Free How It Ends: Part 1 - The Evaluation by Scott C Lyerly

Sidney.
    “Truth be told, Dr. Kilgore, you startled me
somewhat by knocking. I was deep into my computer. I’m taking down
notes.”
    “For your analysis of me.”
    That was not a question .
    “Yes,” he said.
    “Perfectly understandable, Dr. Hermann. I
have witnessed humans in various stages of sudden fright. To be
honest, I find it a fascinating field of study. You may be
surprised to learn that I have a deep knowledge of horror movies,
which I also find fascinating as a phenomenon. The idea that humans
would willingly scare themselves in this manner is intriguing.”
    Horror movies ? thought Sidney. You
mean the kind where you’re trapped in the house alone with a killer
and there’s no way out? And let’s be honest, sanctioned or not,
Kilgore was a killer.
    Something else struck him.
    “Can you really be fascinated?”
    “To an extent. I have certain programming
embedded in my learning center that allows me to be curious. This
artificial curiosity compels me to observe, research, and conclude.
It is part of the constructed ability to learn.”
    Sidney had taken up his pad and had begun
scribbling down notes. He forced himself to set aside his
misgivings over being alone in a room with the robot. Time to
compartmentalize.
    “What other things have you been curious
about that have led to deductively reasoned conclusions?”
    “I would be happy to sit and give you a more
extensive catalogue of my experiences at a different time. For now,
however, I am concerned about your response to me when I entered
the room.”
    “You startled me. I thought we established
that.”
    “Then why has your fear grown? Specifically
after I entered and the door shut behind me?”
    How do I approach this? thought
Sidney. Perhaps the direct approach .
    “The truth, Dr. Kilgore?”
    “Please.”
    “I am nervous being in this room with
you.”
    “Why?”
    The robot’s voice was the same low soft tone
it had used since Sidney met him. He knew it was meant to convey a
type of comfort but he found it almost patronizing. That really
couldn’t be, could it? This machine was not able to summon the
emotion to be patronizing. Unless it had been programmed to do so.
He felt that was unlikely, knowing what he did about this model’s
engineering.
    “Dr. Kilgore, during the procedure I had the
sense that you were, well, angry. Or at the least irritated. To be
honest, being trapped in a room with a robot that’s upset with me
is not what I would describe as a stress-free event.”
    “You know I lack the capability for anger. I
cannot become angry. I cannot be angry. I cannot truly understand
what anger is beyond a technical definition.”
    Sidney nodded.
    “I know these things. However, one of the
things you need to understand about humans is that, even when we
know something to be true, there is another part of us that may
question this knowledge. Such questioning can often lead to fears.
And fear, rational or not, is extremely powerful.”
    “This is an interesting concept. Is this
what people mean when they refer to a gut feeling?”
    “Yes, I suppose it is.”
    “And your gut feeling about me when I
entered the room and closed the door was to become frightened?”
    Sidney swallowed. He didn’t like this line
of questioning. He had trapped himself in it. He wondered how far
the robot would pursue it.
    “Yes, Dr. Kilgore, it was.”
    The robot said nothing. Its artificial face
stared at him seated while he waited for a response. A single bead
of sweat formed slowly at the base of his hairline. Right at the
ridge of his right temple. It gathered weight and trickled down his
cheek. He tried to hide it but he felt that the robot’s holographic
eyes may have spotted it and followed it as it rolled down the side
of his face. It made him more nervous.
    “Dr. Hermann, I have no wish to make you
uncomfortable. In fact, any deliberate attempt to do so would cause
an immediate shutdown of my power system. Therefore, I will open
the door