My creepy army of robotic nursing attendants
needs a new name

In a previous post, I mentioned that my forthcoming novella, All the Humans are Sleeping, features a few thousand robots which dress like nuns but are as creepy as vampires. These artificial nurses attend to the care of a billion human beings paralyzed in pods full of synthetic amniotic fluid (while their minds are connected to a virtual reality universe).

I called them “nightingalebots.”

It seemed clever enough.

One of my longtime subscribers, Teresa Nightingale, wasn’t impressed. She sent me this message:

“I object to the name ‘nightingalebots’ that are ‘creepy as vampires!’ Wasn't Florence Nightingale actually a proponent of Terrain Theory? How about Mengelebots instead?”

I meant no disrespect. Not only was Nightingale a pioneer in the field of healthcare but she also made invaluable contributions to statistical analysis. She’s an icon for the practical application of rationality.

I named the robots after her to portray the kind of double-speak used by evildoers to sell their tyranny. For example, here’s an excerpt from an announcement the UN Secretary-General makes in Chapter 2.02 (six months after World War III):

“While our old world may be dead, a new world awaits you. You are one of the chosen ones. Let your mind enjoy the freedom, beauty and wonder of the metaverse, while a tireless team of nightingalebots takes care of your bodies. Stay safe, stay asleep.”

However, I've now decided calling them "nightingalebots" may be too cryptic. On the other hand, Teresa's "mengelebots" seems a bit too obvious. So I decided to invest an hour brainstorming alternative names for my fictional army of robotic nursing attendants and came up with a new name which I’ll share with you in next post.

John C.A. Manley

PS Teresa Nightingale isn’t an English nurse, but rather a Canadian website designer. Check out her services at: AttentionDesign.ca

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/