Supertoys Last All Summer Long
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"Supertoys Last All Summer Long" is a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by
Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...
, first published in the UK edition of ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'', in its December 1969 issue. The story deals with humanity in an age of intelligent machines and of the aching
loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
endemic in an overpopulated future where child creation is controlled. In the same year, the short story was republished in the eponymous Aldiss short-story collection ''Supertoys Last All Summer Long and Other Stories of Future Time'', along with the tie-in stories ''Supertoys When Winter Comes'' and ''Supertoys in Other Seasons''. The collection also contained a number of stories not tied to the Supertoys theme.Amazon Review
/ref> The short story was later used as the basis for the first act of the feature film ''
A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (also known as ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson were based on the 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All ...
'' directed by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
in 2001.


Plot

In a
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n future where only a quarter of the world's oversized human population is fed and living comfortably, families must request permission to bear children. Monica Swinton lives with her husband Henry and her young son David, with whom she struggles to bond. She seeks help from Teddy, a robot toy companion of sorts, to try to understand why she feels unable to communicate with David, let alone feel compassion for him. David also questions Teddy about whether his mother truly loves him and wonders whether he is truly real. He attempts to write letters of his own to explain how he feels about his mother and the inner conflict he faces but all of his letters remain unfinished. Meanwhile, the story jumps to Henry Swinton who is in a meeting with a company he is associated with known as Synthank. They are discussing artificial life forms and bio-electronic beings for future developments. He discusses that the new AI under production will finally solve humanity's problems with experiencing personal isolation and loneliness. Monica Swinton discovers David's unfinished letters that portray lines about love and a jealous contempt for Teddy, whom Monica always seemed to connect with more than David himself. Monica is horrified by the letters but overjoyed when Henry arrives home and she is able to share with him that the family has been chosen to give birth to a child by the Ministry of Population. It is then revealed that David is an artificial human, used as a replacement for a real child. Monica privately tells Henry that David is having verbal "malfunctioning" problems and must be sent back to the factory at once. The story ends with David thinking of the love and warmth of his mother, unaware of what is to happen next.


Characters

Monica Swinton: A troubled, lonely woman and less-than-compassionate mother, Monica struggles to understand her A.I. son David. Throughout the story, she seeks a way to communicate with him and understand him. While Monica may appear selfish in the beginning as it is admitted that she is unable to love David, she is simply unable to feel love for a child that is not truly her own. Monica enjoys gardening and experiencing only the beautiful and serene parts of life which suggests she is unable to cope with a reality that doesn't appear perfect. This may be why she is unable to love David, as she is unable to accept that he is not her own, born child. Monica seeks comfort and connection in Teddy, David's robot toy companion. It would appear that she cares for this logical, basic A.I. toy more than David, but her exact feelings for Teddy remain questionable. She is portrayed by
Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British–born Australian actress and director. She is known for her roles in the films ''Mansfield Park'' (1999), '' Bedazzled'' (2000), ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001), ''The Importance of ...
in the film adaptation. Loki David Swinton: The A.I. son of Monica and Henry Swinton. Loki David Swinton struggles to feel accepted and loved by his mother, and rightly so, as she is devoid of most feelings for him. David's personality is similar to that of an average 5- to 10-year-old boy, as he is curious, slightly mischievous, and very loving towards Monica. Although David sees Teddy as a companion, he is also jealous that he is treated more as a son than David himself is. It is difficult to say how much of David's "feelings" are programmed, but the questioning of his own reality defines the character as more than an average
android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
. He is portrayed by
Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psyc ...
in the film adaptation. Henry Swinton: The husband of Monica Swinton and father to David. Little is known about this character other than that he works for a company called "Synthank" and helps to develop bio-electronic and
bioengineered Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...
creations. His character appears somewhat distant from Monica, as she doesn't accompany him to the important meeting he attends in the story. However, little is known about his relationship with David and whether he shares the detachment issues Monica experiences. He is portrayed by
Sam Robards Samuel Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor, best known for his role as Henry Swinton in the film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence''. Early life and education Robards was born in New York City, the son of actor Jason Roba ...
in the film adaptation. Teddy: David's robot toy companion. He is unable to tell lies and helps to guide both David and Monica, despite not understanding either of their situations. His knowledge is limited and his personality is simplistic, but Monica finds Teddy easier to communicate with than David. This could be for many reasons, including the possibility that Monica is not used to dealing with a robot that acts human, and Teddy does not provide this feature. He only speaks when spoken to, and seeks to comfort always. The film adaptation portrays Teddy as a robotic teddy bear, voiced by
Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor, comedian, and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as ''Su ...
.


Film adaptation

The short story was used as the basis for the first act of the feature film ''
A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (also known as ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson were based on the 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All ...
'' (2001).
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
originally obtained the rights in the 1970s to produce a film adaptation. However, the project was bogged down in
development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
and was repeatedly postponed. A few years before Kubrick's death in 1999, he suggested to
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
that it might be a project better suited for Spielberg to direct than himself. After Kubrick's death, Spielberg ultimately did direct the film, which was released in 2001.


References

{{reflist


External links


Official Brian Aldiss website and original text in full
1969 short stories Androids in literature Biotechnology literature Birth control British short stories Dystopian literature Fiction about motherhood Overpopulation fiction Science fiction short stories Short stories about robots Short stories adapted into films Works by Brian Aldiss Short stories set in the future Works originally published in Harper's Bazaar