This is the first Escape Pod episode I have listened to in a long, long time, and I found it quite disappointing, sadly.
First, a synopsis: Byron, a teenager, identifies so strongly with being a robot that he feels body dysmorphia and wants robot transition surgery. He is afraid of his parents' reaction, especially since his father Carlos was dismissive of robots; but he is encouraged by his best friend, Allosaur. When he comes out to his parents as a robot, his father Carlos is bemused and skeptical; and while his other father Akhil is open to talking, Byron feels this is too unsupportive and runs away. He creates artwork to express how he feels. He gains confidence from the social media reaction to his art, including acknowledgement from the only other person in the world to become a robot. He has another meeting with his parents, where they agree unconditionally to support his transition to being a robot, although he has to wait until 18 because of 'reqs'. He is happy. The end. The moral is extremely clear: unconditionally support your friends and family who want permanent surgery to transition to what they feel themselves to be, even if that is a robot.
Let's just go ahead and acknowledge that 'robot' here is a direct and unsubtle metaphor for gender reassignment surgery, and the story is about a person coming out to their parents as transgender. And as such it is pretty much a 1 to 1 mapping: swap out every mention of 'robot' for 'transgender' and without much other adjustment necessary at all, it becomes a contemporary non-science-fiction coming-out story. Which is to say, it was not a science-fiction story at all.
It also reads like a "message" story: explicitly written to impart moral instruction to the listener. Thus it might in this light be instructive to understand the story and its moral from the lens of a kind of "user manual" or script, on how we in the audience should behave when a 16 year old in our lives wants robot / gender reassignment surgery:
First, this story (considered as a manual) encourages the person contemplating transition, and their friends & family, to treat the topic rather casually, as if life-changing body surgery has no more consequence or import than wanting to "go goth" or to bring a controversial date to the prom: Carlos and Akhil never raise a sincere or reasonable concern about their son's desires, nor does Allosaur. Therapy is never mentioned, as if doing so would be horrendously gauche.
Second, it treats awkward confusion or ignorance as lack of support. Carlos, the least "supportive" of the two parents, seems less opposed to the idea than simply baffled by the concept. Akhil, for his part, is fully empathetic; not educated about it, but still open. Nevertheless, Byron runs away. The lesson here, to a teenager who might identify with Byron, seems to be: if your parents are ignorant of the topic, or have any concerns at all, they are not supportive. The answer is to run away until they agree without reservation. Only unconditional, unreserved cheerleading is support; anything less is not support.
It would have been interesting, valuable, supportive and *responsible* of the story to raise and address the very evident concerns and issues involved with Byron's becoming a robot; and the parents would have been the perfect vehicle by which to do that, given that this is their job. It is not only *not* *un*supportive to ask questions, even of a teenager who is certain they want to transition; it is unloving and irresponsible *not* to.
Shouldn't you ask, of someone you love and literally care for, of someone contemplating "robot transition", at least one of the following questions: "Is it possible that you are mistaken?", "Is it possible that what you're feeling is temporary?", "Would it be a good idea to talk to a therapist?", "Let's have a realistic look together at the process and known consequences of robot transition surgery.", "Is it possible to reverse the transition if you decide it is a terrible mistake?", "Yes, it is possible that you will regret it.", "Yes, of course we will love you no matter what."
