Robot Empathy

Is there a special word to describe empathy with robots? I get choked up whenever I revisit the story of Pioneer 10. I think about the part where Pioneer 10 attempts to be the first man made object to cross the great Asteroid Belt — 50 million miles thick and filled with dust and objects the size of Alaska, some traveling 45,000 mph. Nobody knew if Pioneer 10 could make it. Of course it makes it through and goes on to make the first flyby of Jupiter. Then it makes history again when it leaves our solar system. Then on January 23, 2003 we hear its signal for the last time.

The events in my personal life tend to dictate what I feel next. When I’m feeling victorious then Pioneer 10 is excited. Thrilled to be soaring through the universe experiencing the infinite. If I’ve retreated and I’m just confused by the world around me, Pioneer 10 is lonely. Where does it find the will to keep going?