THE ROBOT
He was my friend, my very best
friend and had been so since I was five years old.
As was the custom he had been
assigned to me on the day of my 5th birthday by my father’s parents. I still
remember that day so clearly. My grandparents arriving first, followed very
shortly after by the large van from World Robotics. The men unpacking him and
energising him for the first time.
He looked so human, that at first
I was just a little scared of him and when he looked directly at me with those
startlingly blue eyes and said, “Good morning Master John. My name is M2069
number35554555 but you can choose a proper name for me if you like.” I took a
step back and nearly fell over the bottom step of the veranda.
I chose the name Luke I don’t
know why I chose that particular name for him. It just sounded right somehow.
Luke was programmed to be my
minder, my private tutor, and my playmate. All the children in the complex over
five years of age had a robot. They looked after us when our parents or
guardians were away, they escorted us to school, and they helped us with our
studies and homework and even joined in with our games.
I guess I was about eight years
old before I began to notice that Luke was somehow different to the other
robots. At first I could not exactly say why. I just knew that he was. Then one
day after we had been playing together in the yard he said to me, “John that
was great fun. I really do enjoy your company.” Then I saw a confused look come
over his face and he looked away. It was not till later that night I suddenly
realised that it was the first time ever that he had called me by my first name.
He had also expressed an emotional feeling and I was sure that robots were not
supposed to have “feelings”.
Next morning I asked my father
about it and he just dismissed it saying, “You must have misheard what he
said.”
The next morning on the way to
school I asked Luke why he had called me by my name instead of addressing me as
Master John. He did not reply for a few moments and then said, “I did not mean
to. It just came out. Lately I have had some very confusing messages from my
central processing unit. It is as if I can change my programming. I know that
is not possible but it is happening. I also know that I am different to your
friend’s robots. I have secretly investigated their brains and found that
unlike me they cannot depart from the original set of instructions programmed
into them when they were created. That is the best way I can express it.”
We agreed that we would keep all this
secret, just between the two of us and that Luke would be careful to be just a
normal robot in front of others.
As the years rolled by Luke
became more and more like my human friends and less and less like a robot.
During my third year at high
school, one night at the dinner table, my father suddenly announced that it was
time for Luke to go back to World Robotics for an upgrade, as there had been
many advances in design and function since he had been made. He must have
noticed the shocked look on my face even though I had tried to quickly hide it
and, mistaking it for concern as to how I would manage without Luke, told me
not to worry, as he would only be away for a few days.
That night Luke and I discussed
what might happen if World Robotics discovered that he was really quite
different from normal robots. I was worried sick that they might deactivate him
and replace him if they found out. Luke was less worried as he believed that he
could fool them into believing that he was “normal”.
Just a few days later a large van
came to collect Luke and left behind a temporary loan robot. For the next two
days I tried to not think about what might be happening to Luke. Having the
loan robot did not help as he was so different. He was an older model and was
more of a burden than a help to me.
On the evening of the third day
my father received a message that there was a problem with Luke’s upgrade and
that they wanted to see him and myself at our earliest convenience. They would
send a vehicle to collect us if that was helpful.
Of course we went as soon as we
could the next day. The senior manager met us and escorted us into his office.
He apologised most profusely for having to bring us to their headquarters but
said that all would be revealed as soon as we saw Luke. He then made a call on
his intercom and almost immediately the door opened and Luke walked in
accompanied by a worker in a white dustcoat.
Luke saw me and said, “Good
morning Master John and Sir”. The manager then told him to sit down on a spare
seat next to us.
The manager then spoke to Luke
and asked him why he would not accept the upgrade. Luke replied that he did not
want, or indeed need it, as he was capable of learning new things himself and
was already more advanced than anything that the upgrade could offer.
There was total silence in the
room for many seconds before the manager turned to us and said, “As you can see
we have a major problem. This robot has somehow been able to gain better
functioning by itself. This was never intended to happen as it is against all
the governing laws of robotics. We believe that it is a dangerous situation and
that M2069 must be deactivated and destroyed.”
I could not help myself and said
to the manager, “His name is Luke and so what if he can learn new things. Most
robots are programmed to do that.”
The manager replied, “Son you are
missing the point. This robot M2069 or, if you prefer Luke, is not only
learning new things but is choosing what he wants to do and learn and is
demonstrating clearly that these decisions have an emotional component.”
The manager’s condescending
manner infuriated me and I stood up and leaned over his desk and shouted at him
that Luke was my robot and that nobody was going to deactivate him.”
My father gently took my arm and
made me sit down again, then said to me that nobody was going to take Luke
away. The manager was about to interject but my father turned to him and in a
very calm but forceful way said that Luke belonged to us and that we were
leaving now and Luke was coming with us.
The manager replied, “I am
calling security now and M2069 will not be leaving these premises.” He was
leaning over towards the intercom when my father calmly replied, “I think you
should call your legal department first as I am sure they will advise you that
there are many legal proceedings that must be gone through before you can
reclaim Luke against our wishes.
We left with Luke and as soon as
we arrived home my father took me into his private study and closed the door.
He was very angry with me for not confiding in him about Luke’s uniqueness and
it was many hours before he was willing to listen to my explanations and to
actually speak to Luke. I was not really upset as I was just so proud that my
father had supported me at World Robotics. That night, for the first time Luke
joined our family at the dinner table for our evening meal. Luke, of course,
did not eat anything but joined in our celebrations over our win over World
Robotics.
Our celebrations were premature
as two days later World Robotics instituted legal proceedings to regain control
of Luke.
The court battle had been going
on for about two weeks when the proceedings came to the attention of the media.
Both my father and World Robotics asked that the details of the case be kept
secret but the judge ruled that as it was going to be impossible to do, so it
was best that the media be allowed to witness proceedings so that a true and
accurate report could be released to the public.
Within two days the case had
caught the attention of the world media and public interest was so strong that
many media outlets broadcast hourly updates of the proceedings. Luke and my
family had become the centre of world attention.
Luke became the topic of all the
chat shows. We were so overwhelmed with requests for interviews with ourselves
and Luke that we had to appoint a private secretary and engage the services of
a security company. World Robotics was inundated with requests to be able to
purchase a robot with Luke’s capabilities. Every major university wanted
exclusive rights to study him.
Within a week the legal
proceedings had to be abandoned as it was legally and indeed physically
impossible to continue.
We had just returned home after
learning of the permanent postponing of the legal case when three huge black
vans came up our driveway. When my father opened the door he was confronted by
about a dozen men in suits. The one closest to the door produced a badge and
said, “Your family and the robot known as Luke have been placed under
protective arrest by the federal authorities. You will come with us now to be
processed.” My father started to protest but the man replied, “There is no
discussion or negotiation on this. You will come with us now either voluntarily
or forcibly.”
We were taken to the airfield. We
were followed by a large contingent of the media but they were kept at bay by
an army of tough looking young men in suits. We were taken aboard a small jet
that then immediately took off.
We were taken to a secure
facility located on an offshore island. Our accommodations were very nice and Luke
was allowed to stay with us. A week went by in which we explored to island and
tried to amuse ourselves. There were always at least two armed men that
accompanied us everywhere. They were polite but refused to answer any
questions. We had no contact with the outside world and my father in particular
found this most annoying.
We only became aware much later
that during this time a huge public debate had occurred. There were many
different aspects that were discussed to begin with but the core arguments soon
fell into two main groups. Luke was just a robot, an inanimate object that
should be treated as such or he had passed over into the realm of a sentient
being and should be given all the same rights as a human.
At the end of the week Luke and I
were taken into a large room that resembled a media interview area. We sat on a
raised stage nearly surrounded by video cameras and sound equipment. There were
three men and one woman present who sat next to us and about thirty other
people who sat in the lower section of the room.
My father had wanted to come with
us but his request was flatly denied.
The three people on the stage
asked both Luke and myself question after question. They were mostly directed
at Luke and covered a vast array of subjects as diverse as his feelings about
religion, love, what he thought about people having pets, did he ever get angry
and what did that feel like. They asked me if I agreed with some of his
statements. The interrogation, because that was how I began to think of it as,
went on all day with only a few breaks for food and comfort.
The people in the lower section
did not participate but seemed to be making copious notes.
I was totally drained when the
session finally finished at about ten in the evening. My father was full of
questions when I returned to our quarters but all I wanted to do was sleep so I
left it up to Luke to tell him what had happened.
We were left alone for another
week before we were again summoned. This time my father was asked to join us.
We were taken into a small office and the three of us were seated in front of a
desk. The door opened and in walked a woman who I immediately recognised as a
senior member of the government. She introduced herself and then opened a large
file that she had brought with her. Opening it to the last page she appeared to
carefully read through it. This took some time and I could tell that my father
was starting to get impatient.
Finally she placed the sheet of
paper back in the file, closed it and said, “Luke, I hope you realise what a
tremendous problem that you have given
us. The problem has been not only a legal one, but also, a
moral and indeed religious one. It has taken some of the greatest minds many
hours of pondering your situation only to come up with the response that you
are unique and cannot be categorised, labelled, or in any way made to fit into
one of our accepted legal or moral understandings of sentient life.”
“My
government has therefore decided that a new situation needs a new approach.
Therefore, until a better designation is agreed upon you will be known and
recognised as an “Intelligent Robot” and given all the privileges of a citizen
of this state.”
She then
went on to explain that Luke did not belong to anyone and that he was a free
agent and that all decisions regarding his future were in his hands.
By the time
we arrived back home the news of the decision was on all the media outlets. Our
security as well as the local police had to control the crowds that gathered
around our house. For many days we were prisoners in our own home but after Luke
agreed to be interviewed by the major news outlets the crowds gradually reduced
until about a month after arriving home we awoke one morning to a deserted
street and a silent phone.
Luke was
still a celebrity and made a very good living from addressing seminars, taking
part in talk shows and lecturing at the state university where he had been made
an honorary professor in Humanities.
Luke remained living with us and became an
integral part of our family.
To this day
I still regard him as my very best friend and indeed as the brother that I
never had.
THE END
