The Story of Candy Apple - Android
Page 16

   At least the judge knew who Pax and some of the other interested parties were, but he still would not grant them a jury trial. “Miss Apple is clearly not human and is for all intents a very complex mechanical device,” he said. “I will not get drawn into the debate of android rights here in my court. With that said and after viewing the recording and other data supplied to us by Mr. Thomas, I can see that this case is a very tragic accident brought on by the abusive actions of Miss Apple’s owner. However, her actions after his death are very questionable. There is the matter of identity theft, credit card fraud, and interstate flight to avoid prosecution to name but a few of her crimes since the accidental death of her owner.”
   “Your Honor, human beings in the commission of crimes have done far worse,” Pax said. “Miss Apple is here trying to correct those mistakes. As much as I can appreciate your desire not to get caught up in the android rights issue, the bottom line is that if Miss Apple had been a human, we would, in all likelihood, not be standing here. And, the sad fact is that if androids were protected by the same rights, you extend to your pets, we probably would not be here either. Miss Apple now has the distinction of being the first android to have killed her owner. It was a tragic accident to be sure, but if we do not begin to address the issue of android rights, the next time, and there will be a next time, we might not be dealing with an accidental death.”
   “I can sympathize with Miss Apple's plight, and personally I am persuaded by your argument, Mr. Pax,” the judge said. “But, I am not here for my own personal benefit. In the eyes of the law, Miss Apple is a malfunctioning machine, and she is to be returned to Cybertron Robotics where they will try to understand what went wrong and hopefully try and correct the problem in future android models. After Cybertron has finished their diagnostic of Miss Apple, she is to be deactivated permanently.”
   “We give machines the ability to think for themselves and deactivate them when they show the first sign of independent thought. Duck the issue all you want but the problem is not going to go away and as we build more advanced A.I.s, things will only get worse,” Jonathan Thomas blurted out in frustration.
   “Mr. Thomas, you are out of order,” the judge said sternly. “The android will be returned to Cybertron Robotics. That is my decision.” The gavel came down with a loud thump.