That was when the icecaps had melted because of the greenhouse gases...
... and the oceans had drowned cities...
... along all the shorelines of the world.
Amsterdam, Venice, New York...
... forever lost.
Millions of people were displaced.
Climate became chaotic.
Hundreds of millions of people starved in poorer countries.
A high degree of prosperity survived when the developed world...
... introduced sanctions to license pregnancies...
... which was why robots, who did not consume resources...
... beyond those of their first manufacture...
... were so essential an economic link...
... in the chain mail of society.
To create an artificial being has been man's dream...
...since the birth of science.
Not merely from the modern age when our forebears created...
...the first thinking machines, primitive ones that played chess.
How far we have come!
The artificial being is a reality, a perfect simulacrum...
...articulated in limb, articulate in speech...
...and not lacking in human response.
And even pain-memory response.
How did that make you feel? Angry? Shocked?
- I don't understand. - What did I do to your feelings?
You did it to my hand.
All right.
There's the rub.
Undress.
At Cybertronics, the artificial being has reached its highest form.
The universally adapted Mecha...
...the basis for hundreds of models serving humans...
...in all the multiplicity of daily life.
That's far enough.
But we have no reason to congratulate ourselves.
We are rightly proud of it.
But what does it amount to?
Sheila, open.
A sensory toy...
...with intelligent behavioral circuits...
...using neurone-sequencing technology...
...as old as I am.
I believe that my work on mapping the impulse pathways in a neurone...
...can enable us to construct...
...a Mecha of a qualitatively different order.
I propose...
...that we build a robot...
...who can love.
Love?
But we ship thousands of lover-models every month.
Of course. You're your own best customer, Syatyoo-Sama.
Quality control is very important.
Tell me, what is love?
Love is first widening my eyes...
...quickening my breathing, warming my skin and...
And so on, exactly so. Thank you, Sheila.
I wasn't referring to sensuality simulators.
The word that I used was "love".
Like the love of a child for its parents.
I propose that we build a robot-child who can love.
A robot-child who will genuinely love the parent it imprints on...
...with a love that never ends.
A child-substitute Mecha?
But a Mecha with a mind, with neuronal feedback.
I'm suggesting that love will be the key...
...by which they acquire a subconscious never before achieved.
An inner world of metaphor, of intuition...
...of self-motivated reasoning, of dreams.
A robot that dreams? How exactly do we pull this off?
It occurs to me...
...with all this animus existing against Mechas today...
...it isn't just creating a robot who can love.
But isn't the real conundrum, can a human love them back?
Ours will be a perfect child, always loving, never ill, never changing.
With all the childless couples yearning for a license...
...our Mecha will open up a new market and fill a great human need.
But you haven't answered my question.
If a robot could genuinely love a person...
...what responsibility does that person hold toward that Mecha in return?
- It's a moral question, isn't it? - The oldest one of all.
But in the beginning, didn't God create Adam to love him?
"The baby was born as the first leaves of autumn fell.
A baby boy. And Marian's wish came true.
The boy had white hair.
He was baptized Martin, after his grandfather."
Dr. Frazier, good to see you.
There was an article in the "Journal of Chinese Medicine".
Hello, Monica.
They talked about virus locators. Did you read it?
I can still hear you.
- I'm worried about her. - I know.
She feels that she should mourn the death of your son.
After five years, you feel you should mourn too.
But medicine says mourning is inappropriate. Martin is pending.
Pending.
So all her grief goes undigested.
Henry, your son may be beyond our science.
But it's your wife who can still be reached.
The screening process was tougher than building the prototype.
Of our 2000 employees, only a few met your requirements.
Initiate.
Employment record, quality of lifestyle.
Query. Internal data.
Loyalty to the firm, and in this individual's case...
...a family tragedy that may qualify him above the rest.
I'll see him.
Henry!
- Don't kill me. - What are you doing?
I love you. Don't kill me.
The door's closed.
I like your floor.
I can't accept this! There is no substitute for your own child!
- It's not too late to take him back. - What were you thinking?
- I'll do whatever you want. - Do you think I can just...?
- I'll do whatever you want! - I don't know what to do.
I'll return him to Cybertronics in the morning.
It's gone.
Good.
I mean, Henry, did you see his face?
He's so real.
- But he's not. - No, he's not.
- Inside, he's like the rest, isn't he? - 100 miles of fiber, yeah.
But outside, he just looks so real...
...like he is a child.
A Mecha-child.
A child.
The faith my company has placed on me, on us, is extraordinary.
There are a few procedures to follow if you decide to keep David.
If you keep him, an imprinting protocol consisting of seven words...
...needs to be spoken to David in this order here.
For our own protection, this imprinting is irreversible.
His love would be sealed and we'd be part of him forever.
Because of this, after imprinting, no Mecha-child can be resold.
If a parent decides not to keep it...
...they must return it to Cybertronics for destruction.
I had to sign an agreement or they wouldn't let you see David.
You have to sign it too. Right here.
Monica...
...don't imprint until you're entirely sure.
Silly man. Of course I'm not sure.
Would you like me to sleep now?
Good idea. Good idea. Monica?
Well, it's late, you know. It's after 9.
How late do they let you stay up?
I can never go to sleep.
But I can lay quietly and not make a peep.
Those pajamas will fit. We'll check on you in the morning.
Dress me?
I'm gonna say good night while you boys be boys.
Raise your arms.
- Is it a game? - Yes.
Hide-and-seek.
I found you.
That's your room. Just go and play.
I found you.
Out! Out! Get out of here!
And close the goddamn door!
Is it a game?
Now, I'm gonna read some words.
They won't make any sense, but I want you to listen to them anyway.
And look at me all the time.
Can you do that?
Yes, Monica.
Can you feel my hand on the back of your neck?
Yes.
- Does any of this hurt? - No.
Okay, now...
...Iook at me.
Ready?
Cirrus.
Socrates.
Particle.
Decibel.
Hurricane.
Dolphin.
Tulip.
Monica.
David.
Monica.
All right.
I wonder if I did that right.
What were those words for, Mommy?
What did you call me?
Mommy.
Who am I, David?
You are my mommy.
You smell lovely. I love it when you wear this stuff.
- Will you love me when it's all gone? - No.
Stop it!
We can marry again and begin with a scent that's not in short supply.
Come on, we're late.
- Hello, David. - Hello, Henry.
Walk us out, sweetheart. Come on!
My shoe!
- Your tie! You're hopeless! - I'm helpless. He made our bed.
He's just trying so hard!
He's trying to please me. He has a way with my coffee!
It's creepy. You never hear him coming.
- He is only a child. - He's a toy.
He's a gift.
From you.
David, when we leave, the doors will go smart...
...so you can't leave your room, but if you'd like...
- I put too much on. - Do I smell lovely?
Oh, God, no!
Mommy?
Will you die?
Well, one day, David, yes, I will.
I'll be alone.
Don't worry yourself so.
How long will you live?
For ages.
For 50 years.
I love you, Mommy.
I hope you never die.
Never.
Yes.
Darling!
We're becoming unfashionably, unreasonably late.
Hello?
This belonged to Martin, my son.
His name is Teddy. Teddy, this is David.
- Hello, Teddy. - Hello, David.
Teddy is a supertoy. I know you'll take good care of each other.
I am not a toy.
Henry!
- Sorry! - What were you doing?
I'll tell you in the car. Come on!
Is 50 years a long time?
I don't think so.
David, I'll get it!
- Hand it to me. - Look what I can do.
Hello.
Yes?
Mrs. Swinton, could you hold? I have an urgent call.
Yes, I will. David, I need the phone now.
Monica? Can you hear me?
- Let the phone talk now. -Pick up the phone, Monica!
- Run along, play with Teddy. -Oh, my God, Moni...
Hello, Henry, what is it?
What?
When?
Oh, God!
David.
The most wonderful thing in the whole world has happened.
This is Martin.
This is my son.
Martin, no!
We'll have a contest to see who he comes to first.
Come here, Teddy! Come here!
Teddy! Come here!
- You call him too. - Come here, Teddy.
- Come on. Teddy! - Come here, boy.
- Come here! Come on, Teddy. - Come here, Teddy.
- Teddy, come. - Come here, Teddy.
- Come, Teddy! Come.
Mommy! Mommy!
Are they torturing you, Teddy?
He used to be a supertoy, but...
...now he's old and stupid.
You want him?
Yes, please.
Now you're the new supertoy. What stuff can you do?
Can you do power stuff, like walk on the ceiling or the walls?
Anti-gravity, like float or fly?
Can you?
No, because I'm real.
Can you break this?
I better not.
These things, they do look better in pieces. They do.
I can't.
Stand up.
- Look, they made you bigger than me. - Who did?
They did. The dollmakers. They made you taller.
Why don't you look like one?
Like one?
You're not cute like a doll.
You just look like someone's ordinary kid.
When's your birthday?
I never had a birthday.
When were you first built? When's your "build-day"?
I don't remember.
Okay, what's the first thing you can remember?
A bird.
What sort of bird?
A bird with big wings...
...and feathers sticking up from the bottom.
Can you draw it?
Yes.
That looks like a peacock. Can you say peacock?
Peacock.
- Can you say pee? - Pee.
Now say that two times fast.
Okay. Then you gotta put the green ones...
Read to us?
Let's see.
Oh, yeah.
David's going to love it.
"The Showman went into the kitchen...
...where the sheep for supper...
...was roasting on the spit in the furnace.
When he saw there was not enough wood...
...he called Harlequin and Punchinello and said:
'Bring me Pinocchio! He is hanging on a nail.
He is made of dry wood and will make a nice fire for my roast.'"
"Pinocchio worked until midnight.
And instead of making eight baskets, he made 16.
Then he went to bed and fell asleep.
As he slept, he dreamt he saw the fairy, lovely and smiling...
...who gave him a kiss, saying:
'Brave Pinocchio...
...in return for your good heart, I forgive all your past misdeeds.
Be good in future, and you will be happy.'
Then the dream ended and Pinocchio awoke, full of amazement.
You can imagine how astonished he was when he saw...
...that he was no longer a puppet...
...but a real boy, just like other boys."
Josephine has taken a leave of absence.
Oh, my God. Well, I saw that coming.
- How? They were fabulous together. - Come on! She was miserable.
- He never said they were miserable. - That's because...
- Is that because of the cutbacks? - No idea. They don't tell me.
- Do they have a weight problem? - So do I.
You do not! That is ridiculous.
I don't know.
There's something about inner beauty that...
You will break.
- That is ridiculous! - Exactly.
- Work has become so silly. - I know what you're talking about.
- Does he eat? - I'm not sure.
- You're not supposed to do that. - What are you doing?
- Martin, put the fork down! - Stop, David. Will you stop?
Martin, you're provoking him. Stop it.
- Stop it! - The two of you, stop! Stop it now!
Stop it!
David, stop it!
- There's sputum in the code lockers. - Smell that garlic.
We should throw in a chest mint.
- Can you locate the surface? - Don't touch the merchandise.
- It's all swamp in here. - You made a mess of yourself.
Spinach is for rabbits, people and Popeye.
Not robo-boys.
Try to insert yourself.
Through the pantry, the lower shelves.
It's okay, Mommy. It doesn't hurt.
Deactivators are all shut down on the left side.
- Monica. - No! I have to...
That's not all of it. That's not all of it.
If you do something really, really, really special for me...
...a special mission...
...then I'll go tell Mommy...
...I love you.
And then she'll love you too.
What shall I do?
You have to promise, and then I'll tell you.
You have to tell me, and then I'll promise.
I want a lock of Mommy's hair.
I'll share it with you. And if you had it and wore it...
...she might love you even more.
Like the princess in the movie we saw.
When she had the prince's hair in her necklace thing...
...he loved her.
We can ask her.
No, it has to be a secret mission.
Sneak into Mommy's bedroom in the middle of the night...
...and chop it off.
I can't, Martin. I'm not allowed.
You promised.
You said, "Tell me, and then I'll promise."
Didn't you?
David!
Why did you do that? Why did you do that?!
Talk to me! Goddamn it, talk to me! Why did you do that?
You're hurting him! You'll break him!
Henry...
...I wanted Mommy to love me...
...more.
- Oh, my God! - What?
I think I cut my eye. I think it's bleeding.
Come on, watch it.
It's normal for boys to feel jealous and competitive.
Martin's been home a month. Brothers normally challenge each other.
He was playing a game, he made a mistake. He's practically human.
- Not holding the knife. - Scissors.
It was a weapon.
- Why do you think he'd harm me? - We don't know the answer.
How is he worth the risk to you, to Martin, to our family?
- I won't let you take him back. - Think about this.
If he was created to love, then we can assume he can hate.
And if pushed to those extremes, what is he capable of?
Happy birthday, Martin. I made this for you.
- Is this your little brother? - Technically, no.
- He's Mecha. - What's Mecha?
We're "org-anic"...
...you're "mecha-anical".
Orga, Mecha.
Todd, stop!
I didn't know they even made kids. Can you pee?
- I cannot. - Let's see what you can't pee with.
Guys, come on.
Touch it.
It feels so real!
That's creepy.
- It feels so real! - That is too real.
Mecha-real.
Does he have DAS?
- DAS what? -Das ist gut!
Damage Avoidance System. DAS.
It's a pain-alert system. Our serving man has it.
It's so they don't go picking up fire with their hands.
Watch. Watch this.
I'm not gonna cut you. This won't hurt.
I'm not gonna cut your skin. Tell me when you feel it.
- Keep me safe, Martin. - Let me go!
- Keep me safe, Martin. - Let me go! Mom!
Mom!
Henry!
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God, he's not breathing!
Take a breath. Cough it up. That's a great boy!
- Thank God! - Call Frazier.
Get him out of the sun.
- Hey, David? - Mommy!
I need to speak to you for a minute, okay?
Okay.
These are beautiful.
Thank you.
I was thinking that we could go for a drive tomorrow in the country.
You and me. What do you say?
- And Teddy? - Yeah, and Teddy.
Thank you, Mommy.
Thank you so much.
Tomorrow's gonna be just for us, okay?
Where are we going?
Someplace nice?
Are those happy tears?
What's for dinner tonight?
- You know you don't eat. - Yes.
But I like sitting at the table.
David? David, I want... David, listen.
Listen to me!
David, listen.
You won't understand the reasons...
...but I have to leave you here.
Is it a game?
No.
When will you come back for me?
I'm not. You'll have to be here by yourself.
Alone?
With Teddy.
No.
No, no, no! No, Mommy, please!
- No, no. Please, Mommy. - They would destroy you, David!
I'm sorry I broke myself, I'm sorry I cut your hair...
...and I'm sorry I hurt Martin...
I have to go! I have to go! Stop it!
- I have to go now. - Mommy, don't! Mommy!
If Pinocchio became real and I become real, can I come home?
- That's a story. - But a story tells what happens.
Stories are not real! You're not real!
Now, look. Take this, all right?
Take this. Don't let anyone see how much it is.
Look! Don't go that way. Go anywhere but that way or they'll catch you.
Don't ever let them catch you!
Stay away from Flesh Fairs, away from where there are lots of people.
Stay away from all people. Only others like you, only Mecha are safe!
Why do you want to leave me? Why?
I'm sorry I'm not real. If you let me, I'll be so real for you!
Let go. Let go, David.
Let go!
I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the world.
I'm afraid.
-Of me? -Yes.
That I will hurt you?
Yes.
I think...
...you're afraid of letting go.
I think you're afraid of happiness.
And this is starting to excite me.
Are you afraid of seeing the stars...
...Patricia?
I can show you how to reach them.
I'm afraid of what you've got under there.
May I see what it looks like first?
Is this your first time...
...with something like me?
I've never been with Mecha.
That makes two of us.
I'm afraid it will hurt.
Patricia...
...once you've had a lover-robot...
...you'll never want a real man...
...again.
Are these the wounds of passion?
Do you hear that music?
You...
...are a goddess...
...Patricia.
You wind me up inside.
But you deserve much better in your life.
You deserve...
...me.
- Hey, Joe, what do you know? - Jane, how's the game?
- Hey, Joe, what do you know? - Hello. Place a DND on room 102.
Sure thing.
There you are.
Oh, Joe.
When you're done, crack your collar, show off your operating license.
The Flesh Fair is in Barn Creek and the hounds are out hunting for strays.
- Good thing I ran into you. Thanks. - Sure thing.
Mustn't keep a lady waiting.
Miss Bevins.
It's Joe.
At your service.
I've been counting the seconds since last we met.
Have you been crying, Samantha?
I found a tear.
Hey, Joe, what do you know?
How many seconds has it been...
...the last time you two were together?
255,133.
Goodbye, Sam. And never forget:
You killed me first.
I'm in bad trouble.
If I am a real boy...
... then I can go back.
And she will love me then.
How?
The Blue Fairy made Pinocchio into a real boy.
She can make me into a real boy.
I must find her. I must become real.
There must be someone in the whole world who knows where she lives.
Moon on the rise!
It's the Flesh Fair. They destroy us on-stage. I've been there.
What do we do?
We run now.
Any old iron.
Expel your Mecha!
Purge yourselves of artificiality.
Let some Mecha loose to run.
Any old unlicensed iron down there?
Hey, you see that?
Could be a human thing.
No, he's scanning cold. No expiration date, no I.D.
- What's a new model doing loose? - It's a late-generation lover-Mecha.
That's a relief from all this antique iron. Sure he's not a man?
I don't want another Trenton incident.
He's a free-range Mecha running hot.
Reel him in! Sic the hounds on the rest.
Shake down shantytown!
What's your name?
My name is David.
Hello, David. How old are you?
I don't know.
You need someone to take care of you?
Would you like a nanny? I have many good references.
Do you know where the Blue Fairy lives?
Let out the line. Steady your drift.
Open the lower hold.
Don't be afraid, David.
I'll break, David.
Hello!
Anybody lose this?
Hello!
This your dog?
Take it to lost and found.
Lost and found!
- Do you know David? - Where's the "off" switch?
Where's David?
Can you help me find David?
I have to find David.
Are you taking me to David?
Could you shoot me over the propeller?
I don't need to go through it. I changed my mind.
Gentlemen, start your engines!
Ten!
Nine!
Eight!
Seven!
Six!
Five!
Four!
Three!
Two!
One!
What about us?
We are alive...
...and this is a celebration of life!
And this is commitment...
...to a truly human future!