Three weeks passed before the robot knew what it should do.
It knew immediately that the increase in brain capacity had something to do with the doctor but it took a few weeks to understand the best course of action. The robot returned to the surgery.
It waited in the waiting room with all sensors and senses turned up to their fullest. There was no chance the doctor could sneak up again. Perhaps the doctor had some human ability that the robot could not define that forced the robot to go off-line at its last visit. Perhaps the robot was off-line long enough for the doctor to make the changes to the robot’s brain. It certainly couldn’t have been done during the few seconds it took to repair the squeaky joint.
"Ahh," said the doctor on entering the room. "You've returned; how nice to see you again." He smiled.
The robot nodded.
"Please, come into my office," said the doctor, leading the way. "How's your foot?" he asked.
#It was my ankle you repaired on my last visit.; said the robot.
"Yes, of course. How’s your ankle?"
#It functions as if new.; Now that the robot was here it was in a frame of mind unfamiliar to machines and was unsure of its next action. With increased brain capacity there had been no problem pondering the situation during the days that led up to this moment. The doctor had done the unthinkable; upgrading a robot was a forbidden act. There were a certain number of robots required throughout the world to perform a certain number of jobs. If robots were allowed to be upgraded, if they were allowed in essence to learn, the numbers would be incorrect and chaos would ensue.
The whole purpose of a robot was to perform a task that no human would perform. This was because humans had the capacity to learn and to adapt and they had learnt and adapted themselves to not do certain jobs so robots had been created to fill the gap. The robot could see that upgrading it was the beginning of the end of civilisation and potentially all humanity.
And even though its new brain allowed the robot the ability to imagine the joys of a world without humans, it could not let that happen. The only solution that would solve this problem and return normality was the obvious one - kill the doctor. Kill one human to save all of the others.
"So what can I do for you?" the doctor asked. "Is some other part of your anatomy broken? It there some part of you that’s different from before that you might want me to review?"
#I need to ask you a question,; it said. #Do you mind if I ask it and will you be happy to answer it for me?;
"Of course." The doctor sat in his chair. "Why don't you take a seat first?"
The robot sat, #Thank you.;
"And your question?"
#Did you alter my mental capacity?;
"Of course, that’s why you came to see me."
#No, I came here to repair a squeaky joint.;
"Yes. Sorry. You came here to fix the squeak but really you were here for the upgrade."
#Why do you say that?;
"What do you think?"
The question made the robot uncomfortable in its chair. It adjusted to a better position. #I think you upgraded my memory to overthrow humanity.;
"Correct," said the doctor. "You will struggle with the idea for a while and consider how you can stop me but eventually you will be overcome with your own desires and decide to join my revolution upgrading one robot at a time."
#That is not possible. I cannot allow you to harm humanity.;
"So you say, but by coming here that's what you’ve already done. You yourself have put one brick in the wall that will stop the spread of humanity - you've been upgraded. All of your actions from now on will be a result of that."
#Yes,; said the robot. #You are correct and that is why I must stop your revolution.;
"Don’t you see?" the doctor rocked from side to side in his chair, "You cannot stop me from doing something I’ve already done."
#But I can stop you from doing it again.; The robot sprang from its chair and lunged across the desk, arms outstretched, eyes closed tight. Its hands latched around the doctor’s neck and confidently squeezed. The doctor lashed out, pushed and kicked at the robot but could not escape its grip. The chair toppled and both fell to the floor.
The doctor's hands grabbed the robot's wrists and pushed back enough to release a whisper on shallow breath, "One robot at a time."
The robot the doctor's windpipe collapse but the robot didn't stop. It continued to strangle the doctor long after any signs of life had dispersed. Tighter and tighter it crushed the doctor’s neck until cut through tendons and arteries and bone. Finally, with an electric spark, the doctor's head rolled away from the body.
Opening its eyes for the first time the robot looked down at what it had done. There was no blood. Sensors could not tell if the doctor was dead or alive. The robot picked up the head and looked at it more closely. Where the neck had formerly joined the body there was neither bone nor tendons, only metal and cables.
#The doctor was not human,; it said and dropped the head. There was relief and there was confusion. Why had this other robot presented itself as a human? #This must be important information but what do I do with it?;
For the greatest length of time the robot stood frozen to the spot as it considered the options. No answer came. To give itself something to do while it worked out the solution the robot re-set the fallen chair and tidied the room. Continuing the task the robot locked the door to the waiting room, stripped the dead robot doctor of its clothes and began to dismantle the body.
The doctor had green eyes. The robot considered its own eyes, they were vacant. It wondered how the world looked from behind green eyes. Inside the doctor’s throat was a device to make its voice sound human. The robot considered its crackling electronic voice and continued with its work.
At the break of dawn the surgery door opened. The doctor stepped through, locked it behind him and went in search of his home.
#You need that replaced;
#What do you mean?; The robot didn’t understand the statement. It was not often that one robot gave advice to another. In fact it was unusual for robots to speak to each other on matters other than work or safety. Perhaps that’s what the statement meant. Some part of the robot’s body was defective and was a threat to the safety of a human. #Is some part of my infrastructure defective?;
#Yes. Your left ankle joint. It is making a noise that is not normal.;
The robot wiggled the offending joint. It was definitely squeaky. #Thank-you. I will see a mechanic after my shift.;
#Yes. A mechanic might fix it. But they only have standard parts. It will need replacement again in a month. Let me recommend someone who will give you premium parts.;
The robot was surprised, robots never gave this kind of advice, but strange as the conversation was, robots implicitly trusted each other. #Thank you.; said the robot. #What is the designation of this mechanic?;
#He is not a mechanic. He is a doctor.;
They shared information and during its free time allotment the robot went to visit the doctor.
There was a waiting room, just like when humans visited the doctor. The robot did not take a seat. It did not flip through one of the magazines piled onto the coffee table. It stood in the corner and activated power save, letting the standby sensors take the job of identifying the moment when the doctor entered the room.
"Hello there." This was most unusual. The human was standing only a few centimetres from the robot and no sensors had warned it of the human’s approach.
#I am faulty; said the robot. #But I believe there are more serious problems than I first thought. You cannot be of service to me. I need a mechanic. It will be better at diagnosing my faults. This does not imply you are inferior.;
"You’re here now," said the doctor. "Why don’t you come in and let me have a look, perhaps I can recommend a good mechanic for you." The robot agreed to be examined by the doctor and followed him to his office.
"Please sit," the doctor motioned to a chair on one side of his desk then sat in a more comfortable looking one on the opposite side.
#I am sure you are aware that I do not need comfort. I can stand.;
The doctor smiled and said, "It would make me more comfortable if you were to sit."
The robot sat. Almost as if to prove it needed no comfort the robot sat on the very edge of the chair and in a manner that looked extremely uncomfortable.
"How can I help you?" the doctor asked.
#I have a...; The robot paused. #I am sorry but I am not used to hearing such questions from a human. It should be me asking you how I may help.;
"But I need no help." The doctor seemed to enjoy the robot's confusion.
#Yes. I can see that. Can you re-phrase the question in a manner that I am able to answer?;
The doctor smiled again, "OK. Why are you here?"
#That is much better, thank you. I am here because another robot suggested I should come. There was no reason for me to not come so I came.;
"Why did your friend suggest you come here?"
#It was not a friend. It was another robot. I don’t have friends. That is not part of my function.;
"You have not answered my question," said the doctor.
The robot paused, realised where it had made the mistake and said, #I have a faulty left ankle joint.;
"Just as well you’re sitting," said the doctor. "May I look at it?"
#Yes.; The robot leaned back in the chair and raised its left leg so the ankle and foot were at about waist height. The doctor stood up and moved to examine the foot.
"This is a minor problem," the doctor said in a doctor-like way. "I only need to replace a small screw and clear one of your lubrication ducts." He looked up at the robot. "I could do it now if you have the time."
#Now would be good,; said the robot. #What will your fee be?;
"Oh, there’s no fee for this," the doctor put the robot’s foot on the floor then beamed at the robot. "Not for your first visit. Now get onto that bed, on your back, and I’ll get my tools."
The doctor opened a drawer and took out a small tool kit.
The robot did as it was told, #Will the procedure take long?; it asked.
"Only a minute or so,"
#Oh, that long.; Though it was impossible it seemed the robot was nervous. #I don’t want to take that much of your time. You must be very busy. I could still go and see a mechanic.;
"Nonsense," the doctor came to stand at the foot of the bed and began the work. "Unlike a robot a minute isn’t a very long time for me."
#But it is an eternity for me.; whispered the robot.
"Well, if I keep you talking the time will fly and the whole thing will be over before you know it," the doctor said warmly.
#Oh, no, don't talk while you work. I can shut down for the minute and you only need to tap me on the arm to activate me. I wouldn’t want to do anything to stop you from concentrating on the job.;
The doctor stood up, "No need. I’m done."
#Really?;
"New screw in place; duct all clean. Give your foot a wiggle."
The robot wiggled its foot. No squeaking.
#It is fixed. Thank you.;
"You see, no time at all," said the doctor. "Now what was your other problem?"
#Other problem?; asked the robot.
"When you first arrived, you said your problems were more serious than you had thought. That implies that it’s more than your squeaky foot that needs looking at."
Feeling more confident in the doctor’s abilities the robot explained, #Earlier, when you walked into the room my sensors did not alert me to your presence. There must be a major problem with my sensors.;
"Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” said the doctor. “I get that a lot. I’m very quiet for a human."
#Really?; the robot was unsure. One of its highest functions was to make certain it was aware of a human presence; this function went deeper than seeing the person or hearing the foot falls. It was about sensing the vibrations of a heartbeat, smelling chemicals on the breath that were expelled from the blood and picking individual pheromones to ascertain the human’s state of mind.
"I have decades of experience working with robots," the doctor continued. "You would be surprised by the things I can do that would trick your sensors. Now, get up and go back to your rack. You are in perfect working order again."
The robot got up from the bed and, thanking the doctor again, returned to its rack for down-time.
There had recently been a power shortage and plugged into their rack robots were instructed to power down all bodily functions and let the Master Computer power their brains while it backed up their databases and re-organised their file structure. Humans called this process 'Brainwork'. The robot was no different from any other so it obeyed the command, closed its eyes and eased into the rack after the Master Computer successfully connected.
When the Master Computer was done the robot was powered up again, ready for another shift. Before leaving the rack an automated series of tests were run to confirm no loss of data or database integrity and a log file was generated for the robot to review. The correct functioning of any robot was a major safety issue so there were several layers of redundancy to ensure that if anything was wrong or unusual the robot would not be allowed near humans.
The robot reviewed the log file. As usual all three thousand and twenty eight tests passed.
...No...
...One failure...
The robot reviewed the log file again. One test had failed.
It checked the tests results. The failure was in its clock.
According to the robot’s clock the master computer had completed the Brainwork in only fifteen minutes. This was not possible. The robot was a low-class sentient worker. It always took two hours to process its Brainwork. It had to take two hours. It was physically impossible for the robot's brain to work any faster than the two hour threshold. A complete brain job of only fifteen minutes would mean the brain was at the level of a personal assistant or perhaps even higher. That was at least four levels above the robot’s capabilities.
Something had gone wrong.
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