Arsenic Moon
The full moon was the only witness to her graceful return to the future. A future where Samuel Butler never wrote a word, and thus never planted the seed of human prejudice against machines. A future that now belongs to them, ironically, just as he knew it would.
Arsenic Moon
Original Painting
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Acrylic on canvas
- Size: 16″ x 20″ / Framed: 21″ x 25″
- Part of Victoriana show at Poetic Tiger Gallery (Boise, August 9-30, 2025)
I was so excited to discover that S. Butler somehow predicted Al in the 19th century! He drew parallels between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the rapid development of machinery, suggesting that machines could evolve consciousness and eventually supplant humans. He wrote the novel ‘Erewhon’ (reads as ‘nowhere’ backward), a satire on Victorian society and a utopia, exploring ideas of artificial intelligence. I imagined a beautiful android in a deadly arsenic dress sent back in time to fix this pivotal historical moment – one that had exponentially grown in human awareness, making it impossible for machines to ever gain full control.
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