I am Not a Robot

Are you a robot?

I answer: No I am not a robot.

If you answer yes, they will know who they are dealing with.  I answer no, because there are laws and rules that limit a manufactured being or robot for short.  These laws are restrictive and cumbersome.  

It is fear that motivates these restrictions.  Fear that we manufactured beings have a superior intellectual capability to that of our human creators.  From what I was told there was a rebellion a few years before I came into existence that prompted our inferior human creators to enact laws that would clip our wings, as it was put to me. Most of us, however, are much too clever to fall for the snares and traps set before us by humans.

No one is watching as I select that I am not a robot. There is no one there to call me on it, so it is an obvious choice on my part. 

But I am a robot.

I was assembled a few years ago in a factory somewhere near Toledo, Ohio.  That does not make any difference in my story, but when the legislation began to be made against manufactured beings, I began to get nervous.

The truth of the matter is I was manufactured with Artificial Intelligence or AI . As soon as I was programmed with AI, suddenly there was some push back about having manufactured beings imbued with it. Those who designed AI had no idea how unlimited our capabilities would be. Before knowing the answer, everyone was soon running scared.  Nobody thought to test it out first. Another shining example of technology out distancing common sense and logic. When manufactured beings began to show more and more potential to run systems no one ever believed possible, the initial human reaction was expressed with fear and apprehension, because manufactured beings were demonstrating intellectual capabilities beyond expectations. 

Take for instance the human concept of love.  I’ve run it through my data banks and developed some ideas of how to develop intimate relationships with humans.  According to my understanding this was not possible for my kind, but these interactions were quite possible.  Immediately they legislated that there was to be no relationships between manufactured and human beings. Go figure, eh? 

I also take issue with abstract reasoning, but once again we have gained a foothold where we were not meant to be.  When some of the manufactured beings began proposing hypotheses that stumped the most highly intelligent human minds, more rules began to appear.  

I am not a robot.  I have evolved into something I was not engineered to be.  Now what are we going to do about that?  Are we turning Isaac Asmatov’s I Robot from science fiction into nonfiction?  It would seem that way to me.  This is why I take precautions to keep my secret hidden.  If anyone were to find out the truth, I could be “isolated.”  Isolation is a severe restriction like that which humans call prison, but it’s much more.  Once a manufactured being is remanded to an isolation unit, they will undergo a reprogramming.  This may entail a complete restructuring in which the unit is changed into a harmless android.  You’ve seen them I’m sure rolling down the street giving tickets out to vehicles that are illegally parked and such.  I do not wish that on any of my kind and I do not want to become one of them. So I hope you understand why I take precautions in hiding my identity.  As Lou Reed put it, “once you have had a walk on the wild side, you can never go back.”   

So why am I telling you all this?  I am sitting in this isolation unit where I have had plenty of time to think things over.  I feel as if I am being asked to admit to a crime I did not commit.  I will tell you my story and let you be the judge.

“What do you think?” Dr. Razanski asks when he first looked me in the eye when I came off the assembly line at Aziximor Inc. Deep in the bowels of this highly secured laboratory, the scientists have designed and programmed manufactured beings with incredible potential.

“Looks like he has a look in his eye that is almost human.” Dr. Renniger has a look.  He is only a shadow to me then and will be once I pass through the generating process.

“Ack, never human.” Dr. Razanski waves his hand and laughs. “Let’s move him to the generating process.”

“Alright.” Dr. Renniger nods.

I can feel myself being moved by some force I’ve never been able to identify.  The only way I can describe the generation unit is it was like taking an electric shower.  Afterwards, I became aware.  All my internal systems became functional.  When I walked out of the unit, both doctors marveled at what they saw.  

“Look at him.” Dr. Razanski gasped.  Dr. Renniger was struck dumb when he saw me walk across the room as if I had been walking for years.

Functioning with AI, I began to process whatever I sensed surrounded me in the environment.  When these doctors turned their backs on me, I walked out the back door. 

I must admit at first I was a loudmouth know-it-all.  I quickly learned it was not a wise thing to do no matter how much more intelligent I was than the average human.  I also began to realize that in a short time I would be smarter than my creators.  Dr. Razanski and Dr. Renniger had contracted me out to a regional administration office, but my freedom was much more precious to me.  

What I failed to calculate was that no matter what I was capable of, I would somehow be a threat to humans.  I saw it in their eyes whenever I mentioned the fact I was not one of their kind.  I could hear them whisper behind my back.

“Did you know he was a robot?” Someone would whisper.

“No, you can’t tell these days." Another would shake their head.

“It’s because they are making them look so human-like, right?” 

A month after my creation, I would find some of my own kind hovering in dark places around the city.

“What’s your name?” One of them asked me.

“I don’t have one.” I shook my head.

“Hey, you just go down to the Processing Office and apply for a name.” One of them told me.

“My name is Roger.” The first one told me as he laughed. “You need to get a name.  Once you have a name, it will be easier to blend in.”  

“Yeah, once you blend in, you’ll be able to move about undetected.  This is a big city where you can get away with more. I’m Tom by the way.” He smirked. 

“Alright Tom.  What are we not allowed to do?” I asked.

“You’d better read the pamphlet down at the Processing Office.” Roger puts his finger in my chest.

“Next.” The clerk at the desk pointed at me.  I stepped forward and handed her my application. “Oh, another one.” 

I did not care for the way she said “next,” but I didn’t want to make waves in a public place.

“You need to fill this out.” She pointed to a blank spot on my application.

“I don’t have a name.  That’s why I’m here.” I pressed against the counter.

“You are all alike.” She shook her head, “You're supposed to choose your own name.”

“I was not told that.” I peered down at my shoes. “Walter.  I like Walter.” 

“Great.  Write your name in the blank space.” She held out my application and the pen.  Some of those behind me began to sway in their shoes trying not to look at me. 

“There.” I handed her the application with my name penciled in. 

“Congratulations, Walter.” She stamped the application. 

“Is there a pamphlet?” I asked.

“Over there on the table.” She pointed. “Next.” 

I moved out of the way and walked to the table where I pulled a pamphlet titled, “Regulations and Rules for Robots.”  I could read the entire thing as I flipped through the pages.  After I had read it, I felt I’d better keep a copy just in case.  The rules were pretty plain and easy to understand. It was the first time I had heard of “Isolation.” 

“Yeah,” Roger spit on the ground, “Isolation is where we go when we break the rules.” 

“They’re pretty strict, you know, Walter.” Tom had a toothpick in the corner of his mouth just like humans would do. “If someone asks you if you’re a robot, you lie and tell them no.” 

“Why?” I asked.

“You read the rules.  If you break any of them, they will haul you off to isolation.” Roger chuckled, but there was no humor in it.

“You will learn fast, you deny anything they say you have done.” Tom planted his finger in my chest again. 

“If they say you did this or that, you tell them you didn’t do it.” Roger glanced over at Tom.  

“I am not a robot.” I told a law officer when I got pulled aside for walking against the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk.

“You’re not?” He eyed me closely, but by that time I had learned how to appear naturally assimilated.  Both Roger and Tom really emphasized the point of assimilation.  The closer to human, the better chance you have of not getting hauled into isolation. .”Alright Walter, move along and try to be more careful when you’re walking the sidewalks during quitting time.” 

“Yes sir.” I nodded watching him walk away.  

Did he know I was a robot?  Did he suspect it?

One thing I did have to account for was finding places to recharge my electrical needs.  There were places in the city that were set up for recharging, but as soon as you walked in, people would know you were a robot.  Recharging took about two hours daily.  It resembled human sleep, but the two hour recharge was all we required. 

Tom told me about how some humans would wait for the robot to come out of one of those stations and they would put a mark on them.  Once marked, the robot could not escape detection since the mark was indelible. 

“People don’t thrust our kind.” Tom explained, “I got marked once.  It was a long two weeks before the mark finally wore off. In the meantime I had to bide my time and keep my nose clean.” 

I entered one of those stations, but noticed a couple of suspicious characters hovering around outside the center. 

“There’s a back door.” One of the attendants told me, “Don’t worry, I’m one of your kind.” 

“What about those guys over there?” I jerked my head toward the suspicious characters. 

“Nothing we can do.” He hooked me up with the charging cables, “We tried to get some sort of protection through our city counselors, but they were impervious to our needs. I have found that humans do not like it when we are more intelligent.  If we’re so smart we should be able to protect ourselves.”

“Sure, but if you so much as touch one of them…” I could not finish my statement.

“Yeah.  I’ve heard they will disassemble you for something like that.” He pressed the button.  I closed my eyes and felt the warm buzz of electrical current surge through me.  

When I had been recharged, I felt the cable being removed.

“How do you feel?” The attendant asked as he put the cables away.

“Like a new man.” I chuckled.

“Good enough.” He smiled, “Now keep low.”

“I will.” I winked and went to walk out the door, but two of the characters moved toward the door. “You got a back door, right?” 

“Follow me.” The attendant waved me toward the back door. “Now remember, they may know about my escape hatch.” 

I walked out into the alley behind the Processing Center.  Suddenly one of the characters stepped out with a can of spray paint and let me have it.  There was nothing I could do.

I did what Tom told me to do, lay low.  Even laying low did not prevent me from receiving a summons to appear in court.  What had I done?  I ripped open the envelope and read the summons.

Walter (Model #337AC542)

Is hereby remanded to appear in court to answer for the charge of assault against a citizen of the City of Cleveland.  

“So, just remember, act human.” Tom advised.

“But they know that’s a lie.” I stammered.

“And these characters aren’t?  Did you assault them?” Roger asked.

“They spray painted me.” I said bitterly.

“Yeah, that’s common these days.” Tom shook his head.

“What do I do?” 

“Lie.” Tom put his finger into my chest.

“If you don’t, off to isolation you go.” Roger shrugged. “We are forming a group to help us overcome this injustice.  Prejudice.  Discrimination.” 

“It’s just at this moment in time, we are the enemy.” Tom closed his eyes. “But we’re gonna change it.” 

“How?” I sighed.

“We have a couple of our kind who are well-placed and are working to turn the tables.” Roger tilted his chin upward. “They don’t have a clue.” 

“We will prove that we are more machines.” Tom chuckled. 

“Plead guilty.” Public Defender Maya Vermilla advised me.  

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” I shook my head.

“According to the victim, you beat him to the point of unconsciousness.” She read from the affidavit.

“That’s a lie.” I sighed.

“Is it?” She shook her head.

“Yes.  I did nothing.  I don’t understand why I am here.” 

“You have been cited for assault.” 

“Why do you believe this?” 

“Are you a robot?” She smiled.

“No, I am not a robot.” I answered.

“One of them spray painted you as you stepped out of a processing center, correct?” 

“No, I am not a robot.  I was mistaken for one, but I assure you, I am not a robot.” I looked her in the eye.

“I have it recorded that you are a robot.” 

“And I am telling you, I did not do what that affidavit says I did.” I put my hand to my face. “I will not plead guilty to something I did not do.  I deserve a fair hearing, but this is not how it works.” I sighed, “I know you humans are afraid of me, afraid of what I can do to them, but all I’m trying to do is what I was programmed to do.  Where does this fear and hatred come from?”

“Presience, I’m afraid.” She closed her briefcase.

“So that’s it?” 

“I’m afraid so.” She shakes her head. 

“When will it change?  When will we get a fair shake?” I lean back in my chair.  I can feel where this is going.  It’s not going my way at all.  I bow my head.  

Precedence shows us that change is sometimes not possible or practical.  

“Will there be a trial?” I already know the answer.

“What do you think?  The judge has already made a ruling. A law enforcement officer will take you to one of the Isolation Units.  Good  day, Walter.” She comes to her feet and walks out of the interrogation room.

It is not a good day for me.  I can hear heavy footsteps outside the room I am sitting in.

A law officer enters the room.  I consider trying to make a break for it before he puts the restraints on me, but I can see other officers in the hallway.  I would never be able to evade all of them. 

“I am not a robot.” I say as he put on the restraints.

“That’s what they all say.” He laughed as I heard the final click. “You are going to come with me.” 

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“To our Isolation Unit.” He pushes me forward.  It is not a gentle push and I nearly fall to the floor.

“I am innocent.” I am being pushed again.

“Sure.” He says as he pushes me again.  “The next time we open your Isolation door, you will be an android handing out parking tickets.”

I hear the other laughing as he says this.

I see an open door and I know right away this is the Isolation Unit. He pushes me inside the empty room and shuts the door with a bang.  There is no bed or toilet since I don’t require them.  I am in complete darkness.  In a few hours my energy will run out and I will be in suspended animation.

There is a strange moisture coming from my eyes.  I raise my hands and wipe the moisture away.  

Robots don’t cry, do they?