Robots

 

     Denise walked in the door her laptop bag slung over her arm. Her mom had lived with her since her mom had become disabled. She and her mom were having their usual evening discussion. She told her mom about work and then mentioned an interest in trying skiing this season. The next morning Denise's mom started seeing ads on her phone for ski packages. How odd, she surmised that Big Brother was indeed watching them.

     This is not the first time that they had discussed something and it had shown up in their feeds. Typically they would mention an idea for decorating and suddenly they would see ads on their phones for home decor items. It had become a joke between them. They tried to say the most obscure things, but the phones always produced results. This was the modern age and the use of technology required sacrificing privacy. 

     In the lab, Carl was finishing up the last few details on his creation. She was beautiful. He would challenge anyone to tell the difference. She was so human that there was no creepy uncanny valley here. He had designed her green eyes and the freckles sprinkled on her nose in exact detail. She was as real as he was.

     Dr. Fenton came in. Her hair was twisted in a tight knot on her head and she wore large glasses that framed her intelligent eyes. "Are we ready to upload her?" she asked. Carl nodded and thought about how much fun this would be. Who is the subject? "It's Denise Bennett," said Dr. Fenton. Dr. Fenton pulled the memory card from her bag and placed it in the small slot behind the back of the head.

     The woman in front of Carl came to life. "Hi Mom, how was your day? Work is so busy right now. Hey, what do you want for dinner tonight" she rambled. Dr. Fenton smiled "I think we've got it." Carl also smiled. He could finally see the hours of work he had painstakingly spent result in this lovely creation. Would she pass the tests? Could they send Denise to her job? Yes, she could easily do her programming job. All of her conversations had been recorded for the last several months. They knew what she liked in every detail. This looked like another successful replacement.

     Denise was on her way home from work. She walked from the train station to her car. It was a slow night and she was alone in the garage. Her footsteps echoed as her heels hit the concrete. She pulled out her key. Things happened quickly. One moment she heard footsteps, and the next she felt arms grab her and her head was covered in a cloth that smelled like chemicals. She took a few breaths before succumbing to darkness.

     Denise's mom noticed that Denise was a little late. She texted Denise but she didn't get a reply. Finally, the door lock clicked and Denise came in. "Hi Mom, how was your day? Work is so busy right now. Hey, what do you want for dinner tonight?" Denise said. They decided on tacos and Denise went to prepare them.  It was the same routine as it was most evenings. They had a nice dinner, they watched some TV (Denise requested a Hallmark mystery movie), and they turned in for the night.

     Carl was working on his next masterpiece. This one was a handsome guy. He looked like that actor, oh wait, he was that actor. Dr. Fenton came in. "How many have we completed this month?" Carl asked. Dr. Fenton smiled with pride, "around three thousand". Dr. Fenton thought of all of the problems she and her team were solving. There would be no more prejudice, no more addiction, no more dissension in elections. Replacing each person with a better version of themselves would build a better world. She walked to the east wall and pressed the green button for the hundredth time today. A small memory card appeared in the slot before her.