Page 40 of Chaos Theory
The building receptionist invites us to wait in a bright, cavernous foyer. I glance distractedly through the corporate magazines laid out on a low glass table. The internal company mag is glossy, full of images that look like stock photography or maybe even AI-generated – happy customers, happy staff, happy shareholders.
Medical devices are big business, it seems. ‘The Changing Face of Healthcare’ runs the headline on an article about a new company policy to ensure greater diversity at all levels of the organisation. I skim another article – ‘Affordable Healthcare for All’ – the CEO’s vision for a future where advanced healthcare is accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford bespoke technological solutions. Yes, youcanget a custom titanium implant right now, but only if you also happen to own at least two-thirds of an island. Another article praises the health and safety record of the Irish PHI plant. No mention of the Kobi incident, of course. No headlines that say ‘Robot Runs Amok on Factory Floor’ or ‘Rogue-Bot: My Night-Shift Terror’.
‘Heads up,’ says Josh as a tall woman approaches, hair swept back from her face in a neat bun. She wears tailored trousers, a suit jacket and a black t-shirt with white text that saysForeverCoding. She looks like me, if I had an upgrade of cool sophistication.
‘Hello, Josh, good to see you again.’ She extends her hand to me. ‘I’m Laura Cantwell. Head of programming and robot relations.’
‘Cool title,’ I say. A tattoo goes the whole way around Laura’s wrist, like a bracelet. Squinting, I see that it’s composed of a series of tiny zeroes and ones.
‘Thanks! And what’s your title?’
I look at Josh in panic.
‘This is my associate, Maeve,’ he says smoothly. ‘Thanks for meeting with us today, Laura. We’re very grateful for your time. I know you’re super busy.’
‘Aren’t we all though?’ she replies. ‘How’s Ron? I keep meaning to reach out to him but, like you say, busy busy. Send him my regards. Let’s talk in my office. This way. Oh, and keep to the left!’
Before I can ask why, I hear awhoosh. A tiny yellow vehicle on four wheels zips by my ankles, a red basket on top holding white and brown envelopes. It looks like the remote-control cars I played with when I was a kid.
‘Well, you’re in a hurry today, aren’t you?’ Laura is apparently addressing the vehicle.
She produces a device the size of a phone from her pocket, taps at the screen. The car slows a little.
‘Autonomous postal bot,’ she tells us. ‘Let’s take the elevator to my office.’
If someone were to ask me what the theme of Laura’s office was, I would immediately say, ‘Glass.’ Then I’d say, ‘No, wait! Transparency,’and nod sagely. The desk is made of glass or possibly plastic, with a transparent keyboard and mouse. One entire wall is see-through, overlooking the factory floor below.
‘May I?’ I nod towards the wall.
‘Knock yourself out,’ says Laura. ‘Actually, be careful you don’t hit your head for real. I just had the glass cleaned.’
I stand with my face very close to the clear wall and survey the scene below.This must be where Kobi worked.
Just like in the video Josh showed me, large metallic boxes are spaced out evenly around the room – each one the size of a small tank. The boxes presumably hold the 3D printing machines; faint red lights within indicate that lasers are melting titanium powder into the desired implant shape – metal hips or knees, soon to be enhancing human bodies and lives. It seems strangely hushed for a factory floor – maybe the glass is sound-proof? At first I think it’s devoid of human life, until three people emerge from between the rows of machines, wearing branded PHI jumpsuits. I try to imagine Kobi down there among them.
Josh sits down in a chair facing Laura’s desk, but Laura comes and stands next to me. She’s a good eight inches taller, even in flat shoes.
‘Nice view, huh?’ she says.
I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not. ‘Natural light is overrated,’ I venture.
She smiles. ‘True enough. We’re all glued to screens all day anyway.’
‘So this is where Kobi worked then?’
‘Yep. I miss that guy actually.’
‘You miss Kobi? That’s interesting. Why?’
‘He was a great worker. A fascinating project for me to work on too – real the-future-is-now stuff, you know? I mean I’ve done my share of robotic arm programming. It was nice to get stuck into something more…more’ – she raises her hands as if she’s about to conduct the New York Symphony Orchestra – ‘sophisticated. I know he was still in beta, but still – he was quite the creation, thanks to Josh here.’
Josh gives her a pained smile. He looks smaller than usual, folded up in the low leather chair. ‘Laura, you’re too kind. I know it didn’t quite turn out like either of us planned. I hope it didn’t get you into too much trouble.’
For a second I wonder if Laura is the ‘Irish woman’ Josh toldme about, the ex he’d met at a conference three years ago. I bet they have loads in common. Both tall, good-looking, into robots. Then I notice the ring on Laura’s left hand.Probably not her.
She takes a seat behind her desk. She looks at her computer screen, frowns slightly, then pushes the keyboard away and bounces back in her chair.
‘Listen, Josh, I get it. I know what you were trying to achieve. Whatwewere trying to achieve. Of course there’s going to be setbacks. Especially when we’re getting up to this level of sophistication in cobots. You’re not going to make a breakthroughwithout the occasional breakdown, right?’
