petrel}

This is something I've been working on very sporatically for about a year and a half. I've got a story line all planned out, but just can't seem to get any farther than the prelude and first chapter.

Galatea

Prelude - Planet Shaku - December 1, 2652

The group of men around the table was in a uproar. The argument was a full hour long and still no compromise had been made.
" Enough!" A particularly involved member of the group had finally had his fill of the seemingly endless wrangling. " I came to you for advice and I get nowhere."
" Slag it, Patrell, we only wanted to help," another man shrugged, " If you don't want our help why don't you just say so."
Just then, unnoticed by those around it, the table was approached by a man clad in dark brown leather. He swung his well-muscled frame into a chair behind them and stretched out his long legs,
" What's the commotion about? Another 'strenuous discussion' on the Merin and Lesalle project?" The men finally noticed the stranger and the man called Patrell grinned and slapped him on the shoulder,
" Rob, you son-of-a-gun, when did you get back?!"
Grinning back, the man replied,
" I dropped at two hundred hours. I've been trying to reach you ever since I woke up this afternoon."
" Rob, Shu Lee has entered in the Capel-Ronington Competition and we've trying to decide on the details for the 'driod." Holden Jass, an extremely tall, almost skeletally-thin man spoke before Patrell Shu Lee had a chance.
Rob looked puzzled and asked, " What competition?"
Shu Lee gaped at his ignorance, then remembered Rob had been off-planet for three months on the Caseoma Expedition and hastened to fill him in.
" Capel-Ronington Enterprises has offered 20 million credits and a research salary to the man who, in 6 months, can build an andriod that can pass for human. The only way you will be able tell them apart is to say a program termination sequence.?
His lips curling in a slow smile, Rob's eyes filled with the light of anticipation. The other men sighed and rolled their eyes: even when Robick Daen didn't have a 20 million credit incentive, he was insanely competitive, but with one... look out!

My main character is supposed to be the robot that Robick Daen builds. The catch in the story is -- he falls in love with it, but it can't love him back because it doesn't know how. I just can't put myself in the shoes of an emotionless machine: any ideas?

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A man's subconscious self is not the ideal companion. It lurks for the greater part of his life in some dark den of its own, hidden away, and emerges only to taunt and deride and increase the misery of a miserable hour.

P. G. Wodehouse, Uneasy Money

Selorian

Are you wanting to write it from the robots perspective? If so I think Rob would be the better point of view to tell the story from.

To get into the shoes of the robot, maybe you could try thinking about sometime that you were really down and just felt like 'blah' to everything. That may be the closest to emotionless that you can come. Someone else may have a better suggestion, but that is at least a start.

Good Luck! I want to see more of this!

Cliff

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petrel}

I wanted to work from the robot's POV because hers(yes its a she) is the journey towards learning emotions. I had planned for Pennant(the robot) to go out into the world(s) and learn about life and life etc. finally realizing that love cannot be programed, but must be learned. Just like a baby goes from loving self to loving mother and father to loving siblings to... you get my drift.

What I find difficult about writing from Robick's view point is that I hadn't planned on him being on the same trip(he has things to learn to though).

I've been having some ideas for a parallel story line as well so I'll have to see. Preparing the plot was kind of an avoidance of the POV problem.

thanks for the encouragement(I like that word better if you take it apart en-courage-ment-- there's more of a feeling of instilling courage.)

__________________
A man's subconscious self is not the ideal companion. It lurks for the greater part of his life in some dark den of its own, hidden away, and emerges only to taunt and deride and increase the misery of a miserable hour.

P. G. Wodehouse, Uneasy Money

~*little_minx*~

no way, if you are feeling blah to everyone then that is an emotion!... i think, anyways, maybe you should do a little research. like read other robot stories. we did sci-fi last year in english, and i read a few robot stories. um have you seen blade runner, that is about some robots, and AI, bicentenial man, there are heaps of movies! but stories are better, coz that is what you're doing. see hoe they show emotionless, get some ideas, string them all together maybe.
but hey its just a suggestion, your story sounds good. i love sci-fi.

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