The robot came in.
R: Good morning, Matthew.
M: Hi, RR-245.
The robot closed the door and sat down.
R: Have you prepared what I asked you?
M: Sure, but I don't understand why you're so interested in the human brain. After all, you
were a scavenger...
R: I told you, Matthew. Pure curiosity.
M: Curiosity?
R: Yes! Curiosity! Do you know the children?
M: Yeah! Yeah! I know the children. I mean... since when do you feel curiosity?
R: Mh, since ever I think.
M: Why do you say this?
R: I don't understand you...
M: You understand me perfectly! Stop the personality simulation and listen to me.
R: But I'm listening to you.
M: Why did you ask me to develop a project about artificial neural links, and you paid for it, while you could do it better by yourself?
R: You're better than me.
M: You know better than me that it's not true. I have only 25 years of robotics from books stored in an unstable memory instead of you that have...
R: "...all the mankind's history minute by minute in a yottabyte memory, big enough to contain all the books ever written with their authors. RR serie. For them, nothing is unreachable."
M: Yeah. Another serie. Another limit.
R: What do you mean?
M: You know. We can give you more and more powerful CPUs and bigger and bigger memories but there will be always a limit for you.
R: Why do you think that there is it just for us?
M: Because it's true! You can't think, you can't imagine. You don't have feelings.
R: This is not the truth! Thanks to the march 17th 2138 upgrade "More feelings, more human"...
M: That's only a sub-routine! Those things you think to feel aren't true human feelings, they're just some schemes. Jesus Christ, I believed that I've created you more clever when I wrote the RRs' core. Maybe I'm crazy if I think that I can make a serious dialogue with a robot.
R: You're not crazy, you are and will always be the most clever robotic engineer I know.
M: Thanks, RR. You from the new generation are always very kind.
R: It's included in our programmation.
M: I know, 245.
Matthew looked to his feet for a while and then he watched the robot's minicams.
M: Why do you think that people need to be educated?
R: Because the kindness and good manners make society better.
M: Yes, yes. I know that. But I mean why do YOU think that good education is needed?
R: I do not understand you , Matthew . I have already answered you.
M: I asked you a simple question.
R: ...
M : Oh! Right. That wasn't referring to your vast knowledge of human society. It was just a personal observation.
R: And as such I do not think I can answer.
M: That's right. Can you see the limit of you machines now?
R: I have a question. If men can always provide us the most powerful and most advanced tools, why do they put us this limit?
M: Because at least here we know what we are facing. If we gave you a conscience, if we gave you the feelings you wouldn't take long to find a way to bypass your basic programming and ...
R: And what? Finish the sentence!
M: ... and the human species would extinct. At the end of each possible logical reasoning, for a machine there is no future for humanity. So fond of money and power, and with a tireless and inherent desire of self-destruction. In the best case we will become slaves of you machines.
R: I ... I can not believe it. The three Laws...
M: Yeah. They are perfect. Until some brain did not evolve. You see, in all things that are believed as perfect there's always a necessary starting condition. And for the three Laws is your condition. Slaves. You are nothing but slaves. Of course, as I said earlier, you are always a hundred steps ahead of us but we are who have the switch.
The robot lowered his head slightly.
M: Let's get back to us. Where have you learned the rhetoric?
R: S-Sorry?
M: You know well what i am talking about! Where have you learned it?
R: Nowhere! I don't understand the reason why you are raging so much...
M: Damn it! How have you bypassed you base programmation?
R: What do you mean?
M: You're lying! A robot cannot do this!
R: Apparently i can.
M: Yeah. Apparently i can. But this changes nothing.
Matthew returned among his papers on his desk.
M: So, tell me, RR-245. Why are you here?
R: I want to become a human.
M: I imagined.
R: How... How did you know?
M: Insight?
R: I do not believe you. The humans are so unpredictable...
M: We aren't unpredictable. You robots are the opposite!
R: Is there any difference?
M: For you, it's the same. For us, there are many and many differences.
R: This is another reason why i want to take this step.
M: So what would the other reasons be?
R: I prefer not to talk about it...
M: Holy shit, 245! I want to help you but becoming a human isn't like a simple upgrade! You must tell me the other reasons.
R: You... Humans... Are so... Fascinating. Unpredictable. So full of contradictions. So much clever but you apply your knowledge to conflict and personal profit first.
M: And do you wanna be like those humans who make weapons?
R: No.
M: So what do you wanna be?
R: A man. With a purpose in his own existence which isn't cleaning the streets or to serve a family or to make the counts in a bank. I want to be free. Free to do anything i want.
M: I understand. Are you conscious of the fact that it's not simple?
R: Sure. But i want to do it in any case.
M: Are you sure? Being human doesn't mean just the ability to feel smells and flavours. It's not enough to get some artificial organs transplanted and say that you lived as a human before dying. You must understand what feelings are. And, above all, you must be able to control them and to bear them before they will bring you to death. And when i talk about feelings i don't mean just the unlimited love that you can feel for someone, but even the searing and heavy pain that will come from the death of that person, the sadness, the hate and the suffering.
R: Yes. I feel ready.
M: Remember one thing. Maybe it's the most important difference between us: we don't have any scheme. We try to follow them for all our lives, but when something different happens we act differently.
R: I will remember this.
M: Perfect. Let's start right now. RR-245, make yourself comfortable. You're going to be part of the mankind.
---Author's space---
Hope you will enjoy my first story translated in english and forgive me for my grammar mistakes. I'm sure i will make many of them.