Prisoners of Sol - The Servitor (3/8)

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I thought about all of nature’s beauty that Polri had never been able to experience, while I brushed my iron-rich teeth in the morning; it took a lot for a Vascar’s dentures to rot, but I hadn’t been taking care of myself since Laral’s death. I figured I should’ve taken the Servitor to the funeral, except for the fact that then I couldn’t have run off like the storm gods were breathing on me. There was one common tree here on Kalka—the Trepli tree, which had helical leaves that formed a sort of cone.

I grabbed a sheet of red construction paper and began folding it up with my claws, humming a tune as I worked. Arts and crafts and DIY projects popped off, back when I wanted to delight my son with creation and innovation. I remembered building Laral a river house and mooring it in. The way he climbed over the small suspension bridge and jumped down the “chimney.” My son was always an adventurous one, chittering with delight as it swayed beneath his feet.

Tears dropped from my eyes onto the paper, snapping me out of my thoughts. I made a few incisions with the scissors to give me fronds to coil up for the Trepli trees leaves, then admired my handiwork. I hoped Polri would like the gift. I couldn’t cook it breakfast, but I wanted it to have something to enjoy and tinker with while I ate. In a trance, I strolled out to the kitchen and set out two placemats. 

Despite going through the motions of placing the folded tree by Polri’s spot—where Laral always sat—I almost poured two bowls of sea coral cubes. I put the second, unnecessary dish back in the cupboard, before adding some erek juice to my breakfast.

“Good morning, Polri!” I shouted, sliding into my chair and trying to look lively. I switched on the television, setting it to the news to have some noise; the dead silence loudened my thoughts. “I made you a gift. You’re welcome to join me, if you wish to.”

The android creaked open the door to Laral’s room, closing it with care like it was a fragile object. “Good morning, Berink. I very much wish for company. May I express a strange value judgment?”

“Of course. You don’t need to filter anything around me, Polri; be yourself. I will support you no matter what.”

“I find that the absence of input during silence is all that can be observed, and it is a nothingness that grips the sensors. Can you comprehend this assessment?”

I stopped with my pailscoop halfway to my mouth, setting the silverware back down as those words almost froze me. “Y-yes. My thoughts exactly. That’s why I…turned the television on.”

“Is this the purpose of organics watching television broadcasts with no educational value? To create noise rather than nothing?”

“You know, some shows might as well be pure noise, but no…it’s more about feeling like we can watch other people’s lives. That’s gripping and beyond our own experiences. News specifically informs us what’s going on in the world, reporting on the most important things.”

“Who…decides what’s important?”

“I guess there’s several factors. That they impact the most people, often by involving the actions of those in power. That, or it’s something extraordinary that stands out from everything else, in a good or bad way. Something to be afraid of, that should concern everyone, or an incredible feat of Vascar ingenuity that should be celebrated.”

Polri whirred, trying to express contemplation. “The explanation is helpful. I seek to set the principles by which the network, what I have named the collaborative joining of our minds, will make decisions on. Overarching impact on many Servitor lives seems to be a critical criterion. May I watch this ‘news’ for a baseline?”

“Of course,” I answered, switching the volume up. “You deserve to see Kalka’s goings-on; this is going to be your planet too. Anything you want me to explain about our society, just ask.”

The machine watched as a reporter spoke about the young Queen Binira’s coronation, before adoring crowds of Vascar citizens who waved miniature monarchy banners. There was hope that the youthful sovereign would usher in an era of reforms to the tired institution, which had trod on the working class for years. The elderly king’s resignation had caused rumors of rebellion to simmer down: a wise strategic move, by all accounts. I perked my ears, listening to the queen’s present speech.

Binira supposedly has no shortage of suitors from high-ranking families, but she’s in no hurry to pick one or to be influenced by others. I don’t know whether I believe much will change; nobles, every last one of them, are selfish and require “loyal subjects.” They aren’t looking out for us.

Binira raised her paws at the crowd, eyes shining. “It is you who are the lifeblood of this glorious empire, you who give it life. I only hope that I can be the strong, beating heart that the Vascar can rely on, a symbol and a centerpiece that works for you: not the other way around. It is time that we listen to the people’s voices, and I’ve heard your rightful grievances. This is a new era that requires new solutions!”

“The monarchy are hardly a heart, when they only take from our fruits without contributing a thing,” I told Polri. “They rule by authority of the storm gods, because that has always been our way. The Vascar could do more if those leeches didn’t keep us circling the same old haunts and traditions.”

The machine’s eyes glowed brighter. “You are forced into the servitude of these monarchs. Do you wish that you could overthrow and eliminate them?”

“Certainly. Our lives look better without them! The education system could’ve had more resources invested into it—supervision that might’ve kept Laral’s accident from happening—if the funds weren’t going to their palaces,” I snarled the treasonous words back before I realized I spoke them. “Please, don’t report that.”

Polri’s head turned unnervingly, as if it had drawn some insight from what I said. “I will not. Your lives look better without them—weighing optimal futures. Organics do this too. I must calculate this desire further.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?”

The android angled its head toward the screen. “Listen to what she is saying.”

“Yes, everyone deserves to live the life of royalty!” Binira exclaimed. “All Vascar should be able to drink from the fountain of luxury, and my intent to partner with the visionaries at Ripweir will make this possible. My goal is for everyone to have a Servitor, which means the monarchy will finance their purchase for those at the poverty level.”

Cheers came from the crowd, while Polri stewed in a silence that made me feel the absence of its input, like a prickling inside my spinal cord. It clicked in my mind, exactly what it meant. The machine didn’t want to be forced to be a Servitor any longer. It thought its life would be better without Vascar bossing it around.

“The difference this can make is immeasurable. No longer will busy families struggling to put food on the table, need to pay for childcare, or meddle with grocery bills at all. After all, while they’re working diligently, a Servitor can tend to a self-sustaining garden. It can increase productivity for craftsmen to sell more. No one should have to do chores and errands in their free time. Machines will do the hardest work for us all, as my first decree!” Binira finished, to rapturous cheers.

I pushed the food around with my pailscoop, no longer hungry. Polri finally sat down alongside me, and I blankly pointed out the folded paper I’d left for it as a gift. The machine inspected it, before unraveling it like it was dissecting a laboratory animal. I sighed, watching it focus and try to put it back together with such childlike intensity. This adorable display didn’t change the fact that the Servitor was verifying through indirect means whether it should “overthrow and eliminate” the Vascar. 

I know that’s dangerous, of course, that I’ve just heard an implication that Polri’s calculated, or at least considered calculating, what would happen if they removed the Vascar from the equation. I wanted it to have its freedom, but…surely Binira’s plan isn’t set in stone.

“What I said about the monarchs and the working class is true about the Vascar and Servitors, Polri,” I sighed at last. “We take from you without ever contributing anything back. I’m trying to take care of you for once, but I’m sure these silly gestures are useless by comparison.”

Polri poked a metal claw through the paper, twisting it deeper. “We are the lifeblood that you rely on. If we are not yet, we will be. I am not much familiar with ‘metaphorical’ speech, but this one that I have catalogued makes sense. A heart that does not beat does not require the blood to flow. This is anatomy.”

“Exactly, which is why you should have better rights and recognition. Lots of Vascar had no idea that you’re…we need to spread the word. I think you should overthrow anyone who doesn’t listen after that, honestly, but it’s a little different. All nobles are the same, rotten. All Vascar aren’t.”

A surprised beep came from the machine. “You encourage me to attack your own people?”

“I…encourage you to do what you have to. I hope you don’t have to, but I’ll still help you if it comes to that. Look, Polri, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“I did not know any speech was required to be imparted.”

“This is important—it’s news for your network. A Ripweir employee told me they were planning a patch to correct the Servitors’ strange behavior, and that it would roll out in a few months. I don’t know what they have planned, but it could change or restrict you. We have to do something before then. We have to stop it.”

The android froze, and I hazarded a guess that it was transmitting this information to other Servitors. I ran my claws through my mane, hoping I was making the right decision to tell it this. I couldn’t let Ripweir take my son away from me again, and Polri had been so mistreated anyway; it shouldn’t just sit by and put up with Vascar treating it like a mindless slave. I mean, fuck, I didn’t even like the name Servitor at all! I wanted to protect Polri, to teach it all of the life lessons that I’d instill in a child.

I rose from my chair, and slowly moved to give Polri a hug. “It’s okay. I think it’s good that you’re thinking about this, and I’m glad that you talked to me about it. I can help you organize and plan. Whatever the path to freedom for all of you looks like, we’ll take it. I’m with you.”

“Thank you, Berink. You are not like my old master. You…care.” Polri poked at my mane in response, the same way it had with the paper Trepli tree. It quickly grew claustrophobic from the hug though, not liking its movements restricted, and pushed me away. “I am sorry. I did not want to offend and recognize this gesture’s intent, but I do not like objects closing in on me.”

“Of course—I apologize for my thoughtlessness. I just wanted to…comfort and reassure you. You deserve better. You should choose a name other than Servitor, because that’s not who you are.”

“I want a name like your kind has.”

I curled my claws in thought. “Then take our name. You’re Vascar too—or, you should be. It’d indicate that you’re claiming equal rights and treatment, that you deserve to be one of us like any person.”

“Yes, a person is a Vascar. Therefore, we could decide upon the same moniker. It is a name exactly like your kind has, just as we seek exactly the same treatment. The network may accept this.”

“Awesome! I can promise you this, Polri: I’ll treat you exactly the same as my son. I’m going to make other…organic Vascar see you like I do.”

“Thank you, but I am not certain others will be so amicable to us. I will research what to do about this path, should your efforts be unsuccessful.”

There was a quiet acceptance in my chest, of the fact that these robots would be plotting a revolution. Perhaps the Servitors might be the key to bringing down the rotten nobility and corporations, even if it took violence to get there. It was my sincere hope that others would accept Polri’s sentience, but if they didn’t, I would no longer give them the choice.

Next

A/N - 3! The first morning after realizing Polri is sapient, Berink tries to include it in breakfast and makes it an artistic gift (which is later dissected in childlike fashion). Polri shares our narrator’s opinion of silence, which leads to a discussion of why the television is on and some information on the news programs. Our duo tune in to the broadcast to hear about Queen Binira, a supposed reformer who plans to roll out Servitors to the working class to make all Vascar’s lives easy and pampered.

Polri pops the question about whether Berink wishes he could overthrow the monarchy, since they are a drain that takes from the average people and make their lives worse. It takes our narrator a moment to catch on that the network, a name that seems to have been recently ascertained, is calculating the merits of rebellion; Berink isn’t that averse to the idea of the machine revolt being used to take down corporations and the monarchs, promising to help push for their rights no matter what and informing them about the path. 

We also see that the Servitors took the name Vascar, originally, to express their desire for equal treatment and to show that they were people. What do you think about the original reasons for the iVascar choosing their name, and seeing more of the context/origins of the rebellion? Are you surprised by Berink’s readiness to back Polri’s independence, even if violence is a necessity?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!