Martin L. Shoemaker’s “Today I Am Paul” Emulation Analysis Alexandra Bayer College

In “Today I Am Paul” by Martin L. Shoemaker, the narrator is an android whose purpose is to care for Mildred, an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, both medically, and mentally, by emulating family that could not be with Mildred at the time. As the narrator explains, “…Mildred’s family, at great expense, added the emulation net: a sophisticated set of neural networks and sensory feedback systems that allow me to read Mildred’s moods, match them against my analyses of the people in her life, and emulate those people with extreme fidelity.” (Shoemaker 3) “Emulate” and “emulation” are both words used frequently in this story. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, “to emulate” is “to strive to equal or excel, esp. through imitation.”, which leads to the definition of “to strive”: “to exert much effort or energy. To struggle; contend.” The narrator, Medical Care Android BRKCX-01932-217JH98662 (in short, MCA), effectively emulates in three distinct ways: physically; mentally and emotionally; and through itself, as a conscious entity.

The physical aspect of emulation is very important in order to “…equal… through imitation.” This is demonstrated through the measures the MCA takes in order to accurately represent Paul:

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