A popular sitcom elegantly described creativity as something
possessed by people with glasses who lie. Tell that to a person who was immobilized from the waist down, he thought, a person for whom creativity and
imagination was the only escape route from a world that constantly reminded him
of his inadequacy and sheer helplessness. A manic rage gripped him every time
he rolled into his lecture halls in his wheelchair (sophisticated beyond
belief) and students stood up by way of greeting, a nauseating mixture of pity
and sympathy oozing out of their being. Every contact with humanity reinforced his ‘invalid
‘status and exacerbated his despair and agony.
The only way he could cope with this endless abyss of self -loathing
and disillusionment was by involving himself in his work. It was something that
he cherished; something he wished to be known by, a visionary scientist who
took the concept of Artificial Intelligence and expanded the realm of
possibility. His name was associated with some of the seminal developments in
the field of robotics. The Android project, which further blurred the
distinction between man and machine, was his brainchild. It was an idea that
sprang forth from his overall cynical outlook towards mankind; it was his
testament to the eroding values and ideals of that ilk.
He had been an athlete before he lost control of his feet; a
long distance runner. It was a passion in which he invested all available time outside
of his professional commitments. He would run for hours on end, as if bodily
constraints didn’t apply for him. Looking back, he would chuckle to himself
over the perverse cruelty that fate had meted out to him; it was almost like a
morbid April Fool’s Day prank gone wrong. But he could not let that phase of
his life fade away and die out with him, he wanted to leave some sort of
tangible evidence by way of proof that he was once a vivacious, energetic chap.
And it was this desire that drove him to build into his creation the ability to
run. He set himself to this task and worked like a man possessed, often all by
himself, and after 3 years of excruciating effort, he had given his audacious
dream a physical manifestation. He called it Twerp, which was the nickname his
colleagues had bestowed upon him. Twerp was made to resemble the Scientist at
the peak of his youth. Even his sternest critics couldn't help but begrudgingly
hail this momentous occasion in Robotics history.
He however had one more wish. He wanted Twerp to take part in the Boston
Marathon. Realizing that the name could possibly trivialize his seriousness and
jeopardize his campaign, he dropped the ‘p’. This announcement was however met
with ridicule from all quarters, not to mention fierce resistance and outright
rejection from the organizers of what they called a stupid idea. “ That ruddy
thing is not even human, is he even in his mind?!!”. The Scientist was not to
be deterred. He went on a whirlwind opinion mobilization tour, taking his
invention along. The tour was an outright success; people were simply overawed
by the Android. And slowly, the tides began to turn in his favour. He now had a
huge body of passionate supported lobbying for his cause. The organizers
however wouldn’t budge. He took legal recourse, and made an impassioned plea in
front of the judge, almost moving the courtroom to tears. After his speech,
however, the judge said something that had the effect of lifting a veil that
had shrouded the whole issue. His rationale was so elegantly simple, that no
one could really raise any sort of opposition. “I really don’t understand all
this fuzz”, he said. “ Twer is human!!”.
