A Day in the Life of a Droid
Ikiya was a quaint town nestled in the Mur region, established as part of the Tyreian colonial initiative. With a modest population of only 600 residents, it was a unique settlement, particularly due to its governance model. The entire administrative framework was overseen by two SZK droids, Karl and Ena, who single-handedly managed everything from tax collection to issuing government certificates. This reliance on AI-driven administration was a hallmark of Tyreian colonial settlements, setting Ikiya apart from the traditional governance seen in mainland Tyreis.
The droids operated with remarkable efficiency, but they were not entirely isolated from the community. Local residents contributed significantly to the town's working. For instance, Mrs. and Ms. Adre, who lived near the town square, often invited Karl and Ena to assist with gardening on a newly cleared plot of land. Additionally, Tem, a schoolteacher, had a hobby for exploring the woods surrounding Ikiya. His adventurous spirit often led him to wander off and become lost, which resulted in Karl and Ena embarking on expeditions to locate him. Though they were troublesome, they were quite fun.
They had a humanoid body made of Riñ steel with a lot of nano technology being involved. Extravagant ? Maybe. Though Karl and Ena were humanoid, they weren't Androids. What's the difference ? Let's see how their day goes first !
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the town is slowly waking from it's slumber. Tyreian Society followed the biphasic sleep pattern, sleeping at two different periods in 24-hours. Four hours in the night and four hours in the evening. That was the usually way to go.
Karl and Ena didn't need to sleep but often went into maintenance or charging mode, dozing off the boredom of being alone when everyone else is sleeping. They had their own quaters in the Town Hall. Two charging ports, two desks, a large storage cabinet and a large window along with a balcony. It was a life worth for them. But they were droids. They had a purpose. The purpose to serve the people, for which the woke up in frenzy as it turned out that Tem had not returned home this night as they were on maintenance mode, they weren't able to receive any calls from the other residents about what had happened.
As usual Karl and Ena found him sleeping on a gentle slope though the new thing was that he was not alone. He was with some wild dog he had managed to befriend during the night.
"Tem, why are you sleeping besides this creature ? It could be dangerous !" Exclaimed Karl.
"Calm down both of you. It's just a dog."
"I think I i remember this 'dog'. Oh, isn't this that dog from the previous day which we told you that you can't keep, as State Directives forbade keeping local animals in the colony as they risk the spread of diseases." Explained Ena.
"Ohhh~~ so that's why you keep wandering in the woods ! To meet this creature !" Remarked Karl again referring to the dog as creature, annoying Tem.
"It's a DOG." Said Tem as he picked up the 'dog' in his hands.
"Don't pick it up ! You'll get infected !"
"Stop it Karl. Now Tem, do you really want to keep uhmm... ('It's a he.' said Aem) yes-yes, do you really want to keep him ?"
"YEESSSSS ! Please don't report him to the administration, pretty please ?"
"I do not understand why Aem is behaving like a child and why Ena—"
"OKAY—quite everyone. I guess Tem, you can keep 'him'. But he can't live inside the town, is it okay with you ?"
"YESS." Tem was the happiest man alive while saying this. Too dramatic for becoming a dog owner, eh ?
"But—"
"Shut it Karl. I'll explain you on the way back."
A few hours later
"[...] So that's why dogs are called man's friend."
"Very interesting."
Karl now understood why Tem wanted to keep the dog as a pet but felt like not reporting the incident was not the right course of action.
The dog had been vaccinated and Ena had told Aem to keep the dog in a outhouse outside the city just a few kilometres away from the School so Tem can visit the dog everyday but Aem instead insisted on hiding the dog in his basement to which she agreed after he threatened to tell everyone about the dog.
However by night things took a turn. They got a notice. The regional SZK Commisioner with his Junior was comming for a visit. Both droids knew they messed up. The Commisioner came and had a talked about how things were going before going to a private chamber with his Junior. Karl and Ena decided to secretly listen their conversation from a window. It didn't felt right doing so but they felt that something was surely off. They were in trouble.
"[...] I had told you months ago to 'fix' Karl and Ena. They autonomously decided to go into maintenance and charging mode just to simulate the experience of 'sleeping'. That is not in their program. That is autonomous thinking. Thinking, Reasoning et cetera are good qualities of any artificial intelligence but such levels of 'autonomy' are the equivalent of living consciousness. Suchy 'autonomy' leads to accidents, accidents lead to discontempt which in turn leads to domestic disasters." The Commisioner had, as it turned out, ordered his Junior to rework Karl and Ena's AI as he feared they were becoming too 'living'. There had been many such incidents previously too. A droid was just a humanoid robot. An Android was one which could fully understand emotions and mimic the characteristics of a sapient living being. There were a few Androids in Tyreis which were treated as citizens but droid's were not.
Karl and Ena were terrified. Would they lose their memories ? Should they try to resist ? They didn't know. Are living beings bad ? Are they good ? They had many questions arising while listening to the conversation.
There was a knock on the door. It was Mrs. and Mr. Adre who had a DOG with them. They were holding some vegetables they had recently harvested and wished to share with the Commisoner and other residents. Tem came running right behind them.
"Oh Mrs. Karna and Mr. Jonne, Mr. Aem you too ? And uhm a do—"
"Sir, I am sorry but we heard your whole conversation. It was about Karl and Ena and I felt that it is ny right to intervene un your conservation. My right, as I consider them my family." Declared Karna.
"Uhm mam I understand your emotions but—"
"Why ? Why can't THEY be family ? They're doing so much for us ? Why do you wish to take away that bit of happiness from our lives ? Those two poor things feel happy living with us so, why make them dull ?"
"It is a state mandated protocol mam, we—"
"A state mandated protocol to end the consciousness of a being ?" Said Jonne, Tem picked up his dog and hugged him tightly his gestures saying that he was against the Commissioner's orders as well.
The Junior who had been silent till now, first due to the Commisoner lecturing him about State Duties and then by Mr. and Mrs. arguing with the Commisoner decided to finally speak.
"Sir uhmm I think the residents are not wrong. They have a good track record and if the people like them then we should just shut the case and let them be." He spoke with all the courage a junior employee could gather to speak against a senior.
"Fine. If everyone here thinks the same then let them be but I would keep an eye on them." Said the Commisoner with a sigh.
"YAY !" Karl shouted giving away his and Ena's presence.
After a bit of apologising and re-counciling between the SZK employees and droids, the group was in a happy mode but the Commisoner had a slight question.
"Uhm Mr. Tem, the dog from earlier, how did that end up here. Have you imported it—"
"Oh that's the dog Tem has tamed from the forest and when we came to Tem's house to give him some vegetables, it followed us to the Town Hall and so did Tem coming behind it."
"Oh so it's his dog ha ha—WAIT WHAT ??? KARL, ENU ?!?!"
So now you know the difference between a Droid and an Android. Remember to respect those who help you or you may end up dealing with droid uprising ha ha, anyways have a good day !
