Opening remarks
Dear readers! Each of us has some image that is associated with the term "artificial intelligence". Perhaps someone has an association with neural networks and algorithms that create artistic masterpieces or are used for accurate calculations; others will remember intelligent robots from computer games and cinema, for others this topic is represented by smart homes, cars and various household appliances. However, for the author of this work for about ten years, this term is primarily associated with the dream of seeing with your own eyes (if you do not take part in modeling) an artificial life form that is close in its properties to a person.

But can we say with certainty what human nature is in order to be able to put the necessary components into an intelligent system? Will a metal and plastic creation laugh when it's funny and cry when it's sad? Will it see the beauty of the surrounding world and indulge in dreams?.. Our own consciousness is the greatest mystery of this world, but one thing is certain: someday humanity will come close to solving it in order to be able to create mechanisms similar to their creators.

The main part
With a sigh, investigator Irwin Bayer picked up a mug with an absurdly colorful inscription "Have a good day!", sipped a little of the swamp-colored viscous substance that bears the proud title of "coffee" in this institution, and grimaced as if from a nagging toothache. With great pleasure, Irwin would have launched the mug with a flourish into the lifeless gray concrete wall of the interrogation room, so that the smallest fragments would fan up to the low ceiling, but if only it would solve something! From the very morning, the authorities stunned the investigator with a sudden call to the department to talk to a “difficult client”, despite the fact that officially Bayer was on legal leave.

Sometimes Irwin asked the Universe for what sins his department was one day assigned to a local plant for the production of robotic and intelligent systems and, concurrently, a research center. Lawsuits flew in an endless stream towards the company, one more interesting than the other: human rights activists scribbled entire multi-part publications in which they sang humanistic praises to "our mechanical brothers" and called for stopping "flourishing slavery", and suspicious housewives accused reasonable utensils of "violating personal boundaries and finding out confidential information" (as the investigator understood, in everything targeted advertising was to blame). Upon arrival at his workplace, Bayer grabbed a file folder from the table and hurried to the basement.

And now the investigator was sitting in a squalid little room that performs the function of an interrogation room, and waited for the "client" to be brought in, according to the documents, which turned out to be nothing less than a "robotic system with an indefinite level of intelligence." Formulations of such a sample always caused Irwin tension: with equal success, he could be brought both another mechanical scarecrow, capable only of imitating the maintenance of a conversation, and a very well–designed mechanism, offhand a little inferior to a person ("and never fully able to achieve his capabilities," the investigator mentally added). More than half an hour had passed, and Bayer was ready to go upstairs in order to show his dissatisfaction with the head of the department for a waste of time...

... As in the next second, the door to the interrogation room opened, and a body was roughly pushed into the room, whose hands were handcuffed in a special pattern. Irwin Bayer stared like a snake at the prisoner brought in: nondescript appearance, age somewhere over thirty, average height and almost no distinguishing features - there are a dime a dozen such citizens on the street, you will encounter such a person on the street and you will not remember his face. One word, these types caused the most problems in detective work.

- Sit down, please, over there, - with an imperious movement of his hand, the investigator pointed to the chair opposite, without taking his eyes off the mechanical man. He obediently took his place opposite Bayer, tensely placing his hands on his knees. – During the conversation, you can address me as "officer" or "sir". Tell me your name.

- Matthew Johnson, sir.

- Your real name and registration number.

The android's face literally turned into a kind of porcelain mask in a second, reflecting the absolute absence of any emotions, and metal slipped into the voice, which did not remain without the attention of the investigator:

- EM-Yu 23-472, information about the release date is classified. Information about the manufacturer is classified. Access to first-order system data is denied.

- Let's start, - the investigator gathered all his possible friendliness together and tried to smile to win over the interlocutor. By the android's human clothes, which strongly contrasted with the typical form of robot workers, by the manners of “Matthew” and the behavior of him, Bayer realized that interrogation according to the standard method of negotiating with artificial systems would be extremely ineffective. Irwin hastily rustled through the papers, glancing through the detainee's dossier and all the other documents indirectly or directly related to the robot, and kindly provided by numerous witnesses.

***

- Um-Yu 23-472, you are charged with escaping from a protected facility known as Robotics Industries, dating from 07.04.2099 – and here are the reports received by the shift supervisor. I must say, this is very impressive for a robot: I mean, to be able not only to cross several security lines, but also to hide so much time from law enforcement agencies. - The first sheet from the folder was placed on the table. – In our society, there is a ban on the free movement of robotic systems of any level of intelligence without an accompanying person, Article number 134-A of the code "On Robotic and intelligent systems". For what purpose did you leave your post and disappear from the territory of the enterprise?

...The shift supervisor was very indignant that day when he discovered the lack of a valuable mechanism in the workplace. The first thought that came to his ever-busy head was that the robot had simply been stolen. But how was it possible to openly take out or bring out an overgrown doll and not get caught on any camera, not alarm any security dog and not arouse any suspicion from any employee? Jewelry work, no other way. The android's independent escape was not even considered: a priori, mechanical workers obeyed only a given program and did not have high degrees of freedom to deliberately take such a step.

The robot, who introduced himself as Matthew, shifted uneasily in his chair. – Perhaps I can't give an exact answer: at first, I was accidentally slammed in one of the trucks while I was loading. These people had no intention of stealing me," the android waved his cuffed hands in a conciliatory manner, as far as possible, seeing the investigator's eyebrows creep up in surprise, "just a little misunderstanding.

"And then I just didn't want to come back."

- And then I tried to get to Robotics Industries on my own, but I got a little lost, - Irwin pursed his lips, feeling the air begin to electrify from his growing indignation: “to get lost” for six months is to have a real talent and spirit of adventurism, which machines by definition did not possess. And given the android's well-delivered speech, his appearance and manners, it was not necessary to be a great psychologist to understand that returning to his native penates was clearly not part of Matthew's plans.

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...Metal beams, heavy boxes with something clanking inside and endless routes back and forth under the loud shouts of the guards made my eyes blink. Hard, backbreaking work for people – but not for a team of robots, hastily recruited by today's shift. It would seem that for construction and transportation work it is enough to use less human-like mechanisms, but in practice it turned out that the structure of androids allows them to perform work much more efficiently and better than their fellow "manipulators" and "carts".

The norm is fourteen hours a day, from seven in the morning until nine in the evening without a break. Robots have no need for rest, robots do not have to pay salaries – and besides, each of them works with the same efficiency and never makes claims about working conditions. The only caveat is that the mechanisms tend to wear out over time and periodically break down, but they, unlike people, are amenable to a similar replacement.

Life outside the stone fence has always aroused Matthew's genuine interest: what is it, this world from the outside? Occasionally, from behind the fence came the booming barking of dogs, the laughter of people, snatches of someone's conversations, which excited the interest of a mechanical worker of Robotics Industries. What a struggle it cost him not to betray his curiosity and not to squint his eyes towards the gates of the enterprise when a string of trucks passed through them. Unload a new batch of spare parts – ship finished products – and so on cycle after cycle, until you lose track of trucks and just start doing the job mechanically.

...Matthew literally hesitated for a few seconds, putting the last box in the very corner of the last trailer for this shift, when outside one of the drivers slammed the doors with force and knocked on them with his fist for authenticity, ignoring the cries of "Automation!" of his colleague. Purring, the car spat out a column of smoke and slowly rose into the air about thirty centimeters. The safety technique completely allowed the levitation of official transport at a distance of less than a meter above the ground, and taking into account the end of the working day, they often covered their eyes for this at all.

The robot did not have instructions in case of "theft", but in his soul he could not suppress his glee: finally, not only echoes of reality will be available to him – no, a whole new world will spread out before him, where thousands, millions of people live! And each of them has an invaluable gift, conditioned by natural human rights: freedom. Outside of Robotics Industries, Emu would have exhaled freely if he had lungs: the connection with the central servers that enveloped the entire area of the enterprise was disrupted, and now none of the scientists, designers or any other bosses had the opportunity to track the movement of the android or count its thought algorithms. As soon as the drivers who are not waiting for a trick open the doors, he will immediately jump over them and run away into the unknown – but this will happen in a few more infinitely long hours. In the meantime, you can safely wait for arrival at your destination in standby mode.

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***

- Next question. Judging by your case, a lot of people have seen you loitering in the underpass at address L, for about a week. The guards suspect that you carried out illegal activities – in other words, pickpocketing, illegal trade – from the most common among the assumptions. So, what was your purpose of being at this facility?

- I was listening to music.

- what? – the investigator leaned closer to the robot, deciding that over the many years of service, his hearing slowly began to fail him.

- I met an elderly man there who played the violin from morning until late at night. Sometimes they even threw him small coins – mere pennies! – but for the most part, people were always in a hurry somewhere and did not even look in the direction of the old man. They just wrapped themselves more tightly in their jackets, did not take off their headphones, someone even hid their eyes... And life is too fleeting to ignore the little things that could make it more colorful. I think I understand their motives – they need to rush to work to be able to feed their family, come on time for an important meeting, or find themselves at home as soon as possible after a busy day.

The mechanical man thoughtfully rhythmically tapped his fingertips on the metal table and listened to the expected rattling.

- You know, sir, music is like emotions.

The investigator chuckled significantly. His activity could not but leave a trace of professional deformation over many years of work, having completely eroded all romance. When you repeatedly encounter someone else's pain, suffering, inhumanity or stupidity, the mechanisms of the psyche begin to develop and develop special forms of protection to prevent the loss of the owner's sanity.

- Robots can't feel, they can't laugh, and even more so, they can't cry. Your ideas about the connection between music and "emotions" are ridiculous and illogical. Can a person made of iron, metal, or even plastic feel anything?

- Have you ever heard of such a phenomenon as brain rhythms, sir? - Irwin nodded with a delay, snatching vague information about the EEG decryption from his memory. Currently, psychophysiology and neural sciences were not his hobby, but once upon a time, Bayer dreamed of becoming the greatest research biologist... Until fate decided to send him to get a law degree, which the investigator himself never regretted. - They are not that they are directly responsible for the formation of emotions themselves, but they completely set the nature of a person's condition.

- I have a rough idea of what it is, Matthew. I suppose this topic is close to you?

- Oh, this is a very curious thing that has a direct connection with the states of human consciousness: sleep, deep sleep, meditation, relaxation. You know, this is a truly amazing phenomenon that designers and researchers are very interested in these days, yes. The most interesting thing is that certain types of music can both plunge a person into a trance and contribute to his inspiration – and this is not to mention such a trifle as to awaken any emotions. People in general are very sensitive to rhythms, so I thought – is it possible to interpret emotions in the same way, to say that there is a language for encoding them through vibrations?

- Perhaps I will write in the report that you analyzed the behavior of people for the purpose of further social adaptation and integration into society, - the investigator began to write something down quickly in a calligraphic handwriting. - Matthew, if I point out the real reason, my conversation with you will be considered invalid: logic rules the law, I'm sorry for the tautology.

- As you say, Officer. But life without emotions is not life.

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Magical sounds flowed like a stream, as soon as the old man touched the bow to the instrument. The violin hummed and moaned plaintively, like the howling of the wind, and it was impossible not to make out the despair and bitterness of loss in her voice; then she sang and murmured melodiously, which made her feet dance by themselves. The underground passage, like a hungry animal, absorbed the wonderful melody, allowing only those who found a couple of minutes to get closer to the musician and listen carefully to his playing to hear it.

People running on business didn't care about the weirdo standing a few meters away from the musician, dressed in overalls – the flow of people had already managed to lay a new route around the sudden obstacle. The android himself only occasionally shifted his gaze to the faces flashing around him, copying the data for mimic blocks: raise the corners of his lips – lower them, furrow his eyebrows, squint his eyes. What was brought to the level of automatism in humans required a lot of effort on the part of the robot.

- ...Oh, I'm sorry, please!.. Matthew spread his arms out to the sides, almost losing his balance because of a man who flew into him, indifferently spat right into him by a hurriedly moving crowd. "Are you all right?" I'm very embarrassed...

"A human girl. The approximate age is twenty–five years. Emotional state... Anxiety. Threat status: none," the android's lips parted crookedly in his first smile, more like a predator's grin. Perhaps there was still a lot of work to be done on this gesture, but for some reason the girl, nervously twirling her bag in her hands, tilted her head to one side like a bird and examined her new acquaintance with interest.

"No mechanical damage," the robot cheerfully reported, randomly sorting through recently updated data on social interactions. Not a single bit of information fully corresponded to the situation: it was much easier with the brethren – their thinking did not go beyond computer logic, unlike human beings.

- You know, I also love classical music, - the girl nodded slightly in the direction of the elderly gentleman and smiled in response. Slightly hesitating, the android did not immediately realize that his own smile had stabilized and acquired more human features under the influence of the interlocutor's facial expressions.

.. One thing was clear: Lady Evelina would play an important role in the formation of Matthew Johnson as a person.

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***

The ink pen continued to creak under Irwin's fingers as the interrogation progressed. It would have been more logical to use a tablet with the ability to enter information by voice, but out of sheer stubbornness, Bayer continued to act the old-fashioned way. The equipment could always get stuck, break down – or transfer information to third parties at a very bad time.

- During your escape, you have clearly enriched yourself with knowledge more than all your brothers living on the territory of Robotics Industries. What can you say about Lady Evelyn, Matthew? The two of you are co-founders of the book club at home. I can't say that this is prohibited by law, but nevertheless, there are fewer and fewer fans of books made of wood over the years.

- A lovely human girl, although I am not very strong in aesthetics and cannot give an optimal assessment from the point of view of a biological organism. We met her just in the underpass, quite by chance," the android stopped abruptly, "and agreed on a common sympathy for the elderly gentleman's violin playing, no matter how strange it may sound. It's amazing how common interests sometimes come together.

Irwin waved his hand, saying, go on, and turned into hearing again.

- She is... He is very fond of various kinds of art. Literature, theaters, painting – for a modern girl, Lady Evelina has a very well-developed sense of beauty," the robot locked his fingers with a click and closed his eyes, mentally reproducing the image of the girl in his head. - By nature, she is more of an experimenter: Lady Evelina was always ready for new experiences and discoveries. But most importantly, there was no significant difference for her whether I was a person or a mechanism, mmm, similar to him in appearance.

- That is, she knew that you were an android, and had no complaints about it. It seems to me that you are being cunning, Matthew: social robots have never yet reached a level of integration into the environment that is not affected by the sinister valley effect. Although looking at you, it's no wonder that people didn't even guess about your origin.

- Officer, so what do you think is the problem, am I the product of an organic compound or a mechanical one? The robot leaned back in his chair as far as he could and slyly squinted, noting the changeable series of microemotions on Irwin's face. – If I can feel, just like you, have my own desires and am capable of a rational analysis of what is happening in real time, then what difference does it make if gears are spinning inside me or blood is flowing?

- The problem is the perception of an artificial personality by society, - Bayer sighed wearily and put down his pen. – If one head remains of a person, and all other parts of the body are replaced with prostheses, then he will still have the status of a person. But if a robot has an organic body with the exception of the head, then no matter how high a level of intelligence it possesses, there will still be people for whom it will be nothing more than a machine.

- Sir, can I ask you a question? Matthew moved a little closer in his chair. – But tell me, what is the difference between you and the car? Can you prove that you are a human and not a highly organized android whose intellectual and physical abilities are equivalent to human ones?

"Mr. Matthew Johnson, this has nothing to do with our conversation. Let's still ask questions here.

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...Lady Evelina adored books: philosophy of all times, classical works of art, multi–volume biographies of famous people, popular scientific publications - there were no genres that would not be on the shelves of her cabinets! It does not matter that Lady Evelina's acquaintances did not always share her passion for paper books: under the trend of increasing environmental protection, electronic media over time increasingly displaced their predecessors – in order to one day give way to audio formats. But one of the most important places in the girl's soul was occupied by the information stored in the volumes of ancient and Modern philosophy.

Matthew turned out to be a very grateful listener, who easily perceived the stories related to the creation of states, the reflections of ancient sages on the structure of the Universe, about the Cosmos and being. The theories at the origins of all sciences surprised him with their immense scale and significantly expanded his worldview. Probably, somewhere Em-Yu would have agreed that thinking about abstract concepts that psychology cannot fully explain was rather vague: what is justice, good and evil? Does rationality depend on feelings, or are feelings a product of rationality?.. Is the same person a beast in essence, or is he the highest link of evolution on Earth?

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***

- So, the last question, - Investigator Bayer frowned like a cloud, and laid out in front of the android the last bundle of stapled sheets from the folder. EM-Yu 23-472 glanced casually at the photo and shrugged indifferently. From the first page, a frowning man's face with unpleasant features looked at him, causing a dull irritation of the robot. But outwardly, not a single artificial muscle twitched from the presented image.

- Mr. Matthew Johnson, tell us more about the incident involving the receipt of grievous bodily harm by Mr. Edward White. According to the data received from the medical commission, he was stabbed five times with a kitchen knife.

"Mr. White," the robot drawled the words deliberately slowly and stared straight into the eyes of the investigator, which sent shivers down his spine, "decided to pay a far from friendly visit to Lady Evelina when we were preparing for the next meeting of the club. His behavior was extremely aggressive, giving carte blanche to use self-defense. Lady Evelina did not like to talk about him very much and always avoided even indirect questions about their joint past, but if you put all the facts together, then... By all indications, Mr. Edward received a previous conviction for domestic violence not without the participation of Lady Evelina. He had an obvious motive to return, however, which he did.

There was nothing to object to Bayer: a few years ago, Lady Evelina was a participant in the witness protection program. The girl cut off all ties with friends, changed her appearance and name – what can I say, crossed out everything that was connected with her past life. Her ex-husband, Edward White, vowed to come back one day and "settle a long-standing dispute definitively," and Evelina was not eager to find out how far he could go.

- I said this during the arrest, and I will say it now: yes, it was I who injured Mr. White in an attempt to prevent him from attacking Lady Evelina.

"You're saying that Mr. White's knife wounds were your doing. But upon further thorough examination, medical workers revealed that the localization of the blows was chaotic – and this, in turn, contradicts the postulates that artificial systems surpass people in dexterity and coordination – or seek to surpass them.

"Machines can't lie, at least according to the public," Matthew laughed fitfully, unnaturally twitching his lower jaw. – The program for the introduction of "universal automata" capable of hiding general irrelevant information from the owners is planned only for two thousand hundred – the information is classified – a year under the leadership of Robotics Industries. Of course, such systems will not be launched to work with a mass user, officer.

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...The appearance of Mr. White (part-time ex-husband of Lady Evelina) could be compared to a bolt from the blue. Matthew couldn't remember what kind of meeting the small book club was supposed to be–probably, their number had already exceeded several dozen-when the front door shuddered, as if from a kick, and a large man appeared on the threshold, following the owner deep into the house. His small piggy eyes wandered around the cozy room, not stopping at the old books spread out on the glass table, nor at the bright posters welcoming the participants, nor at the android, wary of a sudden intrusion by a stranger.

"Matthew, Mrs. Victoria will be here any minute... - Lady Evelina, who came out of the kitchen, screamed and backed away; the tray of sandwiches fell out of her hands, and, as if in slow motion, slowly rolled behind the guest sofa. The alien, who turned at the sound of falling dishes, froze for a moment, then abruptly headed towards the girl who had managed to disappear into the kitchen.

Evelina, without taking her eyes off the rapidly approaching man, bumped into the kitchen set with her back and in a panic began to grope for at least something with which to protect herself from her ex-husband, until her fingers closed on the handle of the kitchen knife. Events spun like colorful pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope in the hands of a child. Growing panic. Affect and a thick veil before the eyes. Someone's scream, more like the roar of a wounded animal, which rattled the windows.

"...I didn't do it," Lady Evelina stared wide-eyed at the massive body sprawled on the floor, then at her own elegant hands holding a knife. – No, no, no, it's impossible. Impossible, just impossible. I-I... he...!

Em-Yu 23-472, who entered the kitchen, quickly prioritized actions: first of all, to bind up Mr. White's wounds with kitchen towels so that he would not have time to die from bleeding. In the cabinet above the bathroom, the hostess of the house somewhere had a small first aid kit, from where it would be possible to get cotton wool, an old package of bandages... The android definitely saw her there when his colleague at the book club once managed to accidentally cut herself on the pages of a book. Then - deftly snatch the evidence of the crime from the girl's hands and leave a couple of dents on the handle of the knife in order to hide Lady Evelina's fingerprints, simultaneously ordering the voice assistant on the holographic tablet to leave a statement to the emergency ambulance service.

"I killed a man, didn't I?".. – the girl, whose legs seemed to have become wadded and unable to hold her body vertically, clarified in a trembling voice.

- He will live, - the android twisted the knife in his hands and sharply drove it into the wall under the cry of Lady Evelina: the blade entered the wall up to the handle and stuck firmly. A person could not physically make a blow of such force, so criminologists will probably have to think a little about establishing the identity of the criminal. – But this time I'm making the decision, just trust me.

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***

- Sir, - the robot leaned on the chair. – So how am I going to be judged – as a machine or a person? According to Miss Evelina, once upon a time, somewhere in the two thousand fifties, there was already a precedent when human rights activists spoke in the case of an exploded coffee maker with “remarkable intelligence”, as they themselves said about it. Despite the fact that this same coffee maker could only greet, inquire about the past day and ask what kind of coffee to brew, she was ranked among, I quote: "a reasonable and animated being to whom the guardians inflicted psychological trauma by merciless exploitation."

Bayer pursed his lips bitterly, remembering the taste of unfinished coffee, more like a mixture of sand and clay.

- The opportunity to give an answer to this question lies outside the plane of my competence. If the judicial commission recognizes you as a machine, then formally the case will receive the status of an accident, and you are a defective mechanism. Disposal is highly likely to follow.

- But if you are recognized as a person, as a person... – Irwin propped his chin on his hand and thoughtfully raised his eyes to the ceiling, as if hoping that the answer would appear there, - this would entail a new turn in the history of the human race. But this is unlikely to happen: there will be a characteristic resonance in society, too much will be at stake. Machines with a high level of intelligence pose a great threat in various aspects of all spheres of society: they will need rights and freedoms, jobs and the opportunity to own some property. In addition, their superiority in physical and intellectual indicators will cause others to be wary.

- Then why create artificial gods for yourself that will quickly surpass their creator? Matthew rubbed the bridge of his nose and beamed. - And so you say why artificial intelligence needs developments in the field of the emotional sphere. Everything is extremely simple: a person is primarily a slave to his emotions, he is dependent on getting pleasure and avoiding negative stimuli. He is motivated to live when he knows what he will achieve and what he will get for his decisions. But there is one small remark: emotions can be effective blockers of undesirable actions. What is personally holding you back from going out and committing a crime, say, assault or robbery? In addition to the articles of the Criminal Code, of course.

- This goes beyond my limits of morality and ethics, - the officer's pupils narrowed. – Killing an innocent person always brings remorse, including anger at himself for what he did. In addition, such actions will entail restriction of freedom, which would be very undesirable for me and my loved ones. Yes, if that's what you want to hear, like any citizen, I'm afraid of the consequences.

- ...And in addition, a person also has needs that, together with emotions, contribute to behavior that is optimal for being in society. The third step of Maslow's pyramid is the need for respect and love. Formally, this is the very need in society that forces an individual to adapt to its framework and adapt to established values, norms, rules. Matthew tapped his fingers on the table. – Outcasts who have been turned away by their environment quickly lose their minds... If an artificial person is attached to those around him, will he try to climb up the hierarchical ladder over the heads of those who supported him, or will he strive for equality, “resemble” his own kind?

- ...That's enough," Irwin tiredly threw back his pen and slammed the heavy file folder on the table, raising a small cloud of dust. – The rights of robots are currently nonsense from a legal point of view, which for many reasons is unlikely to be suddenly considered – fortunately or unfortunately. Mr. Matthew Johnson, thank you for your cooperation. Our conversation has come to an end, the verdict will be delivered in about three days.

- Have a good day, Officer.

Getting up from the table, Bayer, without looking at the robot, slowly headed for the exit, secretly cherishing the dream of leaving the station as soon as possible and returning home. It was not part of his job description to take prisoners anywhere, so the investigator had the right to leave the android alone in the interrogation room with a calm soul.

And yet something deep inside Irwin pricked, similar to the feeling that the mechanical man had said something very important, directly related to the life of the investigator. "Can you prove that you are a human being?.." Irwin Bayer did not even doubt that he was the most human being! He had a beautiful wife who accompanied him to work every day, not forgetting to hand over a package with a still hot lunch; a child who greeted him from work with a joyful squeal and often gave him crooked crafts created on kindergarten circles, and even a dog of an unknown breed!..

... But what if most of his memories of childhood and youth are an artificial product, invested by his creators to maintain the legend of life? What if his family is the same creatures as Em–Yu 23-472, who do not even guess about their origin? Officer Irwin Bayer leaned against the door frame with a blank look, lost in surging thoughts.

***

From the windows into the interrogation room, which are Gesell's mirrors, two figures in professor's robes quickly moved away, whispering to each other.

- Dr. Blanche, your games with fire can lead to large-scale consequences, the result of which will entail the ruin of the company. The religious community recognizes the creation of artificial people as blasphemy, our organization will suffer enormous losses and will be forced to cease to exist. The Department for the Control of Civil social robots will not be able to protect the interests of Robotics Industries for a long time if its products pose a danger to the consumer. In addition, there is already one precedent, a person almost lost his life through the fault of a robot.

- Dr. Mark, your concerns are unfounded. The creation of artificial people is not something that needs to be developed as an element of industry. Each of the existing copies was created with special love and awe: you can't even imagine how long it took to calibrate the emotional spectrum, abilities and temperament of each of them. And I can't imagine a greater blasphemy than putting our androids into the service of people without taking into account their will. Besides," Dr. Blanche's eyes flashed, "I strongly doubt that M.Y. told the truth. If he really decided to harm a person, he would hit the most vulnerable points - vital organs – and, as noted by IR-540-B, the blows would not be chaotic. Or at least, “Matthew” would have found a way to immobilize the target before the police arrived.

- You talk about them as if these robots are your children.

- They are all children to me. And, as children, they develop much more successfully when those who understand their situation best are next to them: their own kind. Dr. Mark, the experiment of our unit was officially authorized by a decree from above: do you really think that we did not really know about the location of a robot whose thinking is able to evolve under the influence of external factors?..

- I suppose you are satisfied with the results of your experiment, - the man adjusted his glasses, - but do you have a plan to further support these... People?

- Be prepared for everything.

List of literature
1. Brain Rhythms // URL elements: https://multiresonance.by/articles/ritmyi-golovnogo-mozga/
2. How does music convey and evoke emotions? Excerpt from the book of an English scientist // URL elements: https://tass.ru/kultura/10702315

Works of art, elements of the ideas of which formed the basis of the work:
1. Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg - "Positronic Man"
2. Isaac Asimov - "I, the robot"
3. Marcello Argilli - "10 cities"
4. Edmund Cooper - "Doubtful Midnight"