The Reproductive System (AKA Mechanism) is a comedic science fiction novel by John Sladek. The title is a Pun on the, well, reproductive system, as it involves a system wherein machines reproduce themselves.
In 1946, Grandisson Whompler watched a film of a child actress dancing, and decided to build a mechanical doll in her image. Twenty years later, the company runs out of money. The board of directors comes up with a grand plan: present the government with a totally useless publicity-stunt project for some grant money. Say, for example, Von Neumann's self-reproducing machines?
The novel provides examples of the following tropes:
- Art Major Biology: Cal literally has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology (not a Bachelor of Science degree), which explains some of the dumber cybernetics experiments.
- Body of Bodies: Since the individual units of the Reproductive System act as mechanical replicas of biological cells, they quickly evolve to become multi-cellular. They develop the ability to form into reef-like structures to impede intruders, and form "giant monsters" when attacking towns.
- Cyborg: The basic framework of a reproducing machine is provided by concurrent research into bionic enhancement. Jellyfish with electric motors, clams with steel shells, and rats with cybernetic tails are the three most promising avenues.
- Fun with Acronyms:
- The system's core software is called "QUIDNAC," meaning "Quantifiable, Universal, Integral D.N.A. Computer."
- Cal graduated from MIT. That is, the Minnesota Institute of Technology.
- Gonk:
- Kurt and Karl Mackintosh are mentioned to both be deformed, and seem to be pre-emptively rude, as if they want to have a different reason for others to dislike them besides their looks.
- The general in charge of the project, General Grawk, is as ugly as he is rude.
- Grey Goo: Although the Reproductive System strictly eats metal, and are the size of a pack of cigarettes to start with rather than omniphageous nanomachines, the same premise applies. They still eat a military research lab for an appetizer and polish off a small town for lunch.
- I Know Kung-Faux: Louie Whompler mistakes origami as a deadly martial art.
- Mechanical Evolution: It's eventually decided that the reproductive system should be built in a way similar a colony of cells, and programmed to avoid, neutralize, or adapt to any threat it encounters (ie, it'll rust in saltwater, and since it can't destroy the ocean, it must either avoid it or evolve rustproof paint somehow). They quickly evolve venomous stingers, tazers, and flamethrowers to deter people from trying to keep them from eating.
- Recursive Creators: The emponymous "reproductive system." The entire apparatus is a collection of small robots about the size and shape of a pack of cigarettes (similar to the "tortoise" robots that will follow a line drawn on the floor) that eat metal and energy to make more of themselves. They can also use it to self-modify, becoming bigger and destroying their "off" switches.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Cal's teacher, Dr. Elwood Trivian, peppers his dialogue with ten-dollar words to make himself look smart.
- Shrouded in Myth: Doctor Smilex has about fifteen different backstories and nobody can agree on which one's true. Is he a Soviet defector? Did he cure cancer and forget? Did he do emergency surgery on the President's wife? We don't know, and he's not saying anything about it.
- Twin Telepathy: The "Frankenstein Brothers," Kurt and Karl, act as one person.
