This story has elements of horror in it for me. Maybe horror isn't the right word...it's just that it pointed out a potential "fatal flaw" in the character of humanity.
What do people do best? What does it mean to be human? It means (and this list is by no means complete) that we are creative, ambitious, and that we make the most out of the little that we have on a daily basis. Some of the greatest moments in our lives exist in the small daily triumphs that make up every day struggles. Now enter a "thing" that does everything for us. Cooks. Cleans. Redecorates. We didn't even begin to see all of the capabilities of this robot. Was there a child monitor mod? How about a "do your job" mod? Great! Life is a permanent vaca! I don't have to cook, I don't have to clean, I don't have to try and relate to another quirky, imperfect human...
And all of the sudden, I am no longer a human. I am less than human.
I am a kept animal, every desire provided to me by a Caretaker. How long until I am put out for breeding? How long until I am simply put out?
The protagonist in this story, while never overtly saying so, became very uncomfortable with the notion of "being kept." That notion is one which, fortunately, might cause many of us to rebel. And perhaps even more frighteningly, many to rejoice.
This is a story about what we might really give up in the future. The protagonist, thankfully, figured it out.
Horror? Humor? Hmmm...
-HS
What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous. Thomas Merton