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Jonathan DeLong
ENGL 2116 – 020
Chapter 3, Question 1
July 23, 2013
Functions and Purposes of the QT-1 Robot
We have created you to coordinate lesser robots that are responsible for microwave beams sent
to the planet Earth. We previously handled these duties ourselves, but we have determined that the job
is best left to a robot like yourself. We humans have flaws that prevent us from doing this job as well
as a robot could. We are made of a soft, sensitive flesh that cannot handle the extremes of the climate
outside the laboratory. Also, we need to consume food and water to continue our functions, both of
which are in limited supply here. We do not have the consistent functional ability of robots. Our bodies
are not capable of perfectly replicating previously completed tasks, and our minds are very prone to
miscalculations and poor instances of judgment. As a robot, your brain has been built to follow a set
mathematical function, ensuring that you will always arrive at the best decision. Your mechanical
nature means that your body is doing exactly what is required of it, free of flaws. These things make
you a more ideal being to coordinate robots tasked with such a great responsibility.
We, humans Gregory Powell and Michael Donovan, created you. Humans are created through
natural means; we are not built piece by piece in factories like robots. We have evolved as a species
after millions of years worth of abnormalities that are passed down to offspring. Over these millions of
years, the human race as gained a vast amount of knowledge and learned a great deal. Still, we are far
from perfect beings. Our soft flesh holds a collection of very sensitive organs that allow our body to
function. We require a very specific environment in which our bodies can thrive in. Extreme
conditions, like those outside of this space station, are impossible for humans to survive in. We also
need to consistently consume food and water to keep us alive. These resources can only be found on
the planet Earth, meaning we only have a limited supply once we leave and are on this station. We can
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only stay here for a limited amount of time, but we need a supervisor that can stay here indefinitely.
Despite humans' relative shortcomings both mentally and physically, we are responsible for
building you. The parts were sent to us from the aforementioned planet Earth after being designed and
built by other humans. Humans have been creating robots for a couple decades now, each generation
more sophisticated than the last. Early robots were not nearly as complex as you. They could not talk
and they were not capable of the complex reasoning of which you are capable. Years of calculations
and innovations led to newer and more complex robots, which leads us to where we are today. You are
the result of years of research, development, experimentation, and innovation. The findings we have
made in the development of past robots have taught us new techniques to improve future robots. These
long processes explain how beings as simple and flawed as ourselves are capable of creating machines
like you. Humans creating robots also provides an explanation as to why the first two of the Three
Laws of Robotics pertain to humans specifically.
You know that your primary responsibility as a robot is to ensure the safety of all humans due to
the Three Laws of Robotics. Humans reside on a large mass a great distance away, though it is visible
through the glass window. It appears very small to the eye, but we can assure you that this is because of
how far away it is. This large mass is known as a planet, and its name is Earth. It is home to about 3.3
billion humans like ourselves. The beams being sent from this station are directed at the planet Earth.
These beams can be very dangerous to humans if they are interfered with or sent improperly. Very
slight errors can have disastrous consequences. That is why it is imperative that a robot like yourself be
in control of the processes, as the minute discrepancies in the beams can be difficult for humans to
account for and control.
The other, brighter masses you see off in the distance are stars. Stars are massive (much larger
than Earth) balls of energy that give off huge amounts of heat, light, and radiation. These stars provide
the power that run this station. The station is able to convert the light from the sun into electricity,
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which is needed to make the station function. The machine responsible for converting the energy is
simply known as the “energy converter.” This is the machine that you have mistaken as your “master.”
However, this machine has no capabilities apart from converting energy. It is not a robot at all. It has no
capacity for logic or reasoning, and definitely does not have the means to create anything. It is simply a
human-made tool used to convert energy for consumption both here and on Earth, where it is needed to
power technologies for a wide variety of purposes, like those vital to the creation of more robots. The
energy is being transmitted to Earth via beams known as microwaves, which are sent out with a very
high intensity, and are received via receiving stations on Earth. It is vital that these beams are directed
precisely at the receiving stations because, as mentioned earlier, humans are very sensitive beings. If
the beams are not properly aligned, it could end up directed at unprepared humans. This could have
disastrous consequences, as excessive microwave radiation does great damage to the delicate tissues
that human beings are composed of.
Your job is to oversee the robots that control the beams, making sure that nothing alters their
path significantly enough to cause damage on Earth. As mentioned previously, this job has been done
by humans up until now because no robot had been built with a large enough mental capacity to
supervise lesser robots. Your orders are to make sure the beams discussed earlier are always in focus
exactly where they should be. Minor fluctuations can have devastating effects on life on Earth.
Allowing such devastating effects to occur would be in violation of the first law that you are
programmed to follow. The beam is to be held steady through the course of any unforeseen events like
electron storms and solar activity interfering with the beams. You are to prevent any actions that would
cause harm to or endanger humans, such as movement or alteration in the intensity of the beam.
We will not be staying on the station for much longer. We will be returning to Earth where we
will turn our focus to other robot endeavors. Humans will be sent to the station periodically to make
sure everything is running correctly and take note of any maintenance that needs to be done. You
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should be able to report all significant events to those humans that request it and obviously any
problems are to be dealt with in a manner in which the Three Laws of Robotics are upheld.