Set in the future, twenty years after a war that wiped out society as we know it survivors live in isolated communities. They have a problem; the fully automated Autofac Company, which was built to automatically provide for humanity's needs, keeps churning out products at the same level it did before the war. This is causing pollution and taking up much needed resources. One community has decided to shut down the factory. To that end they first capture one of its delivery drones then use it to submit an ambiguous complaint. This leads to the company sending Alice, a robot that looks almost human, to discuss the problem. She is captured and computer expert Emily Zabriskie examines her programming. She is shocked at how detailed it is; Alice doesn't just look human she is programmed to think like a person. Emily works on her for a while then, along with two others, use her to enter the Autofac factory, which they intend to destroy. When Emily gets there we learns some shocking truths related to the nightmares she had had previously.
To my mind this was the best story in the series so far; it opens well with Emily's dream about the war before showing us the world she lives in. I liked how Autofac is clearly inspired by Amazon's suggestion that one day its goods may be delivered by drones... although that is the limit of the similarity as it also manufactures everything and has no human workers. Early scenes do feature many of the clichés of the post-apocalyptic genre but that isn't really a problem. Once inside the factory there are more twists than I expected; some were previously hinted at but others are a real surprise... at least they were to me. Juno Temple stands out with her great performance as Emily and Janelle Monáe impresses as the robotic Alice. The rest of the cast are less memorable as their characters aren't as important. Overall a fine story.
To my mind this was the best story in the series so far; it opens well with Emily's dream about the war before showing us the world she lives in. I liked how Autofac is clearly inspired by Amazon's suggestion that one day its goods may be delivered by drones... although that is the limit of the similarity as it also manufactures everything and has no human workers. Early scenes do feature many of the clichés of the post-apocalyptic genre but that isn't really a problem. Once inside the factory there are more twists than I expected; some were previously hinted at but others are a real surprise... at least they were to me. Juno Temple stands out with her great performance as Emily and Janelle Monáe impresses as the robotic Alice. The rest of the cast are less memorable as their characters aren't as important. Overall a fine story.