Rhoda 2000
By: Dawn DeBraal
David Brinkman was fifteen when he built the Rhoda 2000. She was a robot built to his specific qualifications and needs. David was in love. His parents didn't take it too seriously because David, who was usually very anti-social, had suddenly blossomed overnight. It seemed with Rhoda attending to his every need, David had become pleasantly tolerable, and his parents embraced the new David. Months later, they would be sick of Rhoda and ask him to keep her in his room. Rhoda was non-stop with her comments on the mass of the world or the density of matter. Bob and Phyliss would roll their eyes at her boring attempt at intercourse and ask David to remove Rhoda from the room.
"Her eyes are so creepy. They don't blink." His mother would say.
"I can't stand it when she talks down to us like we are children," his father would say. David was more than happy to take Rhoda back to his room. There, they would spend hours learning about masses, densities, dwarf stars, and many other facts of life.
When it came time for David to go to college, Rhoda could not go with him. David was devastated. He begged not to leave her behind. His parents said they would watch over her. He would be back at Thanksgiving break. Reluctantly he left for school. Bob and Phyliss locked Rhoda in David's room and forgot about her. David came home for Thanksgiving; he never came out of his bedroom.
When David returned to school, he tearfully bid Rhoda goodbye. Rhoda was put back into David's room, and the Brinkman's didn't have to deal with her.
A few weeks later, Phyliss needed to spend time with her mother in Albany while Blanche recouped from her surgery. Bob drove Phyliss to her mother's house and told her he'd be back when her mother was able to be on her own again. It had been a couple of weeks before Bob finally made his way to David's room. He was very lonely.
He flipped on the light. There Rhoda stood creepily in the corner. Her eyes lit up.
"Good evening." Bob strangely looked at Rhoda, wondering what it was Rhoda did for his son.
"Good evening," Bob responded. "Would you like to talk? Phyliss is with her mother for the last few weeks. I am going stir crazy in this house." Rhoda responded by talking to him.
"Did you know that in the Fisher's Study, the average male thinks about sex nineteen times a day?" Rhoda offered.
"I did not," Bob responded. He was a little unnerved she would zero in on what he was thinking. Phyliss had been gone nearly three weeks, which meant he'd thought about sex three hundred and ninety-nine times. That was a lot.
"You must be lonely in this room by yourself," Bob said, opening the door to the hall. Would you like to come out and go into the living room?
"I'd like that, Bob." Rhoda stepped out into the hall. "It's been so long since I have had any stimulation. With David gone, I can only recharge my batteries daily.
"Oh. That's too bad, Rhoda." Bob licked his lips in anticipation. He followed Rhoda out of the bedroom, placing his hand on her shoulder, he guided her into the living room, patting his hand on the couch.
"Come, sit. Let's talk." Rhoda sat down next to Bob on the couch.
"Did you know the earth's mass is 5.92 X10^24kg?" Rhoda asked.
"No, I did not. That is just fascinating. Tell me more." Bob said as he hung on her every word.
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