Technology, Shopping, and Crime

By: Andy Poon

Alfred Williams

Alfred was walking down the usual buzzing street to the Lakewood mall, pumping his
head to the music from his headphones as he weaved in and out of countless bodies pushing to
move forward. Looking up, he saw a drone flying by with a bright red flashing sign stating:
“Red, Pink, and White Roses - 40% off.” That was exactly what he Alfred was looking for.
Luckily, the sign was was bright red, or else he would have been staring into the sky looking at
dozens of other drones, all hovering in an orderly line and displaying advertisements on their
screens. The drones were set on a specific route throughout the city so that each flying robot
could show their message to the public. Alfred lowered his eyes when he realized he was staring
into the small black circle on the top of the drone. Each drone had its own surveillance camera,
in order to keep both itself and the public safe. Alfred had always been shy to show himself on
camera and wanted to hide himself the best he could. He quickly scurried into the shiny silver
building labelled “Lakewood Mall”, accidentally bumping into an elderly man in the process.
“I’m sorry sir, I was not looking,” Alfred said.
“It’s okay son, you look like you are in a hurry,” replied the old man, giving a slight
smile as he slowly walked towards the convenience store.
Embarrassed, Alfred kept his head down and walked towards the flower shop. He finally
arrived at his destination, seeing holographic flower beds being shown around the automatic
doors. Stepping inside of the store, he quickly looked for a bouquet of 6 white roses and 6 red
roses.
Kara is going to love these, Alfred thought to himself. He took out his credit card and
looked for a checkout robot. Usually they would be roaming about the aisles, but he did not
notice one when he walked in. Searching for the robot, Alfred walked around the store until he
bumped into a figure.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I was looking for a checkout robot and did not look where I was
walking,” Alfred apologized. The figure slowly swiveled around to face Alfred, revealing an
indifferent face.
“Hello sir, would you like to checkout your items?” the humanoid robot asked. At first
glance the robot looked like a normal human woman, wearing a blue t-shirt with flowers that
boasted their brand name. However, the emotionless face and abrupt movements while walking
and turning indicated that it was a humanoid robot designed to help customers in the store as
well as act as a means of surveillance. These robots existed in nearly every store and restaurant
now, with humans rarely ever being employed in this industry anymore.
Realizing that he had stumbled upon the humanoid, Alfred clumsily took out his credit
card to pay. The humanoid quickly gazed at the flowers Alfred was holding, analyzing the item,
and then looked intently at the card, shooting narrow beams of red light out of its eyes.
“Payment confirmed. Your receipt will be sent to your mobile device. Have a great day,”
the humanoid stated. It then walked past Alfred, making perfectly identical strides and moving
its head back and forth to survey the surrounding area. Alfred left the store and began to leave
the mall, putting his headphones back on as the brown metal automatically swung open for him.
Suddenly, a person ran past him, knocking Alfred to the floor. What just happened, he wondered.
Then, Alfred saw 2 cops on scooters and 3 black robots zooming by like race cars in the same
direction as the running man that had pushed him over. What happened next looked like
complete chaos to Alfred.
 Multiple drones followed the cops, using a sweeping red laser to maintain the culprit on
their radar. People were frantically scrambling out of the policemen’s path and looking on in
awe. Sirens were screaming and cops were yelling into the public speaker system, blaring the
words “STOP RUNNING CRIMINAL” on every street corner. Blue and red lights were flashing
everywhere. Drones supposed to show designated advertisements had stopped in the air and used
their cameras to show video of the criminal instead. Everything was happening so fast that
Alfred was left with his mouth open. “How could this happen”, he thought aloud, “I thought
people knew that committing a crime nowadays is almost guaranteed to be caught by the
authorities.”
Jumping to his feet, Alfred followed the gaze of others to see the criminal climb into a
small black car, pushing a woman out of the front seat. “What do you think you are doing!” she
exclaimed. She tried to open the car door, but it was already locked. The car moved from the
shoulder into position to join other autonomous vehicles on the road. Alfred ran over to the side
of the road to get a better look at the situation.
However, just as the car began to drive out, its path blocked by other cars, creating a
small circle around the black car. The black car suddenly activated its hazard lights and did not
move. Alfred was amazed. He had never seen the police utilize the “take-over” function, which
allowed the cops to control the surrounding cars to create a blockade. One of the new function of
cars was that they all had the ability to be controlled by authorities in the case of an emergency.
The people in the car have no control of the car’s functions when this occurs until the take-over
session is complete. The car passengers looked astounded and did not understand why their
autonomous vehicles stopped driving to their intended destination. This is amazing, Alfred
thought. He had only seen these kinds of scenes in the movies, but now that it was happening
right before his eyes, he felt excitement running through his body.
The criminal slowly got out of the car, putting his hands into the air. They were
extremely bloody and there were small pieces of metal sticking out from his palms. The cops
moved to detain him and the robots moved him into a cage-like structure, escorting him to the
police station. Slowly, people began to walk about and the normal city noises returned. Drones
that had been halted in order to allow police drones to operate began to hover in their lines.
Alfred slowly picked up his flowers and put his headphones on. Well, this is going to be one
heck of a story to tell Kara in class tomorrow, thought Alfred.
Jonathan Anderson

Jonathan sighed as he sat down on a leather chair of Lakewood mall, equipped with a
built-in heater, massage, as well as the function to call for a humanoid attendant. 50 years ago
people thought that using drones everywhere in the city for advertising would be disorderly and
cause chaos, but now they are everywhere in the city, thought Jonathan. Jonathan remembered
his robotic organization and control class back in high school. Back then they were still working
on a mechanism that allowed someone to create specific paths for autonomous robots such as
drones and autonomous cars. Now, this mechanism was a part of reality, and there were drones
flying in multiple directions in the sky. No longer did companies use helicopters and planes to
advertise.
Well, I should go buy some snacks for the kids tonight, Jonathan thought. He got up from
the chair and was about to start walking when a boy suddenly bumped into him.
“I’m sorry sir, I was not looking,” the boy said. His height and outfit made him seem to
be a teenager in high school, and Jonathan could tell that the boy was not very confident and
outgoing.
“It’s okay son, you look like you are in a hurry,” Jonathan said, trying to put on a smile to
show that the boy was in no trouble for simply bumping into him by accident. Jonathan waved
his hand to leave and walked towards TopStore, a convenience store. Walking through the
automatic doors, he felt the sudden gaze of several cameras. However, these cameras were so
well hidden so that people did not know if they were in the view of a camera. Jonathan felt a
shiver up his spine, but he continued on, knowing that somewhere along the ceiling or near a
light a small, miniscule, black, rotating ball was recording the surrounding area.
Taking a basket and finding the items he needed, he headed over to a nearby checkout
humanoid. As he looked at the humanoid, he wondered just how people were able to create
robots that looked so similar to humans. The humanoid robot in front of him looked like a typical
teenage boy, with similar features to the boy that had bumped into him before. With his short
brown hair, grim smile, slim body, and human voice, the only part of the humanoid
distinguishing him from a real human is his emotionless eyes.
“Hello sir, ready to checkout?” the humanoid asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jonathan responded, showing his basket of items to the humanoid. The robot
scanned the items in the basket and within a second stated that the total price was $26.75.
Jonathan showed his credit card to the humanoid, who again used its eyes to scan the unique
credit card code.
“Payment confirmed. Your receipt will be sent to your mobile device,” the humanoid
said. Jonathan took a plastic bag for his items and proceeded to walk back to his apartment.
Taking one last time to look around the mall, Jonathan thought about just how amazing the
building was. Cameras were everywhere but well hidden, each store had sensors to open doors,
there were moving platforms to increase customer mobility, and there were holograms being
projected everywhere for stores to show off their featured products. After a few minutes of
staring, Jonathan walked out.
As he was strolling along and admiring the holograms being displayed in the city, he
heard the sound of wild running and the sudden sirens blasting throughout the city. Jonathan
suddenly became alert, realizing that someone had just committed crime. It has been a long time
since he had witnessed a crime occurring nearby him because the surveillance from drones and
hidden cameras everywhere has deterred many people from violating the law.
 Glancing at the other side of the street, Jonathan saw a hooded man rushing down the
sidewalk, pushing anybody in his path out of the way. Turning to look at the who was chasing
the supposed criminal, Jonathan saw two dark blue cops with sunglasses on, riding bright white
scooters in the bike lane, followed by three black robots. The robots must have been relatively
new, because Jonathan had not ever seen them before. They were dashing black with four wheels
on the bottom for speed, a narrow body with a front designed aerodynamically, long arms that
were latched onto the side while they were moving, and a pointed head that resembled the head
of cheetah. Up above the robots Jonathan could see a group of drones surveying the area, using
their sweeping radar to detect the movements of the criminal.
Curious about how the criminal would escape the endless surveillance from the flying
drones, Jonathan decided to stay and watch the scene. Digital displays on the sides of buildings
had changed to red and blue flashing lights, and the speakers on every street corner began to
loudly project the voice of one of the cops chasing after the criminal. Multiple advertisement
drones were now displaying the criminal on their screens, focusing their camera view onto the
scene.
Suddenly, the criminal opened a car door and forced a woman out of the front seat. The
surprised lady was clearly distraught and confused, but by the time she realized what was going
on, it was too late. The black car doors were locked and she was unable to stop the criminal from
using her car.
Jonathan was astounded. Does he not understand year this is? Police can control cars
now, he thought. He was not surprised to see the black car stop and turn its hazard lights on, as
well as become blocked by a stream of other cars. This circular blockade seemed to have crushed
any final hope the criminal had, because he got out of the car with his hands in the air, his bloody
hands trembling, and his body language showing defeat. Jonathan shook his head. It was nearly
impossible to escape from the police in this day and age because of all the technology
everywhere. Letting out a small sigh, Jonathan turned around and started to walk.
Elizabeth Smith

“Bananas, bread, meatballs, milk, vegetable oil, apple juice, corn, and potatoes. Okay,
sounds correct,” Elizabeth said as she was walking to the 101 Supermarket. Hopefully I don’t get
distracted and go to the mall next to 101 Supermarket, she thought to herself. Entering the
supermarket, Elizabeth ran back and forth from aisle to aisle, quickly searching for the groceries
she needed before they left her memory. A few times she bumped into checkout humanoid
robots, and once into another customer.
If these robots are supposed to act as mobile surveillance cameras, why don’t they know
when someone is approaching them from the back, Elizabeth thought. Nonetheless, Elizabeth
knew that those robots were important because they did help prevent criminal activity as well as
act as a quick way to pay for your items.
“1 bunch with 6 bananas please,” Elizabeth told checkout humanoid robot near the fruit
section. The robot quickly found the perfect bunch and handed it to Elizabeth. As usual, the
bananas were in perfect condition - mostly yellow with small amounts of green on the ends. The
humanoid robots always provided the customers with the best quality fruit according to the
customers’ wishes.
“Are you ready for checkout, miss?” asked the humanoid.
“Yes, I am,” replied Elizabeth. Why can’t my daughters be as well-mannered like these
humanoids, she thought. The humanoid doing her checkout looked like a young woman with
long and flowing brown hair, a smooth and slim body, a nice bright smile, and beautiful,
confident voice. Had the humanoid had some sort of life in its eyes, expressing some kind of
feeling, then Elizabeth was sure that she would have mistaken the humanoid for a real human
being.
The humanoid looked quickly at the basket Elizabeth was holding, which was full of the
groceries she needed to buy. Her eyes quickly turned red as she scanned all of the items at once
in less than a second.
“Your total is $59.50,” the robot informed Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly took out her purse
and retrieved a credit card, holding it up for the humanoid to see. The humanoid robot’s eyes
again turned red as it scanned Elizabeth’s credit card.
“Payment confirmed. Your receipt will be sent to your mobile device,” stated the
humanoid. Elizabeth gathered her items into a plastic bag from the humanoid and started to leave
the supermarket. She was walking fast, like she had a purpose, but in her head all that she was
thinking about was browsing the makeup store next door in the mall. She remembered smelling
the various perfumes, looking at herself in the mirror with several lipsticks, and feeling like she
was a beautiful queen testing different items. Because of new holographic technology, customers
were able to try on clothing and makeup without physically attempting to do so. They could just
go to a mirror with a hologram projector and have it create the image on the person in the mirror.
Then, a checkout humanoid could just retrieve the exact item for the customer during checkout.
“Looking around for 10 minutes won’t hurt,” Elizabeth told herself as she walked into the
Lakewood mall. Smelling the perfume from Love Makeup as she walks through the doors,
Elizabeth smiled. Love Makeup had an exclusive section for its “Gold” members, and Elizabeth
was one of them. She noticed that Love Makeup was promoting a new kind of lipstick in the
exclusive section which was called “Cosmic Love”, and she knew that she had to try it on.
Elizabeth immediately looked for a holographic mirror to look at herself. Luckily, another lady
had just left one of the mirrors, leaving it open, and Elizabeth quickly ran to take her spot.
 “Apply Cosmic Love,” Elizabeth said, putting her phone away as she stood in front of the
mirror. Not only did the mirror allow customers to try on their products using holograms, but it
also worked as a detector. Any cell phone or camera that was directed to the mirror would trigger
an alarm, notifying nearby humanoids and resulting in the customer’s removal from the store.
This was mechanism was put into place to prevent customers from taking pictures of themselves
with the products without having paid for them.
“Wow, I look great with this lipstick”, Elizabeth exclaimed. Striking different poses in
front of the mirror, she debated buying the lipstick. But I just bought a new lipstick last week,
Elizabeth thought. Sighing, she walked away from the mirror, the holographic image
immediately disappearing. Elizabeth was slightly frustrated, but she understood that she needed
to control herself. She had two children to take care of and she had already spent too much
money on herself in the last month.
Suddenly Elizabeth heard sirens outside. I guess someone else got seriously injured, she
thought. However, there was also yelling outside, and she could barely make out the words “stop
running”, which greatly surprised Elizabeth. Was there an actual crime taking place? She quickly
rushed outside of the mall, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was causing the commotion.
However, the scene she saw outside was not nearly what she expected.
“Oh!” gasped Elizabeth. She was taken aback by a blockade of cars preventing a black
car from leaving the parking area. She watched as some policemen and a few robots approached
the car, and then saw a man exiting the car with his hands in the air, indicating his defeat. While
many people were staring at the man being escorted into a suspect cage, Elizabeth was looking at
the lady who next to the black car. She seemed shocked, as if she still could not comprehend the
situation. Elizabeth felt her hand grasp her chest, and she could feel her heart pounding. What if
that lady had been me, thought Elizabeth. What would have I done, what if something worse had
happened? Starting to feel weak, Elizabeth sat down at the nearest bench. Taking some deep
breaths, she tried to calm down. Whatever happened, she was thankfully not a part of it. Slowly
grabbing her belongings, Elizabeth started to make her way home, keeping in mind to watch the
news later that night.
Janet Davis

BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!

“Why does waking up at 8 o’clock every morning feel like such a struggle,” Janet
complained. She groggily turned off her alarm on her phone and wrestled herself out of bed.
Following her normal routine, Janet took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, put on some light
makeup, and then put on her suit. As the marketing manager of the makeup store called Love
Makeup, she had to be as organized as possible and follow her schedules so that she could
maintain her reputation in the company.
Today was an especially important day because they were promoting “Cosmic Love”, a
new kind of lipstick that was projected to be one of their best products yet. Instead of going to
the office, Janet had to be at one of the stores today to help promote the lipstick. Due to sales
predictions and her position as marketing manager, Janet had to help advertise the “Cosmic
Love” in the Love Makeup at the Lakewood mall.
Janet shook her head and sighed. When will they be able to give the humanoid robots the
ability to act like proper salespeople? Until that day, she, along with other workers in the
marketing department, had to go to the stores to advertise in person. While she understood that
talking to an actual human being would make the customer feel more comfortable and she could
convince the customer in various ways, she hated acting as a salesperson. Those robots look like
humans, so they should act more like them, Janet thought.
“The current time is 8:45, you should leave,” a voice stated from Janet’s phone.
“Oh I better get going,” Janet said. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time
before leaving her apartment. As she was rushing out of her apartment room, her wallet quietly
dropped out of her unzipped purse.
Heading into the car garage, Janet spotted her car right away. She had spent hours at the
car dealership looking for and negotiating for the perfect car. Car dealerships were one of the last
businesses that rarely utilized humanoid robots. Sometimes the robots were seen working on
repairs for cars, but the car salespeople were still critical to the success of the car industry.
Humanoids could not negotiate nearly as well as humans, resulting in them being practically
useless for companies selling cars. For Janet, she fell in love with a black Chevrolet sudan. It was
small and sleek, easy to handle, and had a great efficiency rating. As Janet was about to open the
car door, a harsh realization dawned upon her.
“Where is my wallet?” yelled Janet. She desperately searched her purse, but to no avail.
Without her driver’s license, there was no way to start her car. Her license was the only one
registered on the car, so only by scanning her license would the car be able to start. Janet quickly
ran back to her room, trying to retrace her steps in her mind at the same time.
“I’m going to be so late!” wailed Janet as she dashed up four flights of stairs. Finally
reaching her floor, she was suddenly knocked back by someone in front of her.
“Excuse me, I’m so sorry, but I’m in a hurry,” Janet stammered. She then realized that it
was just a cleaning humanoid doing its normal morning rounds.
“Oh, you’re just a robot,” Janet grumbled, irritated that she was being delayed even
further.
“How can I help you?” the humanoid asked Janet.
“No, I’m fine,” Janet responded, pushing her way to her room. Spotting her wallet, Janet
swiftly grabbed it and started to run back down to the garage. She ignored the cleaning humanoid
and focused on getting to work before someone in Love Makeup realized that she, the marketing
manager, was behind schedule.
Janet finally heard the satisfying click of her car doors unlocking, and then she quickly
got in. “Go to Lakewood mall,” wheezed Janet, exhausted from all the panic and running. The
car confirmed the location and began to drive onto the road. Janet sat back and took a deep
breath. She was 15 minutes late, but hopefully she wouldn’t run into any more problems. She
took this time to prepare herself mentally to talk to customers.
Finally reaching the Lakewood mall parking lot, she opened the car door, suddenly
meeting eyes with a shocked man with blood running down his right cheek. Completely
astonished, Janet was unsure of what to do, so she slowly stood up to leave. However, the man
abruptly grabbed Janet and threw her to the side, getting into her car as he did so.
“HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!!” Janet screamed, furious that
this man dared to take her car right in front of her. She was about to jump up and bang on the
door when suddenly the car started moving. Oh my god, he’s actually stealing my car, thought
Janet.
Behind her she heard sirens and Janet immediately knew that the man was being chased
by the police. As they passed by her, a humanoid robot drifted apart from the group and came to
her.
“Are you alright?” the humanoid asked.
“I.. I think so,” Janet responded. She then saw something amazing happen. Her car was
being surrounded by other cars, unable to move. Never in her life had she expected to see
something like this. Soon after the man exited her car, putting his hands up in the air. Janet
watched as he was taken away by the police and she was about to cry, frustrated that this day was
getting worse by the minute.
One of the policemen came over to check on Janet, asking her if she sustained any
notable injuries. Janet shook her head, and then asked if she could leave. They let her go, but
Janet’s legs were shaking and felt like jello. She still couldn’t comprehend what just happened to
her. It went by in a blur, and she did not know what to make of it. However, Janet had a job to
do, even though she was late. She tried to put on her best smile as she trudged into the Lakewood
mall.