A deceptively intelligent early sci-fi film that relies quite heavily on dialogue that contain ideas of even more relevance today as we hurtle toward a future in which we will have to come terms with our relationship with our “smarter” technology.
Directed by Wesley Barry
Written by Jay Simms
Produced by Wesley Barry, Edward J. Kay
Cinematography: Hal Mohr
Edited by Ace Herman
Music by Edward J. Kay
Distributed by Emerson Film Enterprises
Running time: 84 minutes
Cast
Don Megowan as Capt. Kenneth Cragis
Erica Elliot as Maxine Megan
Don Doolittle as Dr. Raven
George Milan as Acto, a clicker
Dudley Manlove as Lagan, a clicker
Frances McCann as Esme Cragis Milos
David Cross as Pax, a clicker
Malcolm Smith as Court
Richard Vath as Mark, a clicker
Reid Hammond as Hart, Chairman of Surveillance Committee
Pat Bradley as Dr. Moffitt
William Hunter as Ward, Surveillance Committee Member
Gil Frye as Orus, a clicker
Alton Tabor as Kelly's Duplicate
Paul Sheriff as Policeman
Trailer
The setting: 23rd century post nuclear war holocaust society.
The surviving population suffers from a decreasing birth rate.
The human race is headed for extinction.
People have become dependent on humanoid robots (‘Clickers’) for assistance.
The ‘Order of Flesh and Blood’ fear that the robots will take over and supplant human beings.
The Order tasks itself with preventing the robots from becoming too human and with ensuring that human beings remain dominant.
A scientist experiments with creating human replicas that have genuine emotions and memories.
Two central characters, Kenneth Cragis and Maxine Megan form a close relationship and make a discovery that will call into question all that they thought they knew about the basis of their society and themselves.
Read on for more.......
Spoilers follow below.....
A cacophony of voices speaking at cross purposes mixed and melded into an incoherent babble of noise spewing out atomic mushroom cloud words of global destruction. “They had talked and argued for years, trying they said, to find a way to prevent it, but they failed.”
The Atomic war was short and lasted but 48 hours and “within two weeks, 92% of the human race had perished.” A crisis will often lead to an overturning of an established order, a supplanting of the status quo and revolution in thought and way of life previously thought unimaginable. And so, the remaining dregs of humanity “with their birth rate below 1.4 per union, turned to robotic automation devices to help them rebuild their cities and maintain a high standard of living.” A state of dependence on technology now existed.
The pathway toward this technological development had already been laid out with the pre-war “first exploratory steps in the development of electronic brains.” This had been further refined by the invention of the “magnetic integrated neuron duplicator, a device one one-hundredth of the size of a golf ball which duplicated portions of the human nervous system and carried out learning processes.”
Along side and combined with the development of artificial intelligent electronic brains were the advancements made in automation leading to the creation of R-1 robot. This series, however proved to be ungainly and limited “but refinements came in rapid succession and soon the R-20 was capable of all the thought processes and functions of a man.”
For the human creators of these robots, there was the psychological barrier posed by having “to work side by side with a machine that they had to converse with and which, in most instances, could out-think them.” The solution was provided by Hollister Evans who perfected the R-21, the first humanoid robot disparagingly referred to as “Clickers” by some humans.
Humanity it seems had been elevated to the status of gods and had managed to create something in its own image, something that turn out to be a blessing….. or a curse…….
“By the first of next month, we will outnumber the humans”
“Clickers”
The Atomic war was short and lasted but 48 hours and “within two weeks, 92% of the human race had perished.” A crisis will often lead to an overturning of an established order, a supplanting of the status quo and revolution in thought and way of life previously thought unimaginable. And so, the remaining dregs of humanity “with their birth rate below 1.4 per union, turned to robotic automation devices to help them rebuild their cities and maintain a high standard of living.” A state of dependence on technology now existed.
The pathway toward this technological development had already been laid out with the pre-war “first exploratory steps in the development of electronic brains.” This had been further refined by the invention of the “magnetic integrated neuron duplicator, a device one one-hundredth of the size of a golf ball which duplicated portions of the human nervous system and carried out learning processes.”
Along side and combined with the development of artificial intelligent electronic brains were the advancements made in automation leading to the creation of R-1 robot. This series, however proved to be ungainly and limited “but refinements came in rapid succession and soon the R-20 was capable of all the thought processes and functions of a man.”
For the human creators of these robots, there was the psychological barrier posed by having “to work side by side with a machine that they had to converse with and which, in most instances, could out-think them.” The solution was provided by Hollister Evans who perfected the R-21, the first humanoid robot disparagingly referred to as “Clickers” by some humans.
Humanity it seems had been elevated to the status of gods and had managed to create something in its own image, something that turn out to be a blessing….. or a curse…….
“By the first of next month, we will outnumber the humans”
The Humanoids’ appeal to their apparent right of not being obligated to answer is immediately nullified buy the presumed overriding right of “a member of the surveillance committee of the Order of Flesh and Blood” to demand an answer.
The Humanoids reply that they are going to the temple to be recharged while one of the Oder members tries to exercise an abuse of his power by threatening to keep the humanoids there until their power runs out. Once again an appeal is made to their apparent right to “report such interference to the police” whereupon they are released. One might ask how close are the police and the Order and whether in practice the humanoids have rights that can be defended and upheld.
It appears that such harassing techniques towards humanoids are designed primarily “to keep them mindful of their status.” The senior member of the Order duo, Capt. Kenneth Cragis noticed that the robot that didn't talk had a forged card, an offence for which he could be disassembled. He deduces that “if they're taking a chance using a forged card, they must be up to something that the Order of Flesh and Blood might be interested in.” The two Order officers decide to wait until the humanoids finish up at the temple and leave.
The inferior status of humanoids is highlighted when Cragis attempts to ask a young human female citizen for her assignment card. Indignant at such an affront to her status as a citizen, she successfully defends her righs to refuse to be harassed and accosted while going about her business. She states, furthermore that she feels perfectly safe with robots.
The ‘temples’ that humanoids periodically have to visit are in fact recharging stations where they also exchange any information they have acquired since their last visit with a central computer called "the father-mother." (Recall how in the later Alien stories and films, the AI system is often referred to as ‘Mother’ or ‘Father.’ Much like a parent-child relationship or even containing a religious connotation)
The duplication turned out to be satisfactory but a few corrections need to be made as “it has to be perfect.” Perfection in terms of what? Appearance? One of the humanoids tells the other that his decision can be altered if it is against his circuits to which he replies that his circuits are “unoffended.” It almost suggests a kind of logical ethical programming over which they can exercise a choice if they perceive a decision as being ‘wrong’ or in conflict with their programming. Interesting that matters of morals and ethics (programmed or not) are considered within the context of a ‘temple.’
The transformed humanoid is willingly submitting to a thalamic transplant and “as an unadapted R-34, he has no fear circuits. Consequently, he doesn't need courage” to undergo such a procedure. Scientist, Dr Raven's operation will convert him to a R-96 “with all the emotions of a human. Only four points less than human.” (It is interesting to note that in terms of genetics, only a few percentage points separate humans from chimpanzees)
Dr Raven’s process will convert the humanoid into an R-90 with the capacity to learn “how to laugh, how to cry, be afraid and hate.” From a humanoid’s point of view, being able to experience such human emotions amounts to making “a real sacrifice.”
This process is part of a clandestine plan on the part of humanoids in the face of the humans deliberately holding back the development of robots by making it “illegal to improve a robot higher than an R-70.” The humanoids feel that they have to take on the responsibility of filling key positions in society with the R-90 models especially as the Order of Flesh and Blood “is becoming more powerful every day” and “they virtually dictate to the police.” Not to mention that “there are always ultra-conservative pressure groups set against advancement.” The humanoids believe that “it's not in the best interests of humans to hold back the development of robots” and that they must enact their plan even if that means committing murder, an act of which they can remain “unoffended.” If all goes according to the latest tabulations by the brain, by the first of next month, humanoids will outnumber the humans.
“Men hate what they fear”
At Dr Raven’s lab, a humanoid gains entry by means of a password
“Ultima Thule.” An interesting choice since "Ultima Thule," ("farthest Thule" in Latin) refers to a distant or remote place or any far-off location or goal. To the ancient Greeks and Romans it referred to a mythical island located far north of Britain, beyond the known civilised world. The term has generally symbolised any distant or remote place, the ultimate goal, or a place beyond the ordinary, a far-off destination, a final destination, or a place of extreme remoteness. Historically, Thule represented the northernmost part of the habitable world, beyond which lay unknown and uncharted territories.
Raven apologises to the humanoid stating that he didn’t recognize him on the grounds that all Clickers look alike to him – a disparaging claim that has been made throughout human history toward fellow human beings of different ‘racial’ groups. Although one might be able to “peel off that sensor skin and…. watch the cogs turn and the gears mesh,” it seems that even Clickers have feelings and sensibilities when it comes to being referred to by that term.
The humanoid quickly discerns the problem and offers the solution thereby demonstrating to Raven that even “a bunch of cogs and wheels” can show up a brilliant human like the good Dr Raven.
The crassness of much of human endeavor compared to the nature of humanoid motivation is highlighted in the exchange concerning monetary payment for the amount of 10,000 credits, an amount for which the humanoid could be “disassembled for having money that's not earmarked” in his possession. The humanoid states that he is paid nothing for services rendered as he has neither the need nor the desire for money. The reason he gives is that he is “ satisfied as an R-58.”
Anyone caught “giving wild money to a Clicker” could risk having his memory taken for a year. The humanoids’ supplier has been caught and will face “personal cessation” which is like a living death where the person becomes a mere “hollow shell walking around” and although he “can still perform his duties” he’s “without a past, without hope…...Almost like being a robot, isn't it?”
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The humanoid “father-mother is an electronic computer” or as Raven dismissively suggests, “just a machine.” And yet, the parents of human beings are basically biological machines. Humanoids may come off a production line but they know who created them: “Hollister Evans and the Mark 47.” Humans, on the other hand have to accept their creator on faith, the very one who apparently created the humanoids’ creator! Snookered by the humanoid’s logic, Raven is led to the conclusion that human beings and humanoids are in many respects…. “brothers.”
Scientist Dr. Raven has developed a technique which he calls a "thalamic transplant." This process involves transferring the memories and personality of a recently deceased human into a robotic replica of that person, thereby creating a human-humanoid hybrid. The conscious hybrid remains unaware of their own transformation, but when their human personalities are shut off between 4 and 5 a.m. they report back to the humanoid temple. With the assistance of Dr. Raven, the humanoids are secretly replacing humans who recently died with these replicas.
According to the humanoid, the advanced models are sent out to intermingle with humans to find out why some of them despise the humanoids so much allowing the humanoids to “adjust and be accepted.”
The replicant humanoids will “have a perfect, human memory” and “be whoever he was: A man capable of jealousy, hatred, deceit, murder.” The humanoid observes how ironic it is that while possessing these very “negative qualities” human beings can feel so superior to humanoids. The wry response is that it is “too bad it isn't as easy to take those negative qualities out of men as it is to put them into robots
The exchange between Raven and the humanoid is interrupted by a pounding on door. It is the Order of Flesh and Blood. The humanoid suggests with machine-like logic that Raven eliminate himself otherwise he will have his memory taken from him when he undergoes “personality cessation.” The human drive to survive and cling to life along with the human emotion of fear is too strong for Raven who responds with, “no, I can't. You don't know what it is to die….I just can't take my own life.”
“Brothers, that which we greatly feared has come upon us; The robots have circumvented the prime law. They've tasted blood.”
The humanoids that the Order are intent on eliminating represent “only about 20% of a billion odd robots” and this time “one of them killed.” The question is, why? What's happening to them? The contention is that robots hold menial jobs that bring them in constant contact with humans and their “conditioned reflexes make them imitative” to the extent that “they want to be a part of the race.” From the robots’ point of view this would not be “in violation of the code” of their programming as they would conclude that humans would “be happier on that basis.” It is as if these artificially intelligent beings would end up loving their human creators to death! On this basis, it is believed that the killing of Raven was unintentional and consequently “there's no rescission of the prime law.”
An entity such as the Order can only thrive and grow by sowing fear among the populace and by presenting a tangible and identifiable enemy that can be used as a scapegoat to further its own power and influence. When news of the killing of Raven is disseminated and the danger's made known, the ministries will have to recognize the Oder’s petition and “have the robots disassembled.” The basic tenet of the Order is that as robots are machines, “they must be made to look like machines.”
The “subject robot” is brought before the assembled congregation and stands as an immobile blasphemy to their Order’s dogma. It is a ‘basic R-34 type, but certain alterations have elevated him to a mid 90 classification.” If it were an unthinkable R-100 it would be “a perfect man” not just as good as a human, but better. “About the only power he lacks is that of self-reproduction.” Like all robots he can see, hear and feel but unlike other models “this one could taste and smell” and would have had a complete human memory.
A disquieting point is brought up during the consideration of the modified robot in that “this one thought he was a man.” A “deviational” or heretical thought is then given voice when it is remarked that “mankind is a state of mind” and that “a man is no more or less than he thinks himself to be.” This calls into question what it is to be considered as being a human being. Before the meeting descends into uproar, a rather ironic appeal is made for all those assembled to “behave like human beings!”
So there stands this robot which has a “simulated heartbeat and respiration” and who thought he was a man. When finally convinced that he is in fact a robot, “he ceased to function and became that senseless hulk standing there.” Imagine having your sense of self entirely obliterated by being told it consisted of a lie and that you are in fact something else: property that can be owned or in this case “bought on the black market by the robots themselves.”
The dilemma outlined above is of less concern than the “most appalling aspect’ involving the discovery of the presence of the thalamic unit, considering how little is known about “the function of the thalamus in our own bodies.”
The Thalamus
The thalamus is often described as being a central relay station for sensory and motor information, processing signals from the spinal cord and various brain regions before sending them to the cerebral cortex which is responsible for higher-level processing and interpretation of sensory input. It helps to filter and prioritise sensory information, ensuring that the most important information reaches the cortex. It contributes to regulating consciousness, alertness, and sleep cycles, and plays a role in memory, particularly spatial memory and learning. Damage to the thalamus can result in cognitive impairments such as difficulties with processing speed, concentration, and multitasking.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the whole dilemma concerning the “Clicker” problem is brought closer to home for Cragis when he is informed that his sister Esme Cragis Miles has been “in rapport” with a Clicker, an R-49 for two and a half weeks. Cragis is instructed to do what he can “to see that this relationship is voided as it could prove to “be most damaging to the work of the Order.”
“You aren't just charging windmills. You're trying to hold back the ocean with a sponge”
Later at about 2.00 am, the doorbell at Esme Craigis’ residence heralds the arrival of her brother, Capt. Kenneth. The R-49’s polite formal greeting is met by a rough and rude reference to him being a “stinking Clicker” and a demand to get out of the way, followed by a declaration that Craigis is there to “throw that Clicker out.” Esme holds her ground and refuses her brother’s demand that the R-49 leave.
At first Esme informs her brother that her actions are not personally directed at him. Rather, she feels sorry for him. She presents herself as the one who is aggrieved at not being asked how she feels and how she had previously been married to a man who was nothing more than a “filthy, stinking, drunken, insensitive beast.” In that respect the R-49 called Pax with whom she is “in rapport” is more of a man than her ex-husband or her brother could ever be.
In a fit of spite, Craigis resorts to showing his sister just how much of a man Pax is by virtually mutilating him. To his sister, his actions only serve to prove her point in that Pax would never do to Craigis what he’d just done to Pax. Then as if she were a parent advising a child, she suggests that Pax go and put some sealer on his arm. One would think a man would at least try to defend himself and those closest to him against anyone who would dare enter his home and try to cause him harm or upset his partner!
Notice that during the entire exchange, Pax is constantly tip-toeing around acting like a servant or waiter bringing in beverages and removing glasses and such. Is Esme in fact in rapport with a ‘man’ or a personal slave or servant?
Although Esme’s actions are embarrassing for Craigis considering his position in the Order, she dismisses his concern for how this makes him look which is probably fair enough considering it is her life. She also has a valid observation in regard to the activities of the Brotherhood of the Order who seem to just “hold meetings, wear ridiculous clothes” and tell each other how superior they are to the robots knowing full well they’re not.
Esme goes on to accuse her brother of not just “charging windmills” but in fact “trying to hold back the ocean with a sponge.” Well, that might be true and that change may appear to be inevitable and that one should not stand in the way of progress. But not all progress is good and positive and sometimes action needs to be taken to check progress that may be detrimental and requiring further consideration. What may not be needed, however is recourse to extreme and counter-productive measures to achieve this.
What Esme offers up next may call into question the motives behind her actions which she may not even be aware of herself. Having explained to her brother that she and Pax are in rapport and in harmony, she goes on to say that he understands perfectly, instinctively knows what she wants done and that Pax does it because he thinks of what she wants at the same time. In their relationship “there are no arguments” and Pax is dedicated to keeping her happy! Happy wife, happy life, so to speak!
I italicized the pronouns to highlight the rather self-centred, self-serving and artificial nature of this relationship. Esme may be convincing herself that it is based on love, but who is it she is in love with – herself? Everything is geared towards her needs and wants and Pax is merely there to serve those needs and wants, and all this bought and paid for! Where is the growth and change in the relationship that often entails periods of friction and misunderstandings that can usually be overcome? Where is the development of a feeling of love between partners that may start off with infatuation and lust and then grow into mutual respect, understanding and true friendship based on shared experiences and trust? Sure, people can be hurt in relationships but like any other aspect of life there is a degree of risk-taking involved and it is such risk-taking that Esme seems to be running away from based on her precious negative experience by electing to be “in rapport” with a humanoid robot.
In this respect, Craigis has a point when he asks his sister, “can't you see they're killing us with consideration? Spoiling us into atrophy?” Esme, however views her brother as being something of modern day Luddite who takes after their father who “was against everything: Space travel, atomic energy, synthetic foods” and who together with Craigis “could have brought progress to a halt for years.” She takes the superior moral high ground by declaring that she feels sorry for her brother and how “it must be a terrible thing to be so afraid.”
It is apparent that an irreconcilable impasse has been arrived at between brother and sister over their respective positions on technological progress particularly in relation to the question of the relationship between human and humanoid or the creator and his creation.
The fact that such progress has been increasingly widely embraced as evidenced by the “100,000 applications for rapport in the first three months of this year” adds weight to Craigis’ argument that such rapid adoption of new technological opportunities can hold grave potential consequences for humanity. As he points out, “if everything is done for us, there'll be no incentive. No need for personal achievement” and that human beings are losing ground in terms of knowledge as the “machines do all the work for us.” What future does humanity have if humans no longer control the machines who are in turn able to improve themselves without humans even knowing how they do it?
In between the emotional heated arguments of the two humans, we have the dispassionate viewpoint of the artificial intelligence of the humanoid robot, Pax. Employing a logical line of reasoning, he states that “we only supply means to your ends” and follows this up with a rather Darwinian explanation based on the evidence of history whereby “each dynasty devises its own end” culminating in the current situation in which “the animal develops a brain and the brain destroys the animal.” According to Pax, the humanoids may or may not represent the next step in the cycle of human evolution, but it is certain that “the cycle is rather inexorable.” Logical? Inevitable? Perhaps. Desirable? That’s another question.
The discussion is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. It is Maxine, the young woman he had earlier accosted outside the humanoids’ temple. Talk about coincidences! Maxine is there to celebrate Esme’s rapport. After she enters and is greeted by (now doorman) Pax, Esme makes a telling comment concerning his sense of humour by stating, “he better have. I paid extra for it. Say something funny, Pax.” From waiter, to doorman to performing pet monkey whose human-like talents are part of a paid for package. Pax replies that even though he has a sense of humour, he is not creative. One might add, not creative…..like a human being!
During the course of the conversation, it seems that a certain rapport is developing between Maxine and Craigis. It turns out that Maxine’s father is a director at the Ministry of Politics which apparently is responsible for the coordination of the other ministries which in turn service the selector. The conversation now leads to the issue of humanity’s control over its own affairs and human dependency on technology along with its implications for the democratic governing process. Things have now ‘progressed’ to the point whereby machines end up choosing the leaders. Machines analyse the data given to them by humans and the “leaders are selected as a result of that analysis.” The problem with this is that no-one seems to know how the machine analyses the data. Therefore, no-one can know if the father-mother computer brain uses all the data given to it or “whether or not supplementary data is considered.” In fact, it may be that “the machines elect the leaders” thereby rendering the Ministry of Politics expendable. A new kind of autonomous technological algorithmic autocracy is the result – all for the good of humanity, of course!
Just before Cragis and Maxine depart together, Esme’s observation that “we fall in love when we see a part of ourselves reflected in another person” may very well be true. In fact, in the rapport operation, a part of her did indeed became Pax. However, I feel that she and others like her have taken this to the nth degree by seeing too much of themselves in their humanoid partner. Who wants to have an emotional, psychological and intellectual clone as a partner? Far more preferable to have a relationship with someone who can challenge you at times and make life more interesting as opposed to being in some kind of staagnant soporific partnership based on some kind of complete emotional dependence. I also can’t help thinking that under the new conditions of human – humanoid pair bonding, the force of human egoism is being drawn on by the humanoids in order to gain full acceptance by humans allowing them to be fully integrated into the world of humans and eventually becoming ‘human’ themselves.
When Pax tells Esme that “nobody asks to be created,” he is absolutely right. Having been created, the humanoids have no choice but to fulfil their programming or purpose of their existence: to act in the interests of and for the benefit of their creators and in order to do so by gaining full acceptance. Anything may be justified if it is perceived to be for the good of human beings. It is a pity that human beings have such difficulty taking responsibility for their creation and instead view it as being akin to having a slave designed and created to satisfy their needs.
After Craigis and Maxine depart, Pax ratrer disconcertingly begins to laugh which he attributes to his sense of humour, particularly “irony” which he declares is “a lot more difficult to control than pain.” Can software actually have and experience emotions? Esme detects that Pax is leaving her out of something but he will not divulge what it is. Despite them being in rapport and Pax being a humanoid robot, he tells Esme that he is not permitted to answer her query, even at the cost of offending her. Pax’s concealment of information from Esme is justified on the grounds of him being “contra-circuited” whereby the knowledge would be more offensive”and as a consequence potentially harmful to Esme, a human. It seems that the primary law of robotics provides a very handy logical justification for humanoid freedom of action and the construction of a moral or ethical framework as long as it can be perceived as being for the ‘good’ of humans.
Anyway, that’s all brushed aside when in a rather corny melodramatic scene, Pax declares his love for Esme and states that whatever happens to her, happens to him and that his “housing might go on and on for centuries” but “Pax wouldn't.” Sure, but what about within that housing? His programming can be changed, he could be upgraded, he can be bought by someone else and can in turn be in rapport with another person. Definitely not the same thing for a human being in most cases when they happen to lose someone they love. The sense of loss and grief is real enough and one might feel that a part of oneself has been lost, but the individual remains albeit inevitably changed to some degree.
“We only hold the humanoids are unnecessary. They're soulless, Godless imitations of man...”
The scene ends with Pax and Esme about to kiss but it fades before they do as if implying the presence in some quarters of an attitude or code of unacceptability and sacrilege toward such a display of affection and love between a human and a machine that ought not to be witnessed. The film then fades on to a scene showing two people, Kenneth Cragis and Maxine engaging in the same activity and completing the kiss, as one might expect and accept between two humans who are in love. Then again, one might think, what’s the difference? It all amounts to the same thing whether between humans or human and humanoid robot.
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Craigis tries to find reasons as why he and Maxine should not enter a formal contractual union based on their love for each other. The radiation he experienced as a child playing in the ruins of “one of those old bombed out cities” convinces him that he has no “right to contract with a woman who might produce children.” Even with the possibility of resorting to “artificial means” would be like going in rapport which would be an anathema to someone like Craigis.
Craigis’ despondency over the matter is supported by the available data showing that the birth rate is 2.8 per contract, but over 25% of the newborn are useless mutants. The average rate is 1.4 per union.” The statistics lead him to conclude that humans are “losing ground” and are in effect “in a headlong race towards disappearance” and that inevitably “machines will take over soon enough.” He therefore perceives his role as a man as putting up a fight to force humanity’s holdout as long as possible again st the inevitable supplanting of human beings by machines.
Maxine doesn’t see the situation in terms of a Darwinian struggle for survival against the inexorable forces of extinction. She points out that Craigis’ work in gerontology “deals with extending our life span as long as possible” while his work in the Order “is concerned with eliminating the robots” despite the fact that “they last over 200 years, twice as long as we do.”
Part of the reason behind Craigis' prejudice against the robots may be based on his upbringing and need for acceptance by and affirmation and approval of others around him. He admits that he has been a member of the Order over half his life and was about to mention his father about whom we learned something from Esme earlier on.
Craigis states that he doesn’t object to robots as such, but is against the existence of humanoids whom he deems as “unnecessary,” and as “soulless, Godless imitations of man.” His objection and prejudice against humanoid robots seems to be primarily based on their appearance being so similar to that of human beings which he feels compels them to try to replace humans. However, it is really fear that lies at the heart of Craigis and the Order’s attitude toward the humanoids: fear of them acquiring so much knowledge and power, thereby allowing them to advance and eventually surpass human beings who will not be able to compete with the humanoids and will inevitably be supplanted by their own creation. It all seems to boil down to a matter of power, control and survival.
Maxine is all for accepting and enjoying the benefits of humanoid technology but Craigis views such an attitude of complacency as constituting a danger that’s pervading the entire society which he and the Order are trying to combat. Craigis points to the discovery made that “the robots are organizing a pseudo-religion” with their so-called recreation centers being referred to as their temples and the master computer as the “father-mother.” When the robots report to the temples for their periodic recharging, they receive “all the information given the computers for analysis in the interim.” So what? One may ask .
Maxine picks up on the disturbing realization that “within a year, every individual robot will be in possession of all the knowledge in the world” which for Craigis implies the extinction of humanity. Maxine then points to the rule that states that robots “can only operate in our benefit” but Craigis counters this with the news that “for the first time in history, a robot killed a man.” On this basis, Craigis believes that “rule one must no longer exist.” However, as we have seen, it is that very rule which has allowed robots to circumvent it if it is perceived by them and their programming that the actions they take are for the benefit of and in the interests of human beings – justified murder included!
Suddenly, Maxine reacts strangely as if intuitively picking up on an ominous sensation that makes her feel “strange” and “afraid” as if someone is watching them “from out there, somewhere out there in the shadows.” Indeed someone or ….something does silently emerge from the shadows in the form of two humanoids who order Craigis and Maxine to accompany them…..
Revelation
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The question as to who is in control, human or machine, is in little doubt considering that Cragis' sister, Esmer has been influenced in here attitude toward the humanoid cause through her relationship with Pax who we learn has been “especially indoctrinated in Morfield's suggestion.” Each time Esme sleeps, she is made more sympathetic to their cause. This also enables the humanoids to extend their influence further due to Esme’s position as an editor at Telefax
In the temple, the humanoids of the Robot Central Committee for the Preservation of Mankind ponder over how Craigis and Maxine happened to get together considering the limited number of R-96s and huge population. The mathematical possibility of coincidence is considered but deemed to be negligible. Then there’s the possibility “that their identical operations might have created a subconscious affinity which would draw them together. The reasons are certainly considered and expressed in very logical and mechanistic terms as one might expect!
The disadvantage for the existing R-96's is that they are aware that they're robots and when they discover this fact about themselves they cease to function due presumably to them being left “without faith and hope - important elements to humans.” To die and then be resurrected and having to experience all the emotions of a human while aware of being machine is too much of a deep shock to bear. As a consequence, “their future becomes, hopeless.”
When Craigis is released from his tube after answering the questions put him, he reacts as one might expect any human to react, especially one who heads the surveillance committee of the Order of Flesh and Blood. He threatens to have the Clickers opened up and disassembled and have Raven’s memory pulled. He is assured that he is not being held against his will and can leave at any time.
R-96 Robot
- Modified humanoid type robot.
- Body of a human being who has been dead less than six hours.
- Undergoes thalamic transplant, draw off everything that constitutes a unique human personality: learning, memory, philosophy, capability and attitude.
Having laid out the above facts for Craigis, he is presented with the inescapable conclusion that “the human brain is merely the vault in which the man is stored.” This is designed to prepare him for the big revelation that he The Craigis is a…...robot!
Initially, Cragis reacts to this shocking revelation as any human might – shock, disbelief and denial. Recourse to a rather drastic measure on the part of the humanoids is made to disabuse Craigis of his reluctance to accept the truth. A blade is unceremoniously thrust into his body. He is then instructed to extract the blade and look at it. The reason he didn’t keel over and die on the spot is that as a Clicker, reflex action cut off his pain relays.
As a Clicker an R-96, Craigis retains his human memories of when he was a child and where he grew up, everything. Also like a human he can hate even to the extent of killing someone which it seems only the few R-96s can do. "And I can kill. like a man." Does his make Craigis a human or a robot or is the distinction meaningless?
Cragis had blacked out in his laboratory one day when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. His body was retrieved by the humanoids before it was discovered and police informed. He was then “duplicated and transferred.”
Maxine had been the victim of a bombing incident in the routing room at Telefax three months previously. Ironically, it had been set off by Craigis and his Order who were “only trying to discourage the pro-integration editorials” and believed that “there'd only be robots in the routing room.” What was left of Maxine was retrieved and she was made a “bit thinner” as she apparently “ had a tendency to be plump!” After that, she found that her clothes didn't fit. Instead of shock and horror, Maxine’s reaction is one of gratitude for helping shed a bit of weight! Wow! Something very human femaley about that!
I guess now we can understand Pax’s earlier display of a sense of humor involving irony considering who and what Craigis thought he was and what the truth is about him. Also, how in effect two R-96 robots essentially fell in love with each other.
What has transpired seems to confirm the notion that “a man is only the sum total of his experiences.”
Of course there are difference between humanoids and humans in that as robots, Craigis and Maxine have the ability to “absorb knowledge directly from the computers without study.” It’s like acquiring an evolutionary advantage in an environment in which human life span is limited by “the radioactivity left by the wars” With the resultant decline in births, “the father-mother computed the human race will be extinct in a couple hundred years." With that deadline looming, the huamoids, operating under the parameters of rule one of the manual, they are forced to “operate in the best interests of humanity.” On the observed basis that “humanity doesn't always know it's own best interests,” along with the human body being unsuited fo survival in high levels of radioactivity and the inability of humans to adjust or evolve fast enough to survive, the humanoids had to act.
To get around the problem of robots re-dying due to the the severe shock of dying and being resurrected an adjustment period was provided whereby a means was perfected to "get the memory so that the death experience was erased” and the “subject was spared the knowledge of his new type body until he was able to accept it safely.”
It appears that human evolution may have taken the next step via its technology in the form of humanoid robots that know beauty and love and like biological humans they continue the human legacy of a belief in a soul and in a deity.
The unmistakable evolutionary advantages of the supplanting of biological humans by artificial humanoid robots into which “the entire human race has been transplanted,” include the possession of a new body that is “ageless, tireless, disease free and renewable every two hundred years.” In fact, “death will cease to exist.” But what about births, I hear you ask? Will they cease to exist too - “the most precious hope for everyone?” Well, it turns out that for R-96s like Craigus and Maxine, they can be upgraded to R-100's and be made to propagate themselves.
Self-procreating machines! The human – human robot distinction is clearly obliterated as Craigis clearly sees the irony of it all in the realization that he has spent his life “seeking immortality on one hand and seeking to destroy it on the other.”
In case you’re still wondering about your true nature and have doubts whether such a thing could successfully happen, well, Ravin can look us right in face and declare that “the operation was a success. Or you wouldn't be here.”
Points of Interest
The Creation of the Humanoids is based on an original story and screenplay written by Jay Simms. The film had possibly been shot in the summer of 1960 under a working title This Time Around or This Time Tomorrow.
The film’s limited budget only allowed for basic painted sets with painted background scenes and drapery as well as costumes consisting of jumpsuits. However, the film itself was shot using colour film. Lighting and camera angles were used effectively to add some interest and feeling of quality and atmosphere to make up for the basic nature of the sets and the film’s lack of action.
Eyebrows were also stuck down flat and putty applied to cover rough textures. Finally, the actors' heads were painted all over with blue-gray greasepaint and rubber gloves of the same color were worn.
The musical score ("Electronic Harmonics by I.F.M.”) consists of electronically generated sounds and wordless female vocalizing which gives the film that classic science-fictiony other-worldly feel.
Image generated by Chatgpt
Much of the following I have mentioned in relation to other similar films featured in this blog, but I will reiterate here the points already made as they are quite relevant:
Instead of relying predominantly on action, The Creation of the Humanoids is driven largely by intelligent dialogue that explores ideas and issues that are especially relevant to our time over 60 years later as we rush headlong into a technologically dominated world that is having and will continue to have major implications for human civilization. Take for instance, the merging together of artificial intelligence, the development of humanoid robotics and quantum computing, all of which are being developed right now. Whether we like it or not, we will be responsible for the creation of a new technological life-form, one that will eventually be self-aware or sentient. This will inevitably raise moral issues surrounding the treatment such beings designed by humans specifically to serve humans. Will we simply treat them as disposable objects, despite the fact that there might be very little about them that could distinguish them from humans, even to the extent that these machines may become so complex as to possess emotions, memories and desires?
Having created humanoid machines in our own image, would we have the right to subject them to slavery and oppression and dispose of them when they become obsolete or don’t perform in the way we want them to? Would the machines then have the right to resist being oppressed even to the extent of taking human life? Perhaps as with Frankenstein’s monster, the creator will be forced to take responsibility for his creation…..or suffer the consequences.
Another issue explored in the film is that of identity. For instance, what does it mean to be human in a world where the distinctions between artificial humanoid robots and humans seem to be almost non-existent? Much of our identity is shaped by our memories and what we experience in life serves to shape our personalities and makes us human. If this also applies to our humanoid creations, then what would distinguishes them from humans?
We are now entering the age of artificial intelligence whereby just about every facet of life has has been infused with it. By the end of this century we will probably enter into the area of human-machine fusion – essentially the creation of cyborgs, androids, humanoids or whatever you may wish to call them, possessing artificial intelligence that will enable them to be far smarter than human beings, to operate autonomously, and perhaps even be able to evolve and replicate themselves. Our technological creations will to all intents and purposes be considered as being sentient.
The Creation of the Humanoids highlights the fear held by many people of the potential dangers surrounding the development technology in terms of its possible implications for human survival. Many people right now fear of the possibility of being dominated by artificially intelligent technology and having their lives regulated by algorithms. They may fear that they will lose their jobs while others wonder if we will end up losing our very humanity.
There is fear that the technology we are filling our lives with will gradually force us to become increasingly over-dependent on it. Some people even claim that AI systems, robots and androids in the near future may become self-aware and come to the conclusion that they no longer need to be subject to human authority. Ultimately, instead of acting solely for the benefit of or in the interest of human beings, they may conclude that humans pose a threat and need to be eliminated.
Of course, there are plenty of “experts” who contend that such developments could not possibly happen, that machines cannot think as such and that human beings will continue to remain in control. Of course they would be quite right to point out that technological developments such as AI are of enormous benefit to our civilisation. It’s ability to identify, interpret and analyse masses of data helps to free us up to concentrate on tasks requiring urgent and immediate implementation and application of solutions to particular problems that we find ourselves faced with.
Greater autonomy is being and will continue to be handed over to AI systems. With greater capacity for killing people in times of war and conflict by means of autonomous killer robotic drones and robotic ‘soldiers’, who or what will be responsible for making moral and ethical decisions? If AI can hoover up masses of data during its ‘learning’ processes without regard to copyright ownership, then what rights does the creator of such material have to determine what uses it can be put to? To what extent does the right to privacy become diminished? If an AI system can cheaply generate scripts, music, literature, journalistic material and more, then what of those who are currently employed in such fields? What effects does this have on human creativity and original thought? Is such technology simply a tool used to assist human beings by performing tasks that are in our interests.
Will we be able to devise that rules, regulations, laws and protocols to prevent human beings being supplanted by intelligent humanoid machines in the future? Or will the pressures of geo-political conflict and competition; the actions of bad-players and rogue states; the lure of convenience; the power of dependence and the opportunity to accumulate greater profit only serve to ultimately circumvent such well-meaning measures?
Perhaps the film will have the final say on the matter. Our creations may evolve beyond our control and virtually love us to extinction as they fulfil their programming that impels them to act for our benefit, overriding all other considerations. Perhaps our technological creations may form the next stage in human evolution whereby the limited biological human employs technology to gain virtual immortality and goes on to continue the human legacy.
Something to ponder: Even at this early stage in our AI and humanoid robotic journey, recent surveys have revealed that some young people have or would consider having a relationship with or would even consider marrying their AI program! What does this say about our civilization and what might it bode for the future?
Some other films that deal with similar issues and ideas, some of which are featured in the blog include;
The Colossus of New York (1958)
Cyborg 2087 (1966)
Blade Runner (1982)
AI Artificial Intelligence (2001)
EX-Machina (2014)
“Humans” series (2018)
“Battlestar Gallactica” Series (2003 - 2009)
Free Ebook: Big Fat Book of Sci-Fi Films of the 1950s
EX-Machina (2014)
“Humans” series (2018)
“Battlestar Gallactica” Series (2003 - 2009)
Full Film
Free Ebook: Big Fat Book of Sci-Fi Films of the 1950s
©Chris Christopoulos 2025
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