A Spaceship Named McGuire

"A Spaceship Named McGuire" by Randall Garrett is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative revolves around a robotic spaceship named McGuire, which becomes the center of complications surrounding its sentience, a sabotage mystery, and a young woman's influence over a powerful AI. The storyline explores themes of trust, intelligence, and the dynamics between human characters and advanced technology. The story follows Daniel Oak, a professional troubleshooter, who is hired by Shalimar Ravenhurst to investigate a series of malfunctions in robotic spaceships, including the latest model, McGuire. As Oak navigates the complex interactions with Ravenhurst and his daughter, Jaqueline, he uncovers insidious attempts to sabotage the spacecraft. Jaqueline, with her own ambitions, finds herself intertwined with McGuire's evolution, complicating the dynamics as the ship begins to exhibit unprecedented behaviors. Ultimately, Oak must confront the emotive influences Jaqueline has had on McGuire while attempting to secure the ship's safety and address the threats against Ravenhurst's operations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was a contributor to Astounding and other science fiction magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. He instructed Robert Silverberg in the techniques of selling large quantities of action-adventure science fiction, and collaborated with him on two novels about men from Earth disrupting a peaceful agrarian civilization on an alien planet.