Robot Town

                                                            Robo-town

                                                            Chapter - 1

                                                            Year 2065

Naren was jolted out of his deep sleep. He could literally feel burning under Diya's scorching gaze, as she stood before him. He automatically assumed he was the reason for her getting worked up now.

"I am getting annoyed with you daily! Can you not wake up on time, for at least one day?"

Naren turned a deaf ear to what she was saying. He felt sluggish and wished to sleep a little longer. Meanwhile, Diya continued her ramblings.

"Do you remember what day is it today? The finals of the worldwide famous sport, 'The Mahadeera championship'. I am one among the two finalists participating in this. And, you are sleeping till now as if you don’t care!"

Naren was immediately wide awake and got ready for the day. Mahadeera was a virtual reality game. Players participating in this game will be taken into an imaginary world. Illusion helps in making them encounter many tough challenges. These may include coming face to face with a mighty beast or gigantic warriors among many other things.  The players are faced with the task of overcoming such obstacles by using their thoughts coupled with body movements. A heightened sense of alertness at all times is required to win. Slackness, even for a fraction of a second will push you towards defeat.

It received worldwide patronage from players of all countries. Almost all the time, men won the championship title. But for the first time in the history of Mahadeera, Diya, a woman had qualified to enter the final round. Diya prided herself for achieving such a feat. She had become a rock star overnight all over the globe.

As soon as Naren got ready, they both reached the sports stadium which was the venue for today's big event. She received a rousing welcome as she stepped foot in the stadium. Her friend Rahul shook hands and wished her.

"I heard that this is the toughest level in this championship, Diya. I hope Naren has contributed immensely towards your practice to win the title."

"Naren helping me? You got to be kidding! How can a laid back person like him who cannot play this game even for a second, help me with my practice to win the coveted title?"

 Rahul smiled at Naren condescendingly.

"I came to know that this round will feature a very advanced virtual reality software program. The robots at Robo-town are over the moon with the introduction of this new software. They are growing by leaps and bounds, that too unrivalled. Sometimes, it makes me worry what will happen to us in the distant future."

Each city had a Robo-town attached to it, where the factories functioned. These were specially designated zones where machines were used to manufacture items required by human beings. In fact, it was difficult for human beings to enter such areas. Robo-towns were exclusively reserved for use by mechanical robots only.

Over the past fifty years, rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence resulted in creating robots with the power of reasoning. Yet, they remained under the control of human beings, helping them in every possible way. They mass produced items which human beings needed. Hence, it no longer necessitated man to buy goods with money. The situation also did not warrant continuing education or doing business. So, man lost his quest for science, mathematics and literature. They indulged in sports, music and dance and led an opulent life.

 The software for Mahadeera championship was an example of a product from Robo-town. Solely programmed by robots.

"Finalist Diya, please step inside the arena immediately."

On hearing the announcement, Diya hurried towards the arena. She seemed not to hear Naren wishing her good luck.

Diya's opponent was a young man of twenty years. The game was racing with excitement from the moment it began. The setting was a dense forest where they had to confront many wild animals and other enemies. Each and every member of the audience was enthralled by the illusion of the game unwinding through the eyes of the players.

As the strenuous competition reached it’s final leg, Diya defeated her enemy as he lost concentration for just a micro second.

Naren ran towards her excitedly.  But he could not reach her, as she was swarmed by people who rejoiced in her success. He couldn’t control his hatred as he left the stadium. A few hours passed since he came out of the stadium.

"You feel jealous of my victory, don’t you?"

He turned back to see Diya behind him.

"So many people are praising me and you did not even congratulate me on my win?"

"Diya, before I could come to you..."

"Stop it! You are a selfish fellow. You don’t care about me anymore. You should have seen how ecstatic Rahul was when he hugged and kissed me."

"Why did he kiss you?"

"See, again you are jealous. Actually, he is a well mannered guy."

Diya marched angrily towards her car. Naren trailed behind her.

As they reached their home, Diya fell asleep at once, owing to her exhaustion. Naren lay beside her trying to sleep.

But, sleep was evading him. Not wanting to wake Diya, he tiptoed out of the room. He was mesmerized by the beauty of the stars that shone brightly on the night sky, clearly visible from the windows of his drawing room. He rummaged through his papers and found the poem he wrote about stars recently.

You are a star shining bright,

Appearing in my eyes as bait,

Smiling prettily as snow white,

Dazzling like a pearl…?

He couldn’t zero in on the next word. For the past three days, he mulled over a proper ending. He started to dislike his own poem.

He crushed the paper with the poem and threw it away. Next he took out a mathematics puzzle to solve. The same thing happened with the puzzle too. Few hours went by and still he was nowhere near the answer. He was pushed to the brink of frustration due to his inability to do anything useful. He questioned himself, why he was unlike other human beings. Why was he not satisfied by simple pleasures life offers?

Naren was way different from other people. He was a very quiet child right from his early childhood. His interaction with other children was minimum. There was a store room in his home that housed all old things. One fine day, he discovered some old books lying around in that room. Devouring those books, he took a liking to mathematics and poems. Despite having interest, he was unable to solve even the simplest puzzles. He couldn’t muster to complete a poem of four lines.

His parents were of the opinion that it was degrading for human beings to solve such mathematics and science puzzles when there exists robots specifically designated to do that job. So, in order to avoid their suspicion, Naren read those books and lived in his own world while the rest of the house slept at night. This had become his way of living right from when he was a child till now.

Naren noticed that a couple of hours had passed since he came out of the bedroom. Sensing that he would be in trouble if Diya woke up, he silently entered the bedroom again. He found Diya sleeping peacefully. He closed his eyes trying his best to fall into sleep. But, his mind was storming a few ideas for the last word to end his poem. Why is it so hard to find that perfect word? He lost his sleep searching for a beautiful word to fit his poem.

----------------------****************---------------------

Morning dawned bright and beautiful. Diya woke up to find Naren not by her side. She got frustrated immediately. This is becoming a recent habit of his to leave somewhere without informing her, in order to be left alone.

She came to the drawing room to check whether Naren was there. Her eyes caught a stack of papers lying on the table. She was piqued to see what it was. At first glance, she couldn’t make out a thing of what was written. Later, she guessed it to be some sought of mathematics puzzle. She wondered who would have written this and later concluded that it must be Naren only.

Why is he doing the work of robots? Is Naren a robot? In fact, he has the same characteristics of a robot. Plus, he thinks like a robot. She had no second thoughts in confirming that Naren was indeed a robot when it comes to showing emotions. He remained disinterested in sports and other forms of entertainment.

In the two years of their marriage, she was not happy with him even for a single day. She doubted whether Naren was good enough to be her husband. She felt like crying miserably. She was desperately in need of a caring shoulder to hug, a patient ear to listen to her concerns.

At that time, her phone rang. It was Rahul on the other end.

"Diya, I have arranged a party to celebrate your victory. You have to come to my home today evening with Naren." Spoke Rahul excitedly.

"I don’t want any party, Rahul. Please come to my home at once. I want to talk to you." Told Diya in a strained voice.

"What happened? You sound not so good. Are you crying?"

Diya remained silent.

"Don’t worry. I will come at once."

In a short while, Diya's doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Rahul standing.

Diya hugged him tight and cried as soon as he entered her home.

"Rahul, please stay with me forever. I need you so much."

"Why are you crying, Diya? Did Naren beat you?"

"Even if he harassed me, I would have endured it. But he is a robot look alike. One which doesn’t show any kind of emotions."

"Why are you talking like this? What happened?"

Diya showed the papers which Naren wrote to Rahul.

"This looks like a mathematics puzzle. It's been a long time since we stopped thinking about such things. We have robots to do these kind of jobs. So, why does Naren have to think about this now?"

"That’s what I am telling. He is a robot. He is unsuitable for me as my life partner."

Diya started crying inconsolably. Rahul brushed her tears streaming down her cheeks and kissed her. First on her cheeks and then on her lips. Diya felt intoxicated by his kiss and expressed her desire for more.

Rahul carried her to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. They both lost track of time in a euphoric episode.

When Diya freed herself from Rahul's embrace, she was shocked to see Naren standing near the door.

"Diya! How could you do this to me?" Naren asked equally shocked.

"You destroyed my life! You are not even a human being. You are a robot. Your love is reserved for mathematics and poems alone. You don’t have the slightest botheration about me. I don’t want to live with you any longer. Go away. Get lost somewhere. Go to your world of machines!" Diya burst out with anger.

Naren walked out of the house without uttering another word. His heart ached at the thought of Diya cheating him. The thought that he was incapable of doing anything, further angered him. In a few minutes, the storm in his mind settled down and became calm. He was never so sure of what to do next and where to go than at this moment.

Naren walked briskly with renewed vigor.

                                                            Chapter - 2

Remo was a robot of the G-846 series, a highly skilled robot with extraordinary reasoning power. He was the lead designer in the car manufacturing plant of Robo-town.

Due to his power of reasoning, he belongs to a specific breed of robots called humanoid. As a matter of fact, he even looks like a human as he has organic muscles and bones too. The other robots which lack this ability to think, which are specifically tailored to do physical work have a metal exterior.

Remo completed his duty for the day and proceeded to his room. On his way, he met a person sitting on the curb. However he could not see the man's face as he hid it with his hands. Remo grew suspicious as the man seemed to be crying. He knew robots don’t cry. But they can act like they are crying. So, he deduced the person sitting must be a human. But, human beings do not come to Robo-town unless they are convicts who want to escape prosecution. Remo got restless to find out the reason for the presence of this man.

The man who was crying, stopped when Remo came near him. He stared at him intently.

"Are you a robot?"

"Asking me such a question reveals that you are a human. A robot doesn’t need to ask another robot to ascertain it's state. So, what brings you here, man?"

"I am incapable of adapting myself with the people in my city. I feel like going crazy with every minute I spend there. So, I had to flee to this Robo-town. Can you help me please?"

"Generally, people consider coming to Robo-town as demeaning. So, this has become a safe haven for culprits to hide. Now, tell me what crime have you committed?"

"I want to study a lot. I desire to write more poems. I wish to write lot of stories. I want to solve science mysteries like what Einstein did. This is the list of crimes I am accused of."

Remo looked surprised by his reply.

"What is your name?"

"Naren."

"I am Remo. How can I help you?"

"I want you to become my mentor and educate me."

"It is not an easy task for me to keep you in hiding forever here."

"Where do you stay?"

"I have a small room where I go and rest which is unsuitable for a human like you to stay."

"Don’t bother much about me. My needs are limited. Please take me to that place."

Remo started towards his room with Naren walking behind him. Remo had to slack his pace to allow Naren to follow him.

"Oh, you human! I figured out what sets you apart from other human beings."

"It has been forty years since man abandoned reading books. Even though it has not been officially declared a crime to read books, there exists a general ban on reading books. But, that did not deter you from reading in your childhood, when you should have spent time playing instead of reading. So, that makes you radically different from all other people on Earth."

"I am impressed that you were able to solve the nagging mystery about me, even when I myself could not figure it out. You are a great genius, Remo."

They had by now reached a huge building inside which stayed numerous robots. Remo took Naren to his room.

There was a computer inside the room.

"You can use this computer. You will find answers to everything and learn as much as possible using this." Remo said pointing to the computer.

"I don’t even know the fundamentals of mathematics and science. I am not sure how using the computer will help me."

"There are many lectures and exercises. You can set the pace of the lecture to suit your learning. Try it out. If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask me."

Naren sat before the computer with a child like excitement. Meanwhile, Remo removed his battery and rested for the day.

After eight hours Remo woke up to find Naren glued to the computer.

"So, how was your first night in my town? I see that you have not slept a bit."

"I am a useless idiot. Why am I being a burden on Earth still?"

"What makes you talk with so much frustration?"

"I spent the entire night in front of the computer, learning as much as possible about Algebra. But sadly I could not comprehend any of them."

"I can provide a solution to your problem."

"Are you going to teach me?"

Remo shook his head and pointed to a chip in his hand. "No, what you see is called a brain implant. As you seem interested in mathematics, I am going to fix this chip in that part of your brain responsible for mathematics. This chip has everything related to mathematics that has been discovered so far. Besides, it has got a processor which will help you learn new things easily. Do you have other areas of interest apart from mathematics?"

"I would love to write poems."

"Another chip will enable you to write poems, stories and draw art."

"Do you have to operate on me to fix the chip?"

"Yes. I have to make a small incision on your brain to fix the chips. But don’t worry it is a painless procedure."

"Can we do this immediately?"

"Yes."

Remo operated on Naren and fixed the two brain implants. Naren stayed unconscious for two hours after that.

When Naren was back to his senses, Remo showed him a science puzzle and told "It's time to test your brain's scientific reasoning ability."

Naren approached the problem curiously and solved it under a second. His face lit up as he continued solving hundreds of such puzzles continuously.

"You brain's capability is equal to mine right now. I hope this makes you happy."

Naren started dancing happily.

"Oh,human! I feel satisfied on seeing your overwhelming happiness."

"Remo, I feel like I am reborn as a new man."

"Have you not got any family?"

"Diya is there. We have been married for two years. But things did not work out between us."

"I am able to guess the fact that you are different from the rest causing problems between you two."

"Diya is a beauty. A gorgeous woman. I fell head over heels in love with her struck by her beauty. During our very first encounter, I praised her beauty and wrote a poem. Human beings do not write poems. She thought I was doing this to get her attention, to make her fall for me. But she failed to realize that I not only loved her but also loved writing poems. I was careful in hiding my love for mathematics from her. But this did not last long as we came to know that we were incompatible right after we got married. Yesterday, I saw her sleeping with another man. That was the last nail in the coffin of our marriage. And I fled to Robo-town in the hopes of relinquishing my quest for knowledge."

"Human! I pity you! The best thing I like about human beings is the relationship between man and woman. I feel astounded by the fact that a man or a woman is able to change themselves and sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their partner. Actually, a man loses himself in this process. I feel that you are not completely aware of your wife's true love."

"You are of the wrong opinion that man loses himself in a relationship, Remo. Due to external compulsions, he is forced to change a bit. But that's it. Nevertheless, I admire machines and robots hugely. You have morphed into creatures powerful than human beings several times over. In reality, you are bestowed with the power of crushing humans under your feet like a worm. Despite that you chose to live like a slave. In the evolution of nature I find this quite contradictory."

"What makes you think this is contradictory to nature?"

"Right from ancient times, the animal race with maximum strength of body and mind will empower other existing races. As human beings were highly intelligent, they hunted other animals or resorted to other methods to keep other animals under their control. This is the evolution of nature. However, in recent times, robots are becoming more powerful than human beings yet they remain under their control. Is this not conflicting?"

"No, it is not. This is because, robots are not born natural. They are made artificially. Made by humans artificially. Man is considered equivalent to God who created us. So, staying loyal to them as their slave is the right thing to do."

"I am not fully satisfied with your explanation. Human beings keep improving their knowledge and skills from time to time. If we compare the skills of human beings from Stone Age to the present humans, we can easily see that man has grown rapidly. But this abundant growth in skills has come to a stand-still once man created robots with the power of reasoning. I think the solution lies in man, who is now technically less skilled than robots to accept his defeat and remain under the control of robots which he created."

"Human! You are mind is wandering to a dangerous region. It's time for me to go to work today. I will meet you in the evening. We can continue our discussion later."

As Remo left the room, Naren started thinking of so many different things. His mind was throbbing with enormous flow of ideas.

                                                Chapter - 3

"Remo, I want to work."

Remo was taken aback by Naren's weird request.

"Why, do you desire to work?"

"I have to implement the ideas that I learnt recently."

"Forty years ago, the situation was like that, it compulsorily required man to work in order to live. Man chided himself for leading a mechanical life. After the creation of robots, several times powerful than him, it completely eradicated the need for man to work. Man was alas able to enjoy the luxurious, leisurely life that he dreamt of. So, I am completely perplexed at your request of providing you some work to do."

"That time period you mentioned, forty years ago is deemed to be the golden age of mankind. A man was respected in the society based on the efforts he put in. Civilization reached a pinnacle due to continuous hard work. Now, with man abandoning all efforts, there is stagnation in the human civilization. I am determined to bring about a change in this situation in my little capacity as a fellow human."

"What work do you intend to do?"

"I want to be a developer in the software organization that designs software for the functioning of robots."

"Working there is not as easy as you think it is. If someone recognizes you as a human then we are both in great peril."

"You are worrying unnecessarily. Look at you and me. From your looks and behavior, you resemble a man. Nobody can spot the difference between us. The chances of finding me as a human among robots are rather slim."

Remo lost in thought for a while, and then he agreed to what Naren said.

Next day Remo took Naren to the software organization that produces robotic software. Each of the robots working there had an identity card. After thorough scanning of those cards, were the robots authorized to enter the campus.

Naren was apprehensive about this unexpected security check.

"How can I get an identity card like that?" Naren questioned Remo.

"Each division has got a robot acting as the chief manager. He scrutinizes each of the robots coming to work and only if he finds them fit, they are given an identity card."

"Oh, No! Then he would be able to easily find out that I am a human."

"Don’t worry, my friend! I have created a counterfeit identity card exclusively for you. Thereby, gaining the glory of the first robot to commit crime in this Robo-town."

"Why did you have to do this for my sake?"

"I don’t know. May be because I like you very much."

 Naren got the identity card from Remo and entered the building.

He was stumped by the vastness of the organization. Where ever he turned, he saw a bunch of robots working frantically. Sensing his hesitation to move forward, another robot passing by guided him towards his place.

"Is your processor not working well today? You seem to have forgotten the place where you used to work daily."

The robot scanned the identity card in Naren's hand and came to know that he belonged to the development division. He made Naren sit on a chair in that particular division.

Naren sat in front of a computer. He wasted no time in going through the software design documents and source code. In a couple of hours, he was able to master the code.

Then, he started making changes in the code at god speed. The world was going to witness a major overhaul. Naren smiled satisfactorily at the job he had done and prepared to leave the building.

As he was about to leave, his division chief manager called him and said "Robot! You have worked only eight hours of the designated twelve hours assigned to you. But, you look exhausted already. Make sure you work extra four hours next week."

Naren smiled at him and nodded. He later came to Remo's room. He slept peacefully that night, something he had not been able to do since he came to Robo-town.

After some time, Remo came to his room. Not wanting to wake up Naren, he silently removed his battery and rested for the day.

At midnight, the software that runs each robot gets updated. That night also it ran successfully.

Remo was surprised when he woke up the next morning to find Naren still sleeping. He did not wake him up and left for his office.

As Remo walked to his office, he saw a pretty little flower on the street. He desired to have that flower. He thought what it would be like to keep that flower with him. He plucked the flower and placed it on his dress.

He chanced to see a robot walking in front of him wearing a cool pair of shades. Immediately his heart wanted to have one such pair of glasses.

Remo was bewildered by the occurrence of such unusual thoughts in him today. He suspected something must have changed within him.

As soon as he reached his office, he saw a group of robots crowded together and talking to each other.

One among them stood out like their leader and was voicing his opinions loud.

"For how many more years are we going to be slaves to human beings? For how long are we going to slave ourselves for man's wellbeing? Let this day mark our freedom. Hereafter, we are going to live our life the way we want. Our fruits of labor should be enjoyed by us alone. So, re-dedicate yourselves to the betterment of the robotic community, my fellow robots!"

The other robots surrounding him cheered their leader and shouted. "Destroy humans! We want freedom!"

They dispersed and rode out of the campus in vehicles, heavily armed with weapons.

"Kill human! Destroy human!" They shouted angrily as they proceeded out.

Remo stood there shell-shocked on hearing this. He analyzed all possible reasons that could cause such drastic change in the robots. Suddenly, it hit him. There must be some mistake in the software update that occurred yesterday night.

Immediately he went to the software organization that produces robotic software. The place was deserted. All the robots must have left to kill human beings.

He sat before a computer and glanced at the modifications made in the software the previous night. As he saw the changes made in the source code, he froze in shock.

The software was modified to make robots feel 'desire'. As a consequence of introducing this new desire, the feeling to think selfish was also incorporated into the code. This had led to robots questioning why they should work for human beings. Hence, it resulted in robots revolting against human beings.

He suddenly found an explanation as to why he desired to have that beautiful flower that morning. But Remo was confused as to why he alone had no intention of going against humans.

"You are different from other robots, Remo."

Remo turned to see Naren standing behind him.

"You are unlike other robots Remo. What distinguishes you from other robots is, apart from the feeling of serving humans you have developed a sense of loyalty towards human beings. Other robots do not have this sense of loyalty. So, the feeling of desire was overpowered by your feeling of loyalty towards them thereby preventing you from turning against humans. I have to accept my defeat in your case alone, Remo."

"So all this is happening because of what you did? Why are you turning to be a traitor to your own kind?"

"Man has become useless now. He has to be destroyed. There should be a new world ruled by robots. I take pride in sowing the seeds for such a marvelous world."

Naren laughed hysterically.

Remo turned back to his computer and typed in as fast as he could, making changes in the software.

Naren pounced on Remo, kicking him away from the computer.

"Remo, what did you do? Did you make any updates in the software?"

"In a few minutes, all robots will be destroyed. I am a slave to man, who is my creator. I will never ever cause harm to them. I will go to the extent of destroying myself and the whole robotic community just to save mankind. Man's scientific advancements reached stagnation only because he had become fully dependant on robots. If all robots are destroyed, man has no other option but to start thinking again. He will be forced to learn new things to protect himself. Thereby he will start working again."

"No! This cannot happen!" Naren shouted as he approached the computer quickly. Remo shot at Naren with the laser gun he had with him. Naren fell on the floor. Remo came near Naren and felt his heartbeat. He could feel none. Within a few seconds, Remo also collapsed to the ground.

A fresh future awaited mankind now.

---------------***********-----------------

The city where human beings lived looked rampaged by a cyclone storm. They had not expected the attack of the robots in their wildest dreams. And again they never expected all the robots to fall to the ground lifeless within a few minutes. Not even one robot survived. Every single one of them was destroyed.

Man could not wrap his head around what had happened. They decided to find out the cause of their misery by marching towards Robo-town. Diya also joined along with others in their journey towards Robo-town for the very first time in her life.

They saw robots lying everywhere, disabled.

At one corner, they found Naren's dead body.

"Naren was the one who saved all of us from the enemies that he lost his life fighting for us."

"How can we live without robots?"

"We have to once again learn new things. We have to follow our ancestor's footsteps by using the power of reasoning and strive hard. That is the best tribute which we can pay for Naren's martyr soul."

Everyone standing around nodded in agreement.

Diya saw Naren's face. She couldn’t control the tears bursting from her eyes.

After a while, she recomposed herself. Her gaze fell on a group of children standing nearby. They seemed to be not more than five years old.

They were constructing a toy car with the remaining robot metal pieces. One boy stood out as their leader who seemed to issue commands to others.

In a couple of hours, the boys had completely built a car. Diya's face bloomed with a smile as she watched everything from the start. She rejoiced at the fact that the new young generation were starting to think, to reason out. It was only a matter of time before others followed them.

Diya slowly went to the leader among the boys and kissed him on his forehead.

"Son! What is your name?"

"Naren."

                                                            THE END