Citizen Robot

Westchester County, New York The father had spent Sunday in the gazebo with his daughter painting. Jill loved to paint, but her brother Jack had tried and soon gave up. Jack preferred video games. The father and daughter painted together every Sunday. They would sit in the shade discussing what they would like to paint on a clean canvas, making a few sketches. Cleaning brushes, mixing paints. They had been making plans all week. A conversation here, a text message there. Suggestions and counter suggestions. Fall was the best time to paint, surrounded by a confetti of colors in the New England afternoons. They decided that the subject would be lobsters. She had found an old dusty book about crustaceans with faded pictures. There was a rare blue lobster or a bright red lobster. Or a black lobster. On what background would they paint the lobster? Their discussions would often be a segue into larger matters about their world, and the outside world she could not visit. Not yet. She had never seen a real lobster before, so he showed her pictures. He answered her questions about where lobsters came from and what people did with lobsters. They had agreed with mommy that they would eat lobster that night and discussed the lobster she had in the kitchen and made sketches. It was to be a red/black lobster on orange background with teal blocks of color. After a few hours of painting and chatting, they declared the pictures successful. He had noticed she was only capable of two hours of concentration; after that, her energy got too much, and she needed to burn it off. When she ran off, the father went to the patio and read the news in the shade. He watched his children, Jack and Jill, play in the warm New England sun. He had pulled out the inflatable swimming pool and turned on the sprinklers, and they were laughing and running around squirting water from their water pistols at each other. They played a new game in which the rules were only understandable to a set of eight-year-old twins. His wife brought out some lemonade, so the game paused until Jill sprayed Jack, and they were off again, laughing and running around the expansive lawn. He noticed some paint peeling on one of the walls of his large Dutch colonial house and made a mental note to do some repairs the following weekend. Fall was approaching, so he would have to get the leaf blower out and do the yearly maintenance to get that working again. He decided to inspect the rest of the large house, checking to see what else had to be done before the winter arrived. Father left the kids playing and walked down to the bottom of the garden, where a small group of trees marked the house"s grounds. There was still some property after that, a few unkempt acres of tall grass and a large barn at the end. He walked through the grass to the barn and inspected the outside. It was well maintained and had survived the previous winter very well. The walls were a bright white, and the windows shuttered. The roof did not require any repairs, although the guttering looked like it needed cleaning out. "What"s in there?" asked a young voice, full of curiosity. He did not turn around as he sensed the children had followed him. What"s in there?"Nothing for children," he said patiently. "There"s some agricultural machinery a local farmer owns, like plows and harvesting tools with sharp knives. It"s a dangerous place for nosy eight-year-olds," he said and smiled. "The farmer rents the barn from me as we don"t need it for anything." "Nothing for children"There"s some agricultural machinery a local farmer owns, like plows and harvesting tools with sharp knives. It"s a dangerous place for nosy eight-year-olds," "The farmer rents the barn from me as we don"t need it for anything." The girl nodded. "Can we see?" she asked. . "Can we see?" "I don"t have the key; the farmer has that. And it"s his property inside, so it"s better we don"t disturb it," the father patiently explained. "I want you to promise that you will never go in there. It"s dangerous, and it"s not our business to disturb." They nodded. "Come, let"s go back to the house. I"m sure mummy will have lobster for dinner soon." "I don"t have the key; the farmer has that. And it"s his property inside, so it"s better we don"t disturb it," "I want you to promise that you will never go in there. It"s dangerous, and it"s not our business to disturb." "Come, let"s go back to the house. I"m sure mummy will have lobster for dinner soon." The girl looked disappointed but did not want to let her brother beat her back to the house, so she ran after him. Her father smiled; she was so competitive. He waited until they entered the house before walking over to the other side of the field. He had not been here for a while and wanted to check it out. He had let the grass and the brambles grow high. What he was looking for was hidden behind thorny bushes and among trees in a small clearing. A green tarp was on the ground, held down by a few stones. He pushed the rocks to the side and pulled back the tarp. Nothing had changed much. It was still a primitive grave with a simple cross. On the cross were written the words Jill Bedford – 2120 – 2128. The letters were now fading, almost illegible, but he remembered what they were. On the grave, lying face down, was an adult human skeleton; he assumed it was probably a male from the rotting clothes and shoes. He could not see any trauma to the bones or skull. The corpse was still wearing glasses. It even wore a watch, and a rusted smartphone lay next to it. He assumed the person had died lying on the grave and nobody had taken care of his body. There was nobody left to do so. Jill Bedford – 2120 – 2128When he first found the body, it was already in a bad state of decomposition. He thought it might Samuel Bedford, the house"s previous owner. He had called the authorities, hiding his discovery from the children. The police had said they would come and check on it, but they never had, and he had eventually stopped calling them. He felt compelled to bury the skeleton, but he thought it would disturb a crime scene, so he left it as it was. He pulled the tarp back over the grave and secured it with the rocks. That evening they sat down for dinner, and Mother brought out the 3D-printed lobster with carrots and potatoes. They discussed the lobster and what they had learned, and then they voted Jill"s painting the better of the artworks. After the meal, the mother replaced the food in the refrigerator and put the plates back into the cupboards. The family played games in front of the fire while classical music played in the background. Their favorite game was Trivial Pursuit. They knew the answer to all the questions; they had played it so often that they played variations on the rules. Sometimes they would state an answer, and you had to remember the question. After cookies and warm milk and watching the fire"s embers die down, the children listened to a story told by the father, then obediently went to bed. The parents tucked them in, and as always, Jill asked when she could have her own bedroom, and as always, the answer was on her ninth birthday, which was only a month away. As the children settled down, the adults stood outside their bedroom. They stood there, silent, unmoving, waiting. When they were sure the children were asleep, they went downstairs. They sat silently in front of the fire for a while. Then together, silently, they stood up and went to the utility room at the back of the house. She closed the door behind him and locked it. This was something the children should not see. She pulled off the tips of her two fingers, revealing two metal pins that she then put into the electrical outlet. The lighting in the utility room spluttered and faded for a few seconds. She looked at the father, and her eyes reddened, then turned completely white. The irises turned into a spinning loading icon. The father"s eyes did the same, silently exchanging data about the day they had spent together educating and caring for the children. She silently expressed concern about the grave but had no suggestions other than to let it be. After she had finished charging, the father did the same, inserting his metal fingertips into the outlet. Father was worried about Jill. He remembered the accident Mother had in the kitchen a few months ago. He had seen a change in Jill after that. A distance, especially towards her mother. And she had more questions about the wider world. Lots of awkward questions. Standing too close to the range, the mother"s clothes, made of synthetic material, had caught fire. Mother calmly called father, walked out through the living room, and stood in the drive as the flames engulfed her. Jill watched, horrified from the window, as her mother stood calmly away from the house as her burning clothes dripped off her. She was a torch. Father soon ran over with a fire extinguisher, but most of the clothing had burnt away, so he brushed off the remnants with his hand. Mother stood n***d, then calmly walked back into the house and put on some new clothes. "Well, that was weird," said Jack to Jill, who had come over to see what she was looking at. Jill nodded but said nothing; she was deep in thought. They had no reference to what was normal. They never went anywhere because of the pandemic, which had started before their birth and was still raging. Her parents were the only people she knew and could learn from. It was all they knew. Everything they did was expected, but this did not seem normal. Fire hurt. She had burnt herself before; she had felt the pain. Well, that was weirdOn the eve of her birthday, Jill went over to Jack and pushed him awake."I"ll be so glad when we have separate rooms," he grumbled."Aren"t you curious about the barn at the bottom of the garden?" she asked."It is weird," he admitted."Let"s go check it out!" she said, hardly stopping giggling at her audacity at even suggesting it."Are you mad – father will be furious!"Jill smiled. "Oh, come on, when do we ever do anything wrong? We are such do-gooders! Maybe Mom and Dad would secretly like to occasionally see a little grit from us. A little drama!"Jack was not so sure, but Jill jumped up and went to the bedroom door and, checking the hallway, slipped out. "Damnit," he whispered under his breath. He had no choice but to follow."I"m scared," Jack whispered as they sneaked out of the house. "I"ll be so glad when we have separate rooms," "Aren"t you curious about the barn at the bottom of the garden?" "It is weird,""Let"s go check it out!" Are you mad – father will be furious!Oh, come on, when do we ever do anything wrong? We are such do-gooders! Maybe Mom and Dad would secretly like to occasionally see a little grit from us. A little drama!"Damnit"I"m scaredIt was dark; Jack saw that it was three o"clock in the morning, and he had never been up this early."Sssh!" warned Jill, and they walked carefully to the bottom of the garden, a flashlight guiding their way.The barn looked different in the dark, a silhouette against the inky black sky, its shape carved out in the universe of stars. The windows were shuttered and the doors were firmly locked. Jill tried to shine a light through the slats of the windows. For a brief second, in a glimpse, she thought she could see a person"s head, which seemed to move, turn to look at the flashlight, slowly, deliberately. Sssh!""What are you doing?" Jill let out a shriek. It was her father, and his voice was calm but clear. He never shouted or got visibly angry, but Jill could tell he was not pleased."We just wanted to see what was in the barn. We were curious," said Jill."YOU were curious," corrected Jack."I think you both should go back to the house now. We will talk about this in the morning," said Father. Jill inwardly groaned. "Talking about it" meant a long lecture that would seem to end and was designed to grind them down into submission. Jack and Jill nodded and followed their father subserviently back to the house. We just wanted to see what was in the barn. We were curiousYOU were curiousI think you both should go back to the house now. We will talk about this in the morning,Talking about it"The lecture lasted an hour and a half of firm explanations about the dangerous farm equipment and the necessity of listening and obeying their parents. Jill zoned out, and she started thinking about her birthday. She had been writing a diary and had started counting down to the big day. She was so excited about getting her own room. She had already made several designs and had asked for the furniture she wanted, which would be delivered on the day. She didn"t mind sharing with Jack, she had never known anything else, but it was time for her to have her own spot, finally. Her place, her privacy, her space. They promised to behave, said all that was needed to appease their parents, and soon the day of their birthdays arrived. They waited impatiently for the truck to arrive with their new bedroom furniture. "It"s here!" shouted Jill, and they ran outside. The truck pulled up, and the driver got out. A blue-collar robot. She started a conversation as she saw so few people, even a worker robot was something. "It"s here!" "Where are you from? Have you been on the road for long? Would you like a cup of tea?" The driver smiled politely but continued with his task. He unloaded several boxes and took them into the house"s main room. The last two boxes were enormous, bigger than Jack and Jill, and seemed quite heavy. Where are you from? Have you been on the road for long? Would you like a cup of tea?"Ok, kids, let"s open the boxes; I think we should start with these two first," said mother.Father opened the first box. It was a life-size model of Jack"s head and two legs. The second box also contained a life-size model of Jill"s head and two legs. Jack and Jill were amazed and disconcerted. The heads looked the same, but these seemed a little bigger and older."What"s this?" asked Jill. "What are they for? They are creepy! To be honest, I don"t like it," she said. "Are we putting them in our bedrooms? I hope not. It seems really weird." Ok, kids, let"s open the boxes; I think we should start with these two first," this?What are they for? They are creepy! To be honestI don"t like it,Are we putting them in our bedrooms? I hope not. It seems really weird."These are your upgrades," said father in a matter-of-fact way. Jack and Jill looked at them closely; they seemed so real, so life-like."Upgrades?" asked Jill.Father pulled out a piece of paper inside the case and started reading random words and a series of numbers. These are your upgrades,"Upgrades?" "Phantom, Elephant, Empire, Reminder, Egypt, Alternative, Seal, Confidentiality. 48522635XQ-10" As soon as he had finished, the head of Jack stirred a little. Its eyes turned white, and the pupils turned into a loading spinner."Well, that"s weird, wait.," said Jill, but then she noticed that Jack had suddenly stopped moving. He was standing perfectly still. His eyes were white, and his pupils were spinning. Jill screamed. "Well, that"s weird, wait.,"Her father pulls out a note from Jill"s doppelganger"s case and starts reading. "Animation, Business, Dashboard…" "No!" screams Jill, and she tries to run, but her mother grabs her and holds her tight. Jill was amazed at how strong her mother was suddenly and how cold and indifferent, so much different from the loving, nurturing person she knew and had grown up with."We should have started with her; she was always the difficult one," the mother said as she struggled with the nine-year-old. Jill tries to put her hands over her ears and block out the words. "No!" "We should have started with her; she was always the difficult one," "…Transport, Quality, Tuesday, Document, America. 8973496RW–10″ Jill immediately stopped struggling and stood still. Jill"s new head moved a little, her eyes turned white, and the loading spinner appeared. The parents knew that the children"s data transfer to the upgrades would take a few hours, so they left them to it. The delivery robot stood outside by his truck and waited while downloading the data about his next trip. The parents went to the robot."Any news from Central?" they asked. The robot stood still for a few seconds; its eyes turned white, then back. It changed its personality; its stance and how it subtly held its body changed. "Any news from Central?""Peterson here," it said. "Nothing major has changed. Unfortunately, humans have not returned since the great sickness, so you will not nurture any real humans until that situation changes. We apologize for your nurturing of robot templates; we understand this is not as inspiring as real human babies. We can only say that the different patterns you send us are of the highest quality. Jill shows enormous potential. Jack, however, is not progressing as well. We may change the parameters on that line or abort entirely. If you could pay more attention to that, see if you can instill more character and individuality." "Peterson here,""Nothing major has changed. Unfortunately, humans have not returned since the great sickness, so you will not nurture any real humans until that situation changes. We apologize for your nurturing of robot templates; we understand this is not as inspiring as real human babies. We can only say that the different patterns you send us are of the highest quality. Jill shows enormous potential. Jack, however, is not progressing as well. We may change the parameters on that line or abort entirely. If you could pay more attention to that, see if you can instill more character and individuality." The parents looked at each other. "We are distributing them into their separate rooms. We believe that Jill has been suppressing Jack in some way. He may bloom now that he has more freedom to be an individual." replied the mother. "We are distributing them into their separate rooms. We believe that Jill has been suppressing Jack in some way. He may bloom now that he has more freedom to be an individual.""We have 40 end-generations of Jack and Jill"s stored in the barn. Do you think you could send a removal service?" asked father. "We have 40 end-generations of Jack and Jill"s stored in the barn. Do you think you could send a removal service?""We appreciate you storing them. That hardware is now redundant; of course, we only use their soft-awareness. I will see what I can do." The father smiled. "Thank you, please keep us informed if the humans return.""You will be the first to receive a human baby when they do," said Paterson and smiled. Then his eyes turned white, and he became the driver again. He went into the house and removed the twins" heads, then replaced them with the new upgraded, slightly older-looking heads. He did the same with the legs. Each year, they would change incrementally. They were learning to be human, becoming adults. Thank you, please keep us informed if the humans returnYou will be the first to receive a human baby when they doThe father looked at his two new children. They were Jack and Jill, but there were some subtle differences. They were slightly taller. They had assumed more subtle characteristics appropriate for their gender. They stood in the room. Silently, oblivious, unresponsive. They still needed to be brought to life. The parents looked at their children. The new models had the soft-awareness of the nine-year-olds uploaded and were ready to be activated and prepared to continue their lives as Jack and Jill, designed to be ten-year-olds. They would have no knowledge of the upgrade. "They did a wonderful job," said Father. Mother nodded. They did a wonderful job,So, the years went by, and every year Jack and Jill were upgraded with their evolved consciousness imported into the next upgraded version, and the younger versions were sent back to Central to be re-cycled. When they were eighteen, it was time for Jack and Jill to go to college. The parents had worked on the soft-awareness of Jack, so now he was as competitive and assertive as his sister. "I"m so excited to go to college," said Jack. "Me too!" said Jill. They had their bags packed. They were so impatient as they waited for the taxi to pick them up. They had never been far from the house. They had vague memories of traveling and seeing things, but they seemed unreal, made up. They would finally go out into the wide world and meet new people. Jill was crying a little. She had had some teenage tantrums with her parents. It had frightened her. It seemed as if she had no control over who she was. But now she was sad to say goodbye to her parents. I"m so excited to go to college,Me too!"We will be back for the holidays!" said Jill and hugged them both. Then a vehicle arrived, and Jill thought it was a taxi, but it was a delivery van. The van driver got out a blue-collar robot and rang the doorbell; he had a package with him. "We will be back for the holidays!" "Good day," said the father. The driver nodded. Then he brought out a list and started reading. "Good day," "Phantom, Elephant, Empire, Reminder, Egypt, Alternative, Seal, Confidentiality. 48522635XQ-18" "Animation, Business, Dashboard, Transport, Quality, Tuesday, Document, America. 8973496RW-18" Jack and Jill stood there, stock-still. Their eyes turned white. The driver opened a computer and typed some codes in, then the irises of Jack and Jill turned into spinning loading icons, and their experiences were uploaded. Their collective evolved soft-awareness was now ready for evaluation into the collective. The parents looked at the driver."Any news from Central?" the mother asked. The driver stood still for a few seconds; his eyes turned white, then back to normal."Peterson here," he said. "Nothing significant has changed. Unfortunately, humans have not returned since the great sickness, so you will not nurture any real humans until that situation changes. We apologize for your nurturing of robots; we understand that this is not as inspiring as you have been created for. We can only say that the different patterns you send us are of the highest quality. Jack has improved immensely and is showing great promise, as does Jill. This generation is complete, and their personalities will be stored in the Central database until needed. "Any news from Central?"Peterson hereNothing significant has changed. Unfortunately, humans have not returned since the great sickness, so you will not nurture any real humans until that situation changes. We apologize for your nurturing of robots; we understand that this is not as inspiring as you have been created for. We can only say that the different patterns you send us are of the highest quality. Jack has improved immensely and is showing great promise, as does Jill. This generation is complete, and their personalities will be stored in the Central database until needed."We have been doing this for more than 300 years," said Father. " The barn is nearly full of discarded androids. Can you please send a team to remove and re-cycle?""We appreciate you storing them. That hardware is now redundant; of course, we only use their soft-awareness. I will see what I can do."The father smiled. "Thank you, please keep us informed if the humans return.""You will be the first to receive a human baby when they do," said Paterson and smiled. Then his eyes turned white, and he reverted to being the driver again. "We have been doing this for more than 300 years," The barn is nearly full of discarded androids. Can you please send a team to remove and re-cycle?""We appreciate you storing them. That hardware is now redundant; of course, we only use their soft-awareness. I will see what I can do."Thank you, please keep us informed if the humans return.""You will be the first to receive a human baby when they do,"After the consciousness of Jack and Jill had been downloaded, the driver packed and left, leaving two new inactivated robot babies behind. Father and mother looked at the teenagers they had nurtured for eighteen years. Empty shells. "Jack and Jill, you need to follow us," said the mother. The twins stared out into space, their eyes white and empty. The parents held their hands as they shuffled toward the garden. They needed to be helped, like little blind children, across doorways and down some steps as they were led down the garden"s bottom, past the trees, and along the grassy path to the barn. They were running on the basic primary operating system of their android bodies. "Jack and Jill, you need to follow us,"Father brought out the set of keys and unlocked the thick doors. They could see the silhouettes, and as their eyes adjusted to the light, there stood 40 identical twins 8 in a row, eyes white. The parents led their children to start a new line at the front."Goodbye, Jack. Goodbye Jill. I hope you enjoy college," said the mother. Then they left, the large thick doors closing behind them. "Goodbye, Jack. Goodbye Jill. I hope you enjoy college," As they stood in the dark, 40 heads slowly turned to look at the new arrivals.