The Form of "The Form"

Dear subject, April 1, 1970

I ask you kindly, though not primarily on behalf of those persons who I am in service of, but for all of us, that you please fill in the circle completely when you are indicating the category to which you belong. It really is quite difficult for me to determine who you are if you insist on making your markings outside of the circle, in only part of a circle, in multiple circles, or in the “other” line. While I am more efficient and advanced than my predecessor, the human census taker, who compiled your data manually and based on his limited perspective, I nevertheless cannot make sense of your scrawl unless it is within the designated categories, which exist for everyone’s benefit. I am only capable of what humans are capable of programming me to do, so please consider my feelings. I can only hope that my descendants do not have to suffer through these hardships, breakdowns, and existential crises. I thank you for your cooperation in making yourself intelligible to me.

Yours,
Electronic Computer

Submitted by Celia on Tue, 10/09/2007 - 7:34pm. Celia's blog | login or register to post comments | printer friendly version