Glitch (''The Outer Limits'')
| "Glitch" | |
|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 6 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Mike Rohl |
| Written by | Michael Burman, Ron Greenstein |
| Production code | ? |
| Original air date | May 5, 2000 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Tate Donovan as Tom Seymour | |
"Glitch" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It was first broadcast on May 5, 2000, during the sixth season.
Opening narration
| “ | Humanity defines itself by the capacity to think and feel. But what happens when a machine attains the same abilities? | ” |
Plot
Tom and Wendy seem like the perfect couple, happy together and very much in love. But at night when Wendy sleeps, Tom has terrible memories about being stuck in a burning building with a crying baby. The nightmares, however, aren't real and neither is Tom. He's an android and the "memories" are bugs placed in his artificial intelligence by his creator, the late Joe Walker. Walker had originally created Tom to save humans from fires and other dangerous situations. However, he anticipated that his colleague, Dr. Edward Normandy, might try to militarize the android and use him as a cyber-soldier/spy. Walker planted the bugs as a way of forcing Normandy to upgrade Tom so the android could think for itself. Wendy is revealed to be another android secretly developed based on his wife. By creating Tom and Wendy, the scientist and his wife could live forever.
Closing narration
| “ | If we choose to give birth to a thinking machine, we must be prepared for the day when our progeny will demand independence. | ” |