Rachel Adams has a handful of short stories in fine publications such as PANK, A Capella Zoo's "Bestiary," Atticus Review, Corium, and Parcel.
Her story, "Robots Make Babies," appeared in Issue of Fifty-Four of The Collagist.
Here, she speaks with interviewer Keaton Maddoxx about eugenics, robots replacing humans out of reason rather than hate, and the frivolity of procreation.
Your story uses a non-traditional narrative structure. Instead of progressing through a plot with individual bit players and characters, you frame it much more along the lines of an overarching post-apocalyptic folklore tale. What was your process for developing it in this way?
I can attribute the following to Francois Camoin (at the very least he was quoting someone else). To paraphrase: “I write one sentence, and then I see which sentence wants to follow it.” I do not always use this method, but I am so often pleased with the result that I’m not sure why I bother with any other way.
I wasn’t aiming for post-apocalyptic folklore (though I very much like that description.) I really like the present-tense plural voice. I like the sort of frantic undertone it lends to this story in particular.
Although it’s about unloving robots, the story ultimately becomes very human. The robots, too, don’t want to screw up their creations, despite the apparent inevitability of that result. What were you hoping to address through this approach?
There is definitely a sense of pathos for these robots. They’re slaves, for one. They’re good at recycling. Haha. And there is no malice to their actions—I think that’s where the growing sense of horror comes in. Because they don’t have to hate us, per se, to ultimately realize that we’re inferior and decide to eliminate us. They just have to see the truth: that we have supplanted ourselves with something far more efficient and reasonable, and our continued survival is suddenly a tough sell.
One possible reading looks at your work as an analogy for the frivolity of procreation. What do you make of this reading? If you disagree, what analogy do you believe should supplant it instead?
Oh my goodness! The frivolity of procreation. Hmm. I wasn’t consciously grappling with that idea, no, although robots are certainly a good entry point into the idea of eugenics, and of course the theme of fitness for survival comes in here. I personally find the idea of eugenics silly—people tend to focus in on intellectual or physical superiority, though neither one of these can predict the traits we tend to value most highly in humanity, and neither offers the promise that we will transcend our worst qualities.
To me, the major themes of this story are the relationship of creator and creation and the dangerous insanity of hierarchical relationships.
What are you reading?
I’ve been on an interesting kick lately. I just finished Pronoia by Rob Brezny, which I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. It’s a beautiful book of spells for a more interesting, lovely, and joyful world. If you’re interested in Burning Man—well, you should go. But you should also read Pronoia, because it’s very much in the same spirit of joyful self-expression and expansive love.
I’m about to finish Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, which has both breadth and depth and a whole lot of welcome silliness, and I just started Island by Aldous Huxley. He’s known for Brave New World, his famous dystopian novel, but he claims Island is his best work—the utopian antidote.
What are you writing?
I’m writing a reinterpretation of the New Testament set in the modern day Bay Area. Jesus is on trial for the use and distribution of entheogenic substances and Mary Magdalena is a dominatrix. It’s got a magical realism tone to it—which is an genre idea I’ve been toying with—or rather religious realism. My laptop just freaked out and it’s in the shop now, so I might have lost it all. Time to start backing up my work in earnest.