Bulldogs!: Robots
You can't have science fiction without them¸ and yet they differ so significantly from other creatures. Intelligent beings can't seem to resist dabbling in the creation of artifical life¸ but creating artificial beings is not without risk: as we have speculated time and time again in popular fiction¸ discovering the secrets of artificial intelligence could open a door that cannot be closed. How do these mechanical life forms think and behave? What part do they play in future society? What if it's too late and the genie is already out of the bottle?