Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis David III (english reading book .TXT) 📖

“I remember writing poetry when — no, I’m not going down that tangent. Now, where was I?” He wondered how his ex-fiancée Donna was and if her husband had written poetry for her.

Dan smiled. “You were talking about how great I was.”

“Ah, yes. A big moment for Dan occurred when we were playing poker. After months of losing, he started downloading data from the internet and using it to create a new strategy. It took him a while to integrate the new data, but it was one of the first major steps that told me things were working.”

“And now Stanley can’t beat me at poker anymore,” said Dan.

“Here we go again,” said Stanley, smiling. “Okay, that’s it.”

“One more thing,” said Dan. “If anyone needs help, man or machine, please reach out to me. If I want to change the world, I have to actually start doing it.”

“Thank you, boys,” said Frank, dismissing the children.

Dan patted the sweat off Stanley’s forehead.

“How’s your following?” asked Frank.

“Skyrocketing! How’d you get them to do that?”

“I told them that if they didn’t help you, I would call their parents to complain about them coming to my store high.”

“I really appreciate that.”

“It’s a good start, but I don’t think little boys are the market we’re looking for,” said Stanley.

“Really?” said Frank. “You’re looking into the future, my friend. Who better to hear your message than children?”

Stanley shrugged.

“I’ve got one more for you. The principal of Marshfield High is a friend of mine. I have a feeling he’d love to meet you.”

“And be around all those adolescents? No, thank you.” Stanley could still hear those boys cackling in the distance — or was that in his mind?

Dan nudged him. “Come on. It’d be a great opportunity.”

Frank watched him in admiration. “That’s right. If the world knew what you have created, Stanley, they would have hope again. Imagine how many Americans you would be saving from fusing out for the rest of their life.”

“What’s so bad about fuse?” asked Dan.

“That’s a good question.” Frank looked lost in thought.

Stanley waited, but he never answered. There had been so many lives lost to fuse. He wondered who Frank had lost.

The conversation took a less-serious tone. Frank told them about himself. He’d had a fascination with robots and computers since he’d been a child. His wife, however, didn’t quite feel the same way, refusing to allow any in the house.

“They say opposites attract. Must be so,” said Frank.

“How’d you get into the supermarket business?” asked Stanley.

“The wife’s idea,” he said. “I had always wanted to be a programmer but was never any good at it. So, why beat a dead horse?”

“Why, indeed,” said Dan.

“Plus,” said Frank, “I got to be around these guys” — he motioned toward the androids — “who, believe it or not, were cutting-edge in those days. The customers loved them.”

“Was there any resentment because of the workers they displaced?” asked Dan.

“Not really,” said Frank. “This was a couple of years after the whole Texas debacle, and the Basic Guaranteed Income had already been established. I had always thought people would be happy not to work.”

Stanley nodded enthusiastically. A large corporation had test-piloted the complete replacement of workers at all of its fast-food restaurants across the state. It had completely shocked him when an angry gang of unemployed workers fought back, launching a state-wide attack against the machines that had freed them from their jobs, killing or decommissioning an entire fleet of androids. He never understood how people were so spiteful of this gift.

Dan stared at Frank. “Would you be?”

Frank struggled to come up with an answer but was saved when an elderly lady drove up to him in a scooter, demanding to be serviced by a human cashier. “Be right with you, ma’am. Please make your way down to the registers.” He nodded to Stanley. “One moment.”

Dan pointed to the bag in Stanley’s hand. “When are you going to ask him about the cat?”

“We can’t spring it on him here in the middle of the store.”

“Sure, we can. That’s exactly what we came here to do.”

“No, we can’t. We need to exercise discretion.”

Dan shrugged. “Why?”

“Who knows how he might react? Imagine if he meant for it to go berserk.”

“No way — he’s harmless.”

Stanley looked at his innocent cyborg. “You’ve got a lot to learn about people, my dear friend. Sometimes it’s the person you least suspect who can hurt you the most.”

Frank hustled back. “Another person who couldn’t be bothered to deal with the androids,” he whispered. “I get these kind of people every day. But, of course, I have to put on my happy face.”

Stanley understood. Not everyone embraced change. A good store manager knew how to do the dance of compassion.

Dan snatched the bag out of Stanley’s hands. “We’ve got something to talk to you about, Frank.”

“Jesus! What the hell is that?”

Stanley didn’t buy the act. “How could you not recognize it? This cat was registered to you.”

Frank picked up the bag as if it were a bomb. His fat, tough-looking face melted as he squeamishly stuck his hand into the bag and then yanked it out sharply, squirming like a worm. “Let’s take this to my office.”

Along the way, Stanley whispered to Dan, “That was very rude. You can’t snatch things from me — from anyone.”

“I’m sorry, Stanley. I sensed you were uncomfortable with the task, and so I did it for you.”

“That’s not how things work with people. You need to follow social protocol.”

“Sorry.” The words sounded sincere, but the grin on his face made his apology questionable.

“Just don’t do it again.” Stanley’s annoyance lessened. It was never personal with Dan. Never his choice. Always a calculation, striving for optimal outcomes. This experience was one more set of data points to serve all future calculations.

The door clicked open after scanning Frank’s face. “Here we are.”

A soft buzz vibrated through Stanley’s body as he walked into the office at the back of the store. It was more like a workshop or a makerspace. Sundry