Obese, shy, low self-esteem, and alone. Those are words that perfectly encapsulated who I had become. I had a great job and my own house, but I hid behind my screen. My dim reflection, a reminder of my reality. A sad sack without the guts to approach people, to engage in conversation. People look each other in the eyes; I look down at the ground. Something had to change. I could not continue drowning my tears in pints of ice cream night after night. The wake-up call arrived in the form of Obesibot.
I stumbled upon the ad in a weight-loss forum. Doctor Larson was asking for beta testers to spend one month living with a robot they designed to help encourage healthy habits and motivate people to lose weight. If five pounds were not lost within thirty days, they would pay for a five-year gym membership and a two-year subscription to one of those healthy meal delivery boxes.
I was onboard, although there was one creepy catch. The robot would be created and molded to look just like a healthier version of me. After sending them some body shots of myself, Doctor Larson’s team went to work, and within a week, the crate showed up on my porch.
Fake brown hairs and eyes. Silver-flecked beard. A six-pack of rubbery ab skin. Muscles that made me jealous. Not a double chin in sight. All the motivation stood right before me. The person I had to strive to become.
When you think of robots, you tend to think of limited functions and responses, but I was thrown for a loop at just how advanced the technology was. Within my user guide, it mentioned that Obesibot could sense destructive habits that were conducive to gaining weight. It also had sensors built in that made it shout out positive statements after a healthy action, such as eating a piece of fruit. And one of the most unique pieces of functionality was its ability to physically move and workout alongside me. If I asked Obesibot to teach me how to do push-ups, that’s exactly what it would do. It would methodically position itself into the push-up stance and show me step-by-step how to do a push-up.
Before I went to sleep each night, I was instructed to push the rest-mode button each night. This was critical or else Obesibot would worry about me going too long without a meal. I have to admit, that first week was wonderful.
“Great job, Robbie. Keep it up.”
“You are on the path to a healthy lifestyle.”
“You have consumed the optimal amount of vegetables for this meal.”
“You’re amazing. Never stop believing in yourself. You are the key to your success.”
Those are just a handful of the statements Obesibot said to me that slowly helped my confidence grow. I even felt like I had shed a pound or two. But then I forgot to activate rest-mode one night. As I snored away, I jolted awake when Obesibot’s squishy hands clamped onto my face.
“Robbie, your fingers are not food.” Obesibot pulled my right hand away from my face.
As my hand rested on my pillow, I guess I had brought it too close to my mouth while I was sleeping. In any case, it was disturbing to wake up to my robotic doppelganger hovering above me just before sunrise. That incident though, was the least of my worries.
A few days later, my mother Helen visited me to check up on me and see how I was doing with the robot. My mother was obese as well, and as soon as Obesibot set eyes on her, I got the sense that he did not approve. There was nothing in the user guide that mentioned how Obesibot would interact with other people; I just assumed it was programmed to respond to my commands.
After an intense workout in the basement, I told my mom I was going to head out to pick up a few bottles of water. I shouldn’t have left Obesibot with her. When I returned fifteen minutes later, I walked into a horrifying display of imagery.
Obesibot’s hands were squeezing my mother’s head.
“You are a destructive presence. You are a destructive presence.”
Obesibot repeated those words as my mother’s face flattened. After falling off the recliner, Obesibot stomped on her head until she resembled a crumpled leaf. I charged at Obesibot and tackled him, pummeling him with my fists.
“Great job, Robbie. Keep it up. Sweat is a sign of activity. Keep on moving.”
I kept pounding away until Obesibot’s voice was unintelligible. Enough damage was done to destroy Obesibot; it didn’t move or say another word. I’m currently trying to take Doctor Larson’s team to court, but they’ve been tough to get ahold of. I’m appalled and gutted over the loss of my mother. I knew she was proud of me for trying to make a change. And I owe it to her to continue on this healthy path. I’m going to stick to a healthy diet and keep working out. I want to be a better version of me.