It’s June 18, 2126, the day Nora Mai, an artificial life form, is about to be shut down by government order because her youngest child, Mats, has turned twenty-one. The family no longer qualifies for government-sponsored services by maternal autonomous interface (MAI). Once deregistered, Nora Mai will be put out for recycling. Nora Mai is the only mother they have ever known and siblings Thena and Mats go into action to save her life.
The “exemption directive” is a policy response by the government when children object to the deregistration of their MAIs. Mats makes the last-minute application for the exemption and Thena has her alter-ego, the superhero Autofus, drop in on Administrator, a senior bureaucrat with the agency Foundling Sanctuary Services that’s behind deregistration. He just happens to be a huge fan of superheroes and is suddenly sympathetic to the family’s plight. Administrator pulls some strings and the exemption is granted just in time. Except Nora Mai has her own plans.
Keywords: Childcare in the future, maternal love, parenthood, aging, siblings, artificial intelligence, big tech, superhero, surveillance culture, liberal authoritarianism.
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Tragedy, Political
Acts: 1
Run time: 10 minutes
Suitable for students 14+
Cast size: 4 actors
Male roles: 1
Female roles: 2
Trans/Non-Binary/Gender Non-Conforming roles: 1
Casting notes: Note on playing Nora Mai as an artificial life form. Nora Mai is a maternal autonomous interface, a MAI, an artificial human who presents as a mid-forties woman that is virtually indistinguishable from a human mom. Her programming directs her to perform the maternal duties of a loving but overbearing mother dedicated to managing every aspect of the lives of her children Thena and Mats until they reach the age of twenty-one.
