"My Robot Baby"

 

	"every child looks like a monster sometimes but these moments pass..."

 

In the first story, "My Robot Baby", the main character Marcia discovers her fear of being a mother through her relationship with a robot baby. The robot baby is exactly like a real baby; it adapts and learns from its environment. She and her husband are given a robot baby from the adoption center to see how capable they are for caring for a child. Marcia is unsure about her maternal skills and feels as though she cannot relate to the child because of its robot appearance. She projects her insecurities onto the baby by treating it with indifference and forcing her husband to care for it. Her husband leaves Marcia to take care of the baby on her own so she "shuts" him down and goes to work. When she returns to the house, the baby reacts violently to her neglect by tearing apart the house. Because the baby could no longer be controlled, it became much more human and terrifying. It is only during that moment of destruction when she finally realizes that they are the same. Marcia reconnects to her scared inner child who reacts to neglect through destruction, just like the baby. Despite the robot baby's appearance, it has become a human and needs love and care just like her.She realizes that she has become exactly like her mother: cold and resenting her child. It is unclear in the end of the film whether or not she chooses to accept her maternal role and take care of the baby or realizes that she is not ready for the responsibility of motherhood.