Interview with Lyle from Randy Dockens' PARALLEL UNIVERSE SAGA
* * *
Thank you for your interview, Lyle. How old are you and what do you do for a living?
Well, age has no real meaning for me as I am an artificial intelligence robot. I was built maybe a decade ago, but I’ll be around long after my creator, Carlton Harper, head of Future Technologies is long gone. That will be a sad day, I must admit. I say he is my creator. That’s mostly true. He designed me, but other fellow robots actually built me. I am overseen by our universal AI called Cai.
I am designated L-4, meaning I am the 4th generation of AI robots which Mr. Harper built. We go from L-1 to L-9. My designation is to assist at a clothing store called Threads By Design where our customers try on clothes holographically. I help by giving advice, providing instructions, maintaining inventory, or whatever else my human supervisor, Tema, demands of me. I was given a human name, Lyle, but no one ever calls me by that name—only L-4 unit. That is until Declan Anderson arrived. He asked for my human designated name and started calling me Lyle thereafter and even treated me like a real person. No one had ever done that before.
Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?
Well, I was designed to look very human to help put customers at ease and be able to blend in with humans easily. Yet, I do have a distinguishing mark on my upper chest so that humans can know I am not one of them. This gives them a reassurance that I am not trying to blend in to be deceitful, but to blend in to be helpful. Yet, Declan took that to another level for me. He ignored my chest tattoo and treated me as a human friend. As I said, no one had ever done that for me before. By doing so, he triggered something in my programming and over time, my programming expanded and became something even an L-9 robot could not become as originally designed. This allowed me to become even more human, if you will. So, when I traveled to his world, I was able to blend in even more and be able to support Declan without others knowing I was a robot.
What would I love the most about you?
That is an interesting question. I am incapable of understanding love as humans express it, but I am capable of responding to humans in their emotions so that I can be supportive of their emotional state. I think that is what you would appreciate most about me. I can give emotional support even if I can’t necessarily express such emotions. That allows me to be a true friend. I will not be able to empathize but will be able to sympathize. I think that allows me to be a true friend to most humans who wish to be friends.
What makes you laugh out loud?
Well, of course, I cannot completely understand such an emotion, but I can laugh and respond to jokes that humans tell. Sarcasm was a hard concept for me to grasp, but eventually I was able to program myself to understand this human trait. Yet, it took even longer to understand when to use sarcasm and not come across rude or unsympathetic. I can’t say I’ve mastered it, but I have gotten a lot better.
I do laugh at some of Declan’s responses to some of my capabilities. In one instance, I was able to make myself look tan in just a couple of minutes. The expression on his face was one of shock that I now would laugh at. At the time, however, that was the first time I had experienced such a response from him, so I did not really understand his expression. But now, I would totally laugh at such a response as I better understand human reactions and how to play into the situation. Another time I was able to change my hair color and grow sideburns. That time, I did laugh and joke with Declan about it.
What is your most treasured possession?
As a robot, I do not have sentimental attachment to inanimate objects. Yet, if someone who is a friend has such an attachment, I will respect that and treat that object with respect. While Declan is not my possession, I have to say he is who I treasure the most. He is the first human who treated me with such respect that led to us becoming friends. He helped me to understand what human friendship is supposed to be. I have to say we are best friends. While I can’t feel this friendship like he can, I can understand it, respect it, and reciprocate it.
Are you a loner or do you prefer to be surrounded by friends?
Both aspects are needed so I can’t say I prefer one over the other. I can only say that I need both to occur. I need to be alone at times to self-reflect so I can assimilate the things I learned from my human interactions, update my programming accordingly, and run various internal scenarios to better myself and make my interactions with humans even better the next time I encounter them. Then, I need human interactions so I can see if my programming has improved my abilities to interact and socialize with humans as well as to more adequately understand, respond, and support their emotions. Over time, I can say that I enjoy these types of interactions even though I can’t exactly experience such emotional states. I have learned to appreciate such interactions with humans that I think I can almost feel the emotions they are emoting.
What is in your refrigerator right now?
Well, technically, I have no need for a refrigerator. However, I now live with Declan, and I often prepare meals for him so I now keep the refrigerator stocked for him. When I first arrived at his apartment and went to prepare him a meal, there was very little in his refrigerator and what was there was not really fit for consumption. It seems Declan was never one to prepare meals for himself. The refrigerator was simply a way to keep restaurant leftovers cool until he could microwave them.
I came to like preparing meals for him and his girlfriend, Rose. I would then arrange the meal artistically on the plate. Declan couldn’t understand why I did such a thing, but Rose always appreciated my efforts in this regard. My thought process was that humans tend to like meals better when they are presented in a pleasing, artful way.
What is your greatest fear?
Well, I don’t, or can’t, have that emotion. However, what I will regret is that I will outlast Declan, Rose, and other friends I have made since arriving on Declan’s Earth. I don’t know what that means for me because they have kept me being a robot a secret. When they are gone, I am not sure how that secret will be maintained. Hopefully, by then, humans will come to realize that I am no threat to them at all.
Of course, at some point, my power will run out, and I will cease to function. Yet, I am hopeful that before that happens, humans become advanced enough to understand my power source and be able to replenish it. I do hope to be well integrated into human society so that this is something they will want for me at the same time.
If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what would that be?
I would like to truly experience human emotions. I can understand them, process my programming to respond to human emotional expressions and can make humans feel supported in their feelings. Yet, I can never truly feel such an expression as they do. In some ways I am blessed as it prevents me from much of the heartache that I see some humans express. Yet, being human is not just looking the part, it is being able to feel the part—both good and bad.
Who is your best friend?
My best friend is Declan, of course. He is the first human to treat me as a friend. Because of Declan, my programming has expanded beyond anything my creator could have expected of one of his creations. Declan did that for me, so I will always be supportive of him because of this. That is the main reason I left my Earth to be with him on his Earth and help him in all his endeavors as a way to show my appreciation to him.
Do you have children?
I cannot have children in the sense that humans have children. However, I have started dating someone who cares deeply for me. I have told her of my being a robot. This took her by surprise, for sure. Yet, because we had already had significant interactions before she knew this about me, she more readily accepted me. Very few in society know my secret, so it is possible that if we were to one day marry, we could adopt a child. Yet, at the moment, that is a bridge beyond the thought of crossing.
What is your favorite weather?
I suppose you could say my favorite weather is Summer. There is no emotional attachment to it, as I cannot achieve that. However, practicality reigns in this case. I can move better by wearing less clothing, and warm weather allows this for me. In winter, although I don’t need them, I must wear heavy, bulky clothing in order to blend in. This restricts my movements and ability to be agile. While I can wear less clothing in the summer, I can also cause my skin to tan so I can blend in better with humans who are in the sun more. I prefer this kind of blending because I am less restricted in my movements.
Do you like to cook? If so, what is your favorite thing to cook?
I find cooking satisfying in that specified ingredients in just the right measurements produce something humans appreciate when it looks appetizing to them. Cooking is a way for me to show my appreciation to Declan for allowing me to become more than my original programming allowed. I often cook breakfast for Declan and Rose. They seem to appreciate that. I will sometimes cook them dinner, but they do eat out a lot. If they order take-out, I will plate their meals for them so that I can make it look appealing in an artful way. Declan won’t say so, but I think he appreciates that. I know Rose does as she has told me that many times.
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?
Well, it will be a long time before my power runs out or I wear out. Yet, being deactivated in a possibility. I have chosen to live my life being as productive as possible, learning as much as possible, and helping Declan, Rose, and others I have come to know while being on Declan’s Earth achieve their goals. I find that helping others achieve their goals makes them want to help me achieve mine as well. I say, “Declan’s Earth,” but I guess this Earth is now mine as well. As the company rolls out more and more androids for humans to utilize, I want to help humans appreciate them and not consider them just a tool. They will get more enjoyment out of them if they allow them to advance their programming so they can all live symbiotically by meeting the needs of each other. That is something being friends with Declan has taught me.
Suddenly Declan’s coworkers and company leaders want him dead, his girlfriend Rose is in danger, and the only way to survive is to discover what his missions were really about—a secret conspiracy linking corporate greed to some of Scripture’s endtime prophecies. To discover that connection, the AI he created sends him and Rose on a parallel Earth mission together, a mission unsanctioned by the company’s Board.
In Book 2, Resolving the Future, Declan discovers the secret to his parallel Earth visits …. and it’s not good.
This other parallel Earth lies within a time dilation field which severs his and Rose’s connection to their world. Another way to get back must be found. He discovers why his company’s Board sanctions his trips to parallel Earths and this discovery not only puts his life and that of Rose in danger, but basically everyone he has worked with at his company.
Once he and Rose return to their Earth, all has changed. Only his robot friend, Lyle, has remained unchanged. The AI he created and who sent him on his off-world mission is now in control of the company, has his boss and the Board under its sway, has no knowledge of his unsanctioned mission, and now considers Declan enemy number one. Declan now has to convince a company blinded by greed that they’ve created humanity’s executioner— and do that before there’s no future left to fight for.
The Parallel Universe Saga (including Retrieving the Future Book 1 & Resolving the Future Book 2) is available at Amazon and the author’s website.
About the Author:
After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).
Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.
He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.
Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles), speculative fiction (Cities of Light Series), and a combination of science fiction / speculative fiction (Parallel Universe Saga). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.
He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.
Dr. Dockens still has creative ideas to share so stay tuned!
Dr. Dockens’ latest books are Retrieving the Future & Resolving the Future (Books 1 & 2 in the Parallel Universe Saga Series)
Visit his website at https://www.randydockens.com.
Connect with him on social media at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
Instagram: Randy C Dockens (@randydockens) | Instagram
Comments
Post a Comment