The Lifecycle of software objects

I am super sleepy but if I don't post this now I will forget my Thoughts.

So! The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang won best novella in the Hugos last year, and I finally got around to reading it a few days ago.

It's one of those stories that feels two steps removed from being a non fiction meta essay, I liked the characters well enough but it doesn't really have a plot or emotional arc or anything, he's just having fun exploring the idea of sentient virtual pets. Still, if nothing else it was nice to see the idea explored without descending into tragedy or horror. I have a bunch of critical thoughts after the cut, but the fact that the story got me thinking about these questions so much at all is to it's credit.

( And now some spoilery thoughts. Should make sense if you haven't read it, but it's short and free, so why haven't you? )