Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Oh, for a robot companion

I long for an robot companion. At least, we used to call them robots. But as they inched closer and closer to human form -- in fiction, anyway -- someone invented a term to distinguish these human-form robots from their tin predecessors. And this happened in the 1860s; is that weird, or what? I had thought it was a modern term.

In any case, we now have the term android, meaning a robot in human form. Me, I like robot. No need to muddy the issue. And I think when the reality comes along we'll call them what they are: robots. Sorry if this offends you, Data.

If humans still exist in the distant future, they will live with robots (or more likely, be robots, but I'll cover that in a later post). These machines will be so sophisticated we can't even sniff it from here. These perfect beings call to me, especially as I drift off to sleep. I would give my (nonexistent) soul to meet one, and even more, maybe something real, to be one.

All of which is a major digression on the way to a simple book query. In one of Isaac Asimov's stories, there is a scene where someone, perhaps Daneel Olivaw, visits a woman who lives with robot companions. On her world, humans no longer interact physically. They live their lives entirely without human contact, preferring the company of robots -- as servants, companions and lovers. I liked the sound of that.

The problem is, I'm vague about where I read this. Maybe it wasn't even Asimov. I would love to reread the book or story. If this is familiar to anyone and they can point me to the book, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.