Servo 22:1
Servo 22:1
That evening, as Grandma prepared dinner, we quietly tip-toed through the house with Dad. Grandpa told me that Dad could stay in my room for now. The barn was no place for such a wondrous being. Rory and I were thrilled. But how were we going to break the news to Grandma? We sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. The meal was delicious as usual. Many quick glances were exchanged between the three of us. The right moment didn’t seem to be presenting. Finally, Grandpa said something. “Well, the barn is nearly done.”“That’s good,” Grandma replied, not showing much enthusiasm. “Do you remember when we moved out here?”“Yes.”“And we had that service bot?”She gave Grandpa a sidelong glance. “You disassembled it, right?”“I did. And it’s been in the barn all these years in several parts.”“So?”“Well, the boys took an interest in it.”“Ah, that’s why they’ve been spending so much time in the barn.”“They put it back together—”“How could you let them?”“They’re just boys. And they needed something for those ultra-smart brains to do.”Grandma sighed. “The bot is functioning?”I decided to join the conversation. “It wasn’t, Grandma, but it got hit by that storm the other night—a bolt of lightning.”Rory piped up. “Jonah turned the bot into Dad.”“He what?”“Just wait.” He stood and hurried out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, I heard loud thumping coming down the stairs. Rory appeared in the doorway, Dad was behind him. “He turned the bot into Dad by loading all the memory sticks we had.”“Hello, Eliza,” Dad said softly. “It’s been many years.” As he stood there, his golden metal skin gleamed in the amber-hued light of the kitchen. I had to admit, all the scrubbing and polishing Rory and I did looked fantastic. I watched Grandma’s lower lip quiver. “Can’t be.”“Somehow the lightning brought this old bot back to life.” He stepped into the kitchen. “I still don’t know how he did it, but Jonah returned my consciousness.”“No, no,” Grandma said, getting up from the table. “No robots.” She left the room. With her strong reaction, I decided it was time to find out why Grandma hated bots so much. “Grandpa?”“Hmm?”“Why does she hate them?”He chose to ignore me for several moments, instead, concentrating on eating some dinner before it got cold. Grandpa glanced up to see Dad standing near the table. “You might as well sit down, Thomas.”Dad took Grandma’s place. He stared at the thick piece of steak lying on the plate in front of him. “Oh, how I wish I could take a bite of that.”It was then I realized perhaps bringing our father back might not’ve been such a good idea. Thomas Blackburn was a man in conscious only. His body was metal, plastic, and various other composites. He could neither eat nor drink. When he hugged his children, he was incapable of feeling the warmth of our bodies, and he could never taste the salty tears he’d kiss away from our bad dreams. In my own fit of selfishness, I’d created a shallow being. Had I become Victor Frankenstein? No, that was not my intended mission. I longed to be Guido Fantoccini, Bradbury’s character, who created beautiful “living” bots which could do almost anything. Somehow I feared this had gone terribly wrong.Grandpa finally paused from his mastication. He plucked a napkin from his lap and gently dabbed a bit of steak juice hanging at the corners of his mouth. I watched him perform this action with utmost meticulousness—as if he was setting the stage for things to come. “Technology,” he finally said. “It scares her.”“Why?” Rory said softly. Dad put his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. It was something quite common to see him do at the dinner table when we were younger. Somehow I found it comforting, yet disturbing to see the bot in that pose. “She’s afraid bots will take over the world.”“Nonsense!” I blurted. “Humans control the bots.”“And that’s what the Inner States government wants you to think,” said Dad, fiddling with his fingers. “But it’s not the case.”I straightened up in my chair. Now the picture was becoming clearer. Did Dad discover a dirty secret at Servidyne? Was that why they killed him? “You found something?”He nodded. “I stumbled upon a program aimed at furthering the AI in bots…They were trying to do away with Asimov’s three laws of robotics once again.”“Another war?”“Possibly.”“But why? The Inner States has everything they need. Why start another war?”“In case you hadn’t noticed, it was getting rather crowded east of the Mississippi.” Dad stood and started walking slowly around the kitchen. “Eliza has every right to fear technology…She saw her own sister killed by bots.”My jaw fell open. “Oh, no!”“To her, we represent death, destruction, and oppression.” He tapped on his metal chest plate. “When Servidyne built the battle bots, they intentionally programmed them without the laws.”Grandpa sighed loudly. “And I was the puppet master.”Hearing that made my entire psyche feel like it had been drop-kicked across the room. “You programmed the battle bots, Grandpa?”“I was doing what I was told to do, under duress.”Dad stopped his wanderings and stood behind me, placing his cold hands on my shoulders. I could feel the metallic iciness through my t-shirt. “Your Grandpa, Abe, was forced. Had he not complied, he would have found a similar fate as me.”I looked up at him. “You may be a bot, Dad, but you’re not a bad bot. How can we convince Grandma of that?” He shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe in time she’ll understand.”
That evening, as Grandma prepared dinner, we quietly tip-toed through the house with Dad. Grandpa told me that Dad could stay in my room for now. The barn was no place for such a wondrous being. Rory and I were thrilled. But how were we going to break the news to Grandma? We sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. The meal was delicious as usual. Many quick glances were exchanged between the three of us. The right moment didn’t seem to be presenting. Finally, Grandpa said something. “Well, the barn is nearly done.”“That’s good,” Grandma replied, not showing much enthusiasm. “Do you remember when we moved out here?”“Yes.”“And we had that service bot?”She gave Grandpa a sidelong glance. “You disassembled it, right?”“I did. And it’s been in the barn all these years in several parts.”“So?”“Well, the boys took an interest in it.”“Ah, that’s why they’ve been spending so much time in the barn.”“They put it back together—”“How could you let them?”“They’re just boys. And they needed something for those ultra-smart brains to do.”Grandma sighed. “The bot is functioning?”I decided to join the conversation. “It wasn’t, Grandma, but it got hit by that storm the other night—a bolt of lightning.”Rory piped up. “Jonah turned the bot into Dad.”“He what?”“Just wait.” He stood and hurried out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, I heard loud thumping coming down the stairs. Rory appeared in the doorway, Dad was behind him. “He turned the bot into Dad by loading all the memory sticks we had.”“Hello, Eliza,” Dad said softly. “It’s been many years.” As he stood there, his golden metal skin gleamed in the amber-hued light of the kitchen. I had to admit, all the scrubbing and polishing Rory and I did looked fantastic. I watched Grandma’s lower lip quiver. “Can’t be.”“Somehow the lightning brought this old bot back to life.” He stepped into the kitchen. “I still don’t know how he did it, but Jonah returned my consciousness.”“No, no,” Grandma said, getting up from the table. “No robots.” She left the room. With her strong reaction, I decided it was time to find out why Grandma hated bots so much. “Grandpa?”“Hmm?”“Why does she hate them?”He chose to ignore me for several moments, instead, concentrating on eating some dinner before it got cold. Grandpa glanced up to see Dad standing near the table. “You might as well sit down, Thomas.”Dad took Grandma’s place. He stared at the thick piece of steak lying on the plate in front of him. “Oh, how I wish I could take a bite of that.”It was then I realized perhaps bringing our father back might not’ve been such a good idea. Thomas Blackburn was a man in conscious only. His body was metal, plastic, and various other composites. He could neither eat nor drink. When he hugged his children, he was incapable of feeling the warmth of our bodies, and he could never taste the salty tears he’d kiss away from our bad dreams. In my own fit of selfishness, I’d created a shallow being. Had I become Victor Frankenstein? No, that was not my intended mission. I longed to be Guido Fantoccini, Bradbury’s character, who created beautiful “living” bots which could do almost anything. Somehow I feared this had gone terribly wrong.Grandpa finally paused from his mastication. He plucked a napkin from his lap and gently dabbed a bit of steak juice hanging at the corners of his mouth. I watched him perform this action with utmost meticulousness—as if he was setting the stage for things to come. “Technology,” he finally said. “It scares her.”“Why?” Rory said softly. Dad put his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. It was something quite common to see him do at the dinner table when we were younger. Somehow I found it comforting, yet disturbing to see the bot in that pose. “She’s afraid bots will take over the world.”“Nonsense!” I blurted. “Humans control the bots.”“And that’s what the Inner States government wants you to think,” said Dad, fiddling with his fingers. “But it’s not the case.”I straightened up in my chair. Now the picture was becoming clearer. Did Dad discover a dirty secret at Servidyne? Was that why they killed him? “You found something?”He nodded. “I stumbled upon a program aimed at furthering the AI in bots…They were trying to do away with Asimov’s three laws of robotics once again.”“Another war?”“Possibly.”“But why? The Inner States has everything they need. Why start another war?”“In case you hadn’t noticed, it was getting rather crowded east of the Mississippi.” Dad stood and started walking slowly around the kitchen. “Eliza has every right to fear technology…She saw her own sister killed by bots.”My jaw fell open. “Oh, no!”“To her, we represent death, destruction, and oppression.” He tapped on his metal chest plate. “When Servidyne built the battle bots, they intentionally programmed them without the laws.”Grandpa sighed loudly. “And I was the puppet master.”Hearing that made my entire psyche feel like it had been drop-kicked across the room. “You programmed the battle bots, Grandpa?”“I was doing what I was told to do, under duress.”Dad stopped his wanderings and stood behind me, placing his cold hands on my shoulders. I could feel the metallic iciness through my t-shirt. “Your Grandpa, Abe, was forced. Had he not complied, he would have found a similar fate as me.”I looked up at him. “You may be a bot, Dad, but you’re not a bad bot. How can we convince Grandma of that?” He shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe in time she’ll understand.”
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