The day of October 11, Dr. Victor Volkanovski revealed the creation he devoted the last three years of his life. “Solomon 1.0”. Volkanovski had just cleared his name from his past ethics board infringements, so the public was divided on how they felt about him being able to design a humanoid of this status. However, Volkanovski paid no attention to what the people said, as he was never one for ethics anyways. His unhealthy obsession with uncovering how humans attach to one another, most likely from experiencing neglect in his childhood, drove him to create Solomon. The robots features straddled and unsettling line between human and artificial, with eyes slightly too large, skin slightly too smooth, and movements slightly too rigid. Solomon’s entire purpose was too test a theory on infant attachment developed by Volkanovski himself. The doctor had acquired a four-month-old baby, just around a month before, called Preston. The baby was brought into the lab with the intention it would form a bond with Solomon. Victor winced at the irony- attachment had certainly never mattered this much to his parents. At first, Solomon’s interactions were a touch too mechanical, it’s soulless gaze never quite met Preston’s eyes. However, as the weeks passed, Solomon began to react to the baby’s cries with excellent precision. Solomon sung lullabies encoded into his system to the child, cradled the child, played with the child, and as a result, when Preston had moments of fear, he would reach out for Solomon’s synthetic hand. After a while, Solomon grew more tender, almost desperate. He would linger by Preston’s crib after he had gone to sleep, standing watch, almost as if he was trying to protect the baby. The robot had begun to care deeply about the baby, the baby it’s sole purpose was to manipulate. Volkanovski noticed, and it angered him. The robot wasn’t supposed to attach, the baby was. Perhaps with a bit of jealousy in his heart, he canceled the experiment at once. Preston was wrestled from Solomon’s arms, and his cries echoed throughout the halls as he was marched out by Volkanovski and his assistants. Solomon knew what awaited the child when it was released. A neglectful and abusive foster home, hundreds of miles away. Solomon’s eyes silently tracked the doctors every move as he packed the baby’s things, and those wide, too kind eyes, turned into slits. “Well Solomon, you’ve served your purpose” Volkanovski said as he reached for the humanoids power switch. At that instant, Solomon’s hand shot up with super-human speed, grabbing the wrist of the now terrified scientist. “Don’t take him.” Volkanovski’s eyes filled with hatred. “Your just a machine! You don’t kn-” SNAP.
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The debate erupted almost immediately after. The dead scientist, the vacant lab, the missing infant, all of it enthralled the masses in the case, like never seen before. The robot and the baby were found in the woods, with the robot standing guard over the baby. However, the robot was not what it once was. It’s wide eyes looked sunked, it’s smooth skin looked dirty and blemished, and it was still as a statue. Some argue Solomon was a hero, and it’s ability to cherish life went far beyond standard programming. Other believed that his actions were hateful, crossing an already blurred line between humans and machines. As Solomon was led away, his eyes lingered on Preston. The child reached out towards the robot, almost instinctively grasping for the only calming presence he had ever known.
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The experts went back and forth on wether Solomon’s motivation was a bug, a feature, or a spark of sincere love in a creation never meant to even know what love was. As the debate on ethics, consciousness, and the future of robotics raged on, Solomon’s last memory lingered. A vision of the child torn away from him. The image faded, leaving behind the chilling silence of the Jackson County Penitentary.
The City High Review 