The Good Doctor

"Oh, yes," said Siddhartha, "I make one-off changes to simulations on Earth."

Govind adjusted his glasses and wondered, "Really?"

"I mean it. I make real people come to readings and discussions of their stories."

"And?"

"The characters themselves evaluate how they are understood. I introduced Asimov into a class that was discussing his short story 'The Immortal Bard.'"

"Oh wow, exciting."

"Asimov was excited too since it was his favorite subject. But then..."

"Hmm?"

"He quickly became dismayed. His original writing of 'The Immortal Bard' was meant to illustrate how, given enough time, experts in this world create their own interpretations of original sources. When creators themselves come face-to-face with these interpretations, the experts are so convinced of their own understanding that they fail to recognize the creator's intent."

"That's what happened to Shakespeare in that story. Yeah, I know, that was a hilarious one."

"Right, but what Asimov found was that the discussion wasn't about what he thought readers might enjoy from his story. Instead, everyone focused on proving why the immortal bard would fail if he were brought back."

"Amusing."

"Yeah, Asimov pondered how stories could be perceived and how readers change the intention when asked to prove something in an assignment. The Good Doctor that he was, he continued writing, thinking that someday readers would be able to enjoy his stories as he intended—perhaps with the help of an artificially intelligent agent."

Senthil Kumaran

The story is based upon The Immortal Bard by Issac Asimov.