Best Fembots in Fiction: Resurrection Earth Nominees

If there was an award for Best Fembots in Fiction (a different kind of BFF), here are three nominees from Resurrection Earth, with excerpts.

Aimee (AI Model for Earth’s Ecosystem)

The man then spoke loudly and clearly toward the wall of screens. “Aimee, what is the current composite atmospheric health reading?” 

Suddenly, all of the screens in the room went dark and rows of data appeared rippling across them. Slowly, the contours of a female face emerged, created from light and dark patterns in the data. Her Eurasian face undulated serenely as if below the surface of clear, flowing water. 

“Satisfactory, Level 2.75, Professor Johns,” she said, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. “We’re adjusting to some solar storm activity and expect to return to the ideal Level 3 within ten days.” 

“Thank you, Aimee,” said Johns, then turned to Reyanna and winked. 

Rey laughed and turned to Wes, who was still staring at the screens. “That was a vanity project of a friend of mine here a couple of years ago, and wholly unnecessary to Aimee’s operation,” she said. “She wanted to give Aimee a face and voice—something for everyone to hold in their mind’s eye.”

“Outstanding,” said Wes. “I won’t forget the sight of Aimee. But I don’t know whether to admire or fear her.”

“You should do both,” said Ash, unsmiling. 

Rosie (namesake of Frank Rosenblatt, pioneer of artificial neural networks)

Rosie was luminous, her body a uniform silver color with a thin halo surrounding it. She had shoulder length hair, a straight nose and full lips. Her large eyes blinked slowly. 

“Well, she’s magnificent!” said Wes, shaking his head and smiling. “But I thought holograms were old tech.”

“That’s right, but she’s not a hologram,” said Rey. “Her 3D image is algorithmically generated by lasers interacting with ambient particles—essentially points of light created from thin air. And unlike a hologram, she can be viewed from any angle”

Wes took three steps to the side, turned to look at Rosie, and nodded. Rosie turned her head to face him, and he froze again. Rey and Ash laughed loudly, and Rey continued.

“Rosie’s algorithm has been trained with millions of videos of young women to create composite motions, facial expressions, and speech patterns. She’s not perfect, but Ash and I are making improvements. We experimented with clothing, but it was too much trouble so we settled on a body suit.”  

“Ash, tell Wes more,” said Rey.

“She’s a 3D conversational AI avatar,” said Ash. “The tech dates from the explosion of generative AI and volumetric imaging early in this century.”

Raisa (Reconnaissance AI Special Agent, Rosie’s alter ego)

Reyanna smiled, but immediately noticed that something had changed. Rosie was still luminous, but rather than a body suit, she wore a dark gray business suit with a plain white shirt. Rosie paced near the window, then stepped to the instructor’s desk in the front of the room and sat, one leg swinging back and forth. 

Then she turned to Rey and Ash. “Oh, good morning, kids,” she said. “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

Rey was stunned. Good morning, kids! What is that? Her mannerisms—her whole demeanor—are different. 

Rey looked at Ash with eyebrows raised, then back at Rosie. “Good morning, Rosie,” she said. “Well…ah…what were you thinking about?” 

“My name is Raisa.”

“What?” said Rey, eyes wide.

“I’m a special  agent for Global Security. Shall I answer your question?” 

“Well…ah, yes,” said Rey.

“I was thinking about a model I developed to predict the time and location of terrorist attacks,” said Raisa. “It’s in testing, and it’s too inaccurate, so the police won’t use it yet. But I was thinking that more rebel attacks should be incited so I can have a larger sample for model training. I think I’ll recommend that to the GS brass.”

Rey and Ash traded anxious glances, and Rey shook her head. 

And the award goes to… Read Resurrection Earth, and you decide.