My theme for this year’s April A-Z Blog Challenge is fantastical creatures, celebrating my upcoming book, On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination. Please check out my Kickstarter Campaign for lots of additional info on the project.
“A robot is a creature built by human hands, and can thus be designed in myriad forms. Some of the creations of humans are mere tools, devised by mechanics to perform a task without thought or reflection, and these are common in the mundane world, especially in factories. Other robots, however, are complex creatures capable of life-like action of their own, beings proper that may consider their own place in the universe. Indeed, there is much debate over the essence of a robot, and whether a robot with self-consciousness and will can indeed be said to be alive and have a soul despite its artificial birth. The ancient robot says: I am on-ly a ma-chine. But I can think and speak and act, when I am pro-per-ly wound up. I am fit-ted with Smith & Tin-ker's Improved Com-bi-na-tion Steel Brains. You have no i-de-a how full of ma-chin-er-y I am.”
The “ancient robot” is Tik-tok, as quoted by L. Frank Baum in Ozma of Oz, written before the word robot was coined. Tik-tok is a character of whom I’m very fond. He frequently points out that he’s not alive, but it seems to be a distinction without a difference. Then of course there are Data from Star Trek, replicants from Blade Runner, and robots in Westworld, Almost Human, and dozens of others. What do you think? Will truly sentient robots ever move out of the realm of fantasy? Should they?
If you prefer your fantasy creatures more fantastic, there are always rocs, Redcaps, and ramidrejus. Click the link to read
[Picture: A Device for Cleaning Steam Pipes, rubber block print by AEGN, 2016.]
I hope not.
ReplyDeleteI rather like making robots out of cardboard there are quite a few of them about the house. I am in the process of making a workshop in our garden and one of the items on the list of things to make is Robots. . . .
ReplyDeleteRob Z Tobor
I love robots! And I love this salamander creature - it looks like something from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
ReplyDeleteI'm always in two minds about sentient robots. In some ways they would be fantastic, but there's always that fear of what might go wrong once they get smarter than us.
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