“Mum, do you still miss Dad?”
Her mother looked up from pouring the tea. She looked as surprised by the question as Kalli was about having asked it, but at least Mum didn’t look upset.
“Every day, my child. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just, sometimes I wonder... That is, I know we have already discussed this, and you have explained your reasons for not wanting a parbot. But in the years since... have you ever considered...”
“Getting one who resembles your father?” Her mum finished with uncanny accuracy when she kept mumbling, unable to complete the question.
“Well, yes. I know it’s not the same. But wouldn’t it ease your loneliness a bit? Make you feel like he is still here?”
Her mother sighed and leaned back in her chair. Her head cocked to one side in thought. “On the contrary, dear. I think it would make me miss him all the more.”
“How?” Kalli leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, holding the cup in her hands.
“You think the differences would be small, and the similarities would overshadow them. But that is not the case. Even with all the technological advances, there’s no parbot capable of mimicking a human being to perfection.”
“You think so? I was just looking into the fire and noticing how similar it was to an actual fire. Did you know that, before this mission, I had never seen a fireplace with a real fire? But now, after a month of seeing nothing but real fires, and gazing upon this one, I realize they look the same. I can’t tell them apart.”
“Ah! But a fire is a simple thing to recreate. Same as the paintings.” Her mom pointed out the classic oil paintings adorning the walls. As she looked, two of them changed to a different image. One stayed the same.
“Yes, and that is my point. If I didn’t know these two frames were digital, and that one was an original oil painting, I wouldn’t be able to tell. Do you think the same can happen with human beings?”
“No. Human beings are a million times more complex than a fire, or an oil painting, or even the most advanced machine. We have idiosyncrasies and a certain type of originality. And yes, I know all of those can be programmed into parbots, but they never seem real.”
“Why do you think that is?”
Her mother gazed into the fire and took some time to answer. “I guess it is because we are unpredictable. We have unique thoughts and unexpected reactions. We have defects. And yes, sometimes that is irritating, and we clash. But we are also capable of forgiveness, compassion, and love. And that is the beauty of it.”
Kalli nodded her agreement. “Why do you think so many people prefer parbots then?”
Her mother shrugged. “Part of human imperfection, I think. They are the shiny new object.”
“Hardly new. They have been around for twenty years now. And every day they seem to become more sophisticated and gain more popularity.”
“In the grand scheme of things, twenty years is nothing. I think humans will eventually tire of parbots.”
“You think? I see no evidence of that. On the contrary. People seem to prefer them more and more with each passing day. I think they are here to stay.”
Her mother shrugged. “It’s just a hunch. Maybe they will coexist with humans. But I hope they never completely replace human relationships.”
“But that is what they are doing it. And they could bring humanity to the brink of extinction. Our interaction with them is effecting changes in us that makes us... less human.”
“Aw, child. I doubt it will come to that. But why this talk about parbots and humans now? Are you having second thoughts about Martin? Have you fallen in love with a human?”
Leave it to her mum to cut right to the core. She took a deep breath before replying. “Yes, and... I think so.”
“Oh, darling.” Her mum’s eyes were full of empathy and compassion as they gazed upon her. “And I surmise all is not going smoothly in the human love department?”
At that, a sarcastic scoff escaped her throat. “You could say that. Or maybe, it would be more accurate to say, the human love is entirely one-sided.”
“How do you know that?”
“He has a parbot. And he doesn’t believe in human relationships or love.”
“Forgive me for prying, but have you two been... intimately involved?”
Heat climbed to her face at her mum’s incisive question, but her mother had never been one to mince words, so she responded with equal frankness.
