The Harry Bot

Do I appear normal to you?

Marty, Sam, and Ed were in the squalid apartment living room with its rough wood floors and water stained ceiling. Harry was there too - or was he?

"The Rangers will never win the World Series. They don't have any character."

"Sure they will! They got character in a hotel room in Kentucky. Just you wait and see."

"On paper it's hard to argue with their chances. What do you think, Harry? You keep your nose in the box scores every day."

"Don't know why all you people are worried about Trump. In a few weeks he'll be gone with the wind and all this hysteria will be for naught. Stop hanging your lives on every stupid word he says. It only makes you look more stupid. Sheesh!"

"Whoa! Somebody's not listening."

"I don't think that's it. Look at his eyes. He's got that 'What's the point of anything' look."

"It's like he's reading a script. I know he said almost that exact same thing to me last week."

"What do we do? He's totally disengaged."

"I don't know. Ask him about the weather or something."

"Hey, Harry, what do you think about this high heat lately?"

"I'm a Maserati guy. That's the car that got me in love with cars. Your Ferraris and Aston Martins are fine but they'll never capture my imagination the way the famed Trident has. I'd give anything to own one!"

"Well, shit, we've all heard that before."

"His words are so canned he should run for office!"

"Yeah, robots do well in polls. But what do we ask him next?

"Ask him about the race. See if he repeats his earlier answer. If not, then man, he's really out of it."

"Who do you like better Harry: Trump or Clinton?"

Can I die now?

"I don't care what anyone says: it really is the humidity that makes the heat so bad. I remember visiting Phoenix as a kid and the heat didn't bother me near as much as here in Dallas. It really is a different kind of heat."

"I've heard him tell that tale before too."

"All we're going to get out of him is scripts tonight."

"Weird part is he doesn't even remember when he does this. His mind is someplace else while he's stuck in conversation mode with his relevance sensor off kilter."

"Why the fuck does he do this? It's not real conversation. It just sounds like it, like he's some sort of player piano."

"Oh, I know why he does it. Can't hide everything no matter how hard you try."

"OK, Einstein, what gives?"

"It's simple: he's lost interest."

"Lost interest in talking? Then just don't speak."

"Lost interest in life. Lost interest in himself. He pre-scripts his conversations then plays them back as necessary."

"That's scary. I'd sure hate spending my time doing that!"

"Everybody's got to devote their life to something."

Then there was silence as each person meditated on just what his life was devoted to. The Harry Bot remained incapacitated.