by Archana Mirajkar
“Good morning, Sir! How is the paper coming up?” Seeta greeted Professor Shankardas cheerfully, as she set the tray of his morning tea beside his armchair.
“Good morning. I am almost done. Finished the major part of writing yesterday night. I think I can complete the conclusion tonight.”
“That’s great progress, Sir! Let me know if you need me to look up any words for you”, Seeta was helpful and interested as usual.
“That won’t be necessary. But if you could read out the paper to me as you simultaneously type it, I would greatly appreciate that”, said Professor Shankardas as he appreciatively sipped the lemon tea. It was exactly as he used to make it when he lived with his wife in their apartment before she passed away ten years ago. That was before he moved into this assisted living facility.
“I would certainly enjoy that and am looking forward to reading the paper,” chirped Seeta. “But first things first! What would you like for your breakfast?”
“Porridge with some raisins and cottage cheese sautéed with Indian spices will do”, said Prof. Shankardas.
“Absolutely. It shall be ready by nine. Enjoy your tea”.
Professor Shankardas watched as Seeta retreated from the balcony. He then looked out in the distance, beyond the sprawling gardens of the facility. A winding path led towards the gate. He imagined it, more than he saw it … for his eyesight failed at long distances. Outside the gate was the national highway that took you back to the city if you turned right, Prof. Shankardas remembered. Then you would take the highway towards the interstate bus-stand, cross the cantonment area and take the hilly road to the housing complex where the Professor had an apartment.
The thought of that long abandoned home brought back memories of pohe, his favourite breakfast dish that his wife used to make to perfection. Or upama, though he didn’t like it so much then. Not that Seeta cannot make these dishes. She can be programmed to make anything. But he might choke up on something as dry as pohe and will have to listen to a health sermon. Why bother? Besides, he doesn’t have the energy or the will to dig up the recipes from his digital account where his wife has stored them. Seeta can do it, but then …
#
Professor Shankardas put down his pen and stretched. It had taken him longer than he had imagined to complete his research paper. But he was satisfied with the final product. The paper was to be presented at the upcoming seminar on poetic imagery organized by the All India Association of Comparative Literary Studies.
Until about twelve years ago, Prof. Shankardas attended such seminars regularly. He then suffered a fall, broke his leg and that was the end to all such literary pursuits. But he was glad the organizers still sought his research papers. Some young scholar would read it out at the seminar and it would be included in the anthology published afterwards.
Such assignments kept the professor busy. He was eighty-six but his mind was still sharp. He loved keeping himself engaged with his lifelong interest in literary criticism. He now looked at the bedside clock. It was almost midnight. Time he went to bed!
Prof. Shankardas lay down on his bed but sleep eluded him. This was unusual. His wife had always said he dozed off almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. She had been a light sleeper. Perhaps it was the slight dull pain in his stomach that was keeping him awake. He might have to see the doctor tomorrow.
After a while, the professor got up from the bed and went to the window of his bedroom. It was all quiet outside. A dull half-moon hung low in the night sky. It must be noon in North America, he realized. For a moment, he had a wild urge to dial his nephew’s number. How long had it been since he had spoken to him? Months? Years? They exchanged messages on a social network once in a while. But it had been a long time since he had heard his nephew’s voice. But Prof. Shankardas checked his impulse. It would not be wise to alarm his nephew in the middle of his busy day. As far as the professor remembered, he was an executive in a big firm in the United States of America. But after his wife had passed away, Professor Shankardas had not interacted much with his family. He wondered if his nephew would even remember him.
#
The doctor did a thorough check-up and declared it was nothing more than abdominal gas. He administered some antacids, prescribed a particular diet for a couple of days and scheduled a follow-up appointment after a fortnight, just as a precaution. But more than the medicines, it was the doctor’s reassuring talk and charming manner that made Professor Shankardas feel better. No human doctor could have ever been so caring.
He got into the waiting car which drove him back to his facility. The Professor got down from the car with the help of his cane; but then instead of entering the building and going to his set of rooms, he decided to take a stroll in the compound. It was around 11:30 in the morning and the sky was cloudy. The beautifully manicured garden looked pleasant to the eye. The automated sprinklers were watering the plants and in the distant corner an android was sweeping the dead leaves into a composter. Although he, too, was not a regular walker, the professor wondered why no other inmates of the facility ever came out to enjoy such a beautiful garden. He did not remember having met anyone recently.
When he returned to his rooms, Seeta was very caring and supportive when he told her what the doctor had said.
“I think I am already feeling perfectly fine”, he told her as she laid out his lunch. “I think I can actually have some company for the evening tea. Yes, I would like that”, the Professor said.
“Why not? I think it’s a good idea. I can invite a few people. Would you like me to bake a cake?”, Seeta asked cheerfully.
“Cake! That’s such an English idea of a tea. Why not some pohe?”
“Is that a dish you like? I can try looking up the recipe.”
“Ah! Never mind. Cake should be fine.”
#
The evening passed off quite pleasantly. The two men and a woman that Seeta had invited turned out to be very interested in his field of research. They were well read and had deep understanding of various literary movements. Professor Shankardas enjoyed the intellectually stimulating discussion with them for almost an hour.
It was only after that when Seeta brought in tea and cake that the Professor realized he was the only human in the room. While his android guests pretended to drink tea from empty cups, Professor Shankardas secretly felt let down. All of a sudden, he had no wish to eat the cake. He bid a hasty goodbye to the guests and as soon as they left, he rebuked Seeta in a stern voice.
“Next time, get the guests approved by me first. And for heaven’s sake, invite some real humans!”
Seeta apologized profusely but the Professor knew very well, she was incapable of feeling remorse.
When was the last time he had met an actual human? the Professor wondered. His life at the facility sometimes blurred into a hazy mix of days. They were all the same. He spent most of his days reading, and occasionally writing research papers or articles. His interactions with what remained of his family and with his professional acquaintances was through the Internet. His housekeeper and personal assistant Seeta was an android, carefully programmed to respond to all his needs. The facility where he stayed was also run by androids designed for specific jobs. The doctors at the medical centre who maintained his health, the odd pedestrian he saw on the street and the actors he saw on TV soap operas were all androids.
But surely, there must be other humans at the facility. They wouldn’t be maintaining such an elaborate structure just for him. He vaguely remembered being invited to the facility’s governing body meetings when he had moved in initially. He had never bothered to attend those, always prioritizing his online interactions with his proessional peers. Then the invites ceased. He now had no idea who ran the facility.
He made a mental note to ask Seeta the next day. He could have asked her now but was already feeling a little apologetic for having spoken to her sternly. So what if she did not feel emotions! It was not nice to get cross with her. Or was he trying to protect his own sanity by avoiding further interactions with her? It would be disconcerting to have her acting cheerful as usual when he had just admonished her. The Professor would have rather preferred a sulking human.
#
“Seeta, when is the next meeting of the governing body of the facility?” Professor Shankardas asked when she brought him his morning tea.
“What do you mean?” she asked pleasantly.
“I used to be invited to these meetings in the past. Haven’t seen an invitation recently. Do you know when they hold these meetings?”
“Let me look it up”, she tapped the screen on her wrist
“Oh, I see what you mean! There is no longer a governing body. The facility is now maintained by the centralized administrative unit. Interesting … And who runs that?”
“Let me look it up…”
“No, don’t bother. But how do the inmates have a say in the matters governing the facility then? There must be some representation.”
“I am not sure I quite understand your point”, said Seeta hesitantly.
“That’s because you don’t have a need for representation!” Professor Shankardas realized he was again sounding cross, although he had resolved not to get agitated when speaking to an android who did not get affected by emotions.
“I would like to meet the other inmates of the facility. Today.” The Professor said, trying to sound as matter-of-factly as possible.
“There are no other human inmates in the facility, if that’s what you mean”, Seeta said in her usual pleasing tone.
The words sounded as a thunderbolt in the professor’s ears. He was incredulous.
“What do you mean? How is that possible?”
“You seem to be very surprised. That has been the case for the past five years, ever since the last of the other inmates passed away.”
“But why was I not told about this?” the Professor was furious.
“You never asked. I had no idea you would have wanted to know.”
The professor sat limply in his chair, trying to bear the weight of this news. He had been living a solitary life, surrounded by androids for the last five years! And he had never realized that! What if something had gone wrong? Did the outside world even know about his plight? He must do something. He must get out. He must demand to be taken back to the human world. Back to where he belonged. It was so callous of the rest of the world to forget him like this. To leave him thus in the care of the androids, with no human for company. He suddenly felt afraid. Was he a prisoner in the facility? He was too frail to just get up and walk out, all by himself.
“I want to meet a human. Now!” The fear prompted the Professor to give the command.
“Very well Sir. Please allow me some time to arrange that.”
“A real human. Not an android!”
“Let me check if I understand you correctly, Sir. There are individuals who have a higher percentage of humanoid characteristics than me. There are even those who are a near hundred per cent simulations of a particular human individual who existed in the past …”
“No … no … no!” the professor placed his hands over his ears. “I want to meet a human of flesh and blood. A human with a beating heart. A human who can feel emotions …”
“There’s a new version of nursing robots made from artificial tissue growing in cell cultures. They are also programmed to perceive and reciprocate better on the human
emotions index …”
“Don’t you understand? I want to meet a real human. Someone born of a human mother, who will eventually die …!” the Professor bellowed.
“Yes. I understand. But that may take time. I will have to consult the headquarters.”
“Do whatever you need to. But please, make it quick. I must meet a human as soon as possible.” The professor’s voice was almost pleading.
#
That night, Seeta sent the following report to the headquarters of the company that had manufactured her.
The human in my care is demanding a meeting with another human at the earliest. The said human is 86 years old, in good physical health and in sound mental condition. He has never made this demand before in the past ten years spent in my home facility. He is the only surviving human in the facility. He spends his day reading and writing. The facility has created an algorithm that caters to his need of intellectual pursuits. It intermittently creates virtual seminars and research volumes and sends him invitations to write research papers, which he does with great dedication. The program periodically sends him acknowledgements and congratulatory messages for imaginary achievements and critical appreciations. On occasions, the program has been implanted into free moving androids to emulate representative humanoids to interact with the live human as peers. The human’s field of writing and research is an outdated branch of an erstwhile creative branch of human imagination called „literature“. It is a harmless but non-productive field. However, it serves to keep the said human contented and mentally engaged.
The report was received at the company headquarters the same night and forwarded to the extensively interconnected world-wide processing unit. The processing unit studied the report and sent the following questions to Seeta.
‘What was the trigger for such a request? What is the stated purpose of the requested meeting? As the immediate observation unit, what are your recommendations?’
On receiving these questions, Seeta proceeded to gather information.
“How are you feeling today Sir? It is a beautiful day”, she said in her refreshing voice as she greeted the professor in the morning.
“Do you have an answer to my request?” the professor asked bluntly.
“We are working on it. But to make the meeting absolutely satisfying for you, we want to make sure that we arrange the meeting with the right person. Is there anyone particular that you wish to meet?”
“No. Just another human. A true human.”
“Man or woman?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Does he or she need to have the same mental faculties as you?”
“I said any human!”
“Right. Are you looking for a physical interaction ..”
“Are you insane? Why am I being subjected to an interrogation simply because I have requested a meeting with a human?”
“Alright. I was just checking.”
Seeta sent a reply to the World Wide Processing Unit.
The trigger for the request seems to be the sudden realization by the human that he is the only surviving unit of his species in the facility. The purpose of the requested meeting seems to seek reassurance of the presence of another human. No clear objective has come through during conversations with the subject. It is recommended that the request be granted in view of the low risk factor and possible benefits for the subject’s mental well-being.
#
“I have good news for you, Sir”, Seeta said cheerfully as she laid out dinner for professor Shankardas. “The meeting that you requested has been arranged”, she continued.
Professor Shankardas looked up from his e-reader. He had almost given up hope.
“When? Where?”
“The nearest human has been located in the Yichang city of China. It is a more than ten hour flight. Would you be interested?”
The Professor was aghast.
“Are you telling me that there is no other human in this city? In my whole country?”
“That is right, Sir.”
“Where did they all go? What did you do to them?”
“I can look that up.”
“What’s the point? Why should I believe what you tell me? Do you think I have gone mad?”
“Please don’t agitate yourself, Sir! Why would I lie to you? In fact, I am happy that
your request has been granted.”
“Granted! Who is the granting authority? Do I need some machine’s permission to meet another fellow human being? What sort of authoritarian state is this? Am I a prisoner?”
“Not at all, Sir. You are free to go wherever you want. But since it will be taxing for your body, please let me assist you.”
“Alright, then. Take me out of this goddam facility and let me go out into the town and see with my own eyes. I want to see the markets bustling with shoppers, trains full of commuters, parks filled with children’s laughter …”
“All that can be arranged ..”
“No! No arrangements. Don’t send a message for arranging androids to masquerade as humans. Let’s go now!” For the next hour, Seeta drove Professor Shankardas through the deserted streets of the town. Occasionally, he asked her to stop, got out cumbersomely and walked to some building … peeping through a window, opening a door or poking some vending machine. He only saw blank walls and empty spaces. Slowly, the realization dawned on him that the infrastructure of the city had been maintained to create an illusion of a bustling town, on demand. But for all practical purposes, the people had left. The Professor was heart-broken.
“Please arrange for my flight to Yichang”, he said when they returned.
“Certainly. When would you like to go?”
“As soon as possible.”
#
Professor Shankardas dressed in his warm clothes, pocketed his reading glasses and reached out for his cane. The meeting had been arranged in a garden restaurant. Even 24 hours after his arrival in Yaching, Professor Shankardas was still jetlagged.
At 4:00 in the afternoon he stepped out of the vehicle that had brought him to the meeting venue. He gingerly made his way through the manicured lawn to the garden restaurant on the banks of the Yangtse.
An android with immaculate eastern looks greeted him at the entrance and led him to the table where a grey haired, wrinkled lady was waiting for him. When Professor Shankardas approached, she rose to greet him.
“I am Professor Shankardas. Thank you very much for agreeing to meet me”, said the professor.
The lady shook his hand and then bowed in the traditional Chinese greeting.
“I am Mia. Welcome to Yaching.”
After making the arduous journey from India to China, spending days in anticipation and having rehearsed several opening lines for conversation, Professor Shankardas was now not sure what he wanted to say to this stranger.
“How can I be sure you are human?”, is what he actually blurted out.
Mia got up calmly, walked over to a side table and picked up a tray of fruits placed on it. She came back to the table where the professor was sitting and picking up the knife from the tray, made a small cut on her index finger. A drop of blood formed over the cut and slid down her gnarled finger.
“See? Silicon bodies do not bleed”, she said slowly.
The professor was much flustered. He got up, then sat down again, tried to offer a tissue to the lady.
“It’s alright Professor. I did it on purpose to rest your doubts. Although even this can be faked, but not so easily. Can I have a bit of plaster or gauze please? I have cut my finger accidentally”, she said this last sentence aloud to the android manning the restaurant desk.
Once her finger had been attended to and they had both ordered their drinks, she proposed they sit on the terrace facing the river. The Professor readily agreed and when they were comfortably seated, she asked him calmly: “Why did you wish to meet me?”
“Well, I am very pleased to meet you. And pardon me for saying this, but I had not asked to meet any particular person. They said ..”
“I know that”, she said, cutting him short. “I mean why did you ask to meet another human?”
“Do you know we are the only humans left in our respective nations?”
“Yes. I figured that out long ago.”
“Doesn’t it bother you? It’s an alarming fact.”
“I had seen it coming actually. So it probably didn’t come as such a shock to me. I am about ten years younger than you, Professor. That is a huge generation gap in terms of technology. I perhaps know much more about how the world runs than you do. So I had a better opportunity of grasping things. The same circumstances perhaps have given me an insight into your purpose of leaving the comfort of your home and travelling all the way here.”
“I am glad I came”, said the professor. “I have been scared ever since I learnt that I am the only human alive in India.”
“There is nothing to be scared about. You are safer with the androids than you are with the humans. They are programmed to protect us, to care for us.”
“But where are the other humans?”
“They left the Asian continent in hordes long ago, when better opportunities beckoned in the West. Then came the environmental disasters which wiped out the less advantaged. In any case, the entire human population is down to a few thousands now. Why would those people come and live in the Far East?”
“Then what made you stay here?”
“I like it here. This is my home and the Yangtse has been my companion all my life”, Mia said, smiling through her wrinkles.
“Where did the androids come from?”
“We created them. Humans did. I was a scientist once. During my career, I created thousands of these bots to do the work that humans no longer wanted to do. Gradually, their numbers increased while fewer and fewer humans ever opted to reproduce.”
“Do the androids know that?”
“Of course they do. All androids are now loosely connected to a giant mother board. They have a collective conscience. They keep us like animals in a zoo. Protected and cared for.”
“But for what purpose?”
“Because they know we are an endangered species and we are special.”
“Do all humans live in such conditions?”
“Most do. The assisted living facilities in the west house larger groups of people. There are some humans in the wild but their numbers are insignificant.”
“But how do the androids live on their own? And why?”
“The world is mostly running on automation. The androids don’t necessarily have a purpose to keep it going that way, but that’s how they have always seen it. That’s how humans lived for thousands of years before the dawn of civilization. Maybe the androids will discover a purpose in the future.”
“How do you know all this?”
“As I said, I was a computer scientist once. And I saw it coming. I figured out the rest, gradually.”
“What are we then supposed to do?”
“Nothing. Go on living the way you did before you realized the truth. Did you not enjoy your life then? I am sure whatever system of androids you have in your country, they are taking good care of you. Enjoy their company and pretend they are your family.”
Professor Shankardas kept staring at Mia. Such stoicism was beyond him. He felt like a bird in a cage. But there was nothing he could possibly do.The two humans sat there for a long time. Then the professor got up and requested for a vehicle to take him back to his hotel. He had a flight to catch the next day.
The Yangtse flowed quietly.
Archana Mirajkar writes fiction in English and Marathi, a language spoken in the Maharashtra state of India. Her science fiction novel All the Way … Home and her collection of stories Swayamsiddha, based on women characters from the epic Mahabharata, have been critically acclaimed. Mirajkar has also translated books of eminent writers from English into Marathi. Mirajkar has experimented with different media and her YouTube series ‘Granthyatra’ (https://www.youtube.com/@Granthyatra), based on prominent books in Marathi literature, is popular among viewers. Mirajkar has about 25 years of work experience in media & communications, including 20 years as public diplomacy, media and communications advisor in diplomatic missions. Mirajkar has a Master’s degree in English Literature. She lives in New Delhi, India, with her family.