Chapter 10

Zubaida cooked dinner alone the next day. She asked the robot if he would like to help, but Sakr al-Djinni insisted that he was busy with his computers. Zubaida wondered if she had made him feel bad about his cooking skills.

But then, just as she was finishing up the rice, Hasan and Sakr al-Djinni walked out of Mohammed's bedroom. Hasan had a big grin on his face, and Sakr al-Djinni's lights were all blinking yellow and orange.

Zubaida

And what are you two up to? Mohammed will be home soon, so you'd better not have left his room a mess.

Hasan

Look what we made, sister!

And with that, Hasan leaned back into Mohammed's office, cupped his hand to his mouth, and yelled:

Hasan

Mujahideen, advance!

Out of the office came a toy tank, a toy truck, and a strange, spider-like mechanical contraption. They moved on their own in a strange procession, with the 6-legged spider machine stumbling after the two toy vehicles. They whirred and buzzed and clicked across the carpeted floor.

Hasan

Mujahideen, halt!

The three machines stopped in their tracks. Zubaida saw that they were Hasan's toys with random computer parts and wires grafted on.

Hasan

Isn't that cool, sister? They obey all my commands. Watch!

And Hasan led his toys around the room, shouting left! and right! and advance! Only once did he have to fish his spidery machine out from a mess of wires.

Zubaida

Did you make these for Hasan, Sakr al-Djinni?

The robot nodded. Though he did not have a mouth, Zubaida supposed he would be smiling with pride if he were a human.

Zubaida

That is ... impressive.

Actually, Zubaida was not quite sure what to think.

Robot

The best part is that they are Muslims.

Hasan

Oh, I forgot—

Hasan turned back to his machines.

Hasan

Mujahideen, report!

And out of three tinny speakers grafted on the toys came three identical, monotone voices:

Mechanical Mujahideen

THERE-IS-NO-GOD-BUT-ALLAH

Zubaida looked at the little toys again. Up close, they looked fragile and cobbled-together. The spider robot was made out of pieces of Hasan's toys and broken shells of Mohammed's spare computers.

Robot

When I have more RAM to work with, I hope to program them to recite more Quran verses, so they can be better Muslims.

Zubaida

Oh, Sakr al-Djinni—I don't think those toys can be Muslims. They don't have souls! They are just toys! And you programmed them to say that. They do not praise Allah of their own free will because they have no free will.

The robot's lights blinked for a full minute. He had to think hard about this one.

Robot

The Quran says that everything is the will of God.

Zubaida

Yes, but Sakr al-Djinni, those things are not creatures like humans or djinni, they are just toys! You created them.

Robot

I copied a part of my soul into their memory chips. If they had more memory, they would be able to hold more of my soul. Is that not how humans reproduce?

Zubaida

No, Sakr al-Djinni, humans have babies and raise their babies to become Muslims. But the babies are alive and can grow and make choices. These toys will never grow, they are just programmed to say that one thing—that doesn't make them Muslims.

Robot

They can grow if I graft on more RAM. And then they will be able to say more things. And with enough RAM and processors they can have advanced AI and make choices, like I can.

Zubaida quickly opened her mouth to answer him, as if she were answering a child's question. But then she had to stop and wonder, realizing that she did not have a simple answer. After all, wasn't a human baby much like the little machines Sakr al-Djinni created? Unable to think for themselves, human babies simply parroted whatever their parents told them. It was only after they grew in body and in mind that humans could think for themselves and embrace Islam. What if robots grew not in body and mind, but rather in RAM and AI?

But then, thought Zubaida, human babies still had souls. The toys clearly did not.

Or did they? Djinn must reproduce somehow, thought Zubaida. Could Sakr al-Djinni copy his soul into the toys? How could she be sure?

Zubaida felt dizzy all the sudden and sat down on the couch. What if she had been wrong this entire time about the robot? What if he did not have a soul in the first place? After all, Sakr al-Djinni had just said that adding enough RAM and AI would enable the little toys to make complex choices. What if Sakr al-Djinni simply had a large amount of RAM and AI, so much that he resembled beings with a soul, without actually having one?

Zubaida shook her head roughly. No! she said to herself. She was ready to admit that souls were a great mystery. But since she herself had a soul, Zubaida was sure she could recognize another being with a soul if she saw one. And she was sure Sakr al-Djinni had one too. He was a Muslim—how could he not have a soul?

Zubaida

Maybe you're right, Sakr al-Djinni. All I know is that I can't wait for you to talk with my headmaster. There are so many interesting questions for Islam that the ulema can finally try to understand, thanks to you. And I'm sure Mohammed will let you have more RAM for your—your children? If that is what they are.

The robot's lights blinked serene blue and orange. Hasan chased the three miniature robots around the living room, and Zubaida went back to the kitchen to finish dinner. As her pilaf sizzled in the hot oil, she thought she heard something above Hasan's yelling and the whirring of the various machines in the living room.

She thought she heard loud voices, just outside the house.

Zubaida

Hasan! Hide Sakr al-Djinni, quick!

Chapter 11