The Punch Escrow

The Punch Escrow by Tal Klein (3 stars, paperback, 356 pages) 

In the year 2147, many of the problems plaguing humanity have been ended by scientific advancement and corporate leadership. Air pollution and diseases are things of the past, and everybody has unique digital implants that provide all the services of your smartphone inside your head. War is a thing of the past - corporations took over instead of countries in the wake of The Last War. Under the auspices of the powerful company International Transport, teleportation using a process called the Punch Escrow is the safest, fastest, and cheapest mode of transportation. Joel Byram’s somewhat distant wife Sylvia is a hotshot scientist with IT, working on highly-classified projects. Joel’s only marketable skill is his ability to trick AIs, which he uses to make spending cash and patch cybersecurity holes. Inevitably, something goes wrong in this world of technological wonder and corporate authority, and Joel must do what he can to right the wrongs and return his life to what passes for normal.

This book is essentially a humorous hard science fiction longform analysis of the Teletransportation Paradox. (You may remember this from criticism of Star Trek’s transporters.) This is an offshoot of the Theseus Paradox, and Klein enjoys diving into other philosophical conundrums like the Trolley Problem, leaving much to enjoy for the philosophy enthusiast.

For my part, I had fun, and it read really quickly. The science fiction and philosophy was a little hard for my tastes, and plenty of it went right over my head. We didn’t see Joel speak with Sylvia about Julie, and that felt really important to me. This book did not feel like it was setting up for a sequel, but the ending leaves little doubt that one is intended.