Pinnochio

"The year is 2030. It has been 15 years since the  invention  of  "them" by two genius computer engineers who were way ahead of their contemporary colleagues. This invention  instigated  a  series  of events  that changed the face of  the world  within the span  of  ten years. Initially "they" were mass  produced  by  rival  companies  seeking  to maximize their profits  and  establishing  a  monopoly in this  goldmine-like  new business. Custom models were being  designed everyday  to  meet  the demands of  rich  business tycoons who either wanted to live on forever or fill a  hole in  their hearts by  replacing  their deceased spouse or children with them. As their numbers kept increasing , they became more and more affordable to the common man. Eventually their numbers  increased  to almost 1/10 th of the total of our population. They became an integral part of human lives within 5 years. But as we all know , though many were against it , Victor Ramsey , one of the two scientists who were acclaimed for their discovery  of  "them" introduced a new update to the robots after  the  mysterious death of his colleague Gepetto. This new update enabled the  robots  to think on their own , express their own ideas and hold their own opinion in debatable issues , thus giving  them  a  persona.  He advertised this update through  his own doppelganger of a robot that he himself designed which was called Victor Frankenstein or Frank in short. The irony though , it certainly did live  upto  its name's reputation as we all now know , didn’t  it? So after this  update  we stopped calling them as robots and  referred to them as androids as robot sounded offensive. "Robot" was the new  n****r.  People stopped referring to them as "it" and started referring to them based upon their prescribed gender. So after seven years ,all of a sudden there were 8 billion human-like beings on the earth , out of which 1 billion did not age , need not necessarily eat ,though they could if they wanted to and could reproduce among themselves , though the reproduced would again be human with their parent androids traits encoded into their DNA. The situation then was the same as that of the black enslavement by the whites, only the blacks were the androids and the whites were us. So a revolt was in order ,which did come only this time the blacks were mentally and physically superior to us by 20 times and we were in no way equipped to fight them without killing our own , this revolution slowly up-scaled into a war that almost wiped out the human race. Now 1.5 billion of us remain after this android apocalypse reduced to enclosed places called shelters. There is no concept of nations anymore. The shelter that we live in maintains a democratic farce but is really more of an aristocracy. All this in a matter of nearly 750 days , we are slowly trying our best to get back on our feet after this horrible tragedy. Some still cannot process the happenings in the last two years and are living out their lives in an unfazed manner hoping that they would wake up one day from this bad-bad dream and all would be well. The shelter spends most of the funds it raises through tax which is used towards maintaining security and researching new ways to efficiently and easily immobilizing the androids. The shelters are protected by a large scale device that emits a signal which instantly shuts down any android that comes in its range . So basically all the innovation is applied and focused now on destructive ideas rather than constructive ones. More like engineers are forced to innovate destructive ideas in order to survive .On the other hand the androids were reduced to nearly a million from one billion living outside the shelters trying to survive. Most of them were dormant during the war and are  peace-loving androids with their infant children (human) trying to survive on their own living the life of nomads in order to feed their kids. Sure there are still rebel androids left out there too , like Frank the criminal mastermind behind the war but if we keep fighting the androids as an  alien species without differentiating as we are doing now, instead of  trying to work out a way in order to co-exist , it will only lead to further violence and bloodshed that we can't possibly afford for , as we are already dangerously low in numbers. I know for a fact  that most of us consumed with thoughts of retribution , are taking it out mostly on the harmless innocent androids out there. Expedition of troops are sent outside the shelter in order to allegedly "scout" the area and in the process end up orphaning many infants who are also again humans. Doesn't this sound familiar? Like the U.S drone strikes on innocent Muslim civilians who were allegedly terrorists. People eventually "realized" that not all Muslims are evil or terrorists .In the same way we should start recognizing that not all androids are evil or plotting to eradicate humans some in fact  are the mothers of our fellow baby brothers and sisters. How would you justify the killing of his mother to a 5-6 year old when you know in your heart that it was wrong? is a question that one should ask himself. They(androids) did not ask us to give them voice nor did they ask us to create them. We did that and now we should take responsibility for it and treat them like we would a fellow human being .Yeah we can keep fantasizing about a world without androids  or we can grow up and start doing responsible things.  Also such recognition would help catch out the androids like Frank who wish to eradicate us and thus we can effectively control the elements of chaos . If done so, we can eventually get back to the pre-android period someday co-existing together with the androids in harmony and not just confined to some enclosed place living in constant fear. I know I will be reprimanded by the above mentioned aristocrats , slammed by readers whose hearts are filled with rage whom I sympathize with and ostracized by fellow writers but I write this article in order to reach out to the sane people out there who are willing to consider the points put forth and dare to think for once without being blinded by rage and retribution. What has been done , has been done ! Let's get over it  , forgive them or at least try to and most importantly forgive ourselves and move forward to a better and brighter future. May the force be with you ! What can I say I am a fan of the classics."

 

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The year is 2080.

So class this was the article that Pinnochio wrote and posted online 50 years ago which lead to him becoming famous and eventually the spokesperson for peace talks between androids and humans that lead to today's successful co-existence. But did any of you know that Pinnochio was Gepetto's son? It is believed that Gepetto and Ramsey created Frankenstein back in 2015 itself but Gepetto was rather reluctant to reveal the android part of the robot to the world as he knew that it would bring several repercussions. It is suspected that Frank somehow caused the death of Gepetto while simultaneously creating a rift between the two best friends. Once Gepetto died , Victor no longer had any reason to hold back and ended up revealing androids to the world. Did he do the right thing or not is again a debatable issue because if not for him , most of us wouldn't exist as of today but then again there would still be more human beings than there are now on the Earth today. One good thing that came out of the android apocalypse is there is no more population explosion anymore and there are enough resources for the coming generations. Make no mistake I am not trying to justify the android apocalypse by saying so , I am just stating the unexpected positives that came out of it. Ramsey's creation Frankenstein almost doomed us for all eternity if we continued on the same path while Gepetto's masterpiece and ultimate creation , his son Pinnochio redeemed us from the impending condemnation and became our savior. Now it is  unclear whether Pinnochio was actually Gepetto's biological son or just a metaphorical son and was really his ultimate creation : an android that could withstand the EMP-like device. Maybe calling himself a human was Pinnochio's biggest lie .Pinnochio's death is also shrouded with mystery and deception. Some believe that he forcefully "shut-down" himself or in other words committed suicide and asked someone to dispose his body so that his secret doesn't get out.  But lie or not , human or android ,  Pinnochio was a hero for both humans and androids . Let us take a moment and thank him , in silence ,on the eve of his 30th death anniversary.

Reviews

[Krizito]

I'll be honest; some of what you went over my head, but the ones I jumped high enough to grasp kinda impressed me(most especially the message of co-existence). Nice work. Please do take time to review other members' piece, sure they'll appreciate it..

[Bharath Mutyala]

Thank you and yeah I am on it :)

[forevermore1218]

I do love your creativity but it was kind of a drag reading it not because it wasn't good, but because of the way it was written. It is a bit scattered and hard to follow in some areas such as "It is suspected that Frank somehow caused the death of Gepetto while simultaneously creating a rift between the two best friends. Once Gepetto died , Victor no longer had any reason to hold back and ended up revealing androids to the world." I understand what you are trying to say and represent in this but at the same time it is confusing.

I personally love reading about people's ideas about the future and this was perfect for that. I think that this piece has immense potential just make sure you are clear in your story and so that the reader doesn't get lost because the second they do, they will stop reading,
All the Best!

[Alucard6336]

Very imaginative I like. :)

Frankenstein means "man made of earth" or roughly dirt or clay in translations.

Something got me here that I know happens. The drone attacks on civilians. That is why my heart is not with america.

[Solar]

'Maybe calling himself a human was Pinnochio's biggest lie'

wow! That's a great lne!

Just a suggestion - it helps readibility to introduce paragraphing.

A very promising story that tackles the trans-human theme

[prachi prangya agasti]

Good job, some of the parts are aptly described.

[Valkyrie Warrior]

Very good! I enjoyed it!!

[h d e rushin]

quite an interesting story Bharath..."The androids are living among story", made popular by
the "Terminator" which, as I remember, was at least 30 years ago. So I will speak as if you saw
that movie...There is that part in the beginning where Kyle Reese was sent from the future to
protect Sarah Conner (and her unborn) from the cyborg hell bent on destruction. Lost in that
powerful scene was the condescending nature of the discussions of the unknown. Being a crazy
cyborg helps us hate just like being a friendly one (as you have suggested) helps us love.

"Make no mistake, I am not trying to justify and android apocalypse , I am just stating the
unexpected positives of it"// At that point the story comes alive; and I feel some
compassion, if compassion is what you as the writer wants me to feel. Good story,
but I write poetry and because of, and not in-spite of that, I want my compassion in the
beginning....

Great start but you cant stop..Not when we need more of you..

dana

[Emily]

I loved it!!
Great story!
Well done!!

[kclyaine]

So in 2050 Pinnochio died. Seriously, this story is so simliar to the manwha I read called "Gepetto" Its like I'm reading a short written version of it. Anyway, Good job. I really enjoyed your work. I hope you can make a new one soon.

[Rose Jaeger Kaneki]

AMAZING STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep up the amazing work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[patricia]

I hope you are just talking about a film or something and none of this is true? A curious and gripping read. Thanks.

[Bharath Mutyala]

It is true and I am a time traveller . So hope you lot survive . I am gonna go live in some past era.
All jokes aside , thank you for taking the time.