The Lonely story
In the year 2046, a convicted man serving his sentence on an uninhabited asteroid is given a female robot (Jean Marsh) for companionship. Directed by: Jack Smight. Story by: Rod Serling.
12 total · 3 choice · 3 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| AI rights | choice | The story was an early example of something to posit the question of whether and to what an extent a machine can be human enough to warrant our sympathy. |
| loneliness | choice | Corry was dying of loneliness on some far flung asteroid until he was given a female android companion. |
| the need for companionship | choice | It was illustrated that people may go mad if they are deprived of human company for a very long time. |
| android | major | Corry was given the female android Alicia to keep him company while he served out a 50 year sentence otherwise alone on some far flung asteroid. |
| compassion | major | Allenby took pity on Corry and delivered him things, like a female android, to help him keep his sanity while he served a 50 year sentence for murder on some far flung asteroid. Later, Corry refused to leave the asteroid without Alicia on the ground that she was a woman, not a mere robot. Note that while Corry had a romantic interest in taking Alicia back to Earth with him, he did not use this as a justification for the necessity of bring her along. |
| human AI relationship | major | Corry gradually fell in love with his android companion Alicia. |
| cruel and unusual punishment | minor | Allenby stated that a lot of people consider that confining Corry to solitary confinement for 50 years on some far flung asteroid was unnecessarily cruel. |
| habitable asteroid | minor | The story followed a convicted murderer named Corry as he served out a 50 year sentence on a far flung asteroid. |
| interplanetary space travel | minor | A rocket ship from Earth landed on Corry's asteroid to deliver supplies, and later to pick up Corry. |
| killing an artificial person | minor | We must ponder whether the captain was justified in his decision to put a bullet through the young robot girls compassionate face. |