#A-Z: Death by... Robot

Who or what event is portrayed in this story?

“Stupid robot,” Robert said and kicked the steal legs of the machine. The unit creaked and groaned with every kick.

From the moment the machines had taken over their jobs, there had been much animosity. Worker against boss. Man against machine. Well, he hated them all. Robots couldn’t be trusted. Although programmed to perform menial jobs, the headless creatures of steel with arms and legs were smart, too smart. They quietly went about their work, but soon, they would take over the world.

“You think you’re so smart,” he went on, climbing into a bin near the robot’s arms. “Well look who’s slow today. You’re broken. Can’t do your job now, can you?” He reached for car parts that the robot was meant to retrieve. Something had gone wrong and the robot wasn’t keeping up with the rest of the units.

Robert thought he heard a sound from below and peeked over the bin wall. The robot held a different position but stood still. Strange. He went about retrieving more parts. Again he heard a slight swooshing noise, he looked up but only saw the robot arm a split second before it hit him in the head.

Who or what event is portrayed in this story?

The previous Death By … story is based on:

In September of 1988, Adeana and Jay Dickinson, a young couple married just a month, loaded an all-terrain vehicle and trailer with supplies for a mining excursion and set off over the mud flats for a destination "on the other side of the inlet," according to Chadwick. A few hundred yards from shore, the trailer became stuck and Adeana hopped off the back of the ATV to shove it free. The Turnagain mud tightened around her legs.

Her husband tried to free her for more than two hours, according to media accounts, using a dredge from their mining equipment to pump water into the mud around her legs. He freed one leg, but then the dredge broke.

And the tide moved in.

Chadwick, who then worked for the Anchorage Fire Department, responded to the call. Other rescuers came as well, from the State Troopers and Girdwood. They toiled frantically as the water rose first to Dickinson's waist, then her shoulders. Unable to free her as the tide surged forth, they had to break off the rescue attempt and watch her drown

Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwrjMjG5Lo

http://www.unmuseum.org/quicksand.htm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x4074030