As Jane begins to live her own life, she in turn brings Silver to life through her own human emotions and reactions.
Their relationship isn’t perfect, and neither are either of them, regardless of the fact that Silver was supposedly constructed perfectly. The relationship between Jane and Silver could so easily have become clichéd and sickly sweet, but instead the problems that arise between them are serious and taken seriously. Silver is a catalyst for asserting her own independence. It takes a dramatic upheaval in her emotions for her to begin realizing how very controlled she is, and for her to start breaking that control.
Jane has never exerted her will or her own desires on anyone, always letting others take the lead, especially her mother. Her most telling sacrifice and the true start of the story is when she sells her possessions in order to pay for Silver. She doesn’t lord her wealth over others, but does take it for granted in the usual privileged way. Jane herself is represented well as an inexperienced, sheltered rich girl. When the government forces Electronic Metals to recall their too-human robots after pressure from a discontented public, Jane and Silver must run from the corporation determined to melt him down into scrap. Eventually, she falls in love with him, and gives up everything she knows to buy him and be with him. He sings and plays music like that of a master musician, and Jane is instantly drawn to and repelled by him.Īs they run into each other over the next few days, Jane begins to realize that Silver is like no man or robot she has ever encountered before. Silver is one of these robots, let out into Jane’s city to act as a walking advertisement for the new models. Electronic Metals has released a new and innovative line of robots, designed to appear nearly human and with extraordinary creative skills. stands for Silver Ionized Locomotive Verisimulated Electronic Robot. Her friends are not really her friends, and the course of her life has been set since the moment her mother chose to be artificially inseminated.Īll of this monotony changes in a moment when Jane sets her eyes upon Silver for the first time. Her mother has even chosen what Jane will look like, ordering her prescriptions and hair treatments that leave her plump and plain.
Having grown up as a pet project of her mother’s, she has no will or thoughts or opinions of her own, merely what those around her believe she should have.
Many of today’s authors have lost this knack, the talent of writing universal stories that will be as applicable in twenty or forty years as they are this year. Although The Silver Metal Lover was originally published in 1981, the story, characters, and events are so universal that it could have been written only yesterday. One of the best things about older science fiction is its ability to stand the test of time.
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