Science Fiction Short Story Review: "Today I Am Paul" by Martin L. Shoemaker

Tweet

Medical Care Android BRKCX-01932-317JH-98662 has an advanced android body with a sophisticated computer guiding its actions backed by the leading medical knowledge base in the industry. It is caring for the elderly Mildred, an Alzheimer’s patient. At great expense, Mildred’s family added an emulation net, a sophisticated set of neural networks and sensory feedback systems that allow the android to read Mildred’s moods. It can also analyze and emulate the people in her life with such accuracy, the company slogan is “You can be there for you loved ones even when you’re not.” The story is told from the point of view of the android, the caretaker. Unaware of itself, it does not get angry or impatient. It is not self-aware. Yet, in emulating the various people something happens. A third presence develops. The power of the story is in its portrayal of the person with Alzheimer’s and the dynamics of the family. On some levels, it’s a difficult story to read. When the android, as Mildred’ son Paul (hence the title) asks if she remembers Nurse Judy, she recalls the Nurse Judy who delivered him. Emulating Paul, the android tells her Nurse Judy has been dead for thirty years. Mildred is back to the day her son was born. How could the nurse be dead? The caretaker realizes his mistake and emulates her late husband. He points to a laundry hamper and says Paul is right there, in the crib, a ruse that’s worked before. The story is all more powerful in its subtlety. By the end, I teared up. Author Shoemaker’s writing is to the point. I liked this a lot and will look for more by this author. “Today I am Paul” is a 2015 Nebula Nominee for Best Short Story. After having read it, I can well understand why. According to his webpage, Martin L. Shoemaker is a programmer who writes on the side. Programming pays the bills. This story, reprinted in several “best of” anthologies and translated in French, Hebrew, Polish, and German seems to be doing okay for him. Text is available here: _____ Title: “Today I Am Paul” Author: Martin L. Shoemaker Published in: The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016 First Published: Clarkesworld August 2015