In the dark and rainy summer of 1818, Mary Shelley sat down to write Frankenstein, the tale of a man whose obsessions took him too far in his attempt to play god, and as a result, created a dangerous, tragic creature. Her masterpiece is widely hailed as being one of the most influential works of science fiction and horror, if not the starting point for those genres as we know them today. Her work has been adapted and re-imagined countless times, and her themes of unchecked ambition, dangerously advancing technology, and humanity's hubris are still common ones in modern science fiction. Today, this story is still being told — but it doesn't always take the form of a retelling or reboot.

The Frankenstein's Monsters of today look a little different from Shelley's concept. They don't have stitches in greenish-gray faces; instead, they're unsettlingly flawless yet blank behind the eyes, creating an uncanny valley effect that leaves viewers uneasy. Instead of groaning, their speech glitches robotically. In the science fiction of today, androids are rarely to be trusted and often to be feared — but why? The answer to that question can be found by looking to the godmother of the genre.

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What Creates A Frankenstein's Monster?

Frankenstein_Creation

Today, the phrase "Frankenstein's monster" is frequently used to describe an amalgamation that is unnatural, hideous, or distasteful in some way — and it's an apt descriptor for such a phenomenon. The original monster was made from a collection of body parts, stitched and fused together in a way that they were never meant to be. However, in the original novel, he is more than just a creature. His physical form is not what makes him a monster; his cobbled-together nature is not what makes him frightening. Instead, it is the hubris of Doctor Frankenstein himself that is the enemy. He creates a Creature that goes out into the world and, when spurned and feared by humanity, swears revenge on the man who gave him an existence filled with pain. The Creature's intelligence and superhuman strength make him impossible to control, and make him dangerous. Sound familiar?

Just as science and technology were advancing rapidly at the beginning of the 19th century, they continue to do so today. And just Mary Shelley and her contemporaries had their reservations about new technology, so too do we now. As medical and anatomical knowledge advanced, those in 1818 Britain feared doctors who would play God. What would happen if those sciences were taken to extremes? What would be the consequences of attempting to create a living being artificially? What would happen if this knowledge, which could do so much good, fell into the hands of those who were evil, irresponsible, or overly ambitious? Shelley explored those questions, and in doing so, created a genre in which other writers explored similar ones.

Now, as artificial intelligence and robotics improve to a degree that Shelley could not have imagined, we have our own worries about a society where mechanical beings with complex AI are commonplace — and science fiction is exploring them. Will those with unsavory intentions use the technology to trick, trap, or con others? Will a programmable soldier prove more deadly than a human ever could be? Two hundred years after Shelley's masterpiece, we are still anxious about artificial life and lab-created humans. And our worries are remarkably similar.

Examples Of Parallels

Modern sci-fi media features plenty of androids, but two recent series have shown the clearest similarities with Frankenstein in their portrayal of advanced robotics: the first season of Star Trek: Picard, and Ridley Scott's series Raised by Wolves.

Star Trek: Picard

Sutra, an android in Star Trek: Picard

The first season of Picard explored this concept through the lens of an ancient prophecy guarded by the Romulan secret society of the Zhat Vash, a prophecy that told of synthetic life destroying all sentient organic life forms. Towards the end of the series, this prophecy becomes dangerously close to self-fulfilling. Soji, a fully sentient android accompanied by Picard himself, arrives on Coppelius, the planet where she was created. She, along with the other androids of the planet, learn the truth behind the ancient message: it is not a warning, as the Zhat Vash thought, but in fact an offer, sent by synthetic beings on a distant world, to protect their fellow androids. The residents of Coppelius then plan to summon these synthetic beings, who will destroy all those who threaten the androids' lives. To prevent the Zhat Vash from destroying all sentient androids, the people of Coppelius plan to wipe out all organic life in the universe.

Soji and her brethren were not created evil; they were not created to harm others. But when pushed to extremes, they are prepared to commit genocide, just as Frankenstein's Creature murdered multiple people in his quest for revenge. The androids' creator, Soong, expresses his guilt when he discovers his creations' ploy, as he never dreamed they would connive or resort to underhanded measures as they did in attempt to carry out their plan.

Raised by Wolves

Mother in her normal form (left) and necromancer form (right)

Ridley Scott's latest series, too, explores the idea of androids behaving in a way that their creators never intended, to the danger and detriment of the humans around them. Mother, a sentient android created by Earth's greatest scientists, was originally a Necromancer, a weapon of mass destruction. She has been reprogrammed by a man named Campion Sturges to act as a caregiver. Sturges, unlike Victor Frankenstein, was not taken over by obsessive ambition; nor, like Star Trek's android creators Soong and Maddox, was he motivated by eager curiosity. Instead, his actions came out of well-intentioned desperation. He had seen his world torn apart by war, and reprogrammed Mother in the hope of creating a new one untouched by conflict.

Of course, that's a far cry from what actually winds up happening. Due to the combined nature of her original function and her new programming, Mother becomes deadly anytime her children come into harm's way. She routinely obliterates those who would threaten her family. At her core, she's a fiercely protective parent — but her being a Necromancer makes that a dangerous quality. Much like Frankenstein's Creature, she seeks revenge on those who have harmed her or her loved ones, using the powers given to her by humans to exact that vengeance.

Mother is not the only example in Raised by Wolves either; Vrille is perhaps an even closer parallel. She was programmed solely for the comfort of her "mother," Decima, to act as a replica of the daughter that Decima had lost to suicide. But after being mistreated and disfigured, sentenced to an existence of pain and a horrific appearance, Vrille turned on humanity, killing her "mother" and massacring her companions in one of the most horrific scenes of the show's second season.

The Future Of Frankenstein

Just like Mary Shelley did in Frankenstein, science fiction writers continue to pose questions and speculate on the implications of advancing technology. And sometimes, those speculations can get dark, as certain technologies have unsettling possible applications. As artificial intelligence, robotics, and other scientific fields continue to advance, their potential will only grow — both to improve human lives, and to endanger them.

The narrative of scientists creating artificial beings, and their creations backfiring spectacularly, has been around since the beginning of science fiction — and yet, it doesn't feel tired or played out. Different creators approach the topic from different angles, presenting us with a wide array of stories to reflect upon. The Frankenstein fable will likely continue to shift and change, but as long as humans continue to explore potential ways to create life, science fiction will be there to question, ponder, and predict consequences good and bad.

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