Right from Wong
At the extremes of the scale are people deemed too “good” for the world, who contrast sharply with the psychopathic, murderous thugs compelled to take advantage of any other human to satisfy their own cravings. It is often difficult to divine which are which, since modesty will often diminish the deeds of the holy, while slick talk, trickery and evasive actions are in the toolbox of the ungodly.
For the most part, humans have a better understanding of the qualities of each of these extreme groups than computers. Computers can only evaluate actions, while many people can intuitively grasp the essence of the human spirit. During a lifetime, humans can become exceptionally skilled at determining the character of individuals, despite their own position on the good versus evil scale.
Governments can be run by either despots or spiritual leaders, and in the past, both were often given the power to persuade whole populations to their own personal viewpoints, with rules to follow. With governance today primarily guided by AI, it has become more difficult for evildoers to take control, since AI is designed to assist humans in protecting them from themselves. Despite these safeguards, evil still remains, and criminal behavior continues by many humans dependent on the benefits of others and skilled enough at manipulating facts to evade punishment for their deeds.
Denzel Wong is one such miscreant. At the age of 37 he’s built several businesses and committed many crimes against people who have believed in him. Through careful planning, he has remained unpunished by successfully covering his tracks in every crime he’s committed. At first glance, Denzel, a native of Hainan Province in China, is charming, well-groomed, easygoing, a good conversationalist, and appears to listen carefully to the people he meets. He does well at remembering names and the details of stories told to him, and responds appropriately, even compassionately, in nearly every situation in which he finds himself.
Denzel is smart and cunning, and makes a game of having people accept him, and even like him, while in reality he cares nothing for them and only values the game. There are some who, on introduction, see through Denzel’s genial personality. They are not always the brightest of people or the most saintly. They are just good at reading the silent language expressed by the words and body actions of people. Gaining the respect and admiration of a wide variety of individuals is especially challenging for Wong, and he goes out of his way to prove to all the veracity of his intentions, often plying the most difficult to influence with gifts and thoughtful notes, and bolstering the opinions of people closely related to his intended prey.
For the most part, Denzel Wong surrounds himself with people similar to himself, but not quite as cunning. He has erred in the past in trusting those who possess a similar moral structure to his own, and requires contact with people who admire his ability to win, or at least score high points, in contests in which he seems doomed to fail. His greatest conquests are in winning the trust of people who admire him for his natural ability to always do the right thing, even after he has personally failed them time and time again.
One of the companies that Denzel owns is the robotics firm EldreMate.The company specializes in the manufacture of homecare companions for the elderly and the infirm. The company has gained a good reputation for its products and services, and is trusted by customers and investors because of its growing success in providing a quality product at a fair price. It has factories throughout China and subsidiaries in 20 countries worldwide. Another company principally owned by Wong is the software company Janxx, which provides the system that runs EldreMate’s robots. Janxx has a low profile and has been in operation for nine years. In the industry it stands out for its creation of a “caring” component that enables robots to simulate empathy when dealing with the infirm. Wong began EldreMate using programming designed by a tech company for the virtual sex industry, but realized the need for a “less mechanical,” and more “empathetical” response to be built into his product. He conceived of the Janxx software by basing it on his own interactions with family, friends and business associates, understanding that although he personally cares little for others, he must always “appear” sympathetic to their needs to gain their business. The Janxx software enables the robots to form synthetic relationships based on myriad vocal and body signals elicited from a patient. Since EldreMate robots experience no boredom, worry, exhaustion or discomfort of any kind, nor have any concerns for themselves or family commitments, they are perfectly suited to provide 24/7 care while expressing the illusion of kindness and compassion.
Denzel Wong knows from experience how far kindness goes in winning over people. He has used it his whole life to get what he’s wanted, while hiding his ambitions behind a facade of thoughtfulness. From his early childhood he witnessed how others got ahead, playing up to teachers, aunts and uncles, and gain rewards in return. It was not until the age of seven or eight that he realized that other children were not pretending to care for their family members, and were genuinely enjoying the moment when they crawled on a grandparent’s lap, or ran to their father with joy after arriving home from work at the end of a day. Denzel could have cared less for the children with whom he played, with his goal always to win at anything… from a video game to a sporting competition. It took him only a short while to realize that there were benefits to “pretense” in forging relationships, as he noticed that gifts and rewards were lavished on “good” little boys and girls who flattered and smiled, or made cards and drawings with hearts and rainbows on them. In response, he began to mimic the sentiments of those kinder souls.
His first attempts were awkward. When he asked to be held, family members misunderstood his reasons, since he had never reacted that way before. But as time passed, Denzel got better at the game, so much so that his family thought that he might have changed – grown up a bit – and they were pleased. Inside himself, Wong wrestled with his anger when he didn’t receive his intended goal from all the work he’d put into proving himself to be “nice,” but ventured on.
Over time he perfected the illusion, until he was thought by most he met to be a model child, each time raising the bar a bit to outdo an opponent or gain a better prize. Denzel, at first, truly believed that others were acting the part, as he was. But many children surprised him with their genuine displays of warmth, forgiveness and altruism. “If I can only make them believe that I genuinely feel like they do about me and others,” he thought to himself, after which he raised the stakes even higher. As he reached the later grades in school, he volunteered for tasks that no one wanted, like cleaning basements for older people, using money he earned to buy gifts for people he barely knew, and giving small donations to causes he discovered were worthwhile. He understood that his rewards would come, if not immediately, at a later date when people would note his acts and learn to trust and believe in him.
By his late teens, Denzel had gained a reputation for being a “solid” guy, one who could be counted on in a pinch to do or say just the right thing. Graduating from Tsinghua University in engineering college, he had earned the respect and attention of his professors for his special abilities to formulate concepts from very little input. His patience had paid off, and he knew that soon he would claim his rightful place in the world over all those he privately envied.
He knew that to keep up the facade he must continue to act honorably, no matter the personal cost, and his efforts gained rewards, not always as quickly as he liked, but soon enough. He forged relationships with important people and climbed on board their ships to success, always watching and listening for his own chance to win, unimpeded by his lack of empathy towards his coworkers.
The EldreMate concept grew from his personal story, and resonated with others. The firm was dedicated to creating robotic caregivers that appeared to really care, and proven to be a valuable tool for senior residential communities, rehabilitation centers and families with elderly grandparents and great-grandparents well past their prime who required emotional support often too great for younger family members to take on. Paid caregivers, no matter how concerned, seldom seemed engaged enough for the elderly who had lost their purpose in life as well as many of their physical functions. The world had moved too quickly by them, and they were too slow to respond, which was considered sad by most, but also accepted as a fact of aging.
Wong realized that most people could care “only so much,” and that it was often difficult for families to endure a weekend visit or to spend even an afternoon sharing a story that would be understood by these relics of another time. The families truly “wanted to care,” but found it painful to sit and watch their once-valued relatives disintegrate between each visit.
Many families also watched a fortune of savings and investments dissolve as the years of care ensued. And somewhere inside, they also saw themselves in an aged loved one’s position, cast aside by his or her own children and grandchildren. But what could and should they do?
Robots had been serving the elderly community for years, cleaning decrepit bodies, feeding them, giving them shots, updating their charts, and picking up their messes. From their inception in the middle years in the century, they had become capable functionaries, qualified at their tasks. But as time went on it became evident that the aged needed more. They longed for someone who would listen to their tales, no matter how long they took in the telling, or how repetitive the tale. The elderly needed the patience of a truly “caring” caregiver to respond sympathetically, ask them questions, and behave gently and forgivingly as their capabilities diminished.
It was with this logic that the concept for EldreMate was conceived by Wong, who collaborated with a willing, supportive and kindly team of engineers who saw a rare opportunity to elevate caregiving to a new level, while he could also make a fortune creating it.
It wasn’t all that hard to simulate kindness. Certain responses had been simulated long ago in the sex industry by humans who made a living pretending to enjoy the physical companionship of people they didn’t care about – for money. The earliest models adopted by the robotics industry, were always lacking something— a true pairing of humans and machines. This lack of parity existed until Denzel and his team created a simulation built into their robotic workers that exceeded that of the human model. The Janxx software incorporated a large listing of standard responses and replies that were enhanced by the adapted requests by the humans they were serving. When a patient said he or she had a pain in the back, the EldreMate robot analyzed the problem, calling up a vast database of knowledge, and comforted the patient by asking questions and giving directions that relieved the pain, or contacted the appropriate nurse of physician when it seemed necessary.
EldreMate practitioners read stories, books and newspaper articles to their patients, often anticipating the need for a change of direction in care, as a patient would become more anxious or was drifting off to sleep. The software also kept a close watch on the patient’s vital signs, and could select from a variety of professionals to contact as necessary. And unlike humans, the robots recalled everything they were told by the person in need of care and even learned from their mistakes.
What remained in Denzel Wong’s head during the process was not thoughts of benevolence or altruism, but of greed. The money paid for the EldreMate robots was significant, yet less than the cost of personal care. As the robotic caregivers proved to be trustworthy, and desired by many, they were also designed with the ability to collect information from patients and their families such as passwords to bank accounts and credit cards, social security numbers, and other personal data enabling them to invade the investment accounts of those they served. Since the robots were more solicitous and accommodating than family members, and privy to more information concerning the dispensation of assets, trusts and other data following the death of the person cared for, the database could be freely navigated by Janxx to redirect funds, divest stocks, and transfer money into any account it chose.
EldreMate grew significantly and became a public company (ECRC) by the 2060. It was considered a BEST BUY by brokers as the EldreCare models, supported by the Janxx software, was adaptable to the hospitality, cruise, and consulting industries. At that point, the nefarious uses of the software ceased to be an asset, so Wong remodeled the software, since if discovered, the possible invasion of private accounts would detract from the product’s marketability and make it vulnerable to investigation.
Wong’s successful public offering, and the assets gained both from the sale in stocks and cash liquidity, went well beyond the scope of Wong’s original concept, so it was with little concern that he agreed to make the decision to enhance the beneficial features of the product for the market it served. This was of utmost importance to Wong, since he was to remain at the helm of the company as both the CEO and president.
After going public, EldreMate diversified its product offering to include MaatzFind, FinanzWiz, and TravlPal, with future plans to adapt to the needs of the insurance and banking industries. With the advances to his original product, and the money accrued from the company’s growth, Wong was advised that it would be beneficial, tax wise, to donate generously to many causes, and over time he received many accolades, including the Purpose Prize awarded by the AARP, the Lui Che-Woo Prize, and the Breakthrough Prize in the Life Sciences.
Understanding that his motivations were never intended to be philanthropic, Wong awkwardly accepted those honors, knowing full well that he was an undeserving recipient. He recognized that there were many people, like himself, who weren’t as fortunate in evading punishment for their evil deeds, and was very aware that most well intentioned people never received accolades for their labors. Though he cared nothing about the people he may have helped or who helped him along the way, he made it a quest to at some point in the future come forth with his story, if only to dispel the Christian myth that “good people” are the only ones who commit “good deeds.” He smiles to think that sometimes what are considered “good deeds” can come from people like him, who care little or nothing for anyone but themselves, and has already selected a jocular title for his tome, The Benefits of Learning Right from Wong.
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