We’ve now met two cyborgs in the reading. Yod and Nili. Is one more human than the other? Why?
ENGL 360 | Future Perfect Human
Prof. Myra Seaman | Fall 2016
We’ve now met two cyborgs in the reading. Yod and Nili. Is one more human than the other? Why?
I think this is an interesting question because it is one that the characters even debate when we are introduced to Nili (195-196). Yod is the first cyborg we encounter in the text. On the one hand he is very inhuman in that he is created with a specific intention to protect society and must be programmed and socialized; in the most basic of terms Yod is a machine. Before his interactions with Malkah and Shira, Yod has no social or real-life experiences. Essentially, Yod’s life as we know it begins with Malkah, and as readers we are there to encounter his humanization through experiences with Shira.
Nili on the other hand has certain experiences before readers are introduced to her, and it is important to note that unlike Yod who begins as a machine, Nili begins as a human—she is “born from a woman” and is then enhanced to be made into a cyborg (191). Although Yod does possess certain qualities that are arguably human, I think that if comparing Yod and Nili, Nili is the more human cyborg. She is more human, not only because she is born from a woman, but she also has certain innate human capabilities that Yod does not. For example, Yod is programmed to be inherently violent and then has to be taught what to attack and what not to attack whereas Nili can more easily decipher what is a threat and what is not; her process is less chaotic.
I agree with Miller that Nili seems the more human, but I think that is a matter of human preference and aversion to being even a former human being considered ‘other’. While Yod learns to be more human, embodies what we see as heroic human characteristics despite his violent start, he puts himself beyond that. His willingness to be self sacrificing make him, like GERTY, more human than just a cyborg. The reason that readers might gravitate more towards Nili is that fact that she was once human, unlike Yod who started as a machine. Though she becomes ‘other’, she was once human and this is what I think makes the difference in if she or Yod are seen as more human.
Throughout this section of the novel, since Nili’s introduction, we see Shira compare her to Yod. Doubtlessly, I would say Nili is more “human” as she was born from a woman. She also has a community behind – something humans can relate to – her whereas Yod is alone. Her humanity is shown also through her compassion for Riva after her death and her affection for Gadi. Although it is clear she is not fully human, she still expresses a certain amount of true attraction. Yod, on the other hand, continuously reminds Shira that his feelings are not based on physical attraction, that he doesn’t understand many concepts that are involved. Even in intimate settings, Shira notices how mechanical his reactions are – that he was programmed to do as he has. Nili, on the other hand, shows insecurities and curiousities, such as when she talked to Shira about Gadi, that Yod doesn’t even comprehend.
This question reminds me of the philosophical theory about Mary and the color red. In the theory, Mary lives inside a black and white room and is thoroughly taught all of the information she knows. With an advanced level of education, she deeply understands more than what most people know, including every aspect and explanation of color, though it is all from teaching not experience. When she finally leaves the black and white room, she experiences the color red for the first time. Even though she had been taught every single attribute of red, she learns something new from actually experiencing it.
This philosophical theory reminds me of both Yod and Nili in different ways. Yod learned all of his information first but then almost immediately began to experience life in order to apply his knowledge realistically. Nili experienced and learned at the same time, but was experiencing life in a similar sort of black and white box. So though she appears more human because she has more human-like experience, she is completely ignorant to how life works outside her black and white box so now suddenly is forced to learn from experience.
Thus, while both cyborgs, I do not think either can be declared as “more human” than the other because I think that lack of distinction is the true intention of their differences.
It is interesting that one recurring line we have been pointed to is “born of a woman”. This line isn’t so strict though, and Shira has a great line on the topic with “so my father was a test tube and that amazon’s my niece?” (199). What are the details of Yod’s birth? He was created by Malkah and Avram, man and woman, and spent her first humanizing lessons with Malkah. In a way, this too is a sort of “birth from a woman”, and if the cyborg Nili’s blood ties are still respected, and Shira’s not really having of a father and being disconnected from her actual biological mother are respected, the book asks the question of why the character’s do not respect Yod’s birth. As Shira says to Yod, “Nonsense. You’re as much a part of earth as I am. We are all made of the same molecules, the same set of compounds, the same elements.” (192) All of these commentaries in the novel make it much harder to say Nili is more human than Yod, or that Yod is not human at all.