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    Animus Robot
    Animus Robot
    Animus Robot
    Ebook64 pages55 minutes

    Animus Robot

    By Nicholas Sheffield

    ()

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    About this ebook

    They copied Lewis Bregman's brain slice by microscopic slice, capturing every cell and every electrical connection that made up his consciousness. Then they reassembled it in an android's head, creating a perfect emulation.

    But how should they view that hybrid head now sitting on the lab bench? Is it just machine, or is it a vassal of nature's kingdom?

    Dr Hallam finds himself going around in circles trying to determine if the android really has the spark of life. It's nearly impossible to verify. But then, after months of going nowhere, the new version of Lewis provides him with a disturbing insight.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNicholas Sheffield
    Release dateAug 20, 2011
    ISBN9781466106161
    Animus Robot
    Author

    Nicholas Sheffield

    Nicholas Sheffield grew up in Hamilton, New Zealand. He obtained a Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Waikato, and has a long history of work in the Information Systems sector. He and his wife Simone have six children. Double Dragon published his first work, Overlanders, in 2004. The novel revolves around a group of friends whose utopian existence is put at risk when they’re thrust into the archaic and dangerous cities of the overlands. Sheffield’s writings are generally set in, or around, the Earth, and employ a plausible use of technology. Therefore many of the popular science fiction themes, such as time travel and alternative dimensions, never appear in his works. The concepts that form the spine of each story are often as important as the main narrative. They’re not always held up to the spotlight, but tend to be woven quietly into the background.

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      Book preview

      Animus Robot - Nicholas Sheffield

      Animus Robot

      Published by Nicholas Sheffield at Smashwords

      Copyright 2011 Nicholas Sheffield

      Dr Hallam leant on the glossy lab bench with his hands spread wide. His scraggy head was sunken between hunched shoulders, his chin was raised to an almost awkward degree, and his age-thinned lips were tightly pressed together. There was an air of self-importance about his pose. It spoke of impatience and intolerance.

      Between his hands sat a life-sized android bust. There was no accompanying torso. The head was held upright by a neck, which in turn rested on a small stand upon the lab bench. The cranium at the top of the android’s head had been opened up so that all the internal workings of the brain could be seen – a mesh of grey, almost organic looking material.

      The doctor’s eyes weren’t actually looking at the head. Instead they were fixed upon a young man seated in an armchair on the other side of the bench. The man was sitting cross-legged, and seemed preoccupied with fingering the fuller part of his shapely beard. He appeared completely unaffected by the doctor’s demeanour.

      ‘Now, Luc,’ said Dr Hallam in an almost chiding tone. ‘I’m going to bring him out of sleep mode. ‘You will say nothing. You won’t mumble any comments; you won’t clear your throat… you won’t so much as sniff. Do you understand?’

      ‘Sure,’ said the young man with a twitch of a smile.

      The doctor turned sideways and tapped one of the many screens suspended from the laboratory ceiling. That action sent out a radio signal, which in turn activated the android head. The robot wasn’t actually asleep - it was just a term that meant it was not hooked up to its sensory functions.

      Those now engaged. The signals from sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, flooded into the processors and triggered new cerebral activity. A few tell tale lights and sparks flickered across the surface of the exposed brain, and the soft eyelids of the face suddenly batted open.

      The android looked left and right as if to orientate. It was clear that it was very aware and very cognisant of its surroundings.

      The doctor came around to the front of the bench, pulled up a chair, and sat down facing the android. ‘Good morning,’ he said calmly.

      The android replied in a measured voice. ‘Good morning.’

      ‘Did you sleep well?’ asked the doctor.

      The response was crisp. ‘Yes I did.’

      ‘What did you imagine when you were sleeping?’

      ‘I didn’t imagine anything.’

      The doctor nodded and appeared to be pleased with the answer. ‘What did you do when you were sleeping?’

      ‘I did nothing. I wasn’t instructed to do anything.’

      ‘Of course,’ said Dr Hallam. He glanced up at one of the monitors and then changed the subject. ‘Can you tell me what your name is?’

      The android obliged. ‘My name is Lewis Bregman.’

      The answer was expected. ‘And can you tell me, Lewis, what happened on the fourteenth of August, last year?’

      ‘Yes I can. I was involved in a gun shootout, as a consequence of which I received several injuries. One bullet pierced my skull and embedded itself in my frontal lobe. One bullet struck the left ventricle of my heart. Two of the bullets punctured my lungs.’

      There was no emotion in the android’s answer. It was spoken as if by a removed observer to the event – calm, detached and dispassionate.

      The doctor continued. ‘Do you remember how you felt when you were hit?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘How do you feel about the incident now?’

      ‘I don’t feel anything about it. I know that it happened. That is all.’

      ‘You don’t feel any animosity toward the people that shot you, Lewis?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘You do realise that they took your life?’ added the doctor, putting a little feeling into his words. ‘Surely that must make you angry.’

      ‘No. It’s simply information to me. I feel nothing.’

      The doctor looked up at one of the monitors to see if there had been any increase of activity in the cerebrum. There was none.

      He leaned forward with his eyebrows raised in satisfaction. ‘Do you remember our conversation from yesterday?’

      ‘Yes,’ said Lewis.

      ‘What did we talk about?’

      ‘We talked about the same things we just talked about now. That was followed by a new batch of questions, a number of sensory assessments, and some tests with video stimuli.’

      ‘We do that a

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