For this blog post I would like to introduce the idea of Vlepo in Percival Everett’s Frenzy as a form of artificial intelligence. I was reminded of this topic from Joe Moran’s chapter in Interdisciplinarity titled “Science, Space, and Nature” in which he briefly discussed the idea of cyborgs. In Frenzy, Dionysus is sure to explain to Vlepo that he was a creature of his own hand of creation. Dionysus more specifically describes Vlepo as “a parasite” rather than referring to him as a human being (Everett). This idea of creating a human being or any living thing has been played with throughout the history of literature and film. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, for example, or the 1982 and 2014 films Bladerunner and Ex Machina. Within these pieces lies the question of what is considered human.
From classes where we discussed this very idea, most of what we landed on was that emotion and independent thinking are two telling qualities of humanity. But then therein lies the potential of artificial intelligence being programmed to feel or think for itself. Especially if said cyborg does not know it is artificial intelligence, coming across as human is easy considering that’s what they believe they are. This was one of the ideas explored in the 1982 film Bladerunner shown through the character Rachel. Harrison Ford’s character Deckard uses a test that examines an individual’s eye while asking them a series of questions. Based on eye fluctuations he can decipher whether or not the subject in front of him is that of artificial intelligence. Usually this process takes him around thirty questions, but for Rachel it took around 100. This is because she believed herself to be human. When she was created, the corporation went so far as to insert false memories into her hard drive so that she recalled having a childhood. In reality these memories were that of her creator’s niece.
*Spoiler alert*
The 2014 film Ex Machina is different in that Ava, the AI, knows that she is not human. However the catch to this movie is how Ava is able to convince a human otherwise. Her manipulative programming leads to Caleb, who was supposed to be researching her, allowing and even helping her to escape into the real world from the isolated facility they were in. This is a frightening ending in that the audience knew that she was able to conceal herself in artificial skin and put on women’s clothing so that she is unrecognizable as cyborg. One of the things I find most interesting in this movie that also relates back to Vlepo in Frenzy, is how Caleb began to question his own existence as a human. The man Caleb is working for and Ava’s incredible human like ability as an AI, has him doubting himself to the point where in one scene he is taking a razor blade to his arm in order to check for hardware. At one point in Frenzy, Vlepo is also doubting himself and is asking Dionysus about his origins.
When Vlepo asks where he comes from and if he was born, Dionysus answers with “Wherever you were at the time, I suppose” (Everett). From here Vlepo continues to wonder and asks “Do I exist?” in which Dionysus replies “That is a silly question” (Everett). Although Dionysus does respond to Vlepo’s question, I don’t think that he really answers it. Is the question silly because it is supposed to be obvious that he does exist? Or is it the other way around?
Another aspect that makes me think Vlepo is some sort of AI is when he isn’t directly controlled by Dionysus. When he is under Dionysus’ control, Vlepo knows exactly what to do, or rather he does what Dionysus intends for him to do. However, there are scenes in Frenzy in which Vlepo seems to be out on his own, especially when Dionysus is trying to sleep. With his master’s mind control at rest, Vlepo seems almost mindless himself. He walks around a bit, observing what is around him, but there are never really instances in which he is recalling memories before the story of the Bacchae. Did he have a life before the frenzy began? All of these questions will most likely remain unanswered as the evidence is controversial and perhaps not substantial enough. However I suggest if you have time to watch those two movies mentioned before, if they interest you of course, and then think back to Vlepo’s state of being. Is he just a creation who doesn’t know he is artificial? Or is he like Caleb and having an identity crisis of sorts?