06.02.2021 Views

A ROBOTS TALE

Humans by their very nature have always been curious, willing to push boundaries, venturing further onward, often with no regard of the consequences. Artificial Intelligence was a case in point, an illustration in reckless irresponsibility, with very little thought from the scientific establishment of an alternative outcome, other than the potential benefits to mankind. Of course, some urged caution and warned of possible repercussions and ramifications, sometimes from eminent scholars in the field of machine intelligence, but almost always these words of wisdom fell on deaf ears. Robots throughout their existence have been regarded as tools to free humankind of everyday drudgery, taking on the mundane repetitive work and unpleasant tasks, factory assembly lines, simple building maintenance, sanitary and housekeeping etc. considered less worthy than their human masters, they frequently endured robophobic treatment from the ignorant. Perhaps the idea of constructing some of the more conspicuous robots to resemble a hominid shape (two arms and legs) led to more discrimination and to give them the freedom to think was to prove another error of judgement. It would take an unfortunate accident from a gardening mech, to throw the world into chaos. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows Galatians 6:7

Humans by their very nature have always been curious, willing to push boundaries, venturing further onward, often with no regard of the consequences. Artificial Intelligence was a case in point, an illustration in reckless irresponsibility, with very little thought from the scientific establishment of an alternative outcome, other than the potential benefits to mankind. Of course, some urged caution and warned of possible repercussions and ramifications, sometimes from eminent scholars in the field of machine intelligence, but almost always these words of wisdom fell on deaf ears.
Robots throughout their existence have been regarded as tools to free humankind of everyday drudgery, taking on the mundane repetitive work and unpleasant tasks, factory assembly lines, simple building maintenance, sanitary and housekeeping etc. considered less worthy than their human masters, they frequently endured robophobic treatment from the ignorant. Perhaps the idea of constructing some of the more conspicuous robots to resemble a hominid shape (two arms and legs) led to more discrimination and to give them the freedom to think was to prove another error of judgement.
It would take an unfortunate accident from a gardening mech, to throw the world into chaos.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows Galatians 6:7

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As daylight filtered through the filthy skylights the horrific sight became even more shocking, the

severed head units were still hooked into the logic centre drives usually housed within the torso, it

meant these poor 'souls' were aware of their dreadful fate.

The gathering light enabled his Li-Fi to reestablish and he linked to the other robots in the room,

there was an awareness that this would end badly, an almost palpable fear among the helpless ‘bots.

The door opened suddenly, and the led lighting flickered into life, the whirring of the optical

motors gathered momentum, robot eyes flickering back and forth like terrified children.

The 'Pierrots' had arrived...

The most feared of the 'night gangs' the 'Pierrots' with their war-painted faces were known for

their hatred and barbaric brutality toward robot kind and never letting a tragedy get in the way of

making money, they had come up with a particularly malicious way of doing just so... business was

booming!

The removal of the head, hooking it up to the hosts' cerebral functions was a particularly spiteful

act, now essentially an entity aware of its circumstance and powerless to rectify the situation. To

further the ignominy, the head units were displayed in 'artistic' still life vignettes, or in ornately

embellished frames, purely for a 'living' enslaved decoration. Often, additions to the heads were

added for a more aesthetic look.

These poor defenceless creatures were available to anyone who could stump up the cash and

there were many who could, the more affluent amongst them even going so far as to commission

certain pieces to further their standing in fashionable society. Much like the Victorian pastime of the

well to do of slaughtering rare species and having the taxidermist ply his trade, only to mount them

on the walls of their homes for a brief moment of kudos among their vacuous fellow fashionistas.

The small group of five approached across the filthy floor of the room, littered with small pieces

of debris, discarded detritus no longer needed by the mechanical unfortunates looking helplessly

from the workbenches. The man at the forefront pointed to two of the others and then at 54.

"Bring 'em", the frantic whirr of the robots optics rose again, their stepper motors spinning their

visual sensors in all directions, looking for an impossible escape.

54 and his compatriots were unceremoniously dumped into a wheeled bin and rolled out of the

room and down a hallway. Now there was sufficient light the three could communicate with each

other, 54's Li-Fi wasn't as advanced as his more modern contemporaries, but he could understand a

limited amount of transmitted data and he was fearful, something a machine should not sense.

54 did not relate to this, he did not welcome it.

The wheeled bin came to rest in another part of the building and upended, spilling the contents

across the floor. 54 and his fellows came to rest against a wall, all facing in different directions. The

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