Pattern Recognition

[Scattercat]

Captain Trystero stared at the swirling mass on the screen, the bizarre anomaly the long-range sensors had picked up. "TS-197, what is that thing?"

The android whirred gently. "Unknown. Not in database."

"Sweet mercy! A wholly unknown astronomical event..."

"Don't jump to conclusions, captain," said Spekkio.

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Spekkio rummaged in the console, coming up with a fork from the mess hall. "TS-197, identify?"

"A three-tined eating utensil."

Spekkio turned his back on the android and bent the fork into a circle. He spun back. "TS-197, identify?"

"Unknown. Not in database."

"See?" sighed Spekkio. "Robots."

[mrsmica]

tsk, tsk, tsk. Robots.

[flyawaybefree]

Spekkio, king of the twisted fork and those damn robots...

[Dairmid]

There is no spoon.

[babydyke]

Ha! This is brilliant. I always get frustrated when robots in media have *too* much ability to recognize the unknown/abnormal. It's just...improbable. Totally wrecks my suspension of disbelief. You just summed up my whole objection.

[Scattercat]

They DO have robots that can recognize towels, now. It takes several hours of careful scanning, but it can then fold the items appropriately without tearing or missing corners.

[manintheshack]

When the robot uprising comes, they'll never know what hit them. People of Earth, bend your cutlery and moisten your towels: we are at war!