Martin L. Shoemaker. Today I am Paul. (Clarkesworld Magazine #107, August 2015)

Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine ‘#107, August 2015), where it is still online, but I read it in Nebula Awards Showcase 2017, in which it appears on account of it being a Nebula Award nominee in the Best Short Story category.

It’s a touching story, looking at ageing and Alzheimers, through the lens (or should I say the robotic eye) of Medical Care Android BRKCX/01932-217H-98662, which is able to change it’s appearance in the course of carrying out it’s nursing duties.

BRKCX/01932-217H-98662 is caring for Mildred, elderly, bed-ridden and confused, and the android mostly takes the form of her son Paul – or at least, an earlier version of Paul, which she remembers. The story follows the course of a couple of visits, through which we see other relatives of Mildred, and a dramatic episode brings the story to a climax, and we see the human emotions through the eyes of the android.

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