Before Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick gave us Hal, the sentient computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Robert Heinlein introduced us to Mike, aka Mycroft (after Sherlock Holmes brother). Mike is the administration computer for the penal colony that is the Moon. One armed computer technician Manuel "Mannie" Garcia O'Kelly-Davis is the one who discovered Mike's ability to think for "himself". Soon Mike becomes an integral part of the Lunar Rebellion against Terra (Earth) but only a few of the rebellion's leaders know of his existence and the extent that the rebellion relies on "him." As in other Heinlein works, there is political satire and pointed critiques of the powers that rule. The Lunar society also mocks social mores, especially marriage, by displaying a variety of marriage types including the multi-generational group marriage of the Davis clan. Personally, I didn't find this as enjoyable and entertaining as Stranger in a Strange Land but it is a classic work of Sci-Fi and well worth reading.
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