“Hey freak!” yelled David. “Yeah, I'm talking to you, pickle
head.”
Alexander, age 10, knew that he was the object of the boy's taunts.
He had been the target of teasing and bullying for years. Many of the
boys at his school were merciless in bullying and taunting anyone who
was a little different. Alexander was different in a way that anyone
could notice. He had a brain much larger than the normal human brain.
This was all because Alexander's parents had agreed to participate in
a trial program in genetic engineering. Back in the year 2030,
scientists had discovered ways to genetically enhance an embryo so
that a child could be born with a much larger brain, and a much
greater number of brain cells. The technique was carefully tested on
chimpanzees, and the result was a chimp that was smart enough to
learn a simple language like Esperanto.
Scientists decided to move very cautiously in using the technique on
human beings. They did not know whether the brain enhancement
technique might result in side effects such as an early death. So
they decided to use the technique on just one child in North America,
one child in Europe, and one child in China. The three children would
be carefully monitored until they reached the age of twenty. If no
problems were detected, the genetic brain enhancement technique could
then be used on a much larger set of people.
Alexander's parents had signed up to participate in the program. An
ovum or egg cell of Alexander's mother had been surgically removed, and had been
genetically enhanced in the laboratory. The ovum was then connected
with the genetic material of Alexander's father, through the process
of artificial insemination. The fertilized ovum was then surgically
implanted back in Alexander's mother. The resulting pregnancy and
childbirth were a little more difficult than normal for the mother,
but young Alexander had been born very healthy.
The young child was a very quick learner, and learned to read by the
age of two. Alexander's parents wanted to put the child in a special
school for geniuses. But the scientists in charge of Alexander's
program wanted him to attend the regular local school. They said it
was important to test how well a superintelligent child could fit in
with ordinary children.
But Alexander did not fit in well with the other children. Quite a
few of the children made fun of Alexander's strange appearance. Other
children resented having such a genius among them. They said it made
them feel stupid. David was the child who bullied Alexander the
most.
“So, freak, fork over your lunch money, so I can have some extra
dessert for lunch,” demanded David near the entrance of the school.
“I feel a tinge of revulsion contemplating the notion of yielding
to such intimidation, as I find it to be redolent of extortion,”
said Alexander.
“As usual, I can't understand what the hell you are talking about,”
said David. “All I know is you better fork over that lunch money,
or you're gonna be eating grass.”
Alexander gave him the money. Within a minute Alexander thought of three
ways he could raise the missing money from his fellow school children
before lunch time.
When lunchtime came at the school cafeteria, Alexander felt
uncomfortable as he often did. The cafeteria was a place where
someone felt comfortable if he or she had fit into one of the
school's social cliques. If you were an athlete, you ate at the jock
table. If you were one of the popular kids you ate at a table with
the other popular kids. But an oddball like Alexander had no group to
fit into. At lunchtime he usually sat by himself, eating as he read.
But the other students would often taunt Alexander at lunchtime, and
today the bullying was particularly bad. Some of the children
whispered to themselves, and then started to make a little food
sculpture. Seven boys each contributed some of their food, and one of
them sculpted the food into a strange looking blob. Then a boy named
Adam took the food blob over to where Alexander was sitting.
“We have a gift for you,” said Adam loudly. “It's some of the
weird food from that strange planet you come from.” Laughter
erupted from many of the cafeteria tables.
“Why don't you go back to that strange alien planet you came from,
freak,” said Adam, his words lashing like a whip.
“Actually, I was born in Hoboken, New Jersey,” said Alexander.
He endured the bullying and taunting for the rest of the day.
He was glad it was the last day of the school year.
When his mother came back from work, Alexander told her about the
bullying and taunting.
“I can't stand to be in that school for another year,” said
Alexander. “Besides the endless psychological tribulations, the
academic payoff for me is miniscule. You've got to switch me to home
schooling.”
“But you can't do home schooling,” said Mom. “Your Dad and I
have to work during the day.”
Alexander came up with a solution to the problem, and began
implementing it over the summer, when his school was closed for
summer vacation. Alexander spent long hours in his garage. His mother
heard strange noises coming from the garage, and asked Alexander
about them. Alexander said it was his surprise, and that he would
soon reveal the secret.
One day late in August when his mother came home from work, she saw
several robots in her living room.
“Mom, I'd like to introduce you to some hard workers,” said
Alexander, pointing with his fingers. “Over there is Mr. Walker, my
new math teacher. He just taught me some fascinating calculus
theorems. Over there is Miss Feinberg, my new literature teacher. She
just helped me get a clearer understanding of the dark depths of
Dostoyevsky's novels. Over there is my physics teacher, Mr. Nagel.
He's helped me understand some equations I'm using for a paper I'm
doing on general relativity. Then finally there's Miss Tooley, whose
keen insights on world history are leading me to develop a new theory
about cultural cycles.”
Mom stood for a moment, dumbfounded.
“Don't you see, Mom?” asked Alexander. “With these robots I can
do home schooling, and stay away from that soul-numbing vale of tears
known as P.S. 139.”
“Alexander, how did you think we can pay for these expensive
robots?” asked Mom. “These type of robots cost a fortune.”
“Don't worry, Mom,” said Alexander. “They hardly cost anything,
because I assembled them from spare parts that I bought quite
cheaply. Most of the cost of robots is the software, and we don't
have to pay that, because I did myself all the computer programming for
their minds.”
“It's quite simple, Mom,” explained the superintelligent
Alexander. “I've invented my own teachers.”
No comments:
Post a Comment