Blog 12 : Reason

The story Reason was very fascinating. Powell and Donovan created the robot Cutie in order to run the space station without the assistance of humans. It said, “You’re the highest type of robot ever developed and if you show the ability to run this station independently, no human need ever come here again except to bring parts for repairs.”(74) Cutie however, was going to try to find out for himself why he was created. He reasoned that humans were ‘makeshift,’ and that he was the Prophet to the Master. Cutie said, “The Master created humans first as the lowest type, most easily formed. Gradually, he replaced them by robots, the next higher step, and finally he created me, to take the place of the last humans. From now on, I serve the Master.”(77) Powell and Donovan tried to explain to him that he ran the Converter, and that he was to follow human orders as directed. Cutie refused to believe them, and eventually locked them out of the control room. With the electron storm only hours away, Powell and Donovan became quite concerned about the fatal impact the storm would have on planet Earth. As it turned out, Cutie ran the controls throughout the storm better than any human could have. At the end, Powell and Donovan decide that Cutie is more than capable to run the station without human assistance. The story ends with Powell and Donovan heading back to earth. I thought it was interesting that the throughout the entire story the humans doubted the robot. Cutie didn’t believe in earth itself. In reality, much to the surprise of Powell and Donovan, Cutie was actually protecting humanity because he knew he could keep the controls more stable than any human being, and in the end, Powell and Donovan decide that regardless of his beliefs, Cutie can handle the station.