiction aspect of the story makes for an interesting read. The book contains references to manual versus self-driving cars, wearable technology, and humanoid androids. Technology and the convenience, the ethical implications of its use are major themes brought up throughout the story. This story also fits into the YA genre because the main characters are still in high school. While on this topic, there are some more mature topics that arise in the storytelling: accidental drug consumption, mentions of reciprocated attraction to older adults (the main character is described to be 18 but she’s still in high school), a human/machine relationship, and murder.
If you are looking for an adventure, an examination of what humanity means, and some mystery, then you may want to check out Cardinal Machines.
Find Cardinal Machines on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PHM5WRZ.
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