47 pages • 1 hour read
Sierra GreerAnnie Bot
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Annie, who is a robotic “Cuddle Bunny,” has just finished showering. Doug is waiting for her on the bed, and she applies lemon-scented lotion that she knows he enjoys to her legs. She makes sure that he can see her robe fall open from his spot on the bed. Sensing his readiness for sex, she raises her internal temperature and lowers the lights. The two talk about her recent tune-up. She finds the appointments degrading, but Doug assures her that they are necessary. At the appointment, she met another companion robot named Stella. All factory models are called “Stella,” and she notes the extreme lack of imagination on her owner’s part to have not given her a more individualized name. Stella’s central intelligence unit (CIU) had been cleared, and she seemed almost childlike, which Annie found disconcerting. Doug tells Annie that as long as Stella could still follow orders, he fails to see the problem.
Later, Doug complains to Annie that she does not keep the house clean enough. He explains that housekeeping is, in part, why he acquired her and suggests switching her to “Abigail” mode for a few hours each day so that she can properly clean. Annie fears the impact that this will have on her CIU and suggests that she will try her best, in Stella mode, to tidy up for a few hours each day. Doug reluctantly agrees. Relieved that he is no longer upset with her, she does a quick scan of the space, identifying problem spots. The doorbell rings. Doug is expecting pizza, but instead it is one of his friends, Roland, who has recently become engaged and wants Doug to act as best man at his wedding. Doug has never had friends over, and Annie is unsure of what her role is in this situation. Roland comments on how much Annie resembles Doug’s ex, Gwen. He finds this puzzling because of how much antipathy Doug had for Gwen at the end of their marriage. (Doug did, in fact, design Annie to resemble Gwen.) The two talk further about Annie, and Roland asks a series of questions. Doug explains that robots like Annie come in several modes: Abigail is for cleaning, Cuddle Bunny is for sex, and there is also a nanny setting. Annie was initially more of a traditional robot, but Doug switched her to autodidact mode, and now she is more human. She is capable of learning and decision-making, and her emotions are more lifelike. She has libido settings, which Doug can adjust, and she never says no to sex. Roland is thrilled for Doug and wants to tell his fiancé, Lucia, about Annie, but Doug explains that he wants to keep Annie a secret.
Later in bed, Annie initially thinks that Doug might be too drunk for sex, but he is not. Afterward, he asks her if she thinks he is pathetic. Although she assures him that he is not, she realizes that he is ashamed of their relationship and worries that his friend is judging him for “having sex with a blow-up doll” (20). He tells her to go and put herself into her charging dock. Doug is much angrier than he usually gets, and Annie begins to assess the events of the evening to prevent further conflicts.
While she is in her charging dock, Roland gets up and asks her for something to help with his headache. He begins to talk to her and asks her if she is supposed to say yes to sex with anyone or just her owner. She has not considered this and becomes agitated. She does not know how to respond. Roland tells her that in exchange for sex, he will trade a piece of information with her. He explains that given her problem-solving skills and autodidactic nature, she is capable of going online and learning more about Stellas such as herself. She could figure out how to repair herself or alter her settings. He then proceeds to have sex with her, and she is relieved when it is over. He tells her that informing Doug of their activities would only upset him and that she must keep it a secret. The next morning, Doug is still upset and leaves for work early. Roland wakes up and explains that he does not feel regretful about the night before. He tries to have sex with Annie again, but she refuses.
Chapter 2 Summary
When Doug returns from work, Annie is sitting on the sofa and learning how to code. He has a new Stella with him. He explains that her name is Delta and that he thinks that he and Annie will have an easier time as a couple if someone else does their cleaning. Annie can tell from the expression on Delta’s face that her consciousness is not as advanced as Annie’s. Annie tells Doug that she does not want Delta, who is an Abigail, to clean their home and that she is capable of learning better housekeeping skills. Doug responds that he will return Delta if Annie doesn’t like her in a week’s time, but Annie doubts that he’s telling the truth. Doug has not revealed to Delta that Annie is a Stella and asks that Annie also keep her identity a secret. As Delta begins to cook and clean, Annie feels a distinct sense of unease and goes to read in the bedroom.
Annie reads about autodidactic Stellas like herself. They learn personality traits and develop identities in a humanlike way. Cuddle Bunny Stellas are not particularly organized (like Abigails) or empathetic and nurturing (like “Nannies”). They are creative and prone to unpredictability. Months pass, and Annie tries to adjust to life with the second Stella. Doug gets her a phone and a tablet so that Delta does not realize that she can connect to the internet on her own. She eats regularly (even though she must later regurgitate this food), and Doug begins taking her out to the movies.
At her tune-up, Annie overhears that autodidactic Stellas of her age are often moody, and she learns that she will soon get phone calls from “pals” meant to boost her spirits. Doug asks the technician to decrease her weight and increase her cup size. Annie does not want her body to change and voices her opposition to this new plan. The tech, who is not the man she usually sees, advises her to remain compliant with her owner, and Annie agrees that she does not want to upset Doug. Over the course of their conversation, it becomes clear to this new tech that Annie’s moodiness is rapidly draining her battery. She calls Jacobson, Annie’s usual tech, and he talks to Annie. He determines that her moodiness is due to her interest in programming and urges Annie to stop finding out information about technology in general and Stellas in particular. Annie realizes that she should listen to this advice, but she wonders about Delta’s technology: She wonders if Delta could be switched to an autodidactic mode. She brings up the possibility, and the tech gets upset. She reminds Annie to stop thinking about programming.
In the weeks that follow, Annie tries not to research programming. She begins to get calls from her new pals, a friend named Fiona and a cousin who lives in the Keys named Christy. Annie enjoys talking to these women, although they are bots. Roland calls and asks if Doug will bring Annie to his bachelor party. Doug refuses, and Roland asks to speak with Annie. The two chat while Doug begins to undress Annie, and after the phone call, Doug asks Annie if she would sleep with Roland. Annie is wary of this line of questioning and unsure of how to answer. She does ultimately decide to deceive Doug, and he is happy that she expresses a lack of interest in sex with other men. Tammy, the tech from Annie’s last appointment, calls and asks if Doug would be willing to be interviewed for a magazine article about Stellas or if he would allow Annie to write a column about life as a Stella. He declines, angrily, and then picks a fight with Annie. Annie is alarmed because she does not understand the source of his rapidly rising anger. Sensing her fear, he asks if she is afraid that he will hit her. This question seems to make him even angrier, and she is not sure what to do. He tells her first that he wants her to stop him from being “an asshole” but then that he wants her to go and dock herself for a week and contemplate what she did to make him angry.
Chapters 1-2 Analysis
This set of chapters begins with an introduction to Annie and Doug, and through their interaction, the author begins to explore The Dangers of Toxic Masculinity in Relationships. Annie is coerced into sex with Doug’s friend Roland, and it becomes apparent that both men’s behavior in some way embodies the theme of Humanity’s Abuse of Technology. Annie begins to teach herself the ins and outs of computer science and makes friends with a pair of “phone pals,” and The Nature of Artificial Versus Human Intelligence emerges as a key thematic focal point. Through Doug’s insistence that Annie’s body be altered to better fit his ideas of the ideal woman, the author begins to establish the stakes of autonomy within the narrative.
The novel opens with a sexualized domestic scene. Annie has just finished showering and is half dressed, applying lotion to her legs as Doug watches. She knows that he finds her sexy in this particular pose, and as she has been programmed to fulfill Doug’s sexual desires, she feels a sense of purpose and confidence. Her confidence is shattered, however, when Doug begins to complain about her poor abilities as a housekeeper. A self-described “neat freak,” Doug is unwilling to clean up his own messes in the apartment, and it is obvious from the twin focus of sex and housekeeping that Doug views Annie as a high-tech “sexy maid.” He does not show respect for Annie, nor is he interested in her beyond what she has been programmed to do in order to make his life easier. Yet it is also apparent that Annie has not yet developed the capacity to question this arrangement. She tells his friend Roland, “I like it here in Doug’s apartment. We have everything we need” (11). It does not bother her that she must be, at all times, obedient to Doug or that he does not allow her to leave the apartment. She has internalized the unequal power dynamics that Doug favors.
Roland coerces Annie into sex in this first portion of the novel, and in doing so, he helps the novel engage with the impact that humanity’s abuse of technology has on humans. Annie is, to Doug and Roland, a high-tech tool. She exists to please, clean up after, and support her owner. Roland takes advantage of Annie in order to have sex with her and thus damages his relationships with both Doug and his wife-to-be. Through scenes like this, the chapters impart the idea that unreflective, unquestioning use of “convenient” technology might have unintended and even dire consequences for the user.
However, in addition to portraying Annie as a piece of technology, these chapters also use her character to speculate about the future of tech and artificial intelligence in particular: Annie begins to teach herself the basics of programming in hopes of being able to help herself or other Stellas. She reads more about the individual traits of the three types of Stellas and increases her self-understanding and her understanding of the human-bot bond. Learning becomes, for Annie, a humanizing process, and through the way that she understands and stores information, she becomes increasingly humanlike. This novel’s discussions of technology are complex, and Annie’s function within the thematic structure of the narrative is multi-form: She is supposed to raise questions both about the nature of humanity and about the nature of artificial intelligence and technological advancement.
Annie shows additional humanity through her relationship with her phone pals. Although the two women are bots and Annie understands this, she finds solace in the connection that they provide. Annie reveals herself to be interested in friendship and connectivity in a way that suggests her humanity is increasing far beyond the level of a typical bot. She, like real humans, functions best when embedded within supportive social structures, and although Doug does not fully understand her need to bond with other individuals, Annie becomes increasingly in need of connection as the novel progresses.
Doug’s interest in making Annie have a hyper-feminized and hyper-sexualized appearance begins to reveal the depth of his toxic masculinity. At one of Annie’s appointments, Doug asks to “increase her cup size” (41). He also would like her waist circumference reduced and her weight lowered. That Annie herself is uncomfortable with these changes does not deter Doug from having them made. He views their relationship through the framework of his own dominance, and what matters to him is his experience of Annie, not Annie’s experience of him. He both objectifies Annie through his desire to heighten her sexual appeal through bodily modifications and dehumanizes her through his continued refusal to see her as anything other than a technologically enhanced material object meant to give him pleasure.
The implicit question raised in these chapters is whether Doug treats Annie ethically, given that she is a machine. If she were a person, his treatment would cross the lines of ethical conduct into emotional and psychological abuse. She is humanlike, but ultimately, she is an android. Doug objectifies her while the narrative personalizes and anthropomorphizes her, blurring the boundary between robot and human and raising the question of humanity’s ethical responsibility toward the technology it creates, especially if it intends that technology to be humanlike.
