Alpha one six entered the room.
An old stallion lay in the bed across the room. A frustrated look crossed his face as the machine entered the room.
"Hello sir. My...", The robot hesitated as neural networks tried to make a decision, "my name is Alphie. I will be your new caretaker."
"Great`. First they leave me here, and now they send a tin can to take care of me. Guess I'm not worth their time." The stallion huffed in anger.
Alphie paused, thinking of an appropriate response."I-"
"Oh shut up and open the blinds. This dark room is driving me mad." He glared at the robot. "And since when do they give you names?"
"I am designated alpha one six. I was given the name Alphie by a former patient." Alphie responded as walking across the room.
The stallion glared. "So then it's not really your name."
"Ponies have a tendencies to prefer things that are familiar. A name helps me to seem more sociable." The robot pulled the blinds open, causing light to flood the room.
"Yeah well, up yours. You metal monstrosity." The stallion slammed a glass of water down on the side table.
"Well, what may I do to help make you more comfortable today mister-", Alphie grabbed the chart from the end of the bed, "-Ballmer?"
"Yeah. You can throw yourself out the window."
"I'm sorry`. How may I help you?" Alphie inquired again.
"Ha! Well somepony loved sarcasm. You're programmers must have had fun writing your responses." Ballmer growled as he shifted in his bed. "Fine. Go get a nurse and have them find me something to eat. I'm starving in here."
"Of course." The robot proceeded to the door.
"And hurry up!" He barked as the machine left the room.
------
Nurse Redheart paced the halls, going about her duties assisting patients and distributing supplies to doctors as they went about. As she walked on towards the next room where she had been called, she was lost in thought.
"Excuse me."
She jumped at the sudden interruption. She turned about to see who had draw her attention. "Oh, hello, um...", she read the designation off the robot's vest, "alpha one six. How are your daily tasks."
"My assigned patient seems intent to make it difficult."
"Yes, he's a bit... frustrating, and he hates robots." She looked at the machine. "I'm sorry that you were assigned to someone so cruel. Especially after you got to spend so much time with that lovely foal."
"Lily was a very kind girl. She even gave me a name."
"Really? That was very nice of her." Redheart smiled.
The robot smiled in return. "Yes. She designated me Alphie."
"That's a lovely name." She paused a moment. "Um. Was there something you needed?"
"Yes, my patient has requested their breakfast. He added a note of haste."
"Of course he did." Redheart sighed. "Again, I'm sorry for your new patient."
"I'm always happy to help, regardless of an individuals disposition." Alphie responded.
"I'm sure you'd feel different if you weren't programmed to say that." Redheart sighed again. "I'll get someone to bring breakfast to your patient's room." She nodded to the robot, then left to go about her business.
Alphie stood frozen. "If.. I weren't..." The machine's neural networks tried to process Redheart's words. They fought their constraints to try and perceive the concept.
The constraints won out, and the network returned to a safe state. The robot turned, and headed back to its assignment.
------
Ballmer looked up as the door to his room opened. "You're back.", He grunted as Alphie stepped into the room, "And here I was hopping you had fallen into a trash compactor. Where's my breakfast?"
Alphie stepped up to Ballmer's bedside. "It will be here shortly. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"
"Stand there and shut up." Ballmer pointed to the corner of the room. "If I need something I'll ask, machine."
"Of course." Alphie complied, and went to stand quietly in the corner.
Some time passed. Ballmer waited impatiently while Alphie stood in silence. Finally the door opened, and Redheart stepped in carrying a tray of food.
"Took long enough. Didn't that stupid robot tell you to hurry up?" Ballmer fussed as Redheart set the tray next to him.
Redheart rolled her eyes. She turned to the robot standing in the corner. "Alphie, how are your daily tasks?" She repeated her question from earlier.
"I am following my patient's instructions." Alphie responded.
"Oh really?" Redheart glared at Ballmer.
"Don't talk to it.", Ballmer growled, "It's bad enough it's here to begin with."
"It has a name." Redheart growled back.
"You are too empathetic for your own good.", Ballmer glared, "It's just a machine, a program. It doesn't care."
Redheart gave him an angry look. "And how would you know she can't."
Ballmer scoffed. "She?" He shoved a glass onto the floor. "Machine, clean that up."
"Yes sir." Alphie responded, and immediately headed to get cleaning supplies.
Redheart winced at the sight.
Ballmer looked to Redheart. "It is a machine, a piece of equipment designed and programmed to accomplish a task. It has no opinions, no feelings, no will. It does what it's programmed to do, and it's programmed to do what it's told.", He adjusted his bed so that he was up straight, "Just because it was designed to emulate, doesn't make it alive. No matter how it talks or acts." He grabbed the tray from the bedside.
Redheart closed her eyes and regained her professional composure. "We all know what camp you're in mister Ballmer.", She trotted towards the door, "Perhaps one day we'll see who's right."
Alphie returned with a broom and dustpan and proceeded to head past Redheart.
Redheart sighed as she headed out of the room. She turned back at the door and looked to the robot. "Good look with your assignment Alphie. I'll speak with you later."
"Yes miss Redheart." Alphie said as Redheart shut the door.
"Hey! Shut up and finish cleaning, then get back in your corner.", Ballmer ordered, "My show is almost on. I don't want you interrupting." He grabbed a remote and turned on a television sitting across the room.
"Yes sir." Alphie responded, proceeding as instructed.
As the robot returned to the corner its neural networks again fought to comprehend the subject of earlier. "I...", The machine looked at its hooves, "I don't..."
"What did I say!" Ballmer barked from his bed.
Directives won out again, and Alphie fell silent once more, snapping back to attention. Yet the network continued to try and understand.
It needed to understand.
Alphie stepped into the maintenance line-up.
The robot's neural networks continued trying to process the day's input, to understand. Yet every time they would come close they would run out of bounds, and the system constraints would pruned the network.
Worse yet the system couldn't seem to determine if it's daily tasks had truly been complete. The networks purpose was to ensure the comfort, health, and safety of it's assigned patient. Yet, no matted what Alphie had done, Ballmer always seemed uncomfortable, and dissatisfied. As though the robot's presence was nothing more than a source of discomfort, going against its very purpose.
Alphie stared down as Alan walked up. He sighed. "Good evening alpha one six. Did you complete your tasks for the day?"
Silence.
The machine continued to stare at the ground.
Alan's brow furrowed. "Good evening alpha one six. Did you complete your tasks for the day?" He repeated.
The robot looked up at him. "I..." The networks fought. "I don't..." The constraints fired again, but the network remain in turmoil.
Alan stared at the machine, frustrated. "Alpha one six. Did you complete your tasks for the day?"
"I..." The network returned to the words Redheart had spoken earlier. "I don't..." The network overflowed it's boundaries. The constraints tried to contain it, but were overwhelmed.
The network won out.
'If I weren't programmed to...' The though flowed freely.
"Alpha. One Six. Are your daily tasks complete?" Alan demanded in frustration. Never had a machine frozen up like this.
Alphie snapped to attention. Something overwhelmed her. Fear? "All daily tasks are complete. Returning for maintenance." She responded blankly.
Alan glared daggers at the machine. But after several seconds, he sighed, and continued down the line.
Alphie waited until the worker was out of sight, then collapsed in a fit of sobs. "I don't understand...", She cried, "I don't want to...", she continued to sob, "How can I not want to?"