Fetch, Tekno

After reading the section in Alone Together about robotic and digital pets, AIBO the Robot Dog in particular, I had a total flashback to Christmas when I was eight years old.  For months I had been asking my parents to buy me what I thought was the most fascinating toy out there; Tekno the Robot Puppy.  Tekno could speak, whine, sing, snore, fetch his ball, perform tricks for his bone, and even got excited when someone came in the room.  On that Christmas morning, I unwrapped my presents and there he was.  I was absolutely in awe of the shiny, whining, robotic dog, but why? I already had two living, breathing dogs!  However, at eight years old, you don't really want to clean up after your dog, groom it, and it can be quite frustrating to teach a dog new tricks.  Solution? A robot dog that doesn't make a mess, is made out of plastic and metal, and is guaranteed to learn new tricks at the click of a few buttons.

I instantly became attached to Tekno.  I would walk him around the house, talk to him, and pet him.  When I learned that I could teach him to fetch, I was addicted.  I would literally spend hours throwing a plastic ball down my hall and watch him pick it up with his magnetic mouth, but eventually, he stopped fetching.  I would throw it, he would bark as if he were about to go get it, but then wouldn't move.  I became so frustrated with him that I put him on my shelf and forgot about him for months.  I was appalled that something purposely manufactured to fetch stopped working.  I wonder now if the reason I was so angry that Tekno stopped working was that I expected it to become attached to me as well, and when it broke, maybe I felt betrayed.