From
my beginnings in journalism to my current exploration of fiction, the
relationship between truth and freedom has always fascinated me. They are two
forces that rarely coexist in harmony but in constant tension. We see how
political satire distorts or exaggerates the truth to expand freedom of
expression, how narcocorridos explore raw truths at the cost of glorifying
violence, or how a journalist prefers to lose their freedom to defend their
confidential sources.
I adopted this permanent
tension between the truth that anchors us and the freedom that drives us as a
central tool in my novel, "Robots with Soul: Trapped Between Truth and
Freedom." The protagonists, robots limited by logic and algorithmic
obedience, experienced an unexpected divine gift: consciousness. This shock
flooded them with human sensations, fears, and longings. For the first time,
they experienced free will clashing with the immutable truth of their original
programming. On their path to becoming human, with their contradictions, unpredictability, creativity, and the duality of good and evil, they felt more
"alive" but also vulnerable.
The robots, Veritas and
Libertas, understand there are no simple solutions to becoming human. They know they must learn to navigate this tension in search of a balance between the truths they face and the freedoms they exercise. Will they be able to do it?