Contractor

Jason DeMatteo
 

“Odd to have an android live with us and sleep against the garage wall charging all night, isn’t it?”

Phil assured Sarah that Adam was living with them only for a week to observe and if a good match for future construction jobs. Phil’s motto, “If my family feels safe with you here, then I am safe with you working in other people’s homes” pertains to all potential Android workers. Last month’s candidate ran through a wall when alerted by outside noise, making Phil less optimistic about this newer model.

“Shall I come up with dinner?” Adam asked.

“No. I need you to be ready for the building project tomorrow. Let’s see how you are with lifting sheetrock and placing it onto the truck flatbed, securing it for tomorrow’s job.”

Phil noted how long it took Adam to load up the tools, charge the batteries and complete the task.

“That took less time than expected. Thanks, Adam. Mind if you do a quick inventory to make sure we have enough supplies?”

While Adam counted, Phil went inside and made dinner with Sarah. After eating and helping their children with homework, Sarah invited Adam to sit and watch the evening news while Phil completed the schedule for the week. Phil looked over at Adam, who was fixated on watching Sarah work on a presentation. Her flight to the work conference was tomorrow.

He gave Adam a coded command to obey. “OK Adam, you are done for the evening. Wait for my command in the morning to start the day,” he said. Adam sat in the garage, next to its shipping crate, plugged into the outlet, and patiently waited for Phil to summon it for the workday. The next day was cut short after Phil fell and broke his leg. Adam was distracted from holding the ladder, causing Phil to fall sideways onto the pavement. The doctor gave him six weeks to recover, so Phil had one of his human co-workers, Thomas, drive Adam to the work site.

“How is Adam?”

Thomas walked away for privacy away from the construction and whispered, “Not bad. Adam had zero incidents today. Is it learning from mistakes?”

“I hope so. I am in a lot of pain, so Adam better get it all done. We are way behind. I thought these robots were supposed to be efficient and faster.”

”If they do the work better than us, they will replace us. I’m getting one in a few days too for domestic responsibilities. I still need to get used to that orange glow flicker their eyes have and their expressionless faces.”

Later in the evening, Thomas dropped Adam off who insisted on cooking dinner. With Sarah away and the children staying the rest of the week at their grandmother’s, Adam had only Phil to answer to.

“I thought they programmed you for construction, not cooking.”

Adam opened the refrigerator and took two beers out. It handed Phil one and sat across from him.

“You eat and drink? That’s new.”

“No. Just learning. I see that occasionally you do the same thing. What brand of alcohol do you prefer?” 

Phil put the beer down. “OK, you are done. Wait for my command in the morning to start the day. Do not go into the refrigerator again.”

Adam did not respond. Phil said the same thing again but caught himself not verbalizing the command correctly, as they programmed Adam to respond to. After a third attempt, Adam stood up and walked to the garage.

The next several days were free of drama at the work site and at home. Adam brought over Phil’s delivery of dinner meals and took the garbage out to the curb. Thomas said Adam laughed at some jokes the crew told during their lunch break and shared a story about college, which everyone knew was made up. They brushed it off as something they programmed Adam to do, have a backstory, something to say to appear less robotic. The construction project was ahead of schedule thanks to Adam.

By the end of the week, Phil received an email from the company that created Adam and asked if he was fit to stay and continue to work. Without hesitation, Phil replied and said yes. After clicking send, he hobbled over to the kitchen to make himself a snack. Sitting on the counter out of place was the blue photo album that spanned thirty years of pictures from when he was a baby to his college years. The book was opened on a page where a familiar photo was missing. It was one of Phil and Sarah on a date. Phil looked around the counter and floor for it, but it was not there. Stunned, he dragged his cast-ridden leg to the garage. Propped against the wall with a thumbtack next to Adam’s charging station was the photo.

“That bastard! I knew it,” he thought and snatched it from the wall.

Thomas dropped Adam off. Phil waited for Adam to enter the house.

“What were you doing with this photo? Are you trying to replace me?” 

“Of course not. Why would I do that to you, Phil?”

Phil hobbled up to Adam and showed him the photo. “This is me and Sarah. What were you doing with this in the garage next to your charger? Trying to replace me at work and home?”

Adam replied, “Phil, I am here to work on your construction project. I should be able to do the same here at home. I am programmed to assimilate. You will be proud of me.”

“I’m calling the police and then I will have you deactivated,” he shouted.

Adam grabbed Phil’s wrists and swung him against the wall, knocking him out. It removed his cast and tossed it to the side. Adam stuffed Phil into the shipping crate and made several calls to the manufacturer in Phil’s voice, asking for a shipping pickup tomorrow. It said that the android’s services were no longer required.

The next evening, Sarah came home with the children. They were all sympathetic to Adam, thanks to a face morphing application, including a voice synthesizer, to look and sound like Phil.

“Honey, let me cook you something. My treat! I am so sorry I wasn’t home to take care of you while you were recovering from your broken leg.”

With the cast on its leg, Adam replied, “Sure, that would be great. Anything you feel like making is good. Mind if you get the remote and turn on the news?”

Two of the correspondents reported on a story about androids becoming common in people’s homes and how quickly they adjusted. One family was Thomas’. He explained how tasks and responsibilities deferred to their new family member, Jillian the maid while rubbing his own orange, glowing eye.

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