The Nine Billion Names of God was actually really interesting. There were elements in it that you wouldn't think would work together because they aren't together in real life. My favorite theme in the story was when George and Chuck were questioning what would happen if the monks didn't get what they wanted at the end of their project. They were so worried about someone else's beliefs and what that group would do to them if George and Chuck got blamed. I think that really relates to today's world where humans attack other humans just because their beliefs are different, and they find some way to blame something bad on the people who don't have the same beliefs.
The other pretty shocking theme going on in this story is the fact that Tibetan monks want an extremely scientific computer in order for them to complete a fifteen thousand year project. And all they wanted to do was be able to compose a giant list of all of the possible names that God could have. In today's world, the monks don't really use technology. At most, I'm pretty sure they use cell phones to be able to communicate with each other and friends they make during travels and such. Other than that, the monks aren't very tech-savvy. I might not be immersed enough in space opera and science fiction but I can't recall ever hearing a story about how Tibetan monks want more technology to somehow become closer to God.
Overall, I thought that this story was pretty interesting. It really gave a great twist on how the world could actually evolve because honestly, that doesn't seem like a far-fetched idea. Who knows if the monks could want a super-computer to figure out all of the possible names for the God that they believe in. Crazy things have happened in the past so who could honestly know.
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