10
Jack welcomed the Morals and Ethical Committee Representatives with confusion, offering them a seat and refreshments while he waited to find out what was going on.
"Mister Harkness…"
"It's Captain actually, I served for three years when I turned 21 as per our laws" Jack said, his back up straight away as he heard Welsh vowels and knew this woman had been chosen for her ancestry, in the hopes that she might be better received given the obvious Welshness of the man who had gracefully allowed an interview recently.
"Oh. Captain. I am Agent Gwen Cooper. I am here to ascertain the humanness of your bots."
Jack raised his eyebrows, then touched a button on his desk "Dorothy. Enter please."
Dorothy entered and smiled softly "Yes Sir?"
"Dorothy. Do you have a heart? A soul?"
She canted her head "Sir? Of course not. I am a machine. Merely a tool you use to achieve your goals. We cannot have a soul, we do not live. We do not breathe, eat… dream. No. You know we are just… a representation of the promise of a human."
"Thank you, Dorothy," Jack dismissed her and smiled at Gwen, "Come on. Wanna see some more?"
"It might be better if you are not with us, not prompting them" she said with a steely glare. Jack blinked then shrugged.
"OK. Harry there… one of my men. Harry, accompany these people while they see the place" Jack said, the Sim nodded silently.
Jack watched them leave and frowned, not sure what the hell this was about. He picked up the phone to call legal.
.
.
"Please don't touch that" Ianto sighed as the woman reached for a part that was still drying "If that sticks to your bare skin you will lose a layer of two."
"Oh" she pulled her hand back.
"It's a lower brain" Ianto explained pointing with a pencil "See here? The memory part. This is where we download the basics. Stand. Sit. Smile. Walk. The upper half is still in prediction, it will have facial expressions and such"
"To make it more human?"
"To make it less scary. These are machines. Powerful ones. If they look down to show respect, if they step aside while doing so it is in order to show that they understand that they are lower down the food chain as it were than Humans. Especially children, they find the early models terrifying. Ah, here is one now." Ianto waved a hand "I asked Janet to join us today."
The monster was indeed terrifying, it's face a mash of plastic and teeth with the eyes too small, the nose almost not even there.
"Oh my god."
"This is one of the early models. She does not speak, she understands voice commands but does not respond. They had not sorted out the face, they thought making it a Halloween creature would make it easier for movies and such. Also… they were not exactly artists" Ianto laughed. "There are a handful of them out there still, janitorial mostly so as not to startle the day staff. Also, the sweer works and such that the public do not see… less expensive models."
"You are fond of her though?"
"She is … like a pet to me. Yes. Like a favourite vehicle or that coffee cup that feels right in your hand. Janet pleases me. She is… what she is supposed to be. Look, I do not know who complained, but I can assure you that these Sims are not in any danger of being able to pretend to be human. And each and every Sim created here has the same eye colour choice of blue or green… some little changes but… that's it."
"Oh? I was told of one with brown eyes?"
"A prototype that was not completed and has been dismantled. Not brown a yellowish amber. She was a failure. We realized that we were starting to get too close so… we dialled it back" Ianto shrugged "There is no need to get too clever. They all identify as Sim, they will tell you they are Sim willingly and none of them can resemble a human in emotion, movement or thought process."
"The fear is that they may."
"We have a fourth rule. No Human Recreation. We will make a dog similar to a lost pet, we will even recreate another Sim that is the same as one damaged but… that's different. Humans are so complex, the brain needed to hold all the necessary shit to make one fit in with others would require a head twice the size we make." Ianto argued.
"Child ones."
"Yes, would you like to meet one?" Ianto smiled as he rose from the chair "I have the newest model laying in the other room with my niece and nephew."
They walked through to find four children paying energetically and he frowned "Dallas, where did you come from?"
"Father. I heard the children" the little boy grinned, then saw Gwen "Hello pretty lady. Wanna play?"
"Dallas, what is your directive?" Ianto asked gently.
"To please, to entertain and to lift spirits" the boy grinned "And to stop the bullying."
"Good boy. Agatha"
"Father"! the little girl with tight ringlets turned to smile "Yes?"
"This is Gwen. She would like a hug."
The girl ran over to high her and Ianto watched, then said "See? Clearly a Sim. She cannot quite get the grip right. Doesn't have the same softness. Also, she has the plastic smell. That doesn't come out."
Gwen leaned back and looked into those startling eyes. Sim.
She rose and nodded "I see. Yes. She is close but… not real."
"Yes… almost too far. I know. And she is as close as we can and will ever get." Ianto agreed.
Lisa was never going to happen again.