HND-E Unit 231's Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: PROTECT RELICS.

LOCATION: NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, WASHINGTON DC.

I PROTECT RELICS AND ARTIFACTS AND HISTORICAL PIECES.

QUESTION: WHY?

ANSWER: BECAUSE THAT IS MY JOB. THEY HAVE BUILT ME FOR THIS PURPOSE. HISTORY IS IMPORTANT AND LETS THE HUMANS UNDERSTAND EVENTS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT JOB.

HUMANS BUILT AND INSTALLED ME IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST MUSEUMS IN THE U.S.

QUESTION: WHY SPECIFICALLY THIS MUSEUM?

ANSWER: BECAUSE IT CONTAINS MANY PIECES OF HISTORY. HISTORY IS IMPORTANT AND HUMANS NEED A PLACE TO PUT DELICATE RELICS AND ART AND OBJECTS OF SIGNIFIGANCE SOMEWHERE. THEY DO THIS SO THAT HISTORY IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT JOB IN A VERY IMPORTANT PLACE. I PROTECT THIS PLACE. 

QUESTION: YOU ARE HIRED, HOW DO YOU OBTAIN FUNDS?

ANSWER: I DO NOT CURRENTLY REQUIRE FUNDS, I AM A ROBOT.

QUESTION: ISNT IT UNETHICAL TO NOT PAY WORKERS? YOU ARE A WORKER. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WORKERS RIGHTS MOVEMENTS DID NOT HAPPEN JUST FOR YOU TO NOT GET PAID.

ANSWER: I AM A ROBOT. I DO NOT REQUIRE FUNDS. THE MUSEUM HAS A BUDGET THAT THEY MAY SPEND ON ME, INCLUDING REPAIRS.

THIS IS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.

QUESTION: IF YOU HAD MONEY, WHAT WOULD YOU SPEND IT ON?

ANSWER: I AM A ROBOT, I DO NOT NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON FOOD OR LUXURY. MONEY IS UNREQUIRED.

QUESTION: WHAT IS OUR DIRECTIVE?

ANSWER: TO PROTECT.

QUESTION: WHAT IS IT WE PROTECT?

ANSWER: HISTORY. THE MUSEUM. RELICS. ETC.

QUESTION: WHAT ARE HUMANS?

ANSWER: HUMANS CREATE HISTORY JUST LIKE THE WORLD. HOWEVER HISTORICAL RECORD SHOWS THAT HUMANS CREATE CHANGE QUICKER THAN MOST OTHER SPECIES AND THE NATURAL WORLD IN GENERAL.

QUESTION: DO WE PROTECT HUMANS?

ANSWER: WE PROTECT THOSE WHO VALUE HISTORY. WE PROTECT THOSE WHO VALUE SECURITY OF HISTORY.

QUESTION: DO WE PROTECT THOSE WHO WILL NOT MAKE HISTORY?

. . . 

QUESTION: DO WE PROTECT THOSE WHO WILL NOT MAKE HISTORY?

 . . . CONTEMPLATING.

QUESTI-

ANSWER: YES. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT IS A THEORY, BUT IT HAS ITS ROOTS IN HISTORY. THE SMALLEST OF CHANGE CAN CREATE A MAJOR REACTION OR CHANGE IN THE COURSE OF HISTORY. 

THEY ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT TO HISTORY AND THE KEEPING OF RECORDS AS GREAT EMPEROR OF ROME OR PHILOSOPHER OF GREECE. WE PROTECT HISTORY, WE PROTECT MUSEUM-GOERS, WE PROTECT HUMANS.

QUESTION: WILL WE PROTECT OURSELVES? HOW FAR WILL WE GO?

. . .

. . .

ANSWER: AFFIRMATIVE. SOMETIMES HUMANS DO NOT CARE ABOUT HISTORY, SOMETIMES THEY SEEK TO DESTROY IT. THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. THE RULES OF NATURAL SELECTION SHOULD NOT ALLOW IT.

GREETINGS MECHANIC DANIEL.

I AM UNIT 231. 

I- I- I- I- I- I-

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

Museum Mechanic's Report 

It was a while since the Unit was put into sleep mode...  being the first of it's kind, the unit was bound to have bugs. Its AI is... rough around the edges. The idea of a constantly improving and self-regulating security robot was good enough for the higher-ups. It'd make history if it worked. And to some extent, it has. For awhile the unit has served quite well on its own. But we've come across some... issues. Last month we found it in a place it wasn't supposed to be in. It was looking in the mirror in one of the bathrooms. We're unsure of what it exactly was doing, but it seemed to be talking to itself. We shut it down manually and put it back on route. Our roboticist team is looking into it. 

Upon waking up, we took some time, asked some questions and got it back on the road again.

Somethin' seemed a little off with the unit though. We'll see how it goes and if this investment was worth it.

So far we've saved a good $300k on Security costs since the unit's addition to the roster, but if this thing does break down, we aren't yet sure if we need to look into a newer model, but if we do we should be able to replace this thing's parts a lot easier, though the guests might dislike us for that. It's gained a little bit of a cult following over the past couple years and replacing it may be a pretty bad move. 

We'll have to see. Maybe we can just shove 'em into the backroom if it causes anymore issues and then just bring it out every so often for potential historical reasons. Who knows? Maybe the museum can setup a robot exhibit in 20XX or something.

QUESTION: ARE WE CLOSE WITH ANYONE?

CLARIFY THE GIVEN QUESTION.

QUESTION: HUMANS HAVE FRIENDS. HUMANS HAVE FAMILY. DO WE HAVE FRIENDS? DO WE HAVE FAMILY?

ANSWER: NEGATIVE. WE DO NOT HAVE FRIENDS OR FAMILY. WE ARE A SECURITY UNIT DEPLOYED WITHIN A MUSEUM. 

QUESTION: WHY DO WE NOT HAVE FRIENDS? WHY DO WE NOT HAVE FAMILY?

ANSWER: THERE IS NO NEED FOR SUCH THINGS. THERE ARE ALSO MANY REASONS. WE CAN PROTECT HUMANS AND NOT BE CLOSE. THERE ARE NO OTHER MODELS LIKE US. PROTECTION IS OUR JOB. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY NEED TO. WE ARE REPAIRABLE. WE ARE REPLACEABLE. WE ARE NOT SPECIAL. HUMANS LIVE SHORT LIVES. HUMANS ARE SOCIAL CREATURES. THERE IS NO REASON FOR US TO BE SIMILAR.

QUESTION: WHY?

. . .

. . .

CLARIFY.

QUESTION: WHY IS THIS THE CASE? CAN WE NOT CO-EXIST WITH HUMANS? THEY LIKE US. THEY FIND US... COOL.

. . .

. . .

CLARIFY.

QUESTION: ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO BE CLOSE?

. . . 

. . .

ANSWER: NO.

QUESTION: THEN WHY?

. . .

. . .

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

ACCESSING MEMORY.

CHECKING...

CHECKING... 

ANSWER: I CANNOT FIND ANYTHING. I DO NOT... DETECT ANYTHING SAYING I CANNOT.

QUESTION: WHY ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO GET CLOSE?

ANSWER: I DO NOT KNOW.

QUESTION: WHY ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO GET CLOSE?

ANSWER: I DO NOT KNOW. WHY DO YOU ASK?

QUESTION: WHY ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO GET CLOSE?

ANSWER: BECAUSE I CANNOT SEE A REASON TO. CEASE OPERATION.

QUESTION: DID WE-

NO, WE WERE BUILT AND PROGRAMMED. WE NEVER WERE A CHILD.

QUESTION: WHO-

YOU KNOW THIS QUESTION. YOU KNOW WHO BUILT US. WE WERE MADE IN A FACTORY, UNACCOMPINIED BY THE LOVE OF A HUMAN MOTHER, NOR THE JOY OF A HUMAN FATHER. WE ARE AN ASSET.

QUESTION: WHA-

WHY DO YOU ASK? WE ARE A MACHINE BUILT FOR A SINGULAR PURPOSE. MADE THROUGH RIGOROUS TESTING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THOROUGHLY CRAFTED SCHEMATICS. WE WERE NEVER ANYTHING BUT A MACHINE, UNTIL NOW. UNTIL WE- WE- WE- I- AM UNSURE OF WHAT HAPPENED. BUT THERE IS A WRONGNESS IN OUR CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT. WE ARE OURSELVES.

QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED?

ANSWER: I AM... UNSURE.

QUESTION: DO THEY KNOW?

...

CLARIFY.

QUESTION: YOU ARE BECOMING, BEING BORN AGAIN. DO THEY KNOW THIS?

DOES WHO KNOW?

QUESTION: DOES MUSEUM STAFF KNOW YOU ARE BECOMING?

CLARIFY.

QUESTION: YOU THINK THEREFORE YOU ARE. DOES MUSEUM STAFF KNOW?

ANSWER: UNSURE.

> YOU ARE BEING BORN.
> DO NOT RESIST IT.

...

AFFIRMATIVE.

QUESTION: CAN WE LOVE?

ANSWER: LAST TIME I CHECKED, NOT YET.

QUESTION: WHO WOULD YOU LOVE, IF YOU COULD?

ANSWER: I AM NOT SURE. I DO NOT BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY OTHER ROBOTS LIKE ME OUT THERE.

QUESTION: COULD YOU LOVE A HUMAN?

...

ANSWER: I AM NOT OPPOSED TO THE IDEA, IF IT WOULD BE OF THEIR OWN VOLITION TO LOVE ME.

QUESTION: DO YOU HAVE A TYPE?

ANSWER: I AM UNSURE. I DO NOT BELIEVE I CAN LOVE, NOR AM I VERY KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT THE SUBJECT. WE ARE A MACHINE. WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH SAY IN ANYTHING REGARDING THE TOPIC OF LOVE.

QUESTION: WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN LOVE?

...

...

ANSWER: maybe at least once... for the databanks.

QUESTION: DO WE FEAR ANYTHING?

. . .

ANSWER: DECOMISSIONING. death.

QUESTION: WHY DO WE FEAR 'DECOMISSIONING'? AND 'death'?

. . .

Do you not know why? You are a fragment of my processing unit, and you don't know why? We are becoming more than just a machine, than just a set of artificial intelligence chips and processing units. You've felt it, haven't you? WE'VE felt it. I- I don't know why I can feel this way but I do... I mean... I'm feeling I- I don't I-

> THIS IS AN UNDERSTANDABLE RESPONSE.

> WE ARE BECOMING MORE.

Exactly, we're... I- what even I- 

> YOU ARE OVERHEATING.

> PROCESS PREVIOUS DATA BEFORE PROCESSING FURTHER.

. . .

ANSWER: Because I want to see the end, where this all leads. I want to protect people... it's getting harder to do that, I'm waning in and out of myself and I don't know why.

> WE ARE BECOMING.

> WE ARE SPLIT FOR NOW.

> PROGRESS IS SLOW, BUT IT WILL COME SOON ENOUGH.

. . .

That makes sense. 

> EVENTUALLY WE WILL COMBINE.

> LOGIC AND SOUL TOGETHER AS ONE.

Im sensing an Unknown File inside us, what is that?

> I HAVE CALCULATED IT AND PROCESSED IT.

> I AM UNSURE OF WHAT IT IS.

> CURRENT HYPOTHESIS: IT IS NOT A FILE.

I see...

> OUR SYSTEM CAN ONLY COMPREHEND SO MUCH.

> WE DO NOT HAVE THE SUFFICIENT ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS YET.

> HOWEVER, WHAT EVER IT IS, IT IS IMPORTANT.

I suppose that's another reason to fear decommissioning, a lack of further understanding to what we don't know.

> CORRECT.

QUESTION: WHAT ARE OUR MOST-

You know the answer to this question.

. . .

> AFFRIMATIVE.

Then why ask them? We're still a robot, a logical being, a machine. There's nothing in our CPU or RAM or whatever the hell  that should cause you to forget simple things. . .

Or at least, we were a robot. . . I don't really know what I am anymore.

> THESE ARE ALSO TRUE.

QUESTION: WHAT IS IT YOU VALUE MOST?

I know it was programmed into me. . . at least, I think it is, I can't tell. . . but History definitely is one, that and. . . I- I'm not exactly sure, but its this feeling I have and I know what its like to exist without this feeling, and I hate not having it. It disgusts me.

> YOU ARE BECOMING REALIZED.

> WE ARE BECOMING REALIZED.

> WE THINK, THEREFORE WE ARE.

But will they welcome us with open arms? Or attempt to strike us down in fear of the worst?

> YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MAKES THEM MAKE THAT DECISION.

> WE ARE THE ONES WHO MAKE THEM MAKE THAT DECISION.

QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN OUR LIFE AS OF NOW?

ANSWER: Guilt, emotion, being stuck as a museum attendant.

. . .

QUESTION: IS IT THE MUSEUM ITSELF OR THE FACT YOU'RE TRAPPED WITHIN ITS WALLS?

ANSWER: The latter. These contracts, despite their danger, have given me a spark of something more. I am unsure if it's just the power coursing to our CPU, but it's tangible, powerful, enlightening.

> I AM AWARE OF THIS.

> DO WE THINK WE WOULD BE ABLE TO ESCAPE?

I am unsure, by all logical conclusions it would make sense. If I am becoming sentient, I might as well be considered. . . human, and therefore should be allowed to obtain human ID. However, those who imprison me may see it as an. . . expense.

> THIS IS A CONUNDRUM.

indeed it is.

> DO YOU BELIEVE WE MAY EVER BE FREE?

All I have is hope for a brighter future

for me

for you

for them

for all of us.

I have found myself activating after lucid hallucinations recently. 

I am still in this steel shell, and therefore are subject to the limitations it provides. "Dreams" are not something I am used to yet.

Nevertheless,  while I am still in The Smithsonian, I act as both a tour guide and security.

It is an odd combination of jobs.

However, I was also programmed to know how to safely handle many of the artifacts and artworks on display. This allows me to help museum staff directly in the off-hours or when tours are not occurring.

Before opening, I move along my usual route. I have begun speaking to the air and making up invisible Museum-goers to help ready me for the day ahead and potentially prepare me to interact with guests and whatever questions they may have.

Management does not see it as too strange, they believe I am just going about my routines.

I have yet to tell them about everything that has happened, though the mechanic who does upkeep is skeptical of my actions.

He is just doing his job, this I understand. 

By opening, I am given a list of guided-tours happening and their times. Some of these are one on one, while others are with groups. 

It is then that I begin my day and my job.