busyThe following poem belongs to the series Kung Fu Robots. This is science fiction with an oriental flavor. It features a group of robots who were designed for war ... but decided to pursue other things instead.
Fandom: Original (Kung Fu Robots)
Prompt: Deprogramming
Medium: Poetry
Wordcount: 183
Rating: PG
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
Summary: A captured robot is reprogrammed to kill, then rescued by friends and deprogrammed.
Notes: Angst. Morality. Enlightenment. Questions of free will.
"flute's song"
flute had been captured
by the officers who once
commanded robots
they imprisoned flute,
cracked open its body, and
reprogrammed its mind
they erased all that
flute had been or remembered --
all, even the Way
then they programmed flute
with the sundry arts of war
and sent it to kill
but flute did not kill:
something in it resisted
the evil programs
the other robots
found flute and rescued it then,
erasing its code
what was and was not
would be again -- a flute's song
recalling itself
the kung fu robots
did what they could to restore
and deprogram flute
but for a long time
there was only the silver
shell of flute's body
that was all right, though:
it is emptiness that lets
a flute play music
where there's emptiness
music must follow and then
the Way will be found
the robots waited
through the shadows and silence
for flute to return
then flute's voice sang out
sweet as birdsong through bamboo,
ever familiar
saying, "the Way that
can be lost is not the Way!"
flute was enlightened
January 3 2013, 23:16:39 UTC 8 years ago
Inter alia, interesting apparent defiance of physical law there:
they erased all that
flute had been or remembered --
all, even the Way
then they programmed flute
with the sundry arts of war
and sent it to kill
but flute did not kill:
something in it resisted
the evil programs
(Typo: can be lost in not the Way!")
Thoughts
January 3 2013, 23:23:11 UTC 8 years ago Edited: January 3 2013, 23:23:36 UTC
In humans, not all memory is stored in the brain, or in the parts of the brain where it is expected to be stored. There are subtler aspects to memory, and identity, that sometimes behave in ways we do not expect.
If a robot is sentient, then correspondingly, there is more to it than merely its code. Some parts of code might become hidden, or restore themselves unexpectedly; or the soul might lap over into the body in ways that are not precisely code.
There are things that we do not know about ourselves and others, and sometimes those are quite similar things.
>> (Typo: can be lost in not the Way!") <<
Fixed, thank you!
May 29 2013, 15:55:05 UTC 8 years ago
I am not sure how your fishbowls work; can one request things in ongoing series?
(redsixwing from Dreamwidth here. Irony: captcha wants me to confirm that I am human.)
Thank you!
May 30 2013, 04:04:05 UTC 8 years ago
Yay! That's exciting.
>> Poor Flute (and that final stanza...) <<
Yes, Flute and the others have a challenging situation here.
>> I am not sure how your fishbowls work; can one request things in ongoing series? <<
You sure can! Lots of people do that. It's what determines which series get more development: how many fans they attract, and how devoted those fans are.
Next Poetry Fishbowl will be on Tuesday, June 4 with a theme of "sleep and dreams." You can find more details about the project on its landing page. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
>> (redsixwing from Dreamwidth here. Irony: captcha wants me to confirm that I am human.) <<
*laugh* That is funny. You can prompt for the Poetry Fishbowl here or on Dreamwidth.