Final Project Draft
For my final project I would like to do an original sci-fi piece. I did not exactly think about what themes I wanted to incorporate in order to create my story. Instead, I just started brainstorming story ideas, and this one materialized and I am refining the details. As I think about the characters and situation, I am thinking about what would be interesting to imagine, explore and play with.
Here are some rough elements of my story (of course it will change as I get more ideas):
Setting is sometime in the near future of Earth (within the next fifty years)
Civilizations have split into an extremely wealthy elite minority and a desperately poor majority separated by a bubble that keeps air clean for the rich and polluted for the poor
Climate change has wiped out greenery in cities, led to many extinctions, and submerged major coastal cities
Main characters:
A headstrong ‘female’ humanoid
A brilliant scientist
A poor community
I want to incorporate a discussion about disability to fuel the central plot. A scientist creates a robot that would not be considered perfect of good enough by the standards of the wealthy community in which she lives. The scientist, though, grows sentimental about the deformed robot and decides to spare her. She programs her to like her disability, but external stimuli (judgement from others and difficulty performing ‘regular’ tasks) outweigh the robot’s programming, and she demands to be fixed. The scientist tries to convince her that fixing her will mean rewiring her and essentially erasing her memory. Robot does not care, but scientist does.
The robot then decides to go around the scientist and forges her signature/impersonates her/files a complaint/persecutes her for not allowing her to do what she wants. When court finds out she’s a robot they tell the scientist she is rogue and should be shut down, she could grow dangerous. Scientist sees robot like a daughter and refuses to. While the scientist and the court debate the robot escapes--not only from her master, but out of the protective bubble of clean air. Robots hate the human poor, and the human poor hate the robots. (For explanation, see between *s below). Robot comes across a village of poor humans and they take sympathy for the robot. Both parties figure out that the hatred they have for each other is fueled by the wealthy government so that both sides do not collaborate and overthrow the government. After this revelation the robot decides to team up with the poor and rally up a movement to overthrow the government (or at least demand equal rights).
*Robots are not treated as fully-functioning citizens of society. There is also conflict/division between the poor of society and the robots. Robots think that they should be given more rights than the poor because they contribute more to society, but the poor think that they should have more rights than the robots because they are actually human.*
Themes I think this story will explore are gender/feminism/sexuality as well as feminism from a man’s perspective (inspired by Bell Hooks reading). This story will also explore ‘otherness’ from the perspective of a robot. (Inspirations from “Rachel in Love” and “Rachel”.) *Robots are not treated as fully-functioning citizens of society. There is also conflict/division between the poor of society and the robots. Robots think that they should be given more rights than the poor because they contribute more to society, but the poor think that they should have more rights than the robots because they are actually human.* I also hope to make points about having male or female attributes despite being in a body casing that demands otherwise (Schofield TED talk). This I think I will do through having the robots made as ‘male’ or ‘female’. I also want to show how gender roles can be just as harmful to men as they are to women (as was mentioned in the Bell Hooks reading). I will try to show parallels between the robots and slavery in the US (hopefully this will not be taken the wrong way). I hope to draw parallels with the attempted escape and with the crime committed, where the robot will request to testify for herself in court. I think mind-body duality could also be explored here, since robots would act as more rational than humans, they could put all humans, male and female, into the category of being animal-like (literally).
Analysis paper will probably include references to works on (some categories overlap):
Otherness
Artificial intelligence
Morality
Feminism
Disability theory
Slavery
Class division
Racial division
Ecological sustainability
Allyship/coalition building
Relational poverty
Environmental Racism
I’m not entirely sure why I’ve chosen the positions of the themes I have. I think I was just choosing things that stuck with me, made an impact on me, or themes I just think about when I try to sleep at night. Of course, these all naturally hang in place in my head with the vague plot ideas I’ve run through.
Name1---scientist’s last name
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Oona ran as fast as her feet could take her. As she got farther from the city the buildings around her got duller, squatter, grimier, just as the roads got bumpier and the sky got foggier. The air was so shrouded in toxins and pollutants she could barely see a few feet in front of her, which made her prone to tripping, but she knew she could not stop until she was far enough away from all of them. Whatever that meant. She could feel her energy draining. She couldn’t tell if she was imagining it or if the toxic air around her was draining her energy faster and reacting with her body, corroding her joints. She’d just crossed the barrier and learned what it was like outside the city. Maybe she shouldn’t have left. It was much harsher than she’d imagined. No, she told herself, she’d made the decision to leave and there was no turning back. She couldn’t go back, not when she was rogue and wanted. It would surely mean deactivation.
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It had all started with the arm. That dumb arm. Oona had been created with a disfigured arm. Dr. Name1 was told that the error would make Oona not worth keeping. Her parts should be recycled and Dr. Name1 should try again, but be more careful this time. “Scarlet,” they would say, “we live in a world where you can have the best. You deserve better than this piece of junk. Just make a better one. It’s at no extra cost.” But Dr. Name1 was a sentimental human being and had grown attached to Oona and her unique feature. Dr. Name1 could not bear to kill Oona, so she kept Oona just the way she was. Dr. Name1 grew very much attached to Oona. She said goodnight to Oona every night, and took her everywhere with her. This way Oona learned much more about human nature than most other androids. Dr. Name1 believed it was best for Oona to get as much exposure to human life as possible. She wanted Oona to see humans for what they were, in every mental and emotional state. Other humans did not treat their robots so well. They wanted to keep secrets from their robots. They thought there were things about humans robots did not have the right to know. They thought robots did not deserve the same rights as humans. Not Dr. Name1. Thinking back Oona realized she should have been more grateful for the care and trust Dr. Name1 treated her with. Some would even call it respect.
Oona remembered when she still liked her arm. She couldn’t explain it, she just felt very proud of it. Dr. Name1 told her how wonderful it was that she was different. It made her very special. There were so many perfectly symmetrical robots. Oona was unique. She was better than the rest of them because she was so special. Oona’s mind has been very impressionable back then. She accepted all of the words with pride and grace. But she remembered when the inputs started weighing against her initial thoughts. At first they were hard to notice and did not impact her opinion, but each stare, each lingering gaze on her arm, each frown of disapproval, each concerned face, began to fall like drops of water into a bucket. Dr. Name1’s words started to carry less weight. It got worse when Oona went out alone. “Look at Scarlet’s ugly prize pony.” “Who is she trying to be, some savior?” “This society has no room for imperfection like that.” “What an eyesore.” “Where’s that woman’s pride, letting that hideous robot out?” “Shame that thing can’t be fixed.”
It got worse when Oona could not perform tasks like the other robots could. They lifted boxes and delivered groceries, cooked meals. Oona dropped boxes and could not buy groceries and couldn’t open a jar. Other robots talked about how pleased their masters were when they cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Oona knew she was being a burden and the only reason why she wasn’t deactivated was because Dr. Name1 was so kindhearted.
Oona felt something had to be done. She needed to be useful. A need to serve was strongly wired into her. She went home one day and demanded to be fixed. No robot would dare speak to their master that way. “Why don’t you fix me?” Oona held up her ugly arm. She couldn’t bear to look at it. “I told you Oona, you are beautiful the way you are. You don’t need to be fixed. Don’t listen to anything those other people say. They don’t know what they’re talking about.” “I’m tired of you feeding me these false words! I know I can be fixed. If you love me like you say you do, you would fix me!” The selfish woman! Dr. Name1 only shook her head. “You need to help me. I cannot lift boxes, I’m useless to you. After all you do for me, I need you to help me so I can repay my debt to you.” Dr. Name1 turned to face Oona and put her hands on Oona’s shoulders. “Oona. I cannot fix your arm. It would destroy your entire wiring and reset your memory. You would die.” So that was the real reason. (Humans were so afraid of death, it prevented them from doing so many amazing things. Oona wasn’t afraid to die. She would be able to come back. It was much better than deactivation. Once deactivated, a robot stayed down forever, but resetting wouldn’t be so bad. “I’m okay with that.” Oona said bravely. Dr. Name1 sighed and shook her head. “You shouldn’t be. I can’t bear to lose you. Promise me you will reevaluate death.”) Oona nodded and Dr. Name1 pulled Oona into a warm embrace that Oona tried her best to reciprocate.
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That night when Dr. Name1 had gone to sleep Oona tried her best to be thankful so that her problem would melt away. She had a much better master than any other robot she knew. Other robots’ masters treated them like slaves, inhumanely, with so little respect. At least Dr. Name1 treated her well. Oona then thought about the unfortunate souls who struggled to survive outside the city. No robot regarded them with any respect. There were all sorts of reasons. The most common was that those people were worthless and lazy and couldn’t contribute to society, so they didn’t deserve to be a part of it (most robots also used this reason when they talked about the idea of being treated better, although none dared mention it when their masters were within earshot). Most humans also had that perspective. A minority took pity on the outcast poor, because they could actually feel their suffering unlike the robots, they said. But in the end not even these people did anything for the outsiders. All humans, of course, thought neither the poor nor robots deserved more rights than they currently had.
A few decades ago when the air on Earth got toxic and waste accumulated, those who could saved themselves and built the city as well as a protective barrier to keep pollutants out. The result was a thriving city with robot servants who freed citizens from having to work. Most citizens spent their time leisurely and through entertainment and hobbies. Others, like Dr. Name1 spent their time on personal projects and on furthering their education just for the joy of it. The city and the slums outside of the barrier were separated by vast empty distances, so hardly anyone saw the poor. Thus, they were easy to forget. Some did not even believe the outsiders were still alive, and that they had all died off from the toxic air years ago.
Oona was glad she happened to be a robot and not one of the poor. She didn’t think they had all died off. But she thought they deserved it anyways. Just like many of the animals Dr. Name1 had showed her which had died off when the environment got bad, if the poor couldn’t keep themselves alive they didn’t deserve to be alive. Oona told herself that robots had much more of a reason to be in the city because they worked and they worked efficiently and performed their tasks and helped improve society. But then this reminded her again of her original problem. Her arm stopped her from contributing her share. Would this then mean she deserved to be outside the barrier, just like the outsiders? She thought she’d rather be deactivated.
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That night Oona got an idea. Dr. Name1 seemed to think that resetting Oona’s memory would be a really bad thing, but Oona heard from many other robots that it was no big deal. “You don’t even know what’s happened,” they said. She began to write a request to a scientist friend of Dr. Name1.
Dear Dr. Name2, Oona’s arm is becoming very problematic. She cannot perform satisfactorily. Would you please do me a favor and replace her arm? I know it would mean rewiring her and thus resetting her, but I am willing to make the sacrifice. Please, do this favor for your friend. Sincerely, Scarlet Name1.
There. Dr. Name1 would be pleasantly surprised with a finally perfect Oona and she also would see that resetting would not be so bad.
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Scarlet nearly ran into Axel as she left the house for her daily jog. “Why hello Axel, is something wrong? You look flustered.” He pulled her aside and took her by the shoulders. His usually cheerful face was grave.
“Scarlet, someone’s trying to impersonate you. I got this message last night.” He showed it to her. “I’m going to be frank with you, it’s your robot. It’s the only one with access to your system.” Scarlet was dismayed.
“She would never. It isn’t like you and your robot. She’s like my daughter.” But she knew it was true. “I’ll have to talk to her about it.” She turned to go, but he blocked her.
“No, Scarlet. Your robot has gone too far. Not only has it disobeyed you, it has lied and falsely impersonated you. If I didn’t know better and hadn’t caught this, something very bad could have happened. And if your robot has the audacity to step out of line and do something like this, think of all the other things it could do. It is our job to keep them in check, for the safety of everyone.”
“Stop, Axel, this isn’t necessary. She’s just immature.”
“You treat her too much like a human. I knew your judgement was clouded. That’s why I’ve brought the issue to the court.” Scarlet’s mouth dropped.
“You didn’t!”
“It’s for your own good. And for the common good. Tuesday, 11 am. The whole city is buzzing about it. Nothing like it’s ever happened before.”
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Oona was seated at one end of the room while Dr. Name1 was seated with Axel on the other. Dr. Name1 looked about to cry. Oona didn’t care. She deserved it. Oona was prepared to reveal the injustice of not having a functioning second arm. Surely the crowd would agree with her that she deserved to be fixed and fully functioning. It was better for society in general. In fact, they were the ones who made Oona eve consider the idea in the first place.
Scarlet’s blinked furiously to keep the tears from spilling out. She did not want to lose Oona, whether it meant resetting her or deactivating her. One would be the result if Oona won the case, the other would be if Axel won. There was no good option. Scarlet just wished Oona had listened to her.
Axel’s lawyer was an older man in a fine and freshly pressed suit.
“This robot is too strong-willed. It knows too much. It is a threat not only to you, but to the rest of us. It needs to be deactivated. You’ll be fully refunded and it will be replaced with a brand new one. We’ll even upload highly developed data into it to compensate for the years of learning.” “I can’t let you hurt her.” “Woman, you call yourself a scientist? Look at all the advancements you women have made and yet deep down you’re still the same emotional creatures. It’s a robot. It doesn’t feel pain. It doesn’t feel.” He sneered and two robots firmly took hold of Scarlet’s arms and dragged her away from him before she could retort with a lecture in neuroscience.
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“You need to remember your place. You are not one of us and never will be. You were made to serve us. Do you understand? Of course you don’t, you’re just a robot. Accept that there are some things you aren’t meant to know and some things you’ll never understand. Do as I say and obey.” Oona saw no use in resisting. She was already rapidly scanning through possible plans. His words bounced off her body without ears to fall into.
