by Peter Brown
Her head was sitting atop an electronic box that powered her computer brain. Roz still had her thoughts and her voice, but without a body she couldn’t move, so she sat there, completely helpless, and waited for the Makers to appear.
The Makers did not appear. Instead, Roz heard soft footsteps, and an old woman appeared. She was elegant, with white hair and red lipstick and black clothes. Flowery perfume wafted behind her. Every detail about the woman was neat and precise, except for her fingers, which were smudged with dark grease.
“Welcome back, Roz,” said the woman, wiping her hands on a rag. “I wasn’t sure I’d get your computer brain working again. You took quite a spill out there. How do you feel?”
Roz just stared.
“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” said the woman. “I know you’re not a normal robot. Everyone knows. You made that perfectly clear when you led the RECOs on that wild chase through the city.”
Roz remained silent.
“I watched the video of the chase. I don’t know how you got those pigeons to attack our airships, but I’m more interested in the goose. You seemed to be speaking with it. Can you explain this to me?”
“The goose is my son,” said Roz at last.
“Is that so?” The woman arched an eyebrow. “Roz, I repaired your computer brain so I could talk with you. I want to know how you came to be this way. So let’s talk. I’ll begin by introducing myself. My name is Dr. Molovo. A long time ago, I fell in love with computers and robots, and I created a company called TechLab Industries. Since then, millions of robots have been produced right here in this factory. And I’ve designed every last one of them.” Dr. Molovo leaned forward. “Roz, I designed you.”
CHAPTER 80
THE BEAUTIFUL GLITCH
Deep inside the robot factory, Dr. Molovo was sitting with ROZZUM unit 7134. Roz was now just a robotic head, but for the moment, her head was all she needed. The robot and the Designer had many questions for each other, and they sat there, for hours, having conversations like these.
“What happened to you on that island?” said Dr. Molovo. “Tell me everything.”
The robot told her everything. She described how she awoke on a rocky shore, and how her only desire was to survive, and how difficult life was in that harsh place.
“To survive in the wild I had to become wild,” said Roz. “So I studied the wild animals, I mimicked their behavior, and eventually, I learned to speak their language.”
“Incredible,” said Dr. Molovo. “You’re programmed to learn different languages, and you’re programmed to work with animals, but I never imagined you could learn to speak with animals.”
“Although I could speak to the animals, they still did not trust me,” said Roz. “So I tried to win them over with kindness. Animals ran from me and laughed at me and attacked me, and I always responded with kindness. It was a good strategy. But the real key to my survival came in the form of a gosling. When I adopted Brightbill everything changed. I was finally accepted by the animals. I was surrounded by friends and family. I was home.”
“Am I the only wild robot?” said Roz.
“I don’t know,” said Dr. Molovo. “Many defective robots have been returned over the years. It’s possible some were like you. Until we destroyed them.”
“Will you destroy me?”
The woman sighed. “Roz, people are afraid of you. They saw you fleeing through the city and they think you’re dangerous. They want to know the danger is gone. And so, when we’re finished speaking, I’ll have to destroy you.”
“I am not dangerous,” said the robot. “That part of my programming has never failed. Even if I wanted to be violent, I could not.”
“Have you ever wanted to be violent?”
“No. Every problem has a peaceful solution. Violence is unnecessary.”
“I wish it were that simple,” said Dr. Molovo. “It’s an amazing time to be alive, but there is still crime, there are still wars. Sometimes violence is unavoidable.”
“Is that why you have the RECOs?” said Roz.
“The RECOs are designed to do all sorts of unpleasant jobs. Some of those jobs require the use of force.”
“Do you ever worry they might use force against you?”
“The RECOs have never given me a single reason to worry,” said Dr. Molovo. “But you have.”
“How did you escape from Hilltop Farm?” said Dr. Molovo, leaning forward.
Roz didn’t answer.
“Let me guess. The children helped.”
Roz just stared.
“They’re not in any trouble. If I were them I’d have helped you too.”
“They are good children,” said Roz finally.
“And yet you left them,” said Dr. Molovo.
“Leaving was not easy. I care about everyone on Hilltop Farm, and I did my best to look after them all. But I did not belong there. And when the children discovered who I really was, they agreed. They wanted me to go home, so they helped me escape.”
“Why do I fear water? Why am I female? Why was my body designed this way? Why does my computer brain know some things and not others?”
“Why, why, why!” Dr. Molovo laughed. “Why do you need all the answers?”
“You programmed me to learn,” said Roz. “I am simply trying to learn about myself.”
The woman shifted in her seat. “Those questions are more complicated than you realize. There are countless little considerations that go into designing any robot. I have to determine the robot’s size and strength and appearance. I have to give the robot the proper programming and computer brain. I have to predict how people will react to the robot. I have to imagine everything that could possibly go wrong. But all my decisions are guided by a single question: What is the robot’s purpose?”
Quietly, Roz asked her Designer, “What is my purpose?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Roz, but you don’t have some grand purpose. Like all the other ROZZUM robots, you were designed to work for humans. That’s it.”
The robot thought for a moment. Then she said, “I once suggested to a group of wild animals that my purpose might simply be to help others.”
The Designer thought for a moment. Then she said, “When you put it that way, your purpose does sound rather grand, doesn’t it?”
“How would you feel if someone said you could never go home to your family?” asked Roz.
Dr. Molovo smirked. “Nobody would say that to me. I’ve spent my whole life creating robots. I never had time for a family.”
“You created me,” said Roz. “In a way, I am your child and you are my mother.”
“I am not your mother,” said Dr. Molovo flatly.
“I am not your mother,” repeated Roz. “Those were my very first words to Brightbill. But I was wrong.”
The woman stroked her chin. “Up on the rooftop, before you fell, what were your very last words to Brightbill?”
“I told him I loved him.”
“How do you know your feelings are real?” said the woman.
“How do you know your feelings are real?” said the robot.
“Your brain might be defective,” said Dr. Molovo, “but it certainly is fascinating.”
“I did not choose to be this way,” said Roz. “But this is who I am. You would be wild too if you had been born and raised in the wilderness. Maybe I am defective, maybe everything I have experienced is the result of a glitch. But if so, what a beautiful glitch! I have my own thoughts and feelings. I made a life for myself. I have a son. Brightbill is somewhere out there, right now, wondering if he will ever see his mother again.
“Dr. Molovo, you do not have to destroy me. You can fix me and I will return to my island and this city will never see me again, I promise. I just want to go home. Please, help me.”
There were tears in Dr. Molovo’s eyes. The old woman had heard enough. Without a word, she reached behind Roz’s head and pressed the button.
Click.
&nbs
p; CHAPTER 81
THE MELTDOWN
Throughout the city, humans stopped what they were doing and pulled out their electronic devices. Each screen was showing the same video of a defective robot’s broken body. ROZZUM 7134 was etched into the torso.
A blazing beam of light filled the picture, and the robot parts turned bright orange. Then they began to melt. The limbs, the torso, the head, everything melted, and in a flash, our robot was reduced to a puddle.
Words appeared on each screen.
The Defective Robot Has Been Destroyed.
CHAPTER 82
THE SECRET
Dr. Molovo lived in a luxurious apartment that was built right into the robot factory. Art and books and leather furniture filled the rooms. Classical music always seemed to be playing softly in the background. As you might expect, she had a robot butler who cooked and cleaned and made sure everything was exactly as she liked it. Dr. Molovo’s home was a comfortable place to grow old.
The woman was standing in her living room, gazing at the city through a wall of windows. The sky was cloudy, but her mind was clear. Destroying the ROZZUM unit was the correct thing to do.
However, Dr. Molovo had a secret.
A wooden door opened, and in walked the butler. He was carrying a limp robot in his arms. It was Dr. Molovo’s newest creation, a special project she’d been tinkering with for years. And the time had come to bring this robot to life.
“Put her over there,” said the woman. The butler carefully laid the robot upon the soft cushions of a sofa. Then he turned and marched out the door.
Dr. Molovo walked across the room. She stared down at the robot for a while, admiring her own handiwork. Finally, she leaned in close and said, “Wake up, Roz.”
CHAPTER 83
THE NEW ROBOT
The robot heard classical music, she smelled flowery perfume, and when her eyes opened she saw a wrinkled face.
“Hello again, Roz,” said the old woman. “How do you feel?”
“Hello again, Dr. Molovo. I feel… different.”
“You are different.”
“What have you done?”
“I destroyed ROZZUM unit 7134,” said the woman. “That was the only way to make people feel safe again. What nobody knows is that I transferred your old mind into this new body. I could get in a lot of trouble for saving you, but I wasn’t about to destroy that remarkable mind of yours.”
The robot was speechless.
“You know, Roz, you should really be thanking me,” said Dr. Molovo, arching an eyebrow.
“Thank you!” said Roz. “Thank you very much!”
“You’re very welcome!” The woman chuckled.
Roz walked over to a framed mirror on the wall and studied her new body. It resembled her old body, but the proportions were slightly different. She looked stronger, she felt tougher. And there were other differences.
“I have no button!” she said, feeling the back of her head. “And I have no unit number.”
“You’ve outgrown those things,” said Dr. Molovo.
“If I am not ROZZUM unit 7134, who am I?”
“I think you know who you are.”
The robot’s computer brain didn’t take long. She looked into the mirror and said, “I am Roz.”
The old woman smiled and nodded.
“I appreciate all that you have done,” said Roz. “But I worry that my friends and family will no longer recognize me.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can convince them of who you are,” said Dr. Molovo. “Speaking of your family, there’s someone here to see you.”
CHAPTER 84
THE NEW MOTHER
Brightbill was there when his mother smashed against the pavement. He watched as her body parts were loaded into an airship. He followed the ship all the way back to the robot factory and perched himself up on the roof, but he didn’t know what to do next.
Strutter stopped by to check on Brightbill. She encouraged him to fly home. But the goose wasn’t ready to let go. His little heart still hoped his mother would come back from the dead somehow. He’d seen it happen before. As the hours passed, however, his hope was starting to fade.
And then one of the roof windows automatically slid open. The goose heard gentle music coming from inside the building. He fluttered through the window and followed the music down a hallway to a wooden door. The door opened, and the goose stepped in.
Brightbill waddled past tall bookshelves and leather furniture and into the middle of a large room. An old woman was sitting in a chair and a robot was standing by a mirror. The goose didn’t recognize either of them. And when the robot rushed toward him, Brightbill squawked, “Stay back!” and scrambled away. Around the room he went, squawking and flapping, until he settled onto a table in the corner, looking lost and afraid.
The robot stayed where she was.
“Brightbill, it is me, your mother.”
The goose just stared.
“I know I look different on the outside,” the robot went on, “but on the inside I am the same. I still speak the language of the animals, and I still remember every detail of our life together. I remember sitting around the fire in our home on the island. I remember the first time you took flight. We were up on the grassy ridge, and you stretched out your wings and suddenly you were floating on the wind! But then you flopped back into the grass. You must have flopped into the grass a hundred times that day. And I remember visiting the robot gravesite together. We talked about life and death. It was a tough conversation, but a good one…”
As the robot continued to speak, the goose began to relax. She certainly did act and sound like his mother. But Brightbill wasn’t yet convinced.
“If you’re really my mother,” he said, “tell me the name of our home.”
“The Nest.”
“Who’s my best friend?”
“Chitchat. She is a squirrel. She talks a lot.”
“How old was I when you adopted me?”
“You were zero. Actually, you were less than zero. I mean, you were still in your egg, but I could hear you peeping.”
And with those bumbling words, Brightbill knew the truth. “Oh, Mama! It’s really you!” The goose fluttered across the room and into his mother’s arms. The arms were new and unfamiliar, but they were also gentle and comforting.
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you, son.”
From the other side of the room came the sound of sniffles. Our friends turned and saw Dr. Molovo wiping tears from her eyes. “I have no idea what you two were saying,” she said. “But that was wonderful.”
CHAPTER 85
THE GUESTS
After traveling in secret, after running in fear, our friends were safe at last. But their problems weren’t over yet. Although Roz had a brand-new body, she had the same old mind, and most humans simply weren’t ready for an emotional, curious, wild robot. There was only one place where she could be her true self, and it was still far, far away.
“Dr. Molovo, you have already been so kind to me and my son,” said the robot. “But I must ask you for one last favor.”
The woman sat back in her chair.
“Could you take us home in your airship?”
The woman laughed. “Well, of course I will! How else would you get to an island in the middle of the ocean?”
Time and again, Roz had dreamed of flying back to her island in an airship. But she had never thought it would actually happen. Until now.
“It’s no trouble,” the woman went on. “We can have you home in a few hours. But I insist that you and Brightbill stay a while, here in my apartment. You both deserve some peace and comfort, and I’d love the company.”
There was no arguing with Dr. Molovo, and our friends agreed to stay awhile.
The robot butler took care of everything and everyone in the apartment, and that included guests. Roz felt funny accepting help from a robot, but Brightbill happily soaked up the attention. The butler fed him fantastic salads
made from exotic, leafy plants. The butler placed a little pool in the living room so he could swim whenever he liked. The butler built a cozy bed that was just the right size and shape for the young goose. Brightbill had never been so comfortable.
Dr. Molovo divided her time between her guests and her work. She would sit around chatting with Roz and Brightbill, and then suddenly head down to the factory with some urgent task. She had to design new robots, she had to supervise the Makers and the RECOs, she had to manage all of TechLab Industries. Even at her old age, Dr. Molovo was still consumed by a passion for robots. “If you love your job it never feels like work,” she’d say, smiling and strolling out the door.
When the host was working, the guests had the apartment to themselves. Roz spent hours browsing the bookshelves. She read about art and science and the history of robotics. Brightbill waddled from room to room and explored every corner of the sprawling apartment. But their favorite activity was to stand by the windows, gaze across the city, and survey the incredible sights.
“I can see the bridge where Strutter tracked me down!” said Brightbill. “And that’s the building where I first met Graybeak. And there’s the roof where you fell.”
“Look, far in the distance, another spaceship is taking off!” said Roz. “It could be flying to the Space Station, or the moon, or beyond.”
“I think that skyscraper is actually a greenhouse,” said Brightbill. “I flew past it and saw nothing but plants inside.”
Roz and Brightbill enjoyed their time in Dr. Molovo’s apartment. But they missed their friends and the wilderness and the island. After a few days, the guests were growing restless. They were ready to go home.