by Pragya Gautam
Ms. Anubha had left her home. She was leaving for the university early that day, at 9:00 am. She had hardly opened the door of her car when she heard a scream from her home.
“Mangala? What has happened to you?” She rushed back into her house calling out and was taken aback as she glanced inside. Mangala, her maid, had been tightly captured in Peter‘s arms. Mangala had been busy with house chores when Peter came from behind and …
Anubha dragged him back by grabbing his golden hair and pulling with full strength. He fell down on the floor like a collapsed tree. Mangala was dumbfounded. She began to cry.
“Madam, I won’t come here to work anymore. Please find someone else …” She was sobbing.
“It’s fine, Mangala,“ Ms. Anubha replied. „It will be better for you.”
Anubha made her drink some water and saw her off forever. She was getting late for the meeting. Only for this important meeting had she left early today, otherwise Mangala would have left by 10:00 am, after finishing her household chores. And Peter? Only today had she made him stay back home, even though he usually accompanied her everywhere. And now this had happened, of all days. She was fouled up. So many things were going through her mind. She set her car up to auto driving mode and rested her head on the back seat. She was fond of driving usually, but her hands did not support her and everything seemed dark in front of her eyes. There was a commotion in her brain. It was like clamoring voices echoing through her skull. She reflected back upon her past, many years ago.
Anubha, the only daughter of a rich industrialist, was pretty and had an impressive personality as well. She was snobbish by nature. Numerous marriage proposals were waiting for her when she was twenty two and pursuing her Ph.d. at that time. She regarded marriage as an obstacle, restricting her freedom. However, marriage was taken as an inevitable social custom in those days. That was before marriage institutions had reached their limits, as it is today. But every social being necessarily needs a companion or a partner, regardless of whether he or she gets married or not. Her arrogant nature kept her suitors at bay. Twenty years of her life had passed in search of a partner who would be a combination of wisdom and modesty. She was around forty now. This solitary life had made her introvert and fractious. Now at this mid age she felt meek and insecure despite all luxuries. There was no one to welcome her when she came back from college. Everything was automatic so there was no need of servants. There would be a weird silence inside the house. There were sounds … but without essence … lifeless. The wind blowing through the cracks of the glass door of the balcony of her apartment in the 28th floor produced eerie sounds. Whooo … hoo … hooo … how ghastly!
One day she unexpectedly happened to meet Kanupriya and her husband Dr. Karamveer. Kanu had been her school mate. They both were extremely happy to see Anubha and visited her home at home the next day without any formal invitation. Kanu was still full of zeal and the versatility of youth. Her inner happiness could easily be seen on her shining skin. On seeing this Anubha became a little upset. Kanu had a treasure trove of stories and gossip to tell but Anubha remained silent.
“We are meeting after many years and you are just sitting there, dear. What has happened to you?“ Kanu inquired. „You have been the brightest and most intelligent student. Are you feeling hesitant in front of Karam?”
“No … no, it’s nothing like that …” Her eyes became watery. She choked. Kanu and Karamveer left. Anubha‘s fingers touched the smart phone once and went still. Surging emotions began to take the shape of letters on the screen of the cell phone. Kanu read her messages after coming home. “Your friend needs a companion.” Karam suggested.
“She is so stubborn. Would she be compatible with anyone at this age?” She doubted it.
“I have an idea.” Karam said and explained it.
“It could be a fantastic way out, Karam“, Kanu said zealously. „I’ll talk to Anubha.” Kanu had suggested to bring Peter home to Anubha. Peter had been with Anubha for two years now.
Peter was an android, an ultramodern android. Around thirteen years ago from today in 2025, these androids had been launched onto market. Peter was from the third generation of this line of androids. His skin was made of silicone which appeared like human skin that was soft to the touch and completely adaptable to the environment with powerful sensors. His eyes had vision sensors. His silky, lustrous hair supplied energy to his brain, absorbing solar energy. He was capable of thinking and developing new connections in his brain. Besides, he had digital hormones which could react to human emotions. The Neil and Robinson company had introduced both male and female versions onto the market.
Anubha had visited the showroom of this company. She was astonished to see androids of such a wide variety of forms and features. There was a great diversity with regard to eyes, hair color and facial features as if they were representing every part of the world. She chose Peter, a android with golden hair, fair complexion and high intellectual capability.
Two employees from that company came to Anubha’s home to commit Peter to her care. They introduced her to Peter very decently.
“Ms. Anubha, meet Peter, your partner, advisor and companion from today onwards,” said one of them.
“You can call him a soul mate too,” said the other one, grinning mischievously.
“Soul mate? This machine?” she said to herself.
“And Peter, this is Ms. Anubha, your companion. Hope you both will spend a nice time together.” Peter stretched out his hand. Ms. Anubha glanced at a six feet tall, charming young man who was staring at her with vivid eyes. She blushed. She held his hand hesitantly. How gracious! His hand was soft and warm. Compared with how dummy-like he had been standing in the showroom, how lively Peter was looking now!
Peter’s presence made her house more homely. His sense of humor was amazing. He had made her feel complete. He had turned into her commendable associate at home as well as outside. Tasks which used to take eight or ten days in the laboratory would now be finished within two days.
His working capability was wonderful. He would draw conclusions within a moment of analyzing lots of data. The lesser work load made Anubha think more about herself. This was necessary too as Peter’s attentive digital eyes would stare at her every now and then.
“Your hair style doesn’t suit you.” said Peter while she was combing her hair.
“Could you suggest something more suitable?” asked Anubha.
“I can purify the beauty of this house along with you.” There was a familiar humor in his face and his eyes were scrutinizing her house attentively.
“That’s fine,” she replied. She had neglected a lot in her house and about herself. Walls were unpainted. Curtains were very old and needed change. Peter could fathom her facial expressions very minutely. Whenever she felt puzzled he gently touched her at once. She felt grateful yet somewhere in her heart she felt slightly odd. He is a machine, she kept thinking. Heartless! It‘s a digital and superficial kind of love. That day, when he cruelly picked an injured bird lying in the park and threw it in a corner, she screamed: “Hard-hearted, a machine!”
“Mangala, bring some water and antiseptic disinfectant quickly!” she called out.
She talked to Peter in commanding manner. Despite most of the necessary courtesies her heart was unable to accept him as a partner. Time rolled on. Peter hated being called a machine again and again. He had come to be her partner. Mangala, on the other hand, treated him very respectfully. When madam told her that Peter was a machine and not a human being she was surprised and couldn’t believe it. She doubted it still and considered him as more than a human being. A super hero. On seeing him working speedily, her face wore mixed expressions of surprise and ardor. She would often say, “Hey, Peter, you are an omnipotent! How enticing you are. What a competence!” She would keep her palms on her cheeks in amazement. What kind of thoughts would flow in Peter’s mechanical brain at that time, only he could know.
Ms. Anubha left early that day. An hour before her usual time, as there was some meeting she had to attend. She instructed Peter to do some task on the computer and left. But Peter remained standing where he was. He was feeling very energetic after sitting for an hour in the garden, under the beams of the early sun. He was still staring at Mangala who was standing on the veranda in the morning sunlight. His golden hair was glowing as if absorbing all the energy of that piece of sunlight. As if his brain was forming new synapses. The level of digital dopamine and oxytocin was increasing. Energy were spreading from the brain through his whole body. He was heading towards the kitchen ignoring Ms. Anubha’s instructions.
And all this had happened unexpectedly … but it had to happen some day.
Ms. Anubha felt uncomfortable during the meeting. She couldn‘t help but to
reflect a lot after that incident. She had hired a boy as a servant who would replace Mangala the very next day.
She felt that there was a change in Peter’s behavior after that incident. He would keep silent, only followed instructions. She didn’t talk with him about it. Several months passed.
She completed her research on the subject of water management in the 22nd century . Peter had supported her a lot in this accomplishment. On the day of its completition she was going to university very delightedly. She opened the door of the car and started it. She instructed the system to play her favorite music. The brakes of the car were not working efficiently. A flashing light on the car‘s display constantly reminded her that maintenance was required. „The car needs servicing, madam,“ Peter had reminded her the previous day but it had lapsed from her memory.
She reached the university. She had to complete some formalities related to the publication of her research paper that day. Sitting in the lab, she started her computer,. To her surprise she was unable to find the files related to her research. She noticed that some important files had been deleted. Sweat droplets appeared on her forehead. Her heart beat increased. Suddenly she remembered to her relief that Peter had stored the files on a flash drive. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and took the stick out of her hand bag. She opened the drawer of the cupboard. There was no sign of a flash drive in the drawer. “Peter might have brought it home,” she thought and phoned him. He claimed to have no idea what she was talking about.
She lost her mind in a state of bewilderment. She reached the gate of the university tumbling and toppling and started the car. As she switched the car to autopilot mode she completely forgot about the brakes. The car speedily ran ahead in dense traffic, ignoring a red traffic light and collided with a truck. Ms. Anubha died in a gruesome manner.
The lab assistant told the police that Ms. Anubha had been looking uneasy and restless when she left as some important data related to her research paper were lost. Peter was at home at the time of the accident. According to the statement he gave to the police he said, “I have destroyed the file with the research paper and and the flash drive. But I didn’t have any bad intentions. I’ve been designed in a way that I can’t harm my partner in any way. I couldnt’t even hurt her. We androids of the partner category are acquired as a substitution of a life partner. Ms. Anubha, however, had never considered me her mate. She would always consider me less than a human being and would address me as a machine. The activation of our digital hormones is based on our partner’s behavior. Her research file has been stored in my memory. I’d have retyped the whole text. I did so to please her and win her heart … but then this accident happened …”
A few months later.
Vishv Prahari, January 12, 2031
“Confidential information leaked from the National Security Council have exposed a terrorist organization. Due to the alert secret agency a significant number of their members have been expelled from the country. According to the investigation two androids named Smith and Brown were responsible for the activities. The Central Bureau of Investigation revealed during the trial that they were advisors of Mr. Anand Mukherji who is a CEO of the agency. They initiated their interventions to revenge Mr. Mukherji as they claimed he insulted them.”
It was the leading headline of a major newspaper. The last two incidents resulted in a worldwide discussions between scientists and intellectuals.
Androids of this generation are extremely intelligent. These machines have a brain which can think efficiently. They have digital hormones which can respond to human emotions. But are they able to realize what is, by the accepted standards of ethics and morality, right or wrong? Is it possible that a man would keep considering them as machines and instruct them accordingly and they would obey him?
Pragya Gautam is a biology lecturer in senior secondary school and a popular science writer. She lives in Kota, Rajasthan. She has published three science fiction collections and a novel. She has also received several awards in the fields of writing and teaching.