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The Mechanised Baby
They were waiting hand in hand in the maternity ward, smiles on their faces and that look in their eye. The nurse has seen it a thousand times or more, the "what if" look beneath the fake grin. She'd barely given birth more than a few hours ago, but she had that radiance about her. Despite the tiredness, the telltale signs of stress that a traditional pregnancy causes on the body, she seemed positively vibrant. As the nurse approached the slight mechanical hum of her movements broke their reverie.
"Were you successful?" they asked, and the question hung in the air like that hospital smell that never seems to go away.
"Yes," came the reply, and the nurse's facial features smoothed in recognition as she saw their relieved looks. They kissed in front of her, the human interaction registering in her circuitry. There was a time a couple of decades ago that she too was human. She might kiss now, but no matter what they tell you on the adverts, robotic bodies don't feel the same sensations in the same way.
"Your baby took to the host body just fine. We saw on your preference records you'd had acceptance for it to be a boy, so he's in an anatomically suitable unit, ward 33c booth 3c. You may go up and see him now."
The adoring parents left the ward arm in arm. She with the fresh hospital robe flapping about her bare knees and he still in his work gear. Apparently he'd had the message late his wife had gone into labour. It was rare for human parents to have no augmentations whatsoever, usually they liked to get a flavour for what they were possibly in for. As they passed by rooms and busy corridors both saw many robotic humans. They were used to it, and it wasn't they were opposed to the concept of longevity in a pristine body. They just both wanted a baby, a natural birth and not a genetically engineered one grown from their reproductive produce. They didn't want to catalogue browse; choosing hair colour, gender and skin tone, eye colour or intelligence. They wanted to give their baby the best fighting chance at a normal life, then leave it to decide. But upon screening it seemed the foetus was found to be inferior. They'd been told it would be born with severe abnormalities, so they had decided to have it and then have the "Ascendance" early.
Of course it was the year 2068 so things were more advanced and conservative attitudes had changed. Men and women were still out there pairing up and having children, and allowing to learn and experience in their human bodies. As the nurse would testify to, those memories and sensations are embedded in you for a long time. How it feels to be a kid, to be carefree and feel hurt and pain, love and tenderness. It all registers in the mind, a storehouse of a life's experience. And now for those who decide to, the process of housing that brain in a cybernetic environment protected within the walls of a humanoid robot had been ethically approved thirty years ago. Most chose later in life, as their bodies failed and mechanical help couldn't keep them in a lifestyle they sought. Some still chose to die for religious reasons, or just they felt they'd nothing to live for any more. Only 37 per cent of mature adults over 60 opted for the "Ascendancy" where their brain was encased in hardware that would work forever. People still chose death as the natural course of events, a bit like some still chose to risk health and conceive naturally. Some had flesh and bone babies regardless as they longed to give a brain a natural start and experience in life. At 21 they'd have the right to opt for Ascendancy. That age was due to be lowered to 18 soon with parental consent based on the political warmongering going on.
The couple found their way to the mechanised wards. They were progressive people, not persuaded by philosophical or religious reasoning to allow their baby to die. Sure, it would have a life with them that required many adjustments and alterations. A mechanised body progressed in stages and was expensive, but they'd been saving for their own futures. At least this way their money could be used to give their child life, the brain that was their offspring a chance to learn and adapt. There were tight Laws governing underage robotics, and by adulthood their child would be able to choose termination. All augmented humans could have the kill switch activated when they felt their time had come. It was their decision to make, after all despite medical advancements, even the human brain isn't an organ to live forever....yet. There was a rumour in the scientific community, the Holy Grail of evolution, the transference of human consciousness itself into a mechanised host without the limitations of the brain encasement. No country admitted to how near they were to this, but rumours persisted. Trails to private and Government funded plans were always being used to create dissension and shift power balances.
At the infant ward, the parents smiled as they saw poorly children that had been retro-fitted with bio-mechanical implants for lost limbs or body parts that failed to work or were lost. True, in later years some chose voluntarily to augment their bodies, seeing no ethical reason not to enhance themselves for their jobs or merely for physical welfare. Yet mechanical body parts were expensive, extremely so for the most reliable. Horror stories surfaced on a regular basis, especially in less developed countries. But seeing the happy smiling faces of children able to run, walk and hold things, to see and make use of their data input in a practical way; well that cheered them and made them feel they'd chosen right for their son. They walked up to the window in ward 33c and looked out booth 3c, at the far end of the room near the front. They had a good view. A young male nurse, human and in a sterile white lab coat waved as they approached. They pointed to their son in his shiny little golden robotic body, and the nurse picked him up and bundled him in his arms. No need for a blanket, the ambient temperature was right and the child's brain knew no hunger, thirst or pain. Yet the trace memories of a DNA embedded in every human embryo were still there. As he lifted him the baby made this low humming sound. The nurse rocked it gently and it settled back to a silence, looking from robotic eyes at two smiling faces through a plane of glass.
"This is your son, congratulations on the birth of a healthy baby boy. Have you thought of a name yet?"
There were tears of pleasure in their eyes.
"Yes," said the father, " we're going to call him Toboron, after the newest planet they just found. They say it has the potential for life and there are lots of hopes pinned on it. We feel that's a fitting name for our boy too."
The mother was beaming and asked of the nurse,
"how soon before I can hold him?"
"Two days," the nurse replied kindly," we will play it the data recordings you gave us so it can familiarise itself with your record patterns. Once embedded the brain just needs a short time to acclimatise to the host body. These baby units are more adaptable than most people think, but they will limit the child's progression so it can't run before it can walk."
He was smiling like it was some in-joke they might see, but they didn't. So he countered his gaff with,
"Toboron Carter, it has a nice ring to it. I will get this little fella's clipboard updated and we shall need new audio recordings of you saying the name so it might recognise and respond to your voices."
It was the same mechanical nurse that had greeted them that signed them out three days later with new baby in their possession. She'd always had a life in healthcare, and after her late husband had chosen to die, she had found a new lease of life ten years later when she herself chose "Ascendancy." The return to her career was an easy choice for her, it was something she loved to do. She'd still be limited to her own brain's functions, the needing to relearn new methods and advancements. But her robotic body had retentive powers and inbuilt screens to aid her in this, and access to unlimited data banks. When she saw the family leaving the hospital she smiled warmly, genuinely, and wished them well. She really did enjoy the chances that she now had, the fresh lease of life she thought she'd lost for good when she was an aging human. Most Ascended well before her time, but old age had taught her so much.
"Goodbye Mr & Mrs Carter," she said in a very familial tone," I hope young Toboron will be every thing you ever dreamed of."
But they didn't hear her fond words, they were too wrapped up in their own joy to notice. The little bundle of shiny metal was already uttering indecipherable sounds and they would swear there was intelligence behind those glass eyes. No nappies to change, feeding or burping, no worrying about hurting baby by holding it wrong. It would be a very different childhood compared to their own, but it was thirty years on from their own youth. Things were different now and they were had moved on considerably. Toboron was a new start, a fresh experience and he had a chance at life, they all did....and they hoped they'd make a real go of it. Proud parents walking away from the nurse, who watched and beamed in what was one of the better parts of her job. She recorded it internally and would replay it back on later occasions when times were hard or she doubted herself. This was what it meant to be living and still have value. She felt good; she felt alive.
© .Garry Saunders
"Were you successful?" they asked, and the question hung in the air like that hospital smell that never seems to go away.
"Yes," came the reply, and the nurse's facial features smoothed in recognition as she saw their relieved looks. They kissed in front of her, the human interaction registering in her circuitry. There was a time a couple of decades ago that she too was human. She might kiss now, but no matter what they tell you on the adverts, robotic bodies don't feel the same sensations in the same way.
"Your baby took to the host body just fine. We saw on your preference records you'd had acceptance for it to be a boy, so he's in an anatomically suitable unit, ward 33c booth 3c. You may go up and see him now."
The adoring parents left the ward arm in arm. She with the fresh hospital robe flapping about her bare knees and he still in his work gear. Apparently he'd had the message late his wife had gone into labour. It was rare for human parents to have no augmentations whatsoever, usually they liked to get a flavour for what they were possibly in for. As they passed by rooms and busy corridors both saw many robotic humans. They were used to it, and it wasn't they were opposed to the concept of longevity in a pristine body. They just both wanted a baby, a natural birth and not a genetically engineered one grown from their reproductive produce. They didn't want to catalogue browse; choosing hair colour, gender and skin tone, eye colour or intelligence. They wanted to give their baby the best fighting chance at a normal life, then leave it to decide. But upon screening it seemed the foetus was found to be inferior. They'd been told it would be born with severe abnormalities, so they had decided to have it and then have the "Ascendance" early.
Of course it was the year 2068 so things were more advanced and conservative attitudes had changed. Men and women were still out there pairing up and having children, and allowing to learn and experience in their human bodies. As the nurse would testify to, those memories and sensations are embedded in you for a long time. How it feels to be a kid, to be carefree and feel hurt and pain, love and tenderness. It all registers in the mind, a storehouse of a life's experience. And now for those who decide to, the process of housing that brain in a cybernetic environment protected within the walls of a humanoid robot had been ethically approved thirty years ago. Most chose later in life, as their bodies failed and mechanical help couldn't keep them in a lifestyle they sought. Some still chose to die for religious reasons, or just they felt they'd nothing to live for any more. Only 37 per cent of mature adults over 60 opted for the "Ascendancy" where their brain was encased in hardware that would work forever. People still chose death as the natural course of events, a bit like some still chose to risk health and conceive naturally. Some had flesh and bone babies regardless as they longed to give a brain a natural start and experience in life. At 21 they'd have the right to opt for Ascendancy. That age was due to be lowered to 18 soon with parental consent based on the political warmongering going on.
The couple found their way to the mechanised wards. They were progressive people, not persuaded by philosophical or religious reasoning to allow their baby to die. Sure, it would have a life with them that required many adjustments and alterations. A mechanised body progressed in stages and was expensive, but they'd been saving for their own futures. At least this way their money could be used to give their child life, the brain that was their offspring a chance to learn and adapt. There were tight Laws governing underage robotics, and by adulthood their child would be able to choose termination. All augmented humans could have the kill switch activated when they felt their time had come. It was their decision to make, after all despite medical advancements, even the human brain isn't an organ to live forever....yet. There was a rumour in the scientific community, the Holy Grail of evolution, the transference of human consciousness itself into a mechanised host without the limitations of the brain encasement. No country admitted to how near they were to this, but rumours persisted. Trails to private and Government funded plans were always being used to create dissension and shift power balances.
At the infant ward, the parents smiled as they saw poorly children that had been retro-fitted with bio-mechanical implants for lost limbs or body parts that failed to work or were lost. True, in later years some chose voluntarily to augment their bodies, seeing no ethical reason not to enhance themselves for their jobs or merely for physical welfare. Yet mechanical body parts were expensive, extremely so for the most reliable. Horror stories surfaced on a regular basis, especially in less developed countries. But seeing the happy smiling faces of children able to run, walk and hold things, to see and make use of their data input in a practical way; well that cheered them and made them feel they'd chosen right for their son. They walked up to the window in ward 33c and looked out booth 3c, at the far end of the room near the front. They had a good view. A young male nurse, human and in a sterile white lab coat waved as they approached. They pointed to their son in his shiny little golden robotic body, and the nurse picked him up and bundled him in his arms. No need for a blanket, the ambient temperature was right and the child's brain knew no hunger, thirst or pain. Yet the trace memories of a DNA embedded in every human embryo were still there. As he lifted him the baby made this low humming sound. The nurse rocked it gently and it settled back to a silence, looking from robotic eyes at two smiling faces through a plane of glass.
"This is your son, congratulations on the birth of a healthy baby boy. Have you thought of a name yet?"
There were tears of pleasure in their eyes.
"Yes," said the father, " we're going to call him Toboron, after the newest planet they just found. They say it has the potential for life and there are lots of hopes pinned on it. We feel that's a fitting name for our boy too."
The mother was beaming and asked of the nurse,
"how soon before I can hold him?"
"Two days," the nurse replied kindly," we will play it the data recordings you gave us so it can familiarise itself with your record patterns. Once embedded the brain just needs a short time to acclimatise to the host body. These baby units are more adaptable than most people think, but they will limit the child's progression so it can't run before it can walk."
He was smiling like it was some in-joke they might see, but they didn't. So he countered his gaff with,
"Toboron Carter, it has a nice ring to it. I will get this little fella's clipboard updated and we shall need new audio recordings of you saying the name so it might recognise and respond to your voices."
It was the same mechanical nurse that had greeted them that signed them out three days later with new baby in their possession. She'd always had a life in healthcare, and after her late husband had chosen to die, she had found a new lease of life ten years later when she herself chose "Ascendancy." The return to her career was an easy choice for her, it was something she loved to do. She'd still be limited to her own brain's functions, the needing to relearn new methods and advancements. But her robotic body had retentive powers and inbuilt screens to aid her in this, and access to unlimited data banks. When she saw the family leaving the hospital she smiled warmly, genuinely, and wished them well. She really did enjoy the chances that she now had, the fresh lease of life she thought she'd lost for good when she was an aging human. Most Ascended well before her time, but old age had taught her so much.
"Goodbye Mr & Mrs Carter," she said in a very familial tone," I hope young Toboron will be every thing you ever dreamed of."
But they didn't hear her fond words, they were too wrapped up in their own joy to notice. The little bundle of shiny metal was already uttering indecipherable sounds and they would swear there was intelligence behind those glass eyes. No nappies to change, feeding or burping, no worrying about hurting baby by holding it wrong. It would be a very different childhood compared to their own, but it was thirty years on from their own youth. Things were different now and they were had moved on considerably. Toboron was a new start, a fresh experience and he had a chance at life, they all did....and they hoped they'd make a real go of it. Proud parents walking away from the nurse, who watched and beamed in what was one of the better parts of her job. She recorded it internally and would replay it back on later occasions when times were hard or she doubted herself. This was what it meant to be living and still have value. She felt good; she felt alive.
© .Garry Saunders
