Super Toys Last All Summer Long



1) Discuss the line between the real and the artificial in the story. How does the author complicate this line?

2) In what ways do our contemporary technologies complicate our notions of what is real and artificial in our lives?

3) Why can't David and his Mummy connect?

4) Who seems more authentic--David or his Mummy? Why?

5) What do we know about this society and its values? Is it a dystopia or a utopia? How have they used technology to improve their lives? Has it worked, or has it backfired?

6)  What parallels do you see between this story and the narratives and episodes we have encountered in this class? What common themes or threads?

Lastly, please construct an android, taking into consideration one of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's maxims in his "I, Robot" series that the first rule that should be programmed into a robot is that they cannot harm a human. Your goal is to create a robot that is ethical, a support to human life, and cannot cause harm to people. What will your robots job be? What will they look like? Why? What are the "rules" it must follow? Despite your positive intentions, what potential problems might your robot cause? Give it a name and draw a sketch of it.





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