2084: Slavery Resurgent

[Las Vegas] is a hideous, gaudy place; it may not be the end of the world per se, but you can certainly see it from there. - Robin Williams

Franklin checked them in at the front desk. The Eclipse Resort consisted of seven concentric rings of condominiums arranged around three central buildings, the largest of which hosted 90 conventions and seminars a year.

The two story condominium the company had booked for them was located across from an entrance to the convention center on the northwestern side of the first ring of dwellings. Franklin phoned the front desk and asked for a 7:30 wake-up call in the morning. Next, he phoned the CEO at company headquarters and left a message on his voice mail that they had arrived and would be conducting a seminar the next day.

It was too late to unpack. They ate some fruit and nuts from a Complimentary Bowl that the resort’s staff had left on a dining table. They buried themselves in the silk sheets of the beds in the two adjacent bedrooms and were fast asleep before either of them had fully undressed.

The wake-up call came far too early. Still, it gave both of them more time to take a shower and eat breakfast. Franklin tried to memorize the outline that George 99,689,794 wrote for him. It was impossible to concentrate. He was nervous and could feel his heart racing within his chest.

In the end, Franklin decided to wing it. Public speaking wasn’t his forte. He had no intentions of trying to be anything that was contrary to his nature. Besides, he had George 99,689,794 to back him up. Whenever Franklin got the jitters, time crawled at a snail’s pace.

Finally, the dreaded moment arrived. Showtime! Franklin and George 99,689,794 walked the short distance to the entrance of the Convention Center. There, they paused in the doorway, taking in the vastness of the darkened auditorium. Most of the audience had already been seated. Turning left, they mounted five wooden steps to the stage. Positioning himself behind the lectern, Franklin stood erect, resisting the urge to slouch with his elbows resting on the lectern. George 99,689,794 sat in a brown metal folding chair directly behind his boss.

A spotlight focused on Franklin. He was blinded for an instant and began to sweat. The footlights switched on and it became hotter. Franklin felt a bit woozy, but he caught himself and bit his lower lip intentionally to stay alert.

Franklin took the outline out of a suit pocket and placed it face up on the lectern. He stared at it intently. In a sudden impulse, he turned it over. If he was going to wing it, he needed to soar. Self confidence pulsed throughout his body. It actually tingled.

“Good morning,” Franklin began, “and welcome to the first of a series of seminars on honing management skills. I am Franklin Pierce and this is my assistant, George 99,689,794,” he stated as he turned and pointed at the automaton sitting behind him.

George 99,689,794 stood upright, waved with his right hand at the audience, and made an exaggerated deep, sweeping bow, almost scraping his forehead against the stage floor. Wearing an immaculate, freshly pressed, one-piece jumpsuit; if George 99,689,794 recalled any lesson from his previous life as a Wall Street investment broker, it was “dress to impress.”

“Automatons are a relatively new phenomenon in our society. It is a voluntary form of slavery without racial bias. In it, career criminals tried, duly convicted, and sentenced to long terms for felonies can apply for a rehabilitation program that transforms recidivists into nonaggressive, productive blue collar workers. Do not confuse them with mechanical robots who lack human emotions, are outrageously expensive, substitute rote learning for deductive reasoning, and have no sense of appreciation or loyalty. Think of them as novelty items, good-for-nothing other than performing repetitive tasks,” Franklin lectured. “Contrast that with automatons. They behave like humans because they are human. When people go astray, it is cheaper to fix what is wrong with them than to put them in prison where they will be a burden to society.”

Franklin paused a moment for effect. Observing the audience, he noticed a young man in the fourth row who was fast asleep. He stepped down off the stage, went over to the sleeper, and gently shook him awake. “I assume we both work for the same employer?,” Franklin asked. “That is, we both used to work for Janitorial Services. You fell asleep on the job and now you are fired! Get up and get out!”

Willful stupidity made Franklin livid. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Looking around, Franklin saw that he now had the audience’s attention. Smiling broadly, he walked back to the stage and ascended to the lectern. George 99,689,794 was smiling back at him.

“Some of you seem to think that the company sent you to Las Vegas for rest and recreation. You thought wrong. You’re here to listen and learn,” Franklin remonstrated. “Tomorrow, you’ll come here with a blank spiral notebook and two ballpoint pens and you will not charge them to your expense account. This is similar to how school works with one important difference: you get paid for it. Therefore, it’s not too much for me to ask you to pay attention and take notes. What you do after the seminar is over is none of my business. Gamble, drink, act out fantasies, party until you puke – what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Anything and everything goes as long as you show up for the next day’s seminar bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, eager beaver that you are, fit to gain knowledge and insights into the career you have chosen. May God help you if you are not, because I certainly won’t.”

* * *

“When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.’” - President Donald Trump

“Whether a person has ever met one or not, most people have preconceived opinions about automatons based on what they have heard from friends and the media. General opinion has it that they are vile, filthy creatures with halitosis, dysentery, bad breath, and rotten teeth,” Franklin stated.

Franklin moved from the lectern to the front of the stage where the lights were no longer in his eyes and he could better see the audience. He motioned for George 99,689,794 to join him. Putting his left arm around the automaton’s shoulder, Franklin smiled broadly and said, “This is my trusted assistant, George 99,689,794 without whom I would be lost. Four weeks ago, he saved my life by disarming a deranged individual who came at me with a knife.”

“All automatons begin life as human beings, the same as you and me. The majority of mankind are law-abiding, morally and ethically upright individuals who are an asset to humanity. But a small percentage cut corners, lie, cheat, and steal until they are caught, convicted of their crimes, and sentenced to spend a number of years in prison. Think of them as caged animals,” Franklin conjectured. “They are going stir crazy and are willing to do anything, regardless of risk, to rejoin society. Desperate people do desperate things such as voluntarily permitting the government to transform them from inmates costing upwards of $50,000 a year of taxpayer money for food, healthcare, and prisons into constructive workers that the government auctions to the highest bidder, thereby reducing taxes. Automatons fuel the economy. Unlike Canada, we have a balanced budget.”

“I understand that many of you, similar to me, were working as blue collar janitors until recently when you were promoted to a management position within the company. You now have the responsibility of training automatons to be janitors. It’s a brave new world in which routine physical labor is increasingly being performed by automatons and maximum security confinement is becoming a thing of the past. You are the cadre of the future bringing social progress on a par with technological progress, ushering in a new era,” foretold Franklin. Growing up, I dreamt of traveling to exotic planets in faraway solar systems. I didn’t realize it then, but it was a form of escapism. People were sick and tired of rising crime rates, overpopulation, homelessness, wage stagnation, and political corruption. Social evolution was at a standstill in the United States. That is all about to change. You are at the forefront, preparing to lead the way forward. I, along with a grateful nation, salute you.”

“I am not a grandstander and it is not fair of me to monopolize the conversation. The company values your input. For the rest of today’s session I will be answering your questions and you’ll be stating your opinions. To keep this organized, please raise your hand if you have something to say. So that we can better see and hear you, standup when you take the floor. Let’s start with the lady in the back row wearing a red blouse with a rose in her hair,” declared Franklin.

“Why isn’t there any female automatons?,” she questioned in a loud, slightly angry voice.

“Good question. Frankly, I have no idea. But I will ask my boss about it and I will have an answer for you at our next session,” promised Franklin. “In the meantime, I would be happy to help you apply to be transformed into an automaton. I doubt if they will reject you. You can use me as a reference.” This brought a few giggles and laughs from the audience. Sitting down, she made an obscene hand gesture.

Next, Franklin called on a baldheaded man in a pinstriped suit seated in the third row near the center aisle. “Are automatons covered by a health plan?,” asked the baldheaded individual.

“As far as I know, they’re treated at county hospitals,” Franklin ventured. He took nine more questions and an opinion from a former janitor that “criminals deserved to be lynched instead of permitting them to steal jobs from honest, hard working people who are the backbone of the nation.”