Aldiss goes even farther with his view of the future, by giving us a future for the future. What does it have in store for us? How about a walking and talking computer with a full connection to the Internet? This is definitely one person I wouldn't mind supporting in a game of Jeopardy. The thinking machine of the future is capable of just about everything a human is, and more in ways concerning memory. Henry calls these the "true bio-electronic beings," capable of being a companion as much as a man-servant.

You might think that, in a world completely overpopulated, companionship would be easy.