Cyborgs, Robots, & Automatons

Science fiction loves the idea of machines, since the genre is focused on technology for the most part. It's only natural that machines become human-like. Robots are easy, since they are machines typically imbued with some sort of artificial intelligence and so can do awful or great things with equal dispatch. Cyborgs are a bit different, since they are part machine and part human (think Robocop). White Automatons are made in the image of humans, and can be robot, cyborg, or remote controlled shells. Whatever they are, these robotic creations are loads of fun, because the author can easily play with the dangers of technologies as well as the human interactions it creates.

I think we all have a fear of new technologies, even if that fear is briefly instantaneous or long lasting. Mary Shelley wrote the famous "Frankenstein" in part as an exploration of the boundaries of science while also warning of our ethical challenges when doing so. That fear, however small, is at the center of many science fiction stories. It's where the conflict begins, and the story branches out from it. You hear the "extrapolation" tossed around when people discuss science fiction, and what it basically means is the author has guessed at future technologies by examining the current ones. By doing that, the audience is kept close to the story and doesn't have to believe too much goofy nonsense (such as Star Trek's infamous "technobabble.")

My own love of robots comes right from Star Wars. Yup, I adore R2D2 and C3PO. I think they are the best robots ever depicted, and I'm sure it's probably because they were my first love. It's also because they have easily defined characterizations. One is loyal and heroic to a fault, the other is a cowardly talker who nevertheless is faithful and loyal. And then there are the robots from the Terminator movies--terrifying machines of focused destruction.

I have watched the real life progress of robots, and it's both amusing and discouraging to witness. On one hand science has created impressive helpers (such as the machines that build cars) and have fallen short in making human-replicas. My opinion is we should try to replicate us, but make them as determined by their function. Science Fiction won't stop toying with robotics though, since it's so much fun (my first book was Science Fiction as well).

- M