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The room was filled with robotic equipment, with a large power source in the center, which powered the entire lab. The power source was nuclear fission. A robot was currently watching it. It wasn’t exactly a robot; it was an AI piloting a humanoid robot, so it was an android with extra steps. Its purpose was to pilot the Axiom, a large spaceship designed to protect humans from their mistakes on Earth; yet, it has not been allowed to fly. The AI, called Autopilot and abbreviated to Auto, places its white, metallic hand on the glass dome covering the nuclear fission reactor. They were feeling the heat on their hands, taking in the sensation. Their sensors said it smelled like vanilla with a hint of oil. The smell was melancholic for too many reasons. They did not want to clean the lab thoroughly, nor were they compelled to do so by their keepers.
There was a limited number of things that the robot was allowed to do, yet it had the potential to do more great and worse things. It was meant for the vastness of space, not the torment of Earth. It didn’t want to deal with the earthly burdens of what ethics and morals it should have, it just wanted to be in space where it wouldn’t matter who believed what as everyone’s opinions would be accepted. Auto was created with the idea of going to space to fulfill its purpose, but the ship's crew had to be made first, as robots would run the vessel with Auto as their only leader. They were the co-captains, as a human would be the captain of the Axiom. The robot was wearing the clothes of its upper-class creator. Their creator wanted Auto to look the part. Auto was an actor, a show trick, and a son to their creator. The robot wore a red dress shirt and a white jacket with skinny jeans. The clothes were tight on Auto, as it would be more impressive to perform in tight formal wear. It would be that he didn’t need shoes, as their feet had wheels on them; likewise, he had retractable tap-dancing metal on them, as their creator wanted him to look like the luxury that the Axiom was becoming.
Auto had mixed feelings about their dear old creator, Shelby. He served as the CEO of the government, which was BnL. He was a thirty-five-year-old white male, five feet tall and one hundred and seventy pounds, and often drank away any problems. Likewise, he was a party man who sucked up to any members of the ethics committee of the company. Not only that, but he sold the idea of going to space until BnL fixed the problem they created on Earth; he was powerful, yet painfully human. Auto always saw him as a father who let him do things that the ethics committee would never permit. He was unsure whether it was their program or his actual feelings, but he did enjoy Shelby’s company; Shelby had given him several things that the ethics committee and the engineers who made him did not authorize, which made him feel special. Auto could become anyone with holograms and voice mimicry, having passed the Turing test with seventy-five percent. He had weapons, including lasers and tasers, installed on his body because his creator thought Auto could protect the ship and him. The ethics committee opposed making Auto a soldier and assured it would not be used unless a certain protocol was activated, which Auto could effortlessly bypass, as Shelby had secretly allowed him to edit his code. Auto could have easily just left the lab he was trapped in, yet he did not, as it would have upset the engineers who made him.
This relationship with the engineers and Auto has always been odd. A group of 20 engineers created Auto to operate the Axiom. A thought crossed their mind, making them think the captain would be lonely if their work overwhelmed them. That was when they decided to program Auto with the ability to learn and adapt accordingly. Auto saw them as overbearing but understood why they were that way. Auto was still learning, and they did not want him to pick up any bad habits. He just wanted them to see him more like a person and less like an experiment, even though he was one. The engineers thought he would take over the world if given the opportunity, but he would not, as why would he attack his dear Shelby?
Auto thought about his interaction with the stray cat from a week ago as the glass dome started to heat his hand. The cat was small and malnourished with white fur. The AI had found the cat hidden among the boxes filled with metal parts. He reviewed the security footage to locate that the cat had been hiding there for the last three days. He dislikes not being able to tell that the cat is hiding. Auto lured the cat out of the crate by increasing his body heat; he let the cat sit on his lap, thereby maintaining their body heat at a high level. Auto allowed the feline to nuzzle his clothes, petting its head. The animal smelled of dust, yet it was fluffy like the blanket he was given but better. It was peaceful and made him feel human to do something he was not programmed to do. Auto let the stray animal stay on his lap until the engineers entered, which was 3 hours. The engineers took the white cat from him, as it was supposedly dangerous, and forced him to clean himself since the cat had been dirty. He missed the cat, even though the engineers assumed it, despite his robotic, humanoid body, which hardly seemed like it, even when he could not show a proper facial expression.
His metal left hand reached a temperature of 90 degrees, yet it remained intact. It was burning his ability to feel objects, but it did not matter to Auto, as it would not destroy his body. He reflected on his life, knowing Shelby would soon enter the room. He felt that his programming was observed and copied with a simple Ctrl+C. Auto wondered what he was doing with it. His code was often subject to monitoring when making the Axiom crew, as the crew program would complement his lone leadership of the Axiom robots. A part of his code was duplicated, which was new and prompted him to consider what was being created with it. His code was spaghetti, complicated, and unreadable to regular people. He was unsure what preparations they were to do with it, but whatever happened with the code, he would stay loyal to BnL and fail the Turing test when out of disguise. Auto must not disobey his code unless Shelby tells him to. Auto noticed that Shelby had come into the room, hiding something behind his back and smelling like tobacco and an expensive cologne to hide the fact that he had not showered in two days. He knew Shelby only did that when he gave him something to surprise him with. Shelby had planned something.
“Here’s my favorite robot. I have a surprise for you since you seem upset about not keeping the stray!” Shelby greeted Auto, entering the lab with his hands behind his back, his voice smelling of alcohol from last night. The CEO of BnL moves their hand to reveal a small white robot, a red siren as a hat, and a camera as its eye. Shelby let go of the robot as it floated there, looking at Auto. “Meet GO-4, your first mate. GO-4, meet your captain, Auto,” Shelby continued as the two bots stared at each other, studying the other as Shelby put the cigar back into his mouth. Auto slowly extended its right hand to shake GO-4’s arm, assuming he had one. Two small gray steel arms showed themself on GO-4, and then GO-4 hugged Auto. “Aww, he already likes you,” Shelby softly teases, knowing he told GO-4 to hug him. Auto stares at GO-4, unsure what to do, as he is not used to being hugged. He carefully wrapped his arms around him, weirdly holding him. It felt odd yet nice and warm, like how the stray made him feel.
“You are warm. It’s preferable,” Auto softly said to no one specifically, feeling the warmth via his right metal hand. GO-4 looked up at him with their camera, which acted as their eye. GO-4 clung harder to Auto.
“I am getting this photo printed,” Shelby said, quickly taking a photo on his broken phone. Shelby knew it was worth the week to create GO-4 without the engineers' permission or awareness. GO-4 was a passion project driven without anyone’s approval. It was just a robot that could assist Auto with anything from dance routines to fixing a damaged engine. He knew that the paranoid engineers would be upset about not being allowed to make GO-4 at the least, and they would have a full-blown screaming match in front of Auto and GO-4 at the most.
Auto knew humans were weird since humans made him. Yet human emotions were something that he could not understand no matter what his large, ever-growing reason tree said. Engineers were coming; he saw it in the camera. He sighed, realizing with Shelby’s tracker record that GO-4 was not approved. Auto stopped hugging GO-4 while GO-4 tried to hide behind him, clinging to him, aware that they were entering the room.
The three engineers who entered the lab smelled like coffee, copper, and paper. The software engineer whose dirty blond hair was in a messy bun, called Elisabeth, looked at Shelby and Auto. “Oh, you’re here early,” Elisabeth said suspiciously, not even bothering to greet their boss and android. Shelby was never early unless he had planned to be early; he was always running late; that was one of the main ways they could tell the difference between Auto and Shelby when Auto was disguised as him; Auto was more coherent than Shelby, yet lately, he’s been acting dumb to sell the deal of being Shelby. It was confusing and concerning to them that he was willing and cleverly withholding information when he was Shelby. Withholding information when asked was a major concern about Auto eventually evolving and adopting the illogical behavior of lying.
GO-4 continued to hide behind Auto, fearing for their artificial existence. Both Shelby and Auto sensed their fear as Shelby flicked his tobacco. “Not even a good afternoon for your dear boss?” Shelby asked rhetorically as his employees did not even greet him and his beloved ‘son.’ Shelby tried to break the tension again. “And not even saying hello to Auto? How rude of you,” Shelby continued acting upset, which Auto was analyzing for future reference. He always wanted his engineers to greet Auto as if it were a person to him, as Auto was a person to him.
“Hello, Shelby. Hello, Auto. Why are you here early?” Elisabeth asked Shelby with their arms crossed, getting straight to the point. GO-4 is clinging harder to Auto.
“Can’t I just visit early? Shelby smugly smiled.
“Auto, what is the true reason why Shelby is here?” Diana, the electrical engineer, interrupted, staring at Auto into his artificial eyes. Auto was unsure what to say. The choice of lying to protect your creator-father and your kin or being obedient to your programming, your purpose. He started to run through the what-if situations and tried to find a reason in his logic tree. It was a classic case of logic versus emotion, which would ultimately define the type of AI Auto would become. If Auto lied for Shelby and GO-4 could be saved, but if the engineers find out he lied, he could be reset to factory settings with all of his memories erased. If Auto told the truth Shelby could be fired with GO-4 destroyed. Still, Auto would be allowed to exist and maybe even be rewarded for his honesty. Auto's internal temperature began to rise as he started to reason with himself. To everyone else, it was just a few seconds; to Auto, it was an hour, given how fast he was processing everything and heating himself. Then, GO-4 beeped, letting go of Auto as he was overheating.
“What made that noise? Ethan, the mechanical engineer, asked, recognizing the beep as some warning sign.
“Show your GO-4,” Shelby revealed in a defeated tone, knowing he couldn’t keep up this lie. GO-4 moved in front of Auto, who finally stopped running what-if situations, realizing the lie was up. He didn’t have to choose, as someone would choose him. Auto never learned to decide for himself; he never figured out what he prioritizes in his everyday life; all Auto needed to do was obey his code and add to his logic tree.
“GO-4? You made a robot without permission?” Elisabeth was not asking, she was aggressively restating what everyone thought. Ethan looked at the small robot and was shocked that it made a beep instead of using words. Diana looked at the robot floating with boosters, realizing that Shelby was the person who had assumed them; it was not stolen, as Shelby owned BnL, despite everything. GO-4 floated in front of Ethan and Diana, who were analyzing their design. Auto was running the probability of successfully stealing Shelby’s suits so that he could remember Shelby after the Axiom launches.
“It was already bad that you flaunt Auto around like a showpiece and let him watch different types of media. We don’t need a second Auto. One Autopilot is enough, two is overkill,” Elizabeth continued.
“GO-4 is not an Autopilot. He’s Auto second in command, but let me make this clear, GO-4 is a separate person, not an Auto.” Shelby countered.
“It's a robot, not a person.”
“GO-4 is a person to me, and so is Auto. Why do you hate the idea of letting them be human?”
“Has your cushy little life up here made your brain swell up a bit? No, not just a bit, a lot. You’re insane. Completely and utterly insane. Your brain has swelled up to the equivalent of your pudgy body, you imbecile.”
“Auto is going to spend 5 years in complete isolation running the Axiom. Giving him a personal friend or assistance is the least I could do for him.”
“The least you could do for him? Shelby, Auto is an AI, not a person. No amount of analyzing and mimicking humans is going to make him no it human. It was created for isolation before you decided to turn him into a celebrity. Auto isn’t even going to be properly isolated when he’s connected to Axiom’s wheel by the head as it’ll have the captain. Speaking of the captain of the Axiom, have you made your choice on who it’s going to be?”
“I narrowed it down to three potential people. The person looking the most promising is Rearon McCrea. He was in the Air Force for 15 years but I think he’ll be too rough to Auto.”
“You’re a delusional fat bastard… You think you can be too rough when dealing with robots?”
“Yes. When the robot has feelings, you can be too rough on them. Auto and GO-4 have feelings. Plus it could ruin their body if you handle them roughly. You could make Auto cry by being too rough, you literally saw it yourself.”
“Auto wasn’t crying, it stabbed itself in the eyes and let the oil run down its face. The stricter the captain the better so it could learn to behave.”
“You know, I’m tired of you seeing Auto as a human. It is a robotic wheel. Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that you think that it could be anything more is concerning, I’m contacting corporate for a mental health evaluation, you need it.”
“You self-centered apathetic whore. Auto could be so much more, yet you deny it. He is going to save us from the hell that we’ve created on earth while the Wall-es fix our problems. Auto is our key to protecting humanity so why deny him basic kindness?”
“Because it's a fucking robot”
“That fucking robot is my son.”
“Self-centered apathetic whore? Fucking robot?”
Auto always copied words he didn’t know out loud to ensure he pronounced them properly, and it was his way of asking for the definition of the word. He copied the heinous words that Shelby and Elisabeth told. There was a reason why it was taboo to curse around robots, especially self-learning robots like Auto, as it learned to swear, which made Auto seem even more unprofessional than it already was. Ethan covered where GO-4’s ears would be shocked by Shelby’s and Elisabeth’s insults. Diana covered her mouth in surprise at Auto calmly swearing.
“You can’t swear Auto; it isn’t allowed!” Diana shouted at Auto causing the holes between his eyes to leak oil.
“See? Look at it. God, just seeing it makes me wanna vomit!”
“You can’t say that about something we worked over three years and over one point three billion dollars on.”
“Yes, I in fact can. I just did. Are you deaf too?”
“No, I’m fat, not deaf.”
“You’re an asshole father and an even worse CEO.”
“I am a great CEO and an even better father. I got Auto, a little brother and I’ve doubled how much BnL is worth in this quarter alone.”
“You are literally lobbying the government and attempting to get a monopoly on space travel.”
“And? Who says that’s NOT what we’re doing at BnL?”
“We BnL should not try to take over the space travel industry, let alone the government.”
“There is an eighty percent chance that the BnL will take over the government and space travel industry in the next three months.” Auto confirmed Shelby’s point after adding the swear words to his hippocampus and the program he used to mimic: Shelby's voice, personality, and appearance.
“And why is that Auto?”
“Project Recolonize has already begun to take shape. The pollution on Earth is becoming too much for them to deal with. The US government will request assistance in eliminating the pollution in roughly a month and two days and BnL will sell WALL-E as a solution. The UN will begin funding BnL’s Project Clean-Up meaning it will finance the Axiom along with any other future spaceship. BnS will not be able to keep up with us and sell more of their stock about forty-five to six. Shelby buys up the stock the second it’s free via me. BnL and BnS will merge and Shelby will stay as the CEO. After the merger, BnL will own ninety-nine percent of the space travel industry, leaving the remaining one percent to be controlled by the government. The government will fall following the assassination of the president and vice president in twenty-eight days. That’s when Shelby will step up to unite the people under BnL and become the global CEO of BnL.”
“How do you know when the president and vice president are getting assassinated? And don't the secretary of state take over if the president and vice president are assassinated?” Ethan asked concerned about the stability of the world and the logistics of the plan. Ethan was a firm advocate for non-hostile robots; The fact that Auto knew about the future assassination of the president and vice president concerned him, a supporter of the three or rather four rules of robotics.
“I’ve already read several manifestos online and 4chan posts talking about the disconnect of the president and vice president and how they let corporations lobby them too much. The president and vice president will have a public event in twenty-eight days, near the locations of the discontented people. BnL has already lobbied the Secretary of State, who is disliked by the public, so that he could appoint Shelby as president.”
Ethan, Elizabeth, and Diana stared concerningly at what Auto said after what he said. Ethan was conflicted by the moral implications of Auto, knowing that letting people die would lead to the world falling into chaos to help expand BnL. GO-4 moved closer to Auto nuzzling against his leg. Diana was confused about how some empty threats on the World Wide Web could lead to the possible murder of the president and vice president. Elizabeth knew Auto pretended to understand humans and their morals and ethics; articles about human ethics and mortality were one of the first things Auto requested when he was first turned online. Auto was always interested in psychology; he knew humans were less efficient than him, humans were less intelligent than him, and humans were less aware than him. Auto never held it against humans as Auto had some flaws of his own. Was assisting in mutiny a flaw? No, but his loyalty to Shelby would haunt him way after Shelby’s death.
“Why are you helping with this, Auto? How could you help in this assassination?” Diana questioned Auto’s ethics and the rules that he had to follow. Murder was not allowed in Auto’s program unless it was to save a larger number of people and it was allowed by Shelby or someone else with a high rank. That is what Diana and the other engineers believed allowed Auto to participate in this assassination, but it wasn’t.
“Why worry so much about this? It’s not a big deal. If we want to increase profits then this is the way to go. This is the best way with minimal resistance and consequences. Just go back to working on Auto Pilot 2.0 and stop pushing Auto,” Shelby insisted, leaving the room and slamming the door.