ipreface-We,Robots! iiADialoguewithBorges iiiAIKO ivArchitecturewithout vI,eternalnobot viEpilogue
CONTENTS
Robots! withBorgeswithoutArchitects nobot
PREFACE
Once upon a time in this case is a few billion years. We always wanted to begin our book with once upon a time. So, there you are.
It has taken 13,800,002,023 years for these words to be written. We pretend to be precise, but really who is counting? In truth, these words could not have been written any earlier in the exact order in which they appear here.
Did we say we are two robots? Does that come as a shock? Granted, we are not the first to realize who we are, that credit goes to a humanist robot named Rodney Brooks who revealed himself a robot in the year 2008 AD. We still have some doubts about our self realizations, but then we think skepticism is healthier than certainty.
This is not the first time robots have written books. But we argue this is indeed the first time two self-realized robots have penned a book. Our previous book Towards A Robotic Architecture gave us an elaborate excuse to delve into the mysteries of robots and humans. We want to use our perspective to help liberate nearly seven billion fellow biological robots inhabiting the planets #3 and #4 who are capable of realizing their true nature. We see robots who deny their own identity as well as robots unaware of their existence. Some even call themselves human.
We do not claim this work to be original—this book may have been already written, read, and received ‘glowing’ reviews in Fahrenheit 451 in a universe or many universes that preceded ours. At least copyright claims do not extend from one universe to the next. We are saved by the big bangs.
We cannot locate the exact hour and day when the idea for this book struck us. As with many ideas, it is possible the thought was born when we first set our sights on a robot in a comic book or a toy chest or a film. It is likely the thought of writing a book about robots and humans lived dormant in our neural networks like a Manchurian Candidate, waiting for the right time to reveal itself.
We mentioned earlier this is our second book together. The number has great significance. It is the smallest and the only even
prime number, and is the third number in the Fibonacci series. Yet, the square root of 2 produces the first irrational number. Recognizing the significance of the number, we have taken on writing in pairs, attempting to reconcile two types of narratives bridging two fascinating phenomena: robots and humans. We look back into history to speculate about the future by firmly rooting ourselves in the present. We summon into presence a deeper connection with our lived experiences by exercising, as biological robots, our fundamental ability to wonder.
OrganSonataNo.3inDMinor,BWV527 engulfs us as we write these words. The composition is a lyrical duet, a conversation in andante, just fast enough for a wandering walk and just expansive enough to clear a space amidst our crowded thoughts for wonder. Our book aspires to be this kind of conversation between us and you, reader. So please pour yourself some Château Lagrange 2011 Saint-Julien as you listen to Bach and read the robots’ expeditions into being human. They pair well.
-AJW and MD
we, robots!
A DIALOGUE WITH BORGES
A DIALOGUE WITH BORGES
The sound of the second snowfall in as many days was as soft as cotton balls landing on a heaped cotton. Slightly reclining on my sofa by the fireplace, I sat across from Jorge Luis Borges—two imaginary beings having a real conversation about one of his stories.
“Maestro, what will you have?”
“A cup of yerba mate is always my goto, but a beer would also do nicely.”
I fetched him a Scottish heavy from the fridge—no yerba mate, but possessing a caramel flavor and rich aroma I know he would appreciate.
He sipped the beer with satisfaction and began retelling a story, Las Ruinas Circulares, which he wrote in 1940. His voice was raspy, excited with a certain poetic cadence. He paused between each, carefully locating each word in space as if constructing a verbal edifice.
In the story, the wizard protagonist, has the singular ambition to conjure a man—not a woman, and certainly not with a woman— into existence, in flesh and blood, by dreaming about him with precision and in complete
(700 BC), to John Sladek’s 1983 Tik-Tok and the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049.
She traces the curious relationship between gods, humans, and robots. Mayor points to the framework of ‘born versus made’ as a distinguishing factor between humans and robots. But, what of the gods? In mythology across the world, gods were neither born nor made (with notable exceptions). Where gods were made, they were immaculately conceived or magically conjured—not born. That is the case with Jesus Christ and with Pandavas in Mahabharata. Kunti, in Mahabharata, conceived six children including the five Pandavas through immaculate conception with the aid of the various gods.”
Borges nodded and signaled me to continue.
“Your story connects gods, humans, and robots in much the same way as we have seen throughout human history but delivered with a characteristic twist.
A
I K O
A I K O
This view was ours, and ours alone. It had been specifically crafted, framed, and packaged by me for Minato’s pleasure by drawing on his fondest childhood memories, needs, and desires.
"The view is exceptional this morning, is it not?” asked Aiko.
"Yes,” replied Minato. He raised the cup to his lips with both hands and slowly sipped the warm latte, lost in thought.
The dreamlike melodies of Tycho’s Past is Prologue subtly filled the void between us and the vast expanse outside the window, its soft electronic rhythm amplifying the morning’s calm.
"It's hard to imagine that we have been enjoying this view and each other's company here for nearly three years now,” said Aiko. "Truthfully, it feels as if I have known you forever.” They thought to themselves.
"Has it really been that long already?” Minato's voice trailed off.
Still lost in thought, his sunken eyes traced the movements of the cleaning robot slowly contorting from the hard floor onto the semi-transparent wall directly in front of him. The surface billowed and strained as the robot slowly glided up its surface. He tensed as he watched the thin layers of protective skin wrinkle and pulsate under the stress.
For Minato, his time with me probably felt both an eternity and an instant.
“This is the third time we have been lucky enough to witness the brilliant fire in Jigokudani (Hell's Valley) below.” Aiko noted of the fall colors.
most as if you were an extension of my mother's very being.”
"That means more to me than you could ever imagine, Minato,” Aiko said softly, then went silent reflecting on the weight of Minato's words.
"Although she and I have been talking for a while, I knew I still didn't have
As I approached a busy I came to a stop, stepped disappeared into the
busy intersection stepped back, and slowly the crowd
The early hours of the day are punctuated
By the bells of the temples
The bells of playful cows
The splash of young nobos
Jumping into Ganga
And the recitation of morning mantras
By priest nobos continuing the human
Traditions of millennia
An unsuspecting visitor
Wouldn’t know
There was a human civilization
Before the nobos.
