"A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." -Isaac Asimov
"Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." -President Eisenhower
As Eli and the service robot walked to the planetarium, they discussed how this experience would benefit the service robot, as it does not compute why such an exercise as viewing a planetarium presentation is required. The campus was busy as students, professors, as well as friends, and family, walked lazily through this pristine parklike area. While crossing the Elizabeth River Trail, they hear a commotion.
"What the heck!?" Eli tried to understand why two MicBots were chasing a vehicle on wheels. This was not your everyday sight. All legal vehicles were hovercars like his. This one had a mist flowing from a pipe in the back of it and the loud engine strained as the driver tried to increase speed. Pedestrians reacted quickly getting out of the way of the approaching vehicle. The two MicBots reached the side of the noisy vehicle and one of them reached down, grabbed a tire, and ripped it right off the axle. He tossed it aside as the vehicle leaned into the missing appendage. Sparks flew from the metal hitting the pavement. The service robot saw the wheel flying in the air. It observed the object moving toward the human Eli, and found that it must take action so that this object would not harm Eli.
His logic processors engaged emergency speed to calculate that moving Eli away from the object would have a 95 percent chance of a positive outcome versus trying to impede the forward motion of the object, which could result in harm to Eli at a 45 percent chance. The service robot moved quickly and pushed against Eli's chest with enough force to cause him to move back five feet just as the sharp torn axle on the wheel hit its cranial plate hard enough for the metal to penetrate the protective covering. As the wheel hit the ground and bounced away to tumble into a parked hovercar, the robot slid against the concrete. When it stopped skidding, it was motionless.
***
Earlier that morning, the curtain in Eli's bedroom rustled from the wind blowing through an open window, bringing him from that moment between wakefulness and restful sleep. He slowly opened his eyes to a room full of typical teenage fare. Posters of bands and the latest movie star action hero adorned the walls. Dirty clothes on the floor from last night's hurried disrobing before crashing into his sheets, and his backpack with his homework waiting for him to complete over the weekend were scattered around the room. His first thought was that he had to complete his homework for Stellar Cartography in his senior class. It would require him to get up and do something about it. Reluctantly, he swung his feet out of his bed to the floor in front of him.
He made a loud woeful noise as he stretched and yawned with his mouth wide open. The stretch felt good and emboldened him to stand as the last remnants of sleep dissipated from his clearing mind. He scratched his scalp under his unruly thick curls. He was a typical thinly built 17-year-old standing at 6 feet and three inches tall. As he prepared for his morning shower, he heard his mother Sophia giving a list of groceries for the service robot to complete the Saturday shopping. Their family had three hovercars, and the only one to which he had access was the same one they used to transport the service robot when he had errands to run. He walked out to the kitchen before his shower.
"Hey, Mom. Good morning," he said as he entered the room.
"Hey, you look like you had a good sleep." Sophia was in her organizing mode looking at the holographic display on her smartwatch. He knew he needed to get to the point.
"So, I have some homework to do. I'm gonna have to go to the planetarium at the university today. Can you have the groceries delivered by drone instead of using the service bot? "
"This order is too large for drone delivery. Anyway, I like the way the robot picks fruit and vegetables after I adjusted the programming. So much more personal than those store service robots." She stopped what she was doing and turned to him to afford him her undivided attention. "So ... is that your way of letting me know you need to use the hovercar?"
"Yeah, I can go when the service robot goes shopping. Is that okay?" He gave her a look that he knew always appealed to his mother when he was asking for something.
She laughed at him knowing that he was trying to manipulate her with his puppy dog eyes. "I don't care as long as I can have these groceries for dinner. I'm cooking tonight."
"Great! If you're cooking, I'll make sure we get home in time. I'm just gonna shower real quick. Don't let him leave without me," he said, already heading back to the bathroom.
"I still have other rooms to shop for so I'll let you know when I'm done."
Eli went to complete his shower. At least that was out of the way. He certainly wouldn't call himself a great student. He dabbled in various aspects of social life in school and even joined the choir and the chess club. He didn't belong to any particular social group and kind of wanted to talk to everyone and sit at all the different tables at lunch. But he liked to stay out of trouble when it came to dealing with his mom and dad. If he didn't get anything else done this weekend, he would get his homework done.
After his shower, Eli checked in with his mother who had completed her list so he headed out to the hovercar with the robot. He could hear its actuators engage as it walked behind him. It was five feet five inches tall and had a short slow stride so Eli was way ahead of it as he approached the vehicle, which was a self-driving hovercar, powered electrically by the onboard battery. Eli unplugged the connection and closed the charging port before entering the cabin big enough for six passengers. There was a storage area for the groceries behind the available seating. He sat down and put on his seat belt.
"C'mon robot, I ain't got all day." Eli thought that it would be nice to get an upgrade to the walking speed like they had in the newer models. At least he wouldn't be waiting for him to get in. The service robot gingerly entered the vehicle and sat down, sinking into the white artificial leather seating. The two doors slid close simultaneously with a quiet hissing sound. Eli accessed the control panel.
"Voiceprint, Eli," he said to the onboard computer. He had to activate the vehicle to take his commands.
"Voiceprint verified" the human-sounding voice answered.
"Pretlow Planetarium," Eli instructed.
"Did you say Pretlow Planetarium?" the disembodied voice verified.
"Yes, I sure did." Eli was losing his patience.
"Estimated time of arrival is 17 minutes with current traffic conditions." The hovercar responded as it backed out of the driveway and onto the road smoothly.
"Thanks," he said sarcastically. "So ..." he turned to the service robot. "You could just drop me off at the university, but why don't you come into the planetarium with me?"
"To what end would I visit a planetarium? I can download the full configuration of the night sky if there is a need." The robot's voice also sounded human though one could not decide if it was masculine or feminine. "That information is not required to accomplish my currently assigned tasks."
"I know, I know. But you could actually see what it's like to just look up in the sky and receive the information through whatever you use for eyes instead of just downloading data. It's a different kind of experience."
"My optic receptors are operating at 100% efficiency. Is this a calibration program?"
"No, not a calibration. Just an experience. I would be interested in what you perceive through your 'optic receptors'. Can you see the stars the same way I do? What do you think about when you look up at the night sky?"
"I have not been required to look up at the night sky in the accomplishment ..."
"'Of your currently assigned tasks', I know." Eli interrupted. "Well, this project has me looking up there for the accomplishment of my homework. I'm supposed to understand what the constellations are and how they got their names. I honestly don't know why they teach this old archaic information. I don't know how this would come in handy when I get a job. It's not like I'm going to be flying a spaceship or anything."
"The constellations are used as a navigation system much like the sailors of early seafaring nations used them to navigate the seas. Stellar Cartography also takes into consideration the rotation of the planets around the sun while it is rotating around the center of the galaxy. It also takes into consideration the movement of all of the stars in the galaxy. It has been beneficial to learn this skill to build an import-export organization to allow trade with Mars, Enceladus, and Europa."
"What are you doing, recruiting for a cargo line? It's homework, I have the right to complain."
"Complaining about a task you are assigned to complete does not serve you."
"You know, I'm having second thoughts about bringing you along." Eli turned to look out the window as the hovercar silently navigated Granby Street. There was a lawnmower hovering over its assigned yard trimming the grass to his right as they moved through this residential area. Trees lined the four-lane boulevard covering the manicured sidewalks on either side with flowers blooming in the grass in the partition between each direction of traffic. He figured he'd take the robot's advice and not mope about the homework since he had to do it anyway. He looked up at the cloudless sky and wondered if he would be able to get to the beach today. The sun was shining low, sending a crimson glow across the horizon.
"We are approaching your destination." The hovercar interrupted his reverie. "Select one of the five parking choices that will automatically bill your active account. Which parking selection from the available choices would you prefer?"
Eli picked the closest parking garage at 43rd and Elkhorn, which required them to walk to Pretlow Planetarium.
"So are you coming with me or not." he turned to the robot.
"As you have selected a parking location and have already charged the account, I find no reason to refuse your request."
"Your enthusiasm inspires me to take the homework so much more seriously."
"According to my programming, you have just used sarcasm to amuse yourself. Is that also meant to be a slight toward my statement?"
"Take it how you want it. C'mon, let's go."
***
"My robot!" Eli yelled. He picked himself up and ran over to the damaged automaton. "Mom's not gonna like this." Eli could see that a shadow washed over him as one of the eight and a half-foot MicBots walked over to him. His heavy steps caused the ground to shake, as he grew closer.
"Is this your service robot?" it asked in its robotic voice.
"Yeah, you guys damaged my personal property." Eli held his hand up to block the sun shining behind this giant of a robot.
"This unit is not relevant to this incident and will not require being held as evidence. Remove this scum from this public space or you will receive a citation for littering."
"Wha, are you kidding me?" Eli stood looking up at the robot with his hands to his side, clearly losing his temper. He heard the derogatory word "scum" used to indicate the service robot. It stood for "scientifically constructed undesirable machine". The MicBots did not consider the service robots equals, referring to them as a machine rather than giving them the equivalent nomenclature of "robot".
"I am not kidding you." the MicBot spoke in a monotone, "I do not kid."
"Whatever, MicBot," he acquiesced, "I'll move it, just give me a moment before you go writing citations."
"Thank you, citizen. Have a good day." The huge MicBot walked over to the wheel and easily picked it up. Then it moved to add the debris to the pile of the crashed vehicle. Eli could see that the other MicBot was handcuffing two men as they leaned against the rubble. He thought he had seen the older man before, but couldn't place him. With the damage he saw to the grounds and the automated systems they had crashed into, he imagined these guys were in some serious trouble. Eli picked up the service robot and positioned it like a firefighter's carry over his shoulder as he somberly dragged him to the vehicle.
"Mom's really not gonna like this."