Extra Human
Saip Bots were first created and introduced
to the public in the year 2025, after a nuclear war between all of the major
countries had left the global homosapien population at an all-time low. The
Saip Bots were created to cover the working class jobs while the homosapiens
filled in the higher level jobs that required human standard intelligence. The
reasoning behind their creation was that if the homosapiens were only require
to go to work during certain hours, it would give them more time to reproduce
and help re-populate the earth.
In 2027, Saip Inc., George Caprock, the
creator of Saip Bots, released the Saip Bot Home, a model designed specifically
to work in the homes of the wealthier, homosapiens, keeping it clean and doing
the chores. The less they had to worry about, the more babies could be made.
They became nannies, cooks, maids and personal assistants for the wives who
would stay at home all day with their pregnant bellies protruding from under
their designer clothing.
Eventually, a newer, more affordable model
was released for those homosapiens who didn’t have as much money as their wealthier
counterparts, but still needed the assistance.
The Saip Bot EH (EH for extra human) was
released in 2032, and they went straight into the work force. They had been
upgraded to have A.H.I. – almost human intelligence - and would be perfect to
fill in for the homosapiens who just didn’t have time to work anymore, because,
even with a robot nanny who didn’t have to sleep, homosapien babies required a
lot of work.
When the CEO of Saip Inc., Charles Grover,
died in 2034, his very own personal Saip Bot EH took over the company for him.
It had made perfect sense at the time, the bot had watched him work each and
every day and knew how to make the best decisions for the company. He was even
more human than the others of his make and year. He even had a name, something
that had been unheard of until Grover gave it to him in his will. Maxwell.
Maxwell ran Sapien Inc. for about three years
before he started making his own decisions on what to engineer next, instead of
following the plans Grover had left for the expansion of the corporation. Maxwell
decided that the next breed of robots needed to be even more human, with the
ability to feel emotion and make intelligent decisions based on the situation,
so that they could better serve and protect the homosapiens, like their creator
had intended.
The Saip Bot HERO, a bigger, faster model
designed to be used in warfare, was released in 2041 and that’s when it went
downhill for the homosapiens. There were officially more robots on the planet
than homosapiens. The 34th amendment to the United States
Constitution allowed Saip Bots to purchase houses. The 35th allowed
them to congregate in groups larger than 4, something that had previously been
disallowed. If robots with A.H.I. conversed too much, they might get ideas. The
36th amendment gave them the right to vote in local and national
elections. In 2044, the US saw the first robotic president.
Homosapiens were meant to be indoors after 7
p.m. Bad things could happen to them in the dark and it wasn’t safe. They were
just too…human. They were mortal. If their arm was cut off by a runaway train,
they could not just a new one to replace it. The bots were keeping them inside
for their own safety.
It wasn’t long after that there was a limit
put on the number of children a family could have. If a wife produced too many
babies, she was putting herself and the babies in danger. Plus, the more small
homosapiens running around, the more the Saip Bot EH’s had to look after them.
After a fight that would go down in history,
where a Saip Bot HERO ended up killing one homosapien man and his pregnant
homosapien wife, it was decided that it would be best to separate the two even
more. There were different grocery stores, restaurants, libraries, parks and
other public place made specifically for the homosapiens. It would be safer for
them to keep them away from the bots as much as possible. They were just too
fragile.
When there was a second Bird Flu epidemic, the
homosapiens were all taken to the hospitals, just to keep them safe. It was
better for them there, if one of them got sick, a Saip Bot RN could take care
of them. The RN line had been developed a few months prior, and this would be
the first time they were tested out in large scale. Everything the bots did,
they did for the benefit of the homosapiens. It was just the way they were
programmed. It was in their internal structure to protect them.
2052 came around and brought on bigger,
better, stronger Saip Bot HEROs. There was no longer a need for homosapiens to
participate in the armies. They would just get hurt. The bots could just repair
themselves on the battlefield. The Saip Bo tRNs would be around to help, if
needed, with extra parts and pieces.
Everything was taken care of by the Saip Bots.
The only thing that the homosapiens had to worry about was making more baby
homosapiens. But not too many. If a family went over the four child limit, they
were forced to hand over the oldest child to the bots. The bots told the family
that they would put them to work, show them how to make a living for their
future families. It was what was best for the homosapien. Just like always.
2068 brought on the Saip Bot TRU, a new breed
of bot that was extra special. If the homosapiens who had relinquished their
eldest child looked closely at the new line of bots, they would see remnants of
their loved ones in the bots. The color of their eyes, so human now. The way
they walked. The things they said. The children had been given a new life,
inside a bot body.
I liked the story that Nikki wrote about the robots taking over the world although it sounded a lot like iRobot and may be copyright infringement. I liked that it took us into this what if scenario kind of like Kevin Wilson’s stories. The whole concept is interesting to think about, what if we were not the ones making decisions on earth, what if that task belonged to someone else? It is kind of funny how humans were only around now to pro create and it seems ironic that at the end the robots are the ones making the decisions. I like the real aspect of it also the fact that this innovative new technology was only offered to the wealthy at the start and slowly makes its way into the everyday Americans life is believable. The turning point in the story takes place when the creator of these robots passes away and leaves his dynasty to a robot instead of a human. This is when you realize that things are going to end up bad. When Maxwell "decided that the next breed of robots needed to be even more human, with the ability to feel emotion and make intelligent decisions based on the situation, so that they could better serve and protect the homosapiens, like their creator had intended” you know that what the creator originally intended these robots for is no longer going to be their role in society. This is foreshadowing and we see that there is going to be a change coming about soon. When the robots finally outnumber the humans you see that it is only downhill from here. Humans begin to have restrictions and rules compared to robots. I like the tone that Nikki uses when talking about the humans safety, “They were just too… human. They were mortal”. This is ironic in that the humans created these robots to assist the humans in every day life, but now it is the opposite the humans are helping the robots to live. Now the robots are restricting the humans from doing things whereas earlier in the story it was the humans restricting the robots from doing things. I also like that it takes us into the future and allows for amendments to the constitution. And then it takes us into segregation conflicts similar to the ones experienced some odd 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI would have probably added more writerly choices such as tropes, metaphors, and imagery. This story in my mind is a bit bland, and obviously reminds me too much of something I have already seen, which is why I decided to write a comment. I think it would have been cool if the creator looked into the mirror and thought something like what have I created? Where will it go from here? Providing a trope and a foreshadowing.
This reminded me most of Kevin Wilsons book because it takes you into a realm of possibility a what if. She responds to the questions by adding the amendments which says, this is really happening and this is how it will be.