A theme in many science fiction movies and stories are robots attempting to overthrow humanity, but ultimately, humanity’s creative thoughts and love allows us to defeat them with a lot of hard work. Brothers in Arms by Julie Reeves is a story about a young boy who lives with his parents and his brother, but one day his friend Ellie disappears. Finn realizes something isn’t right about their quiet town and his brother Adam tells him it’s because everyone, except for the children, are androids, specially made robots that look like humans. The androids are experimenting on humans to attempt to feel real emotions, and Finn decides to escape. When he does though, he realizes that his partner, Adam, is also an android. But Adam is special, he can feel emotions, especially for Finn. Adam is killed while they escape, but Finn survives and is reunited with Ellie. This moving story about the differences in humankind and androids and how they can both change and peacefully coexist together shows a science fiction masterpiece by Julie Reeves.
Our humanity and our morals are what make us different from unfeeling, not truly alive robots. We always need to have a firm grasp on ourselves, and to keep ourselves under control. We are inferior to robots in every way except for one: our ability to feel. Robots may be stronger, faster, and able to calculate things instantly, but we can use our creativity and feelings to make new ideas. In Brothers in Arms, the robots always managed to catch up to Finn and Adam, but Adam was a robot that could feel, combining the best of both sides, and Adam carried Finn to safety. Adam was struck down while they were escaping, but Finn was safe, and he reunited with Ellie. Feelings are important, because they differentiate us from other, non sentient beings. They allow us to love each other and make creative ideas. Morals and virtues are the defining factor that makes us human, and is the one thing robots are inferior to us to.
Balance is important, because it makes us able to equalize one thing to another, and control ourselves. When we are balanced, we are more productive and reasonable. When we are unbalanced, chaos reigns and we have to stabilize ourselves. In Brothers in Arms, the androids and humans could have lived together peacefully, without any deceit, if they were balanced. But the androids stepped too far and experimented on humans, and the humans were threatened. When one side oversteps their bounds, then the balance is interrupted, and humans and androids will be at war. Finn managed to escape, but his robotic brother died. The balance was restored when Finn and Ellie freed themselves, but they knew that they needed to rebel against human experiments and save the others. Balance makes us healthier and stronger. We need balance in our lives, because it can protect us and embolden us. Balance is important in the world, and androids and humans would be able to coexist if they had a surplus of balance, but not with a surfeit.
Empathy is a crucial part of being a human being, because it allows us to understand each other and put ourselves in each other's shoes. It prevents us from hurting each other because we can imagine feeling the pain ourselves, and realizing how much it could harm the other person emotionally, mentally, and physically. Androids may be able to understand physical pain, but emotional and mental pain are two things they will never be able to experience with humanity’s current technological state. In Brothers in Arms, Adam was unique, he was an android with a family, and he grew to love the one person in his family that was human: Finn. He decided to escape, and he experienced lots of pain while he escaped. When he had to keep Finn underwater to keep them safe, he felt emotional pain. He gained empathy as he realized how humans must feel when they experimented on them. Being empathetic and knowing how others must feel is a key part of being human and kind. Understanding each other and having compassion will allow us to surpass boundaries that greed and hate create.
Kindness, empathy, and our compassion are what makes us human and different from coldblooded robotic androids. We have to always show clemency to others, and never forget our humanity and virtues. We can feel pain unlike robots, and we should remember to balance ourselves. By controlling ourselves and thinking through things, we can accomplish near impossible feats. Androids may be superior to us in strength and calculating speed, but we have creativity and feelings, allowing us to create and design works of art and architecture. Brothers in Arms by Julie Reeves shows the slight nuances between humans and robots, and why we should remember them. I recommend this book for all ages, because of its morals and depth.
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