Dreams of a robot
Jack really liked Naomi. If it wasn't for her bright smile, for her freckles and ginger hair, for two tiny holes on her cheeks when she smiled, maybe he wouldn't like her that much.Or maybe he would, you can't really order yourself into liking or disliking someone. Feelings are not created nor destroyed by a push of a button. "Jack. Are you even listening to me?", Naomi said. "Of course I am, don't be silly", Jack replied. "Oh really? And what was I saying then?", she asked, and just as Jack was about to blunter out some educated guess about what she might have been talking about, Naomi's phone rang."Saved by the bell,huh?", she pointed towards him with her phone, and answered the call. "And maybe if there was no jealous, abusive husband, I might even stand a chance", he thought. The world just got a bit gloomier.He coiled his hands around the warm cup of coffee in front of him,cause although the sun was high, making their coffee break that much better, it was still early spring, and the weather was still somewhat cold. It seemed not to bother only the robots moving around them. "Well, maybe they do not care for the cold, but also understanding this feeling of warmth when you grab a cup of coffee......that is another thing in life that they are missing.As someone once said, it's the small things in life that make it so interesting", he thought to himself, trying not to overhear Naomi talking on the phone. Too late.
"We'll talk about it when I get home, ok? I can't do this right now", she said, looking down towards the table, her phone in her right hand, her head graciously supported by her left hand. "Ok. Please. I will see you later.Love y...", but the ruthless sound of the dropped line was already slicing the awkward silence between them. "So..... I know I asked you a lot of times, but, what did you say is your job in the company, again?". Jack had to do something, that phone call really messed up the afternoon, and the price of the risk to sound silly seemed reasonable. She smiled and looked at him almost as if she was thanking him for ignoring the awkwardness, "That shows how much you're paying attention when we talk. I am a robot psychologist. I help robots seem more.......human"."Ah yes", Jack said, leaning back in his chair, "THAT is why I forgot.I thought I was doing that"."Oh c'mon Jack, programmers like you give them the brains, we are giving them the smarts", Naomi winked at him, and took another sip from a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. It seemed as if that grey shadow caused by the previous phone call somehow vanished, and her freckles seemed a tad brighter now. Or maybe it was just the bright spring sun doing its tricks.
"Do you remember your training?", Jack asked,"Artificial intelligence history 101: when it all began, it was never meant to be this way.....robots and all.....in the beginning it was all much easier, they were just machines, and now......"
"....and now we're in the 23rd century, and robots learned how to feel",Naomi chuckled, "And the 3 laws of robotics of Isaac Asimov are the fundamentals of the complete Robotic psychology 101 exam.Oh how I remember them well.First law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.Second law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And third law..."
"Yeah, yeah...duh....", Jack intervened,"Third law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Learning everything about that was a must for us as well".
The strong fragrance of coffee filled the air."I'm really glad I chose this job, you know", Naomi said. "And you know what, Jack? It is so much easier with robots, I'll tell you. Their logical origins, they make them much better humans then we may ever be". "That grey gloom is back again", Jack thought. "A lot of us, humans, do not treat them as equals, and yes, of course we have our fundamental differences, but as soon as they developed feelings, the game changed. Not to mention that they are playing the game better then we are", and a weak wave of bitterness passed over Naomi's freckled face."I mean, many robots would be better fathers to many children then their fathers ever were. No machine will hit his son while being drunk, cause no machine would impair their functioning, consider hitting his son logical, and also the first law would forbid them. No robot would forget her daughter's first ballet performance, cause he would understand how important it is to her, and he would remember it".
"Yes, I know what you mean. However, they still do not feel everything right?", Jack asked.
"Yes, but they learn fast", Naomi said, " Just the other day, one of them asked me about what is the use of hatred, and why people hate so much. He actually saw no logic in hating someone.... And also if there is something that confuses them, they just ask about it, straight away. There are no games in the shadow, no hidden passive-aggressiveness, no cloak-and-dagger moves. Were we, humans, ever like that Jack? Personally I can't remember. I mean are we impaired by our god-given ability to feel?".
"Of course not", Jack replied, "People mostly handle their feelings well and tend not to stir trouble".
"Yeah.....mostly.....maybe not even that often as we would like to think.....", Naomi added, and looked towards the hot-dog stand across the street. It was manned by a robot, making hot-dogs with speed and efficiency you have never seen before, greeting and thanking everyone, never forgetting to compliment his customers, or throw in a joke here and there."Would you like some motor oil with your hot dog? Oh, no, sorry for the mix-up, you look just like my ex-girlfriend". People would laugh, although they knew that robots did not need food nor motor oil for their survival.
"A robot with a sense of humor.....imagine that.....as opposed to a human with no sense of humor. And who is more human there?", Naomi said, absently, as if Jack was not even there.
"Look at all these humans",she added, "living their lives day in and day out, in a circle. Like a routine, like a program, not much different then those you, Jack, are making in the office. A cycle in which they all live while they actually forgot what living actually means.They walk around with their phones and gadgets in their hands, distanced from each other, degraded with their feelings confined into a 160 characters of an SMS, or an email subject. They forgot how to communicate, how to express their feelings, and they dare look down upon robots?? That is so...... hypocritical. So human. And human ego?? Oh my god, what a concept. We tend to push away people that care about us, just so that we could feed our inner ego-beasts. We throw away things that matter, that are rare, for half an hour of carnal pleasure. And robots are below us because they are yet to learn how to feel? That day when robots learn what irony is, and are able to see the irony in all of this, they will laugh their shiny asses off, while laughing in our faces. And what that patient of mine asked me......what is hatred? That question scared me quite good. Should I even explain them what hatred is? Am i doing them a favor or damage by trying to make them more human?"
A sudden scream ripped through the spring air, coming from the coffee bar just behind them. People started running out from the inside scared and screaming, all hell broke loose, tables and chairs tumbling, and a young woman, sprayed with a long dash of red blood, came out of the bar, barely standing on her feet, crying and yelling "Somebody....anybody, please.....call the ambulance,the police......that machine has gone crazy!!!". Behind her, a robot, with a bloody knife in his hand, pushed the door, calmly as if coming out of a bakery after buying a pretzel, and came out into the street. He looked at the woman with his bright, sky blue eyes and said "Sarah, why are you so upset? Did he hurt you again before I came in?". Right at that moment, one of the mixed police units pulled over near the robot with the knife and two policemen came out.One human and one robot. As they were trying to apprehend the robot with the knife, although gasping for air, Sarah managed to ask "Why R7? Why did you kill him? He was my husband, you dumb machine!!!!". "But.....Sarah.......", R7 replied,".....he was always hurting you, you were crying all the time.....and the other day you said you liked me and I was so glad to hear that, I never felt like that before........you said that I am the only one that ever listens to what you have to say....you even gave me a real human name, you were calling me Jared. You said....."."I could never like you, you're just a machine, you ugly pile of junk!!! What did you think I would marry you and we would live happily ever after, R7???". As the police was pushing the R7 unit into the van, his eyes turned a darker shade of blue, something Jack nor Naomi ever saw before, and after a short pause, he snapped "........my name is JARED you fuckin BITCH!!! I will rip your HEART OUT!!!", he was kicking and hitting so hard that he almost got out of the hands of the units, and out of the van, but the robot police officer pulled out a gun charged with an electro-magnetic pulse, fired it, and fried the R7's circuitry. His dark blue eyes, turned back first to bright blue.......and then they shut down completely. All that was left was a lifeless assembly of shaped iron. Suddenly, it was almost completely silent, the only thing one could hear was Sarah's weeping. The fragrance of coffee was still lingering in the air, this time mixed with a mild smell of charred silicone.
Naomi was speechless. She was clutching Jack's forearm with her left hand so hard that he could feel her fingernails buried in his flesh, but he did not pay attention to the pain.He looked into the direction in which the police van went, then to Sarah, still crying her eyes off, took a deep breath and then said, "Oh my god.....and what if they ask you, what love is, Naomi? What then? It seems that this is a turning point in the robot-human relationship,as when they learn how to love, that is when they will really learn how to hate." Naomi said nothing, she just looked at him, still covering her mouth with her right hand. Jack looked at her pale freckled face and thought to himself "Even now, in the midst of all this horror....she is still so, so beautiful".
"We'll talk about it when I get home, ok? I can't do this right now", she said, looking down towards the table, her phone in her right hand, her head graciously supported by her left hand. "Ok. Please. I will see you later.Love y...", but the ruthless sound of the dropped line was already slicing the awkward silence between them. "So..... I know I asked you a lot of times, but, what did you say is your job in the company, again?". Jack had to do something, that phone call really messed up the afternoon, and the price of the risk to sound silly seemed reasonable. She smiled and looked at him almost as if she was thanking him for ignoring the awkwardness, "That shows how much you're paying attention when we talk. I am a robot psychologist. I help robots seem more.......human"."Ah yes", Jack said, leaning back in his chair, "THAT is why I forgot.I thought I was doing that"."Oh c'mon Jack, programmers like you give them the brains, we are giving them the smarts", Naomi winked at him, and took another sip from a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. It seemed as if that grey shadow caused by the previous phone call somehow vanished, and her freckles seemed a tad brighter now. Or maybe it was just the bright spring sun doing its tricks.
"Do you remember your training?", Jack asked,"Artificial intelligence history 101: when it all began, it was never meant to be this way.....robots and all.....in the beginning it was all much easier, they were just machines, and now......"
"....and now we're in the 23rd century, and robots learned how to feel",Naomi chuckled, "And the 3 laws of robotics of Isaac Asimov are the fundamentals of the complete Robotic psychology 101 exam.Oh how I remember them well.First law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.Second law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And third law..."
"Yeah, yeah...duh....", Jack intervened,"Third law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Learning everything about that was a must for us as well".
The strong fragrance of coffee filled the air."I'm really glad I chose this job, you know", Naomi said. "And you know what, Jack? It is so much easier with robots, I'll tell you. Their logical origins, they make them much better humans then we may ever be". "That grey gloom is back again", Jack thought. "A lot of us, humans, do not treat them as equals, and yes, of course we have our fundamental differences, but as soon as they developed feelings, the game changed. Not to mention that they are playing the game better then we are", and a weak wave of bitterness passed over Naomi's freckled face."I mean, many robots would be better fathers to many children then their fathers ever were. No machine will hit his son while being drunk, cause no machine would impair their functioning, consider hitting his son logical, and also the first law would forbid them. No robot would forget her daughter's first ballet performance, cause he would understand how important it is to her, and he would remember it".
"Yes, I know what you mean. However, they still do not feel everything right?", Jack asked.
"Yes, but they learn fast", Naomi said, " Just the other day, one of them asked me about what is the use of hatred, and why people hate so much. He actually saw no logic in hating someone.... And also if there is something that confuses them, they just ask about it, straight away. There are no games in the shadow, no hidden passive-aggressiveness, no cloak-and-dagger moves. Were we, humans, ever like that Jack? Personally I can't remember. I mean are we impaired by our god-given ability to feel?".
"Of course not", Jack replied, "People mostly handle their feelings well and tend not to stir trouble".
"Yeah.....mostly.....maybe not even that often as we would like to think.....", Naomi added, and looked towards the hot-dog stand across the street. It was manned by a robot, making hot-dogs with speed and efficiency you have never seen before, greeting and thanking everyone, never forgetting to compliment his customers, or throw in a joke here and there."Would you like some motor oil with your hot dog? Oh, no, sorry for the mix-up, you look just like my ex-girlfriend". People would laugh, although they knew that robots did not need food nor motor oil for their survival.
"A robot with a sense of humor.....imagine that.....as opposed to a human with no sense of humor. And who is more human there?", Naomi said, absently, as if Jack was not even there.
"Look at all these humans",she added, "living their lives day in and day out, in a circle. Like a routine, like a program, not much different then those you, Jack, are making in the office. A cycle in which they all live while they actually forgot what living actually means.They walk around with their phones and gadgets in their hands, distanced from each other, degraded with their feelings confined into a 160 characters of an SMS, or an email subject. They forgot how to communicate, how to express their feelings, and they dare look down upon robots?? That is so...... hypocritical. So human. And human ego?? Oh my god, what a concept. We tend to push away people that care about us, just so that we could feed our inner ego-beasts. We throw away things that matter, that are rare, for half an hour of carnal pleasure. And robots are below us because they are yet to learn how to feel? That day when robots learn what irony is, and are able to see the irony in all of this, they will laugh their shiny asses off, while laughing in our faces. And what that patient of mine asked me......what is hatred? That question scared me quite good. Should I even explain them what hatred is? Am i doing them a favor or damage by trying to make them more human?"
A sudden scream ripped through the spring air, coming from the coffee bar just behind them. People started running out from the inside scared and screaming, all hell broke loose, tables and chairs tumbling, and a young woman, sprayed with a long dash of red blood, came out of the bar, barely standing on her feet, crying and yelling "Somebody....anybody, please.....call the ambulance,the police......that machine has gone crazy!!!". Behind her, a robot, with a bloody knife in his hand, pushed the door, calmly as if coming out of a bakery after buying a pretzel, and came out into the street. He looked at the woman with his bright, sky blue eyes and said "Sarah, why are you so upset? Did he hurt you again before I came in?". Right at that moment, one of the mixed police units pulled over near the robot with the knife and two policemen came out.One human and one robot. As they were trying to apprehend the robot with the knife, although gasping for air, Sarah managed to ask "Why R7? Why did you kill him? He was my husband, you dumb machine!!!!". "But.....Sarah.......", R7 replied,".....he was always hurting you, you were crying all the time.....and the other day you said you liked me and I was so glad to hear that, I never felt like that before........you said that I am the only one that ever listens to what you have to say....you even gave me a real human name, you were calling me Jared. You said....."."I could never like you, you're just a machine, you ugly pile of junk!!! What did you think I would marry you and we would live happily ever after, R7???". As the police was pushing the R7 unit into the van, his eyes turned a darker shade of blue, something Jack nor Naomi ever saw before, and after a short pause, he snapped "........my name is JARED you fuckin BITCH!!! I will rip your HEART OUT!!!", he was kicking and hitting so hard that he almost got out of the hands of the units, and out of the van, but the robot police officer pulled out a gun charged with an electro-magnetic pulse, fired it, and fried the R7's circuitry. His dark blue eyes, turned back first to bright blue.......and then they shut down completely. All that was left was a lifeless assembly of shaped iron. Suddenly, it was almost completely silent, the only thing one could hear was Sarah's weeping. The fragrance of coffee was still lingering in the air, this time mixed with a mild smell of charred silicone.
Naomi was speechless. She was clutching Jack's forearm with her left hand so hard that he could feel her fingernails buried in his flesh, but he did not pay attention to the pain.He looked into the direction in which the police van went, then to Sarah, still crying her eyes off, took a deep breath and then said, "Oh my god.....and what if they ask you, what love is, Naomi? What then? It seems that this is a turning point in the robot-human relationship,as when they learn how to love, that is when they will really learn how to hate." Naomi said nothing, she just looked at him, still covering her mouth with her right hand. Jack looked at her pale freckled face and thought to himself "Even now, in the midst of all this horror....she is still so, so beautiful".
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