Word Processor of the Gods

“Word Processor of the Gods” is an allegory about how the power bestowed by technology can enable the worst aspects of human nature. Stephen King explores the deepest crevices of the human soul and humanity’s tragic flaws through Richard Hagstrom, who is able to change his reality to the ideal life he’s always dreamed of through a word processor. Richard’s numerous tragic flaws set the story into motion, resulting in devastating consequences for the rest of his family.

King begins his story by using a combination of flashbacks and internal dialogue to reveal the depth and complexities in Richard’s family dynamics, which helps show the motivation behind his actions. Richard is deeply dissatisfied with his life, and since he was a child, he has been resentful over everything he could not do because of his cowardice. In particular, he is jealous and frightened of his brother, Roger. Richard was helpless against his brother’s torment and could never stand up to him. In addition, he was also unable to rescue his brother’s wife and son, whom he yearns to be with instead of his own family, from the deadly car crash that took their lives. The word processor is a way for Richard to overcome his Regret and Cowardice and harness power. For the first time in his life, Richard is able to control his own destiny.

King also focuses particular attention on the bond between fathers and sons. The word processor given to Richard symbolizes the complex bond between him and Jonathan, his deceased nephew. While it is a wish-granting device, it is also one that can take lives, highlighting the dynamic relationship between the two and, by extension, the other members of their family. Richard quickly realizes that the word processor will not last long and will soon burn out, rendering it useless. The word processor’s “OVERLOAD” represents the ephemeral and unpredictable nature of family, as well as life. Life is full of uncertainties and hardships, and familial relationships can be some of the most prominent. The tension between Richard and his son, Seth, represents not only the challenges between parents and their children but broader interfamilial issues—Richard lives with a wife and child who don’t respect him, but his comments on his wife’s body and son’s behavior indicate that he doesn’t respect them either.

Additionally, King also sheds light on the powerful effect that loneliness can have and the possible consequences for those who take extreme measures to try to escape it. The pursuit of happiness and companionship is a basic human desire (and some would argue a necessity), but Richard embodies the downside of obsessive hedonism that can stem from loneliness. Richard is profoundly isolated in his own home—the narrator calls his family “the stranger he had married and the stranger she had given birth to” (285)—leading him to crave companionship and love. Even though he erases his entire family from existence, he does so from a place of loneliness and pain; he wants to be happy and free from Lina and Seth, who make him miserable. As such, loneliness can also be considered one of Richard’s tragic flaws and is another factor that drives the narrative. Notably, he revises his original wish—“I AM A MAN WHO LIVES ALONE” (300)—and revives his sister-in-law and nephew to replace his wife and son. This indicates a desire for connection and to correct this flaw.

While Richard gets his happy ending, the story exposes the negative effects of technological progress. While technological advancement has proven miraculous, awe-inspiring, and crucial in today’s society, it also has its fair share of drawbacks, namely, its ability to separate people and inadvertently strain or even sever relationships within families. Technology can isolate humans from one another and cause immense loneliness. King’s tale serves as a grave warning for those who seek to be free from this loneliness; technological solutions can create a complex paradox in which people are drawn deeper into digital spaces instead of human relationships. Technology has the ironic power of both uniting the world and isolating it. This is represented most obviously in Richard deleting his loved ones—the word processor erases lives, a sinister action. In addition to this pall over Richard’s perfect future, the revived Jonathan is described as “the same but somehow different—the difference was subtle but noticeable” (301). The narrator goes on to offer possible positive explanations for this difference, but the story’s resolution hints that things are not exactly as Richard envisioned.

This story also grapples with the age-old question of power and the ethical responsibility that accompanies it; in other words, just because someone can, doesn’t mean they should. In destroying and creating life, Richard symbolizes those who disregard ethics in the pursuit of continuous technological progress. The narrative asks whether humans, when given power, have a right to play god.

King answers this question through the story’s ending, in which Richard attains the life he always wanted; Jon is now his son, Belinda is his wife, and his other family members cease to exist. There are multiple meanings in this conclusion. First, as this story focuses on familial relationships, it exposes difficult truths about families and that the choices individuals make are sometimes not in the family’s best interest. This is shown not only through Richard’s actions, but Roger’s, as Roger’s drunk driving kills his entire family. While familial bonds can be nurturing, they can also be devastating. Richard’s character shows that being alone can be preferable to a toxic familial relationship, but pursuing healthy relationships is the key to happiness.

Nonetheless, Richard’s method for achieving emotional fulfillment is immoral, ultimately refuting the idea that humans have a right to play god. In presenting a computer capable of erasing human life, King ties a sense of unease and dread to Richard’s new ideal future. The word processor’s final actions are presented alongside words from a Magic 8 Ball, alluding to a sense of chance and impermanence; the story ends happily for Richard, but there’s a sense that his new blessings could disappear as quickly as they arrived. Additionally, Richard wonders “if he had actually wanted something more than this” (302), hinting that this ideal future might not fulfill him the way he expects it to. Ultimately, this comments on the perils of technology and the control it can have on lives. While Richard can briefly control his narrative, Seth, Lina, and Roger’s deletion highlights the powerlessness of humans to technology.