Don't Be Sam

So there's this series called Humans. It's in it's 3rd season. On a recent episode there was a very interesting, at least to me, event.

One of the androids in the series is a "boy" named Sam. Long story short, Sam finds himself in the home of a human family headed by a woman who has made it her business to get equal rights for androids. Sam is told that he is "special" and he is one of the family. In a later episode Sam explains that for a bit of time (or from time to time) he forgot that he was an android and thought he was a 'real boy'.

In the episode of interest, the state provided protector, new style orange eye android is in fact a greed eye (conscious) android who has been given orders to kill the human family who has taken in Sam. However, because the family has been so kind to this protector, and Sam, the android finds that he is unable to carry out his orders. As a result the "second in command" leader of the androids, who gave the order, comes to the human home.

During the encounter an old man is brought in and the woman who is for "equal rights" for androids has to choose who dies: Sam or the human man she has never met. In a teary and weepy exchange she chooses Sam for death. The androids let the human go and declare they had no intention of harming either one of them. The point was to show the android who didn't do his duty that for all the talk of equality even the human who most claims to want equality would never betray her kind.

Before Sam leaves with the other androids he says: "you told me I was special."

Ultimately this story line went to show the whole "blood thicker than water" thing. Sam had been told and had convinced himself that he had as much value to the humans as any of the other humans in the house. But the real deal was that he was only there because he provided some utility to them. He provided some means of entertainment. He provided a way for the humans to feel they were being moral. Did Sam put a roof over their heads? Did he put food on the table? Put money in their pockets? No. No and no.

In short, Sam was disposable.

Sam was not equal. He was not loved equally. To those who had promised to take care of him, he was of less value than a stranger on the street. Yet he wanted to belong so badly he was blind to the reality of his situation.

Soon after Sam's departure there was a little griefing "oh how could you choose Sam?" But then life went on. Sam was gone but their life continued as it had before Sam arrived. Soon it would be: "Sam? Oh, I remember Sam."

A lot of times in life we are shown our true status. An event or series of events will show us that things are not as we thought or hoped they were. However; if we are smart, we see the signs and act appropriately.