Short story: Post-apocalyptic troop of kids led by robotic "Mother"

[otistdog]

I joined the forum today to post an answer to someone else's question, so I'm hoping someone can help me ID this short story title and/or author.

The story takes place in some future time. I seem to recall it being a post-apocalyptic type of setting where all the adults are gone, and a small group of kids is being cared for by a robot they call "Mother". I don't think Mother was anthropomorphic, but it could speak and understand language.

Daily life is a grind for these kids; they get no education and are under some vestige of martial law, I think. Around puberty they are killed off by the robots in some ceremony, similar to Logan's Run.

Some of the kids have some books of forbidden knowledge, possibly a programming/service guide for Mother or maybe just old textbooks. The plot arc seems to be heading for an overthrow of the evil robot regime, but then one of the other kids reports them and the plotters (a boy and a girl nearing puberty) are put to death.

Kind of bleak, but it was very memorable, and it's not in the collection I thought it was, so I'm trying to track it down again. Any ideas?

[Lazerus]

I joined the forum today to post an answer to someone else's question, so I'm hoping someone can help me ID this short story title and/or author.

The story takes place in some future time. I seem to recall it being a post-apocalyptic type of setting where all the adults are gone, and a small group of kids is being cared for by a robot they call "Mother". I don't think Mother was anthropomorphic, but it could speak and understand language.

Daily life is a grind for these kids; they get no education and are under some vestige of martial law, I think. Around puberty they are killed off by the robots in some ceremony, similar to Logan's Run.

Some of the kids have some books of forbidden knowledge, possibly a programming/service guide for Mother or maybe just old textbooks. The plot arc seems to be heading for an overthrow of the evil robot regime, but then one of the other kids reports them and the plotters (a boy and a girl nearing puberty) are put to death.

Kind of bleak, but it was very memorable, and it's not in the collection I thought it was, so I'm trying to track it down again. Any ideas?

While not all of the details you mention seem familiar, it definately sounds like "Anvil of Stars" by Greg Bear. It is the sequal of "The Forge of God".

[otistdog]

Lazerus,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think that's it. This was definitely a short story and not a novel.

[Lazerus]

I'm surprised it's not Anvil of Stars because you describe it pretty accurately. However it's definitely a novel and not a short story.

It sounds very familiar which means I have probably read it and can't recall the title either.

[B5B7]

This sounds like 'Jamboree' by Jack Williamson.

[otistdog]

This sounds like 'Jamboree' by Jack Williamson.

I'm not 100% sure, but this seems like a very good possibility. I found a listing for it in a collection that I read not so very long ago, and the title is ringing a faint bell.

I will try to hunt it down and come back to confirm if you are correct. Thank you very much for the lead!

[otistdog]

This sounds like 'Jamboree' by Jack Williamson.

This was it. Thank you, B5B7.

Looks like I got a few details wrong: The robot is "Old Pop" and "Mother" is a central computer. The book was a service manual for a nuclear reactor, not Mother, and the plan was to use a manual override that took two people to operate to shut down the reactor.

Anyhow, very glad to have been pointed back to it, and I appreciate the help!