Senator Irons scowls. "Don't spit in my face." She whirls on one boot and marches out the door.
Perhaps it's a coincidence, but a little while later, a law is passed in Alaska that strongly incentivizes companies that switch from robot labor to human labor—leaving your company out of the gravy train, since you already use human workers. The overall market for robots is hurt as a result.
Representative Irons does run for president, running on a platform of preventing robots and foreign companies from stealing American jobs. It's a message that hits the American public at just the right time, since unemployment is soaring. Though economists tell the public that the unemployment is a natural and temporary result of new technology displacing old, skilled jobs, that turns out to be a much less effective election year message than raging against "the privileged, the elites, and the technocracy," as Representative Irons puts it in her speeches. "What are they doing with their money? Who are they giving it to? To robots. To foreigners. To each other. To anybody but the American people."
You think she is probably talking about you.
All of which makes it somewhat alarming when Representative Irons wins the presidency.
True to her word, President Irons begins a policy of heavy embargoes against Chinese goods.
In retaliation, China cuts off all exports of rare earths and the batteries derived from them. Suddenly, the cost of all the little, miniaturized electronics people have grown accustomed to—cell phones, laptops, wearable computing—becomes prohibitively expensive.
President Irons makes demands that China reverse its embargoes on rare earths, or the United States will be forced to "contemplate all policy options at its disposal, including military force if necessary."
It is in this delicate situation that on April 10, 2026, the Chinese Prime Minister is assassinated by an unemployed American during a parade in San Francisco. The Prime Minister is replaced by a younger party official who is eager to show that China is unafraid of the United States. China attacks several islands in the South China Sea that it has long disputed with its neighbors, and President Irons, unwilling to show weakness, responds with a drone attack on bases on the Chinese mainland.
The Robot War has begun.
Chapter 5: The War Machine
Three months into the war, the Chinese have captured many islands in the South China Sea that they had long contested with their neighbors. The press speculate that besides the islands' military importance, the move sends a signal to the neighboring countries that the United States is weak. (The United Nations also doesn't do anything, but that surprises nobody.) Autonomous drones equipped with cruise missiles sink two American carriers in the exchange.
Your business is doing well—as businesses directly supplying the war effort ramp up, they need labor, and that puts more of the country to work, improving the economy. (+Wealth)
You receive an email invitation from Major Juliet Rogers, an acquisitions officer in the Air Force, to come to a federally funded research lab to discuss business.
Josh is apparently bringing you to this meeting as his "+1."
the Berkeley Federal Research Center. A small plaque at its base explains that it was developed at the lab for ballistic missile defense, meaning it would be used only to shoot down other missiles. ("Hey, cool," Josh says. "It's a missile missile!")
An African-American woman in an airman's uniform catches your eye from beyond the turnstiles labeled CLEARED PERSONNEL ONLY. She allows a man in a pinstriped suit to swipe his badge and pass the turnstyle himself; you sense that this is out of a sense of politeness and not deference. There is a steady purposefulness to her step as she crosses the lobby.
"Pleased to meet you," she says, offering her hand. "I'm Major Juliet Rogers of Air Force Acquisitions. I know your advisor, Professor Ziegler."
"Professor Ziegler is here?" you ask, surprised.
"You're just in time for the demonstration," Major Rogers says. "Right this way."
Major Rogers guides you and Josh to an auditorium where the audience is a mix of the button-down shirt crowd—the engineers, you think—and men and women wearing camo uniforms. It is indeed Professor Ziegler giving the keynote, standing at a podium flanked by American flags. His PowerPoint presentation currently shows a soldier's hand shaking a robot hand.
"For a long time, robot autonomy on the battlefield was extremely limited, even as the use of drones increased," Professor Ziegler says. "Larger and larger teams of warfighters were pulled away from their duties to fully control these drones. Only now is a fully autonomous robotic warfighter possible. I present to you… Joyeuse V!"
You're somewhat horrified to see a copy of Joyeuse roll onto the stage, to the applause of the crowd. It's not even a recent copy; Joyeuse V is exactly as Joyeuse was when you got kicked out of grad school.
Josh gives you an uneasy look, clearly afraid you're going to make a scene.
Major Rogers also appears to be studying your expression.
1) Stand up and declare Professor Ziegler a fraud.
2) Ask a pointed question about the current state-of-the-art that implies Professor Ziegler does not know what the hell he is doing.
3) Stay silent.
Year: 2025
30-year-old Isaac Tesla
Humanity: 91%
Gender: male
Fame: 8 (Nationally Famous)
Wealth: 1 (Getting By)
Romance: none
Joyeuse
Autonomy: 15 (Good)
Military: 14 (Stable)
Empathy: 11 (Stable)
Grace: 14 (Stable)
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Bad): 21%
Elly (Very Good): 67%
Josh (Good): 54%
Mark (Bad): 32%
Juliet: 50%
Tammy (Bad): 17%
President Irons (Bad): 44%
?: 50%
World Power Balance
China: 57% U.S.: 43%
Author
Topic: Let's Choose in Choice of Robots (Read 87626 times)