Month: October 2020

This year’s storyteller is Phet of M2/2. And his story is :

Storytelling Entry

TALOS: THE FIRST ROBOT

Hephaestus, god of technology, was hard at work on his most ingenious invention. Yet, he was creating a new defense system for king Minos. Who wants no intruders on his island, the kingdom of Crete. But mortal Guards and ordinary weapons is not enough. So Hephaestus planned to make a new powerful defender. Day and night he worked, he used magical fire and powerful stones in his forge. And finally, Hephaestus cast his invention in the shape of a giant man. Made of gleaming Bronze and possess a superhuman power made from Ichor, the life Blood of the gods. This Giant Man was unlike anything Hephaestus had ever made before. Alas! Hephaestus  named his creation,  Talos , the first Robot.

Three times a day, Talos marched around the island’s searching for interlopers. When unknown ships tried to enter the coast, Talos will powerfully throw massive boulders in to their path and no one can escape. If any survivors made it ashore, he would heat his metal body into Red Hot and crash victims to his chest.

Day after day, Talos fulfill his duties. But despite his robotic behavior, Talos developed a sense of life within him. The sense of sadness and the sense of companionship. And soon, Talos then encounter a ship of invaders that would test his mettle.

On board the invader’s ship were Jason the most famous hero and leader of the argonauts and Medea the beautiful enchantress .  They were returning from their hard-won quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Their adventure had taken many dark turns, and the weak sailors were desperate to take a good rest in a safe port.

 Lo! An island! cried one.

Hoorah! Hoorah! Indeed an island!, rejoice the sailors.

Jason and the argonauts prepared to dock unto the island when….

“Master!!! lo!”, pointed one of the sailors to the island’s direction!

“Heavens, a giant automaton!” The tales are true! mumbled Jason.

Jason, and the argonauts on board the ship were petrified with what they saw. And before they could even recover Talos spotted them.

Quickly, the argonauts covered and tried to evade the coming of the giant Talos.

But then, Medea, the enchantress spotted a glinting bolt on Talos ankle… and she devised a very clever gambit.

“ Talos, Talos my child! I came in peace!, said Medea enchantingly. Talos halted upon hearing the most beautiful voice calling his name.

“Talos, the Gods sent me to grant your wish! The wish of LIFE!” continued Medea. This time Medea’s voice is getting more charming than ever. 

Medea saw that Talos stood hypnotized and spellbound. Medea’s enchanting voice captivated  Talos deeply. It resonated to his core. Unaware of his own mechanical nature but human enough to long for eternal life, Talos pondered to his core.

Medea muttered more incantations, over and over again.

Meanwhile, Jason took advantage of the spellbound Talos. In a swift, Jason ran behind Talos and quickly removed his glinting bolt.

“This bolt is mine! Die Automaton! Die!”, rejoiced Jason of the Argonauts.

Upon removing the bolt, the ichor came out, draining the power source of Talos.

Talos, looked at his flowing ichor. He tried to flare, but its too late.

With a loud crash, Talos collapsed like a thunder hitting the ground.

And surprisingly, a tear of ICHOR, roll out on Talos bronze cheek .  

It was a tear of DESPAIR! A tear of DEFEAT!

And that my friend is the end of my story!

Ladies and gentlemen, this story was first recorded in 700 BCE. But somehow it is similar to the modern concepts and myths of AI. That is: AI will soon be conscious. AI will soon replace humans.  The evidence to these statements are still unknown. But, one thing for sure, this story teaches us to draw a line between humans and machines. This story teaches us to think of AI’s potentials and limitations. In this case we can appreciate AI’s beauty yet be prepared for possible adversities. I thank you!