Today I built this robot. I bought him at the MoMA store in NYC. The Piperoid, as he's called, is from Japan and made of little paper tubes. All of the instructions are in Japanese. Alex helped me with that. I had considered giving the Piperoid to my little brother then helping him build it, but then I reconsidered, as Alex translated on the package that the build is recommended for ages 15 and up.
Not that I thought my 5-year-old brother would not appreciate the Piperoid, but I had trouble believing he would remain patient through the whole process. Am I just getting older, or do all kids have ADHD these days?
I picture this Piperoid to stand 50' tall and live in the parking garage beneath Mall C in downtown Cleveland. Sent to Cleveland as a robotic ambassador from Japan, Piperoid helps assemble the new wind farm on Lake Erie. He is an iconic reminder that Cleveland is a city geared for the 21st century.
I recently finished Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and seriously debated referring to the Piperoid as a he (or she) or an 'it.' I opted for gender, even if Piperoid is a soulless machine. He deserves at least a little humanizing for helping to construct Northeast Ohio's sustainable energy grid.
Now if only I could settle upon a name. I'll leave that to the readership. If you have any suggestions for a name for Piperoid, please leave it up on the comments. I accept Japanese submissions, if anyone is so inclined.
2 comments:
I read an article last week for HEL about the creation of a neuter pronoun, na. Some feminist wrote a whole book using it. i.e., "Na went to the store and na bought some food."
Let's Work With Orphans does not approve of robots.
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