The Fletcher's Paradox

One.

The Fletcher's paradox is one of the more famous paradoxes to exist in our time so far. If you don't know it, it goes as follows: imagine a fletcher, or someone who makes arrows, has fired one of their arrows into the air. For the arrow to be considered to be moving, it has to be continually repositioning itself from the place where it is now to any place where it currently isn't. This paradox, however, states that throughout its trajectory the arrow isn't actually moving at all. At any given instant of no real duration during its flight, like a snapshot in time, the arrow cannot move to somewhere it isn't because there isn't time for it to do so. And it can't move to where it is now, because it's already there. So, for that instant in time, the arrow must be stationary. But because all time is comprised entirely of instants—in every one of which the arrow must also be stationary—then the arrow must in fact be stationary the entire time. Except, of course, it isn't. We all know that it's still moving, but I often entertain the idea that time can indeed be frozen and everything can stop moving just long enough to make this last. Oh, right. I apologize. Allow me to start from the beginning. Let's say... this is where the fletcher first crafts the arrow, when a man with olive skin and long, voluminous curls walks into the standard issue CyberLife store.

—

His eyes scanned the store, looking at all the different models through the large store. Every so often he would walk over to one model, ponder the idea of having it, then move onto the next one. None of the current models really stuck out to him, they all seemed the same with their lifeless eyes and plastic smiles. Another person, an employee, walks up beside him.

"I see you're having trouble choosing a model," she spoke up. He gave her a confused look and she continued. "You've been staring at the same model for five minutes. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Yeah, actually I'm um," the man shifted uncomfortably in his black work shoes and baggy blue jeans, "I need something that can help me with simple housework tasks, but also, y'know provide... that other level of comfort that other people just... can't?" He rambled over his words and gestures a bit wildly with his hands.

The woman smiled and nodded. "You need a companion."

The man shoved his hands in his pockets and avoided her gaze out of embarrassment. "Right. Companion, yeah."

"I think I have just the thing. If you'll follow me please," she gestured to her right. He gave a slight nod and started walking.

The woman led him to the escalator leading them up to the second floor, which had a few of the much newer models, as well as some of the standard ones. She led the man over to one particular model. It had short black hair that was parted to the left and the same, plastic smile as the others.

"This is one of the newer models, the AL700. Would you like to know what it can do?" She turned to the man. He bit his lip in thought and nodded. She smiled again and stepped up to the android. She pushed the LED on the side of its head and it blinked, processing for a moment. They stepped down from the pedestal and the woman spoke again. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," the android adresses the woman.

"Please give your initialization text," she instructed.

"Certainly," it spoke. It then turned to the man. "Hello. I am a second generation AL700 android. I can look after your house, take care of any kids or pets you may have, cook for you, or simply organize your appointments. I can speak over 250 languages and I am entirely at your disposal as a sexual partner." At this, the young man gave a small awkward cough. "There is no need to feed or recharge me, as I am equipped with a quantic battery that allows me to remain autonomous for 184 years. Should I be purchased, I can almost guarantee that your money will not be ill-spent."

The woman looked between the android and the human a few times. "Well, do you think this is the one?"

The man stared at it for a moment to really drink in the appearance and stature of the Android before him. The hair, height, build - everything was made to be perfect. Yes, it felt off, but that's to be expected. You're essentially buying something that mimics everything a human is or could possibly be and making it do your housework. He looked the android in its artificial green eyes for a moment and, if only for a fraction of a second as the plastic being's smile turned into one of nothingness, he swore he saw something else when the LED flickered to yellow. But it was only a mere second before he knew he was probably imagining it, and blamed it on wanting something real. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah... this one seems good."

"Would you like to make any human modifications?" the woman asked. He gave another confused look. "Things like freckles, or even a fake birthmark. Small things like that."

"Oh. Um... freckles, but not a whole lot. Just a few light ones here and there," the man said, shuffling in his black shoes.

"Alright. Do you want any specific hair color? The default colors are white, brown, black, grey, and blonde. However, we can always accommodate other colors into its program."

"Alright, um... I guess I'll stick with the black," he gave a slight shrug.

"Okay, just give me a moment to input the modifications to your selected model." She turned to the android and pressed the LED once more, and on the artificial skin began to emerge little dark spots here and there. The man watched the skin change in mild awe.

"Are you ready to purchase this model or would you like us to hold it for you until you have the money?" The woman asked. "Oh, the price is $8999. Sorry, I should've mentioned."

"It's alright," the man shrugged, "I can pay now."

The woman smiled once more as she led the android and the man back downstairs to pay. They all walked to the front desk and the woman went around to the other side. She typed up a few things on the computer in front of her and then turned back to the man. "So that's $8999 for the android. You can input your card right there," she pointed to a little device in front of the man. He inserted his card and followed the brief, standard questions on there. Things like wanting cash back, if the price was okay, that sort of thing.

"Excellent. Would you like a receipt?" She asked. He nodded and she spoke again. "Alright, it'll be emailed to you within the week."

He nodded again and turned to the android beside him, his face still showing his uncertainty. The android stared back for a moment before giving a small smile.

"Alright, now you're all set. On behalf of CyberLife industries, it's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Van Lehman."

"What, am I dad now?" The man turned to the woman. "C'mon Chloé, that's just harsh."

She gave a laugh. "Sorry Carlos, I couldn't help myself." She turned back to her computer before gasping. "Oh! I forgot about the naming thing!" She quickly ran around to the other side of the desk and spoke once more. "You have a name yet?"

Carlos thought for a moment. He had a few in mind - boring names like John or Sam - but he wanted it to have a better name than something standard. It wasn't a standard thing, after all. It was basically an artificial human. He bounced his foot for a moment before a good name clicked in his head. "I got it."

"Sweet," she said. She then turned to the android that towered above them both. "AL700, register name." The LED on the side of it's head flickered to yellow, ready to process its name.

"Etienne," the man nodded to himself slowly. "Yeah... your name is Etienne."

The LED flickered between blue and yellow for a moment before staying on the blue. It gave another smile. "My name is Etienne. It's nice to meet you, Carlos Van Lehman."