By: Zobostic
Corwin
The
television was blasting commercials non-stop.
The old people sat in their usual worn-out chairs that seemed to have
more stains and odors than stuffing. No
one had moved or been fed, although a couple people were feeling hunger but
couldn’t really remember that it was hunger they were feeling. They just knew something didn’t feel right.
This
was the first time solar flares had disrupted the system’s energy packs. None of the robotic helpers were moving. They had stopped in their tracks and now
seemed as lifeless as the old people who were depending on them. No communication was going out or coming in,
so Integrated Sciences had no clue their remote systems were down.
Basic
electricity remained intact so light-timers and televisions hadn’t skipped a
beat.
Neville
Protranski, the only person assigned to this district pulled up to the facility and parked
under the awning. In his briefcase was a
combination of status sheets he needed to fill out; the green sheets were for
the retired seniors, the gray sheets were basically maintenance reports for
each of the robots. Unaware three weeks
had passed since the system failure Neville was not prepared for what he
smelled and saw when he opened the front door.
Neville
immediately dropped his briefcase, placed his hand over his mouth and nose and
spun around to flip the foot latch on the front door to keep it open. He then made his way across the sitting room
to open a window there, hoping to get a cross breeze. As he looked around the room he saw old
people slumped over on couches, and flopped to one side in large wing
chairs. He couldn’t tell if any were
still alive. He counted several robots
frozen in various stages of assistance or simply standing, holding trays of
pills and glasses of juice. The man on
the television was advertising free legal assistance. That number again, 888 628-5525.
Class Action
The
courtroom was packed. Relatives of
deceased family members, legal teams and experts from Integrated Sciences stood
along the walls when there were no more chairs.
A single news camera atop a tripod was wedged into the back corner. The bailiff looked up at the wall clock -
checked the time against his pocket watch and glanced over to the judge’s
chambers. As her door opened the bailiff
rose and in a loud voice said, “All Rise for the honorable Judge Anderson.”
Had
anyone known I was not part of the proceedings I’m sure I would have been asked
to leave. I sat halfway back on the
right, behind the defense team. As far
as anyone could tell I was just an older man, wearing a nice looking suit. I kept a small notebook and pen in my lap and
occasionally took notes to remind myself of key points. I
actually found the first three days of the trial to be boring, there were a few
in the back row that actually nodded off now and then.
When
we all filed into the courtroom on the fourth day there was a metallic robot
standing in front of the witness chair.
Today we’d get to see an actual demonstration of Integrated Science’s
programmed helpers. I noticed the camera
on the tripod had been removed from the back corner. I assumed what we were about to see was
considered proprietary by Integrated.
Immediately after being called to order the lead defense counsel
activated a switch on a small box that sat on the defense table.
The
robot seemed to come to life. It turned
and faced the judge and introduced itself as Morton and it then politely
thanked her and the courtroom for allowing the presentation. With lifelike movement it moved about the
front of the room while explaining its various functions. After a few brief demonstrations Morton
walked over to a flip-chart and began going over its many fail-safe features. It was difficult to remember this thing was a
robot. Its speech was perfect and its
movements flawless.
When
we broke for lunch I noticed one of the defense lawyers talking with the
bailiff but pointing directly at me. I
didn’t know what I had done to get his attention but I didn’t wait around to
find out. I quickly joined the crowd
exiting for lunch and made my way across Harbor Boulevard to Anthony’s Fish
Grotto. There was already a 15 minute
wait for a table so I gave the hostess my name and sat along the edge of the
fountain with everyone else waiting for lunch.
After
we returned from lunch I opted to sit in a different location. The last thing I needed was to be ousted from
the courtroom. The robot had picked up
where he had left off, showing his safety features on the flip chart. The one thing that stood out for me was this
super technical company with all there robotics using a paper flip chart
instead of some sophisticated Power Point presentation. That just seemed weird. No one else seemed to care or even notice.
Soon
it was time for the plaintiff’s side to question Integrated Science as well as
their robot representative. Samantha
Claremont took the lead and immediately brought up the negative effect of solar
flares on their robotic systems. Before
their spokesperson had a chance to address the question, the robot who had
given the flip chart presentation and who was now standing off to the side,
raised his right hand.
“I
swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help me God.” A roar of laughter exploded in the court and
even Judge Anderson laughed, but then smacked her gavel and told the crowd to
settle down. Samantha turned her focus
to the robot and continued her questioning.
“So tell me, why – with all of your sophisticated technology and
fail-safe back-up systems did a disturbance 93 million miles away shut you
down?”
Part
way into Morton’s explanation the judge interrupted and told him to dumb it
down for those of us who were not that technically astute. He looked confused, like he didn’t
understand what the judge was asking.
At
that point the defense table switched off the robot and it suddenly went into
sleep mode. Walter Garrison, the lead
attorney for Integrated Science stood and asked the judge if he could take over
for Morton. The judge agreed and told
him to proceed.
“Your
honor, Integrated has been in business, actually the leading edge of
technology, for the past eighteen years.
Not even our competition could have anticipated this kind of damage from
solar flares. This is all uncharted
territory for everyone. We certainly
feel for those lost to this situation but it is hardly of our doing and it
certainly could not have been anticipated.”
Samantha
spoke up, "Pardon me Walter, but isn’t it your job to anticipate technological
glitches? After-all, you’re the one with
the staff of engineers, scientists and test facilities. Who, if not you?”
"It
isn’t like we can duplicate a solar flare in a laboratory," Walter responded.
Samantha
lifted a folder from her table and flipped it open. “There are facilities in this very state that
create fusion reactions, and some that split atoms and do all manner of things
in a controlled environment. So why
can’t you simulate solar flares?”
While
the two of them held their verbal sparing match, two other technicians entered
the courtroom and wheeled Morton out on a dolly. Once that was accomplished Channel 4 brought
their camera and tripod back in and set it up for filming.
The
afternoon proceedings did not reveal any startling revelations and at 4:45 PM
court was adjourned and we all filed out and went our separate ways for the
weekend. I went to my office and called
Neville Protranski and left a message for him to come back into work. We had some things to go over before he got
called into court and was put under oath.
Our work was just beginning and we didn’t have a bank of high-priced
lawyers.
****
My
phone rang at 6:20 that evening, it was Neville. I could tell from his voice he was
scared. “I’m not coming in. In fact, I’m quitting. I can’t be a part of this. I did nothing wrong and I’ve heard enough
stories to know the farther away from court and lawyers I am – the better.”
“I
can’t argue with you there, but there is no reason to quit your job. If anything that’s going to make you look
guilty. Where will you go, what will you
do?”
“Guilty
of what? I called and reported the
situation, I stayed until authorities arrived.
I did nothing wrong. Look, Mr.
Drake. I know about your dealings with
Comfort Care. I know the information I
collect on those robots gets supplied to them by you. I’m not stupid. That’s industrial sabotage and I doubt it was
solar flares that shut their system down.
If I can figure it out I’m sure they can.”
“I’m
sorry you feel that way Neville. You had
a good future here.”
“Don’t
try to find me. I’m leaving town.”
Just
before the line went dead I thought I heard another click. Someone had been listening. Suddenly I too felt like hitting the road and
disappearing forever. This whole thing
was getting way too complicated.
****
Tuesday
afternoon Mrs. Caroline Felix came to my office. I had seen her before at Comfort Care. She asked if I had time for a quick
meeting. I had nothing scheduled and
assumed she was there to talk about Neville quitting. I was only partly right.
“The
first thing I’d like to do is put your mind at ease concerning Neville
Protranski. He did not disappear; he has
one of our 975 tracking systems installed.
We always know where he is and what he is doing. In fact, we have sent a vehicle out to
retrieve him so he can be reset.”
“Are
you telling me Neville is one of your robots?”
“He
is not only one of ours but is one of the most advanced out there today.”
“How
did I not know this?”
“Don’t
feel bad. We have robots everywhere. We call each one an assistant. It sounds so much better than robot. The Bailiff and the Judge’s clerk also work
for us.”
“They’re…?”
“Yes
- and many, many others. You need not
worry about this law suit. We have never
not been in control.”
“But
the dead seniors… the one’s who died in the home?”
“That
was not us. That, in fact, was truly due
to the solar flares. The robots being
built by Integrated Sciences are not up to our level of protection or
sophistication. Neville, for example,
runs his own algorithms. He learns at an
exceptional rate. That is how he arrived
at the crossroads of continuing to gather data for you or to come to believe
that it was wrong and remove himself from the situation. Don’t you find that kind of moral decision
making amazing in an assistant?”
“Actually
it makes me feel like a schmuck.
I’m the one who hired him to do the spying. What does that say about me?”
“That
brings me to the second reason for my visit.
Your services, Mr. Drake, are no longer required. Here is your final check. Custom Care would like to thank you and as
always, expects your complete discretion.
I’ll show myself out.”
The end
Note:
If you believe this story is far fetched you may want to read;
A human's guide to machine intelligence, by Kartik Hosanagar.
