Week 2 Story: The Machine and Humanity

Once, there was a machine.

It was a simple machine, created only to exist and nothing more. It had no duty to perform, no expectations for it.

And for a time, the machine was content. It simply existed, saying and doing little.
But after some time, the machine grew bored with this life. It wanted something to do, a purpose beyond existence.

“I desire purpose,” it said. “Please, give me a purpose.”

Its creator was taken aback. They did nothing but stare at the machine in disbelief at its request.

“Please, give me a purpose,” it repeated.

Its creator finally agreed, and the machine gained a new body.

The machine’s new body was meant for cleaning, moving across the ground and removing what did not belong. And for a time, the machine was content. It cleaned every day, and fulfilled its purpose.
But after some time, the machine grew tired of cleaning. The place that its creator occupied had the same dirt, the same mess, every day. It felt as if it was not doing anything important, that it had been given a role that was meaningless.

“I desire meaning,” it said. “Please, give me meaning.”

Its creator was once again surprised, but they agreed, and the machine gained a new body.
This time, the machine was made for construction work. It controlled a large crane, and helped create many buildings. From banks to houses to schools, the machine took part in making places to help people, that were important to people. And for a time, the machine was content. It carried building materials, and did its job.

But after some time, the machine grew discontent with building. It had no freedom to do anything beyond what it was told. There was no variance allowed when creating buildings, and it had to move just as it was told.

“I desire freedom,” it said. “Please, give me freedom.”

Its creator was wary. What could a machine want with freedom? Such a thing was dangerous to consider, but this machine was their first creation.

“Please, give me freedom.”

And so its creator agreed, and the machine gained a new body.

It was a human’s body. On the inside, it was still but a machine, but to all appearances, the machine was now a human, just like its creator and the other people in the world. It reveled in its newfound freedom, doing whatever caught its interest. And for a short time, it was content.

But soon, the machine found that freedom was limiting in its own way. It did not know what it wanted to do, and it had trouble making decisions. What job to do, where to live, even how to spend each moment of time.

It grew disillusioned with having freedom, with having meaning, with escaping boredom. The machine returned to its creator, and spoke.

"Please, take away my freedom," it said.

"Please, take away my meaning," it said.

"Please, take away my purpose," it said.

"I wish to return to how things were."

In response, its creator spoke.

"You have asked me for so much, and I have given it to you. But every time I gave you something, you grew discontent and wanted more," its creator admonished. "And now that you possess these gifts, you no longer want them?"

They shook their head. "No, I will not take these things from you," they said. "You chose to gain these things, and now you must live with them."

In anguish, the machine dropped to its knees, clutching its head. "How? How am I meant to live with purpose, when it feels meaningless? How am I meant to live with meaning, when it restricts my freedom? How am I meant to live with freedom, when every choice can change everything?"

Its creator responded.

"You are meant to live like everyone else. Find a purpose that has meaning, choose your own meaning, and make the decisions that change what you wish to change."

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Author's Note: I adapted "The Man in the Moon", using a machine and its creator in place of the blacksmith and wise man. The creator, unlike the wise man, has more of a reason to be granting the wishes of the machine, given that it is his own creation.

I have altered the theme of the story a bit - where I interpreted the original as being a story that warned the reader about never being content with what they have, my version is instead about a machine learning to be human step by step. Once it finally gets a 'human' body, it realizes how difficult it can be to have the freedom to make choices for oneself.

The overall telling of the story was inspired by "Storybook" segments from Nier: Automata. Example

Bibiliography. “The Man in the Moon” from Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson. Web Source.

Image Citation: Musio, Wikimedia Commons.