RoboNomics

Chapter 8 - 2016

"Just a moment, Principal Goodman." Mr. Tharanga says before I have a chance. "I'm sure we'll want to explain the position to Andrea before she commits to anything?"

The tone of his voice is stiff and formal. He projects his speech and the sound of it is amplified in the small room. I imagine this is the way he speaks when he addresses corporate executives.

"Of course. I was getting to that." Goodman replies. "Andrea, I think you have a good idea from our previous conversation of what the position involves. You're good with computers and you've always helped us with the little IT problems that pop up around the school now and then."

That's the understatement of the year, I think.

The wireless network that connects the students' desks, the faculty's FlexScreens and the classroom displays was already a decade old and needed constant babying. But the school district couldn't afford any better.

I helped with it so often that the activity fulfilled all of the extracurricular time I was required, by the terms of my employment as a teacher with the Toronto School District, to volunteer. I resent Goodman for downplaying my role here even more than the day she'd told me I was laid off.

"In that same vein, we'd like you to keep an eye on the I.I.U. Make sure she doesn't break down. Mr. Tharanga will be your RoboNomics contact throughout the pilot program."

"Yes, that's right," Mr. Tharanga glances from Goodman to me.

"And look, we'd really like it if you'd do one more thing for us. The Unit will be recording quantitative data itself. Student test scores, stuff like that. But we'd love it if you could also keep your own qualitative notes. How the students react to their new teacher, their changing attitudes towards learning."

"And I don't suppose you'll be paying me extra for these 'notes', will you?"

I ask the question as a light-hearted joke, but it rings too true. I hear the bitter edge in my voice as I say it. The small room is silent for longer than is comfortable. Mr. Tharanga, at last, opens his mouth to respond.

"The terms of the contract are already fixed." Goodman cuts him off. "And I'd like it if you could sign it by the end of the day. In the meantime you can go to the classroom and get acquainted with the position and the unit. Then you can have some time to look over the terms of the contract."

She holds the FlexScreen out towards me. It shows a dense text on a white background.

"Sure."

I slip my FlexPhone out of my pocket. I pinch the air between the two screens and the contract appears on the surface of my phone. I want to look at the wage, but Mr. Tharanga is already rising out of his chair.

"I understand that you've already met the I.I.U., but I'd like to be able to show you what she can really do."

He gestures toward the door. I follow him out of the room.

As we exit, Goodman calls out the door of her office. "Don't forget to see me by the end of the day, Andrea."

I nod but I don't look back. Jay Tharanga's long legs carry him quickly out into the hallway and down to where it turns a corner. It's an effort for me to keep up with him.

As he rounds the corner and heads towards the row of primary classrooms, I lift my phone and scroll down the contact, looking for the payment figure. When I find it, I stop walking. It is less than half my original salary.

"Ms. Anderson?" Mr. Tharanga looks back around the corner.

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

I slip my phone back into my skirt pocket.

When we reach the classroom, I am as shocked to see the I.I.U. as I was the moment Vice Principal Chen revealed it. The bot still stands in her brace beside the desk.

I can barely look at it without my stomach churning. I slow down until I stop behind the back row of desks. Mr. Tharanga, however, takes long strides towards the android.

"As you can see, storage is not a problem. She can easily stay here all night, as long as the door is locked."

He reaches its side and turns around. I see in his eyes that my feelings are lost on him. He has no idea how painful it is to see a machine take over my classroom.

The bot is locked in here overnight just like a toy or a FlexScreen would be, for safety. It has made this place lifeless. There are no longer any adults for the children to interact with, from whom they can learn how to be a person in the world.

"Ms. Anderson, are you feeling all right?" Mr. Tharanga has a look of true concern on his face.

"It's just like you said, it's so quantitative -- all cold calculation. There's no more warmth for the kids in this room."

"But that's where you come in. You'll be the human presence for them here."

"But don't you want me to eventually leave? Isn't that why I'm on a contract and not in a permanent position? Isn't your goal to take all humans out of the learning process?"

"It's not my goal." He looks down at the floor.

"But it's the goal of the people you represent. Isn't that what the corporation you work for wants?"

"That doesn't mean we can't be friends," he says.

I am startled by the suggestion.

"Ms. Anderson - I'd like to call you Andrea, if I can. And I'd like it if you called me Jay. We'll be working together closely over the next year, and maybe even longer. You've made it very clear that this situation is uncomfortable for you. But it was, after all, your choice to come back. Now, can't we make the best of that decision and be more than just civil?"

He's right. It was my choice to come back here. But that doesn't mean that I have to be friends with the man who represents everything that I've come to despise.

Still, it wouldn't hurt me to keep him close, I think.

And so I agree with him by giving the tiniest of nods.

(Continued in Chapter 9...)

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