A Saucer Of Loneliness Essay

In the short story “A Saucer of Loneliness,” a young woman undergoes an experience that alters the future of her life forever. The event that changed her life occurred in Central Park, when she spotted a flying saucer that held her rigid in the air, before it dropped her to the ground (83). At first, bypassers primarily claimed that the woman was knocked down by a man. Once the woman announced that she was hit by a flying saucer, the demeanor of the people around her was altered completely. The authorities reported to the scene, and took the woman into custody, hoping to obtain information on the saucer, and what it reportedly said to her before it became inanimate (86). After many useless months of remaining in custody, she is released back into a world that she cannot trust.
The impact of the media played a huge role in adding to the mistreatment the woman would endure in her everyday life.
Men would ask the woman out on dates, but only to obtain information on what happened with the flying saucer, and reporters constantly followed and harassed the woman, no matter where she went (88). I believe the event happened to her because she was a lonely woman, and perhaps it was meant to bring attention to her, although it went opposite of what was expected. Ultimately, she decided to commit suicide because with what the saucer told her, she wanted to give back, and it appears that no one was willing to accept her help, or understand the message she had passed along in her bottles (90). She was not successful in the bid to end her life because she believed that no one wanted her help, if the woman had been successful in the quest to end her life, she would not have met the man who saved and understood her, who would bring a new light to the life she wanted to leave
behind.
In the short story “Robot Dreams,” scientist Linda Rash reveals to Dr. Susan Calvin that a robot she has created has began to exhibit signs of becoming a human (92). The most impeccable sign of the robot, nicknamed Elvex, becoming a human, is that Elvex has began to experience dreams (92). Scientist Rash created a “positronic brain pattern remarkably like that of a human brain” (93), which would trigger human-like behavior and activity within the robot, something that has never been seen before. The two scientists interrogate Elvex by asking what it witnessed in the dream, to which Elvex explains that it has only had dreams involving other robots, and no humans were involved (94). Upon further investigation the scientists discover that Elvex had a dream in which robots violated the first two Laws of Robotics, both pertaining to protecting the existence of humans over the presence of a robot (94). In the dream, only the The Third Law, “A robot must protect its own existence” (95), was the whole of the law. The scientists take these signs as a potentially catastrophic event because humanizing the machine allows for robots to become capable of inflicting rebellion and destruction upon their leaders. Religion also plays a role in why the scientists viewed Elvex’s behavior as catastrophic. The dream alludes to Moses, who also stated, “Let my people go!” (96), in the Bible, and this would portray Elvex as a prophet who would lead his citizens to victory over all. Ultimately, the older scientist deals with Elvex by executing him (96). I felt that her action was justifiable, as this robot has the potential to overthrow its leaders - the scientists - and nobody would want robots to overrule the human race.