No human being is perfect. But suppose we were able to create machines which are like humans only better? Cleverer, more beautiful, more empathetic, more rational....

The Universal Robotics Corporation is busy greening the desert but empathetic humanoid robots are also in development. The decision to trial them to resolve a dysfunctional marriage ends in catastrophe. When the experiment is extended to three young, single employees it exposes their differing attitudes to relationships and the opposite sex. Agronomist Stella Mayfield’s concerns aren’t shared by the male participants. Seven years on, Stella is back in the UK. Humanoid robots are everywhere and a robot is caring for her elderly mother. The unease Stella felt in the desert returns.

HC Denham gives a unique, often humorous insight into the attitudes of males and females to relationships with the opposite sex and to humanoid AI as it permeates society. But the question hangs in the air:

Are we creating our own evolutionary successors?

HC Denham, a History graduate and lawyer, lives in North London and writes short stories about London life.