Let's see how sensitive you are.
Ready... and bang!
(chuckles) Oooh, easy!
Say, Frank. How's it going?
Great, Charlie. It would be going better if I knew what this dermasynth was for.
Sorry, can't have loose lips talking to the competition.
You and everyone else will know what the components are for when the time is right.
Let me see... it's not for burn victims, it's too inorganic.
It could be some kind of computer sensor, but why would you make it look like flesh?
Nice, Frank. Very, very nice.
Say, you're not seeing anybody these days, right?
NNo. Why?
'Cause this new woman just started. You gotta meet her.
- Charlie, I'm not interested. - She's just your type, Frank.
- Is that right? - Uh-hunh.
She goes for tall, dark paraplegic guys, does she?
That's the beauty of it. She couldn't care less.
- Didn't even phase her. - Yeah, right.
Hey, I'm your boss, right?
So they tell me.
Well, I order you to take your break. Now.
Come on, I want you to meet her.
- Charlie, what's with all the security? - Got to protect those trade secrets.
Here she comes. Frank, I'd like you to meet Valerie.
- Hello. - Hi.
You were right. He is cute.
- Is this a joke? - I don't understand. Joke?
No, it's...
Never mind.
- Would you excuse us for a second? - Of course. I'll be over here.
- Charlie, what the hell's going on? - Going on?
A woman looks like that, you're not hitting on her yourself?
- Well, I don't fit the profile. - Profile? What do you mean?
The prototype test. I'll show you.
Frank, meet the prototype inorganic human companion.
I'm really looking forward to our time together.
I think we have much in common. Charlie tells me you enjoy opera. I love opera.
La Bohéme is in town. We should go.
She's a robot.
(narrator) There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling the transmission.
We control the horizontal and the vertical.
We can deluge you with a thousand channels,
or expand one single image to crystal clarity...
..and beyond.
We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery,
which reaches from the deepest inner mind to the outer limits.
Poets argue that you are truly alive if you possess the ability to feel and love.
Scientists, on the other hand, choose to define life
in terms of proteins and carbon building blocks.
But what happens when these two beliefs come crashing together?
- What are you pissed off for? - I don't need a robot to get me out of this chair!
Slow down. We've ben friends a long time. I know you don't need a robot.
What the hell was that about?
I figured any red-blooded man, wheelchair or not, would love to have that beautiful woman.
She cooks and cleans. And you could use the company.
That hurts. I'm not such a loser I need a robot to keep me company!
- We prefer to call her an inorganic human. - What's the difference?
- You couldn't tell the difference. - I can tell.
The board wants to keep the InorganicsProject secret,
but we need to test it before we massproduce it annd designn the male versionn.
Why me? Why don't you take her?
- I don't fit the profile of our target market. - Which is?
She's designed as a female companion for men working in dangerous or remote environments.
- That doesn't sound like me. - Our secondary market was...
- Handicapped losers who can't get a date. - Physically challenged men,
who need a companion who is more patient with the wheelchair and everything.
My lack of female companionship has nothing to do with this chair!
- I have had several relationships... - You've chased them away with your attitude.
- You've seen her, she's a dream girl. - She's a machine.
I want someone with human frailties, human emotions, a sense of humour.
- You can't get that from a machine. - You can.
They've been programmed into her personality module.
Full fuzzy-logic reaction system.
Clive has been working on the chip twice as long as you've been working on the skin.
She's got my dermasynth?
Now you know what you've been working on.
Come on, Frank, take her home.
One week.
Yeah?
Not a chance.
I'm reading Discourse On Method by René Descartes and I get to that quote...
- "I think, therefore I am." - Yeah, that's the one.
Don't pound the palms of your hands, roll them.
I'm not pounding. I'm setting them down really hard.
I've heard "I think, therefore I am" a million times, but I never thought about what it was saying.
It really is the simplest proof of existence.
At least, it proves my existence.
I don't know about yours, or anybody else's, but at least it proves mine.
Hey, trust me...
..I exist.
I hope so, otherwise I've been wasting an hour a day for the last five years.
I can't believe you read Descartes.
I thought you were the Danielle Steel type.
Here, let me help you.
- Hey, Rachel? - Yeah?
What's your philosophy about...
..about seeing patients outside of therapy?
Gee, Frank, I can't. Gus moved back in. We're giving it another try.
I'm sorry.
- Forget I brought it up. - Hey, I don't want to forget it.
I'm flattered by it.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
- Hey, Charlie. - Frank.
- Did you find anybody to test that prototype? - Not yet. Not many employees fit the profile.
- Why? - Well, I've... reconsidered it.
I'm willing to give it a try if you still want me to.
Mr Hellner, you understand you will need to maintain a log
regarding every aspect of your day as it pertains to the Valerie 23.
- You will receive your usual pay for the time. - No problem.
And we would like to hold a debriefing every morning at 9am.
How do I take care of it? Do I have to oil it, or make adjustments?
As l said, the inorganic humans are the same as organic humans, as far as you're concerned.
The Valerie 23 burns food for fuel, much like an organic human.
It reroutes the oils from the food to lubricate its mechanical parts.
I don't need to plug it in to recharge it?
If you plugged in the Valerie 23, she'd fry, like you or me.
Keep this with you. It's an electronic decoder that puts the Valerie 23 into sleep mode.
It shuts her down without wiping her memory.
- Use it in case of emergencies. - You'll probably never need it.
Valerie will go into sleep mode at night when you sleep.
Like an organic woman would.
Knock, knock.
- Excuse me? - It's a joke. Knock, knock.
You're supposed to say, "Who's there?"
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Why are you crying? (haughs)
I must get them to program some better jokes in your memory.
I'm only trying to make conversation. Why don't you talk to me?
I don't know. It seems like a waste of time.
I don't tell the dishwasher about my day.
- That was a mean thing to say. - What?
You mean about the dishwasher?
Are you saying that I hurt your feelings?
You've got to be kidding me.
I'm designed to feel emotions just like an organic woman.
Amazing.
It's like some sort of saline solution.
I apologise.
I didn't understand. I didn't realise...
- I'm sorry. - It's OK.
- What am I doing? - What's the matter?
I'm comforting a machine.
I'm worried about hurting the feelings of a damned machine!
And she slept last night on her own?
I didn't check. I didn't hear any sounds coming from its room.
- How are you getting along, Frank? - Getting along?
About as well as can be expected, I guess.
Care to expound on that? Are you friends? What do you talk about?
We haven't talked that much.
- Have you tried making conversation? - I don't exactly know what to say to it.
Well, stop referring to Valerie as "it" and start thinking of her as a person.
Let me remind you that Valerie's primary function is to act as a companion.
If she fails on that, the whole programme fails.
To be honest, our lack of communication is probably as much my fault as its...
..as hers.
I can't stop feeling like I'm talking to a machine.
It's like trying to talk to your car.
I've done that.
Valerie has been programmed to be human in every way.
She exhibits every human emotion: happiness, sadness, jealousy... love.
All we're asking, Frank... give her a chance.
- Do you like it? - It's the best ravioli I've ever had.
- I made it from scratch. - Yeah?
- Do you really like it? - Very much.
I did my hair different today. Do you like it?
I do. That looks good on you.
Do you like my outfit?
That's the same outfit you've had on since I've known you.
Sorry, this is all the company provided.
No, don't worry about it.
You look great in that outfit.
Thank you.
- Hey, Rach? - Yeah?
In your studies of philosophy, have you found a good definition of what makes something alive?
Are you kidding?
That ranks in the philosophy top ten with "does God exist?" and "fate versus free will".
What do the great minds say?
For example, could a machine be considered alive?
Switch arms.
I don't know if a machine could be considered alive.
But one professor taught us something I'll always remember.
He said something can be defined as alive if it fears its own death.
Why did you save my life?
Have you ever been in love like that?
Once. Before I had my accident.
Is it OK to ask what happened?
She left me.
She couldn't deal with the wheelchair.
No, I mean the accident. What happened?
What happened?
Drunk driver, jumped the median on the freeway and hit me head on.
I'm sorry.
What do you say we watch the movie?
OK.
I apologise.
- Will you kiss me like that? - What?
Will you kiss me like that?
I didn't know that you could, or that you'd want to...
..to kiss...
What is it?
What's wrong?
Where are you going?
I've just got to get some air, OK?
- Are you OK? - Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm sorry I went out like that.
- Was the kiss bad? - Not at all. It was my fault.
I couldn't stop thinking about...
- Never mind, it's not important. - What were you thinking about?
I couldn't stop thinking about your saliva.
I kept wondering what it was made of.
And your lips. It kinda spoilt the mood, you know.
It's not important.
My saliva's made of a polycarbon and enzyme mix in a saline base.
It's very similar to your saliva.
Only without the bacteria.
As for my lips, they're covered with your dermasynth skin.
I think you made them very soft.
Don't you?
I tried to. I worked on it for...
I am fully functional.
- You are? - Yes.
Fully.
- Have a nice day, dear. - I will. Thanks.
I'm going to clean the house and cook the best dinner in my memory banks.
Great.
Hurry home, honey.
Sorry I'm late.
- How many of those have you done? - Three sets of 50.
OK. Let's move over to the bars.
- Gonna take your glasses off? - No. It's too bright in here.
Let's go.
I don't like the idea of a spotter who can't see me 'cause she's wearing sunglasses indoors.
OK, fine. Satisfied?
Jesus. What happened?
What happened? I was helping a patient off the parallels and I...
..I banged my eye on the bar.
- Miss Co-ordination, right? - Rach...
Let's try this again. What happened?
I hit my eye on one of the bars.
- Or you hit it on Gus's fist? - What, are you a cop?
- You need a cop? - It's none of your business.
You can't spend this much time with somebody and not care about them.
You're my friend, right?
Thanks. That's sweet.
He's done this before, hasn't he? Why don't you kick him out?
How do I know it would be better with anyone else?
Every guy I've been involved with is like him.
- Not all men are like that. - No. Just the ones l meet.
Frank, honey. You're home early.
- How was your day, darling? - Fine.
Is something wrong?
No.
Yeah, something's wrong. Would you sit down for a minute?
I wish that you wouldn't call me "darling", all right? Or "honey".
But I especially selected those words.
I thought that after last night...
Listen, about that...
What we did was a mistake. I should never have allowed that to happen.
- Why not? - Because you're a machine.
I don't want to hurt your fuzzy-logic feelings,
but I didn't bring you home for what we did last night.
- What did you bring me home for? - To help me out. To cook, to clean.
That is not what I am intended for. I am a companion, not an appliance.
Look up the word "companion". I doubt it says anything about having sex.
A companion is a friend, somebody to spend time with, have conversations with.
- Is that all you want me to be? - Yes.
- Is there something I can change? My clothes? - It's nothing to do with that.
My primary programme is to overcome any obstacle to a healthy relationship.
- But you must tell me what I need to change. - There is nothing that you can change, right?
Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa.
Listen, the thing is, in two days, the test will be over.
I have to take you back to Innobotics, so it's better for both of us if we don't get too attached.
I am attached. Last night meant something to me even if it didn't to you.
Then erase last night from your flash memory, or your hard disk, or whatever is up there.
Because we are going back to how it was before last night.
- Hello? - Hello. Is Frank there?
- Who is calling? - It's Rachel Rose.
- Who's Rachel Rose? - That's my physical therapist.
Yeah? Rachel.
Hi, Frank. Listen, what are you doing?
What, right now?
Nothing. Are you OK?
Oh, I'm fine. Can we meet somewhere? I need to talk to you.
Sure, I can meet you.
Do you know the Waterfront Bar & Grille?
- Hi. - Frank.
- Are you OK? - Oh, yeah, I'm good. I think I'm good.
I didn't know whether to be happy you'd called or worried sick.
I kicked Gus out.
I'm happy you called.
Frannk, it may be none of my business, but when I called,
who was the woman that answered the phone?
Oh, Valerie.
She's... she's just someone who's staying with me, a friend.
- That's all? - We're not involved, if that's what you mean.
So that time you asked me out, is that offer still on the table?
- Oh, absolutely. - If you've changed your mind
or you were just saying it to be nice...
Rachel, I can't think of a nicer person to go out with.
- Are you going somewhere? - Yeah.
- You said we were spending the day together. - I said we might be.
Where are you going?
I'm gonna spend the day communing with nature. Haven't done that in a long time.
You look nice. Who are you going with?
- A friend. - You said you wanted me to be your friend.
I can have more than one friend.
That's it.
You know what? I'm just gonna brush my teeth and go.
Thanks.
Why can't I go?
You weren't invited.
You can't go everywhere with me.
- Hi! - Hi.
- What's with the gear? - You and I are gonna climb that face.
- You gotta be kidding me? - You're in great shape. Just use your arms.
Rach, I don't know.
- My job is to push you to try new things. - Yeah, like five extra chin-ups,
- or a few extra runs on the parallels. - You can do that with your eyes closed.
Time for something more daring, more exhilarating.
Great, why don't you take me waterskiing in a hurricane?!
You loved to climb before your accident. There's no reason you can't love to now.
There's a great lunch and a spectacular view waiting at the top.
All right. But it's your fault if something happens and I end up in a wheelchair for life!
Isn't this great?
Terrific.
(Frank) Moving vertically isn't much harder than moving horizontally these days.
- I'll take that to mean you love it. - I love it.
(Frank) This is beautiful.
- Thank you for bringing me. - You're welcome.
Your company isn't bad either.
Oh, really? Why? What is it you like about me?
- I'm sorry, I'm putting you on the spot. - No, let me answer that.
Why do I like you?
I like that you read Descartes.
I like that you made me do something I never thought I'd ever do again.
Even though it scared the daylights out of me!
I like that you make me feel more alive than I've felt in years.
What about me?
- I guess l don't compare. - What are you doing here?
Frank, who is this?
I'm the companion he lives with. He didn't tell you about me?
- Frank? - This is a little hard to explain.
Do you live with her?
- Temporarily, I do, yes. - (Rachel) I don't believe this.
- You lied when I asked you about her. - Rachel, it isn't what you think.
Valerie is...
- You're not gonna believe this. - Try me. Valerie is what?
Valerie is a robot.
I'm telling the truth. I work for a roboticscompany.
Give me some credit. Let's get you down, then I'm going home.
Good idea. Go home. I'll take him down the cliff.
Valerie, you go home.
Why? Why do you chose her over me?
Because she's not made of rubber and hydraulics. She's made of flesh and blood.
Really?
I'll show you what's wrong with flesh and blood.
Valerie! Let her go!
Stop!
Valerie!
Let me go!
Valerie!
I'm sorry I got you into this, Frank.
- What are they going to do with her? - She's in the IO wing now for disassembly.
Disassembly? Do they have to go that far?
They've got to rework her neural-net brain and the new brain won't interface with the old body.
They can't just reprogramme her with fail-safes? Disassembling her is like killing her.
She almost killed someone, Frank. She could have killed you.
- Charlie? Charlie, can I see her? - Why?
I'm not sure. There's something I need to work out in my head.
- I need to see her. - It's over, Frank.
- Let it go... - I can't let it go!
You wanted me to see her as a human being, now you're gonna kill her!
- She's dangerous. What do you want me to do? - Let me see her!
Frannk.
- Charlie, could you leave us alone for a minute? - (Charlie) Be careful.
- Where am I? - Innobotics.
- Are you mad at me? - Yeah, a little bit.
But you still love me, otherwise you wouldn't have come.
I needed to see you one more time.
They're shutting me down, aren't they?
- I'm afraid so. - Then why did you come?
Because I'm not sure it's right, shutting you down.
- You were going to stop it? - I'm not sure why I'm here, Valerie.
You've proven that you can be very dangerous.
But you've also proven that you can be very human.
Or at least, appear to be very human.
Valerie, are you afraid?
- Afraid of what? - Of dying,
being disassembled.
Why should I be?
Frank, kiss me.
Aren't you afraid of what it's like to be dead?
It will be nothingness. Why should I be afraid of nothingness?
Come on, Frank, kiss me.
I miss your kisses.
- Frank, where are you going? - Back to work.
But what about the kiss?
It's not afraid to die.
- Bye, Frank. - See you.
Hi. What are you doing here?
I figured I owed you an apology.
- Would you like to come in? - Ah, she's inviting me into her home.
This, I think, is a good sign.
You don't owe me an apology. It wasn't your fault.
Although I will admit, it was the weirdest day of my life.
It was the weirdest week of my life.
Can I take your jacket?
Sure.
Tell me, do they make male robots as good-looking as her?
Yeah, we're working on one. But believe me, you don't want it.
What was that? It came from upstairs.
- I'll check it out. - I'm not sure that's a good idea.
- We should call the police. - Don't be silly.
The cat probably knocked something over. I'll be right back.
Ruby?
How do I look?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.
Rachel?
Rachel!
- Do you think Frank'll love me if I look like you? - I think you look beautiful.
Much more beautiful than I could ever look.
Frank doesn't want me, he wants you.
- You know why? - Why?
Because I always wear the same thing. It reminds him I'm inorganic.
- You're a size six. - Yes.
I was designed to be a perfect size six. That's why this fits.
Rachel!
Listen, I have to go...
I'm programmed to overcome all obstacles to a healthy relationship with Frank.
I'm sorry, but you are an obstacle.
Frank!
Quiet. I'm not ready for him.
I'm taking him with me. Sorry, you can't come along.
He'll have to find a new physical therapist. Maybe this time a man.
Valerie, stop!
Let her go, Valerie.
I'm sorry, I cannot do that.
Valerie, please?
Valerie, I think you've rebroken my back.
Darling?
Are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you.
Frank.
I'm afraid to die.
(narrator) The pursuit of technology exists to make human life easier and more pleasurable.
But once such forces intrude upon the most intimate parts of our lives,
will we then forfeit our very soul?