The Girl With Acrylic Eyes

by Greg Krojac

  She counted to three – unnecessarily so (it was something that she had seen humans do) – and pushed her back against the bottom of the spacecraft. At first, nothing seemed to be happening but then she heard a creaking noise. For a moment she was worried that it was her own body making the noise but was relieved to identify it as coming from the landing shuttle. Her movements were smooth as the space vehicle gradually inched itself up and away from the tube and Coppélia’s body found enough space available to be able to take up a crouching position. Unlike a human, she had no need to take a breather and maintained a steady fluent movement as the craft found itself being lifted higher and higher and the tube travelled lower and lower down the stricken leg. Suddenly, the weight of the spacecraft vanished as it passed its centre of gravity and toppled backwards, causing the planet’s surface to create a silent sand explosion as the deGrasse Tyson settled on its side. Coppélia, now standing upright and looking none the worse for wear after her exertions, looked at the metal tube as it settled, liberated from the main landing shuttle.

  She checked her energy levels and prepared herself for her final recharge before setting off back to the quicksand.

  25

  Eight hundred and eighty-two Earth Days after leaving the deGrasse Tyson, Coppélia arrived at the quicksand. The weight of the tube would have been no problem, but it had been impossible to carry it such a long distance with only one useful arm, so she’d rolled it in front of her all the way from the landing shuttle. Slung over her left shoulder she had the laser-cutter (which she had recharged whilst she herself was recharging) and the two shovels, all three hanging from makeshift straps fashioned out of now redundant electrical cabling. She let the cutter and shovels drop from her shoulder and laid them on the ground, being careful to keep them away from the quicksand. Then she checked her data banks so that she could start the next stage of her project at precisely the right spot.

  On her previous visit, she’d been sucked down right at the edge of the quicksand patch, but that had happened mainly because she hadn’t expected the hazard to be there. This time she was better prepared. She lifted the tube by one of its sides with her right hand, applying just enough force that it couldn’t slip from her grasp, and placed it on its side on the quicksand, quickly raising it into a vertical position. She watched as it sunk a little into the quicksand. She then pushed down and forwards on the upturned rim with calculated force and smiled to herself as she saw some sand overflowing from the tube as it descended. The plan had been good in theory and it’s always good to see theory successfully turn into practice.

  She kept pushing the tube down and once she was satisfied that the tube had settled on whatever was underneath the quicksand, she took a shovel, climbed onto the compacted sand inside the tube and started digging, throwing the excess sand far from the tube. When the tube had been half emptied of sand, she hauled herself out and fetched the laser-cutter, slinging it over her shoulder again. She didn’t yet know if she was going to need it, but better safe than sorry.

  After digging for about an Earth hour, she was finally standing inside the empty tube and could see beneath her feet what had saved her from burial.

  Whatever it was had a smooth white surface. She wasn’t sure what material it was made of, but it certainly wasn’t a natural structure. There was only one way to find out what it was. To unearth the whole object would clearly be impossible, especially in her condition so she decided to see if she could bore into it. She had quite literally uncovered a mystery and wanted to know more.

  The laser-cutter found it tough going, but Coppélia managed to guide it into cutting a ring within whose diameter she could fit. She looked at the resistance gauge on the instrument and was overjoyed when the resistance disappeared and a white disc dropped inside whatever the object was. She peered into the darkness inside the hole but it was pitch black, so she adjusted her luminosity compensation levels until she could see clearly.

  She dropped into the object and landed softly.

  The interior walls were a pleasant shade of pastel blue. It was definitely a manufactured object, although Coppélia had no idea by whom. She looked around and was disturbed to see what appeared to be two human skeletons. That was bad enough but there appeared to be one crew-member – if this was indeed some kind of spacecraft – who was dead but hadn’t decomposed. Coppélia could think of only one reason for that – the third crew-member wasn’t human but was an android. Obviously, he had run out of power and deactivated, suffering a different but just as final fate to the apparently human crew, who would have died of starvation, thirst, lack of oxygen, or perhaps all three. Their uniforms were still more or less intact and Coppélia could just about make out their names as etched onto their name-badges; Holly, Simon, and Franz.

  Coppélia examined the ship. It was very strange, little more than an empty shell devoid of anything but the three bodies. She moved closer to get a better look at the skeletons, checking the pelvises, and confirming that they were indeed human skeletons – one male and one female. Had humans visited the planet before her? It certainly seemed so but the Earth that she had left behind didn’t possess the technology to do so. There was nothing she could do for the crew so she climbed back out of the spaceship and started the long trek back to the deGrasse Tyson.

  Eight hundred and eighty-two Earth days later she arrived back at the landing shuttle. After a lot of thought, she came to a decision. She wouldn’t send a message to Mission Control about her discovery but would tell them about what she had found when they eventually came to rescue her. That was something that she felt ought to be a face-to-face conversation.

  26

  A young girl, maybe six or seven years old, tugged on her mother’s sleeve and pointed.

  “Who’s that lady, mummy?”

  Her mother, deep in conversation on her video phone, tried to ignore her daughter.

  “Sssh. Mummy’s talking to her friend.”

  The little girl was insistent, and wouldn’t be ignored.

  “There’s a strange lady, mummy. There’s lots of her.”

  The child’s mother knew that her daughter, like all children of her age, had superhuman powers of endurance and wouldn’t stop tugging on her sleeve and interrupting her until she paid the girl the attention she craved. She addressed the screen of her phone.

  “I’m sorry, Cleo. I’d better see what she wants. I’ll get no peace until I do.”

  Sarah turned to her daughter.

  “What is it, Sienna?”

  Sienna pointed at the street before them. It was full of people – that was nothing unusual – but there was something different about them; about half of them, anyway. Interspersed among the crowd were dozens of Coppélia’s – dozens of holographic images of Coppélia.

  Sarah was startled when one of the copies of the android suddenly appeared in front of her. Sienna grabbed hold of her mother’s hand tightly, for protection. The image spoke to her, in a soft, reassuring voice.

  “Hello, Sarah. I don’t know if you remember me. Possibly not – you would have been ten years old when I left Earth.”

  Sarah felt that what was happening was decidedly creepy, but didn’t feel in any danger so she responded politely.

  “I think I remember your face. You’re that android who went to Proxima b, aren’t you? Coppélia, is it? We did a project about you at school.”

  Sienna gave out a little shriek when she went to touch the stranger and her hand went right through her. Sarah chuckled.

  “It’s ok, Sienna. It’s a hologram. It’s harmless.”

  To show her daughter that she was in no danger, Sarah also let her hand pass through the image of Coppélia.

  “See? It’s perfectly safe.”

  Sarah had heard of this new marketing technology, which allowed a control centre to home in on cell phone signals and display a holographic image in front of the phone user, but had never seen it in action. Satisfied that she was in no danger, Sienna began to repeatedly poke
her finger at ‘Coppélia’ and giggled each time her finger passed in or out of the image. Sarah was a little embarrassed at her daughter’s antics, but ‘Coppélia’ wasn’t worried by the child’s game.

  “Don’t worry Sarah, it doesn’t bother me. Remember, I’m just a projected image.”

  Sarah was quite enjoying being a part of this new experience.

  “So, what do you want to talk to me about?”

  “Do you remember that I was different to other androids?”

  “Yes. My mother told me about you. She said that you were sentient.”

  Sienna interrupted again.

  “Mummy, what does senchant mean?”

  “Sentient means that something has feelings and emotions. It can feel sad and happy, like you and I can.”

  Sienna went back to playing her game. ‘Coppélia’ smiled at the little girl.

  “They’re so cute at that age, aren’t they?”

  The marketing consultant at the control centre who was operating the Coppélia hologram thought she’d better get back to the topic at hand.

  “Anyway, the real Coppélia – the sentient android – landed safely on the planet. Over nine years ago now. But she’s stranded there. Her friend, Karen, is trying to gather support for a rescue mission to go back to Proxima b and bring her back home. Anything you can do to help would be really appreciated. Of course, money is always welcome – the mission won’t be cheap – but Karen and the team would be really grateful for any help at all. It can be anything. Even sharing posts on social media and making the cause go globally viral will be a great help. We’re also planning to hold demonstrations and create petitions to try and get the government involved.”

  Sarah now remembered quite vividly the excitement about the mission.

  “I’ll do what I can. I remember seeing her being interviewed on WV. Do you have any more information I can take home with me?”

  ‘Coppélia’ smiled.

  “It’s being downloaded to your phone right now. Thank you for your support, Sarah. Goodbye.”

  The holographic Coppélia disappeared and Sarah was left alone with seven-year-old Sienna wondering where her plaything had suddenly gone.

  The campaign to rescue Coppélia gained momentum rapidly. People really took to the hologram blitz campaign, to the extent that whenever the holograms appeared, word would spread through social media like wildfire, and people would move mountains in the hope of arriving in time to be approached by ‘Coppelia’. Merchandising of mementos of these encounters brought in more cash for the cause. It became a badge of honour to be seen wearing caps and buttons that declared that the wearer had met ‘Coppélia’, and even designer clothing brands got in on the act and brought out ranges that reflected the Bring Back Coppélia campaign and donated a percentage of the sales profits to the cause. The cynic might say that these companies saw a PR opportunity – and, for the most part, the cynic would be correct – but this has always been the way of the world.

  This exposure was just what Karen wanted. Social media was a maelstrom of messages; it seemed like every other post was in support of the rescue of the android or, better still, a call to action. Petitions were drafted, posted, signed, and shared on all forms of social networks. Fundraisers were held at schools and community centres to help finance the rescue mission. It seemed like the world was at one – everybody wanted to help Coppélia come home. But these efforts were a drop in the ocean. Billions of dollars would be needed to bring the android back to Earth.

  In a remote location somewhere in Europe, Karen was having the last few touches applied to her makeup before her appearance on globally networked Web-Vision. Sitting next to her was Rachel Foster who had been offered – and accepted – the position of Karen’s Personal Assistant. SAI had brought her family over, housed them, and found a job for Rachel’s husband. They were enjoying their new life. Rachel’s job description stated that she looked after office systems, arranged travel and accommodation, screened incoming communications and all the other expected duties of a PA but, in reality, her job was mainly to be Karen’s best friend – something she had done for free ever since the two had first met. Rachel even had her own PA to perform her official duties. She took a sip of coffee.

  “Are you nervous Kaz?”

  Karen could always confide in her friend.

  “Of course. Heading the campaign is one thing, but appearing on Car Crash TV, a WV show that’s being webcast into billions of homes? That’s pretty scary. I don’t know why I’m doing this.”

  Rachel, ever the voice of reason, reminded her.

  “You know as well as I do that Car Crash TV is the most popular tabloid talk show on the planet. It’s watched by billions of viewers, all of whom would deny they watch it, yet they still do. Like a car crash in the street – not that we have them anymore – they know they shouldn't watch, they know they’ll regret looking, but they just can't help themselves. This is the best way to get your message out to the largest quantity of people.”

  Karen knew her friend was right. She didn’t watch the programme regularly, but she had occasionally been known to get sucked into watching the often lively debates.

  “But I’d rather not get involved in this type of show. There’s always confrontation.”

  Rachel almost spat out her coffee.

  “Confrontation? Karen, you’re an ex-cop. Confrontation was part of our job description.”

  Rachel put her coffee mug down.

  “You’ll be fine. Just be yourself. I know it’s a cliché, but if you’re honest and speak from the heart, you’ll do all right.”

  Karen knew that her friend was right. Staring down the business end of an assault rifle whilst breaking up an illegal kindbot operation had been frightening. At least there was no risk of death in appearing on live WV – hopefully not anyway.

  Rod Barcode, the rather ludicrously named host of Car Crash TV, a globally networked show which was instantaneously translated into dozens of languages, was just wrapping up his opening spiel which had been accompanied by archive footage of Coppélia’s preparation for and her departure on Project Coppélia. She’d been away for thirty-one years and there was a whole generation of viewers who would have only heard about the android from their parents.

  Karen and Rachel walked onto the stage and took their seats alongside one another facing the packed studio audience. Karen looked around and wondered who would be occupying the other two empty seats. She didn’t have to wait long to find out. She recognised one of the other guests as soon as he came into view. Not so much an old foe, but certainly someone that she had crossed swords with back in the past.

  Rod Barcode’s show producers knew what they were doing, and their research had come up trumps. If anyone would want an opportunity to confront Karen it would be Rufus Clearwater, the owner of the largest global empire of sexbot clubs – Club Galatea. He of all people must bear a grudge against the ex-policewoman, for interrupting the development of his empire for five years.

  Karen leaned in towards her friend and whispered in her ear.

  “I’m guessing you recognise that guy?”

  Karen responded just as discreetly.

  “Who can forget? I wonder why they put him on the show?”

  Rufus looked at the two women and nodded his recognition. Nobody recognised the other participant, a professor from a rather obscure university. Rod Barcode introduced his guests.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Car Crash TV. I’m your host, Rod Barcode.”

  The audience applauded as Rod continued.

  “Tonight we’re going to ask the question ‘can a robot be a person?’. With me to help answer that question are four guests who – hopefully – have plenty to say on that subject.”

  He gestured towards the four people on the stage.

  “From left to right we have Mrs Karen Ulfursson, widow of the late Raef Ulfursson. Her husband created Coppélia, the android that we saw at the beginning of this show.”
/>   The audience cheered. Karen hoped that was a good sign.

  “Then we have Rachel Foster, a former colleague of Karen’s when they both worked for the Sexdroid Unit of the NewMet City Vice Squad.”

  More cheering.

  “Then we have Mr Rufus Clearwater, sexbot entrepreneur, and Professor David Morris, a well-known futurist.”

  The audience also cheered Rufus (many of them having availed themselves of his sexbots’ services in the past) but they had no idea who Professor Morris was and only a handful cheered – more out of politeness than appreciation.

  Not being the most eloquent of show hosts, Rod Barcode dived straight in.

  “So, Karen – may I call you Karen?”

  Karen had no problem with that.

  “Of course, Rod.”

  “Karen. Are robots people? Was Coppélia a person?”

  “Is, Rod, not ‘was’. She’s still out there, marooned on the planet Proxima b.”

  “How do you know, Karen?”

  “Because we’re still getting the occasional message from her.”

  “When was the most recent message received?”

  “About eight months ago.”

  “Hmmm. Eight months. But she could have switched off, broken down, even perhaps been destroyed by a meteorite since then. That’s true, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. That’s true. But I prefer to remain positive.”

  “So, is Coppélia a person?”

  Karen was going to say this out loud for the first time and in front of a WV audience of at least 2.4 billion people.

  “Yes. Coppelia is not only sentient but in my opinion, she is sapient. Coppelia may not be considered a life form by our normal standards, but who says that a lifeform has to be biologically based? Yes. I believe that Coppélia is a person.”