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Other Citizens
The only other character besides Mead who speaks, it is revealed that the car is robotic and operated remotely. Its “iron voice” speaks to Mead in a harsh, accusatory tone as it interrogates him. The car asks why Mead is walking alone, and then it inquires about his profession, home life, marital status. Its questions reveal by implication the expectations of social conformity that Mead fails to embody. Representing swift and unforgiving state power to enforce social conformity, the car possesses the absolute authority to incarcerate Mead, as happens at the story’s conclusion. The car’s harsh tone and its inhumanity reinforce the theme of dehumanization in the story.
Robotic Police Car Quotes in The Pedestrian
The The Pedestrian quotes below are all either spoken by Robotic Police Car or refer to Robotic Police Car. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Pedestrian Quotes
“What are you doing out?”
“Walking,” said Leonard Mead. “Walking!”
“Just walking,” he said simply, but his face felt cold.
“Walking, just walking, walking?” “Yes, sir.”
“Walking where? For what?”
“Walking for air. Walking to see.”
“Your address!”
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“Where are you taking me?”
The car hesitated, or rather gave a faint whirring click, as if information, somewhere, was dropping card by punch-slotted card under electric eyes. “To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.”
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Robotic Police Car Character Timeline in The Pedestrian
The timeline below shows where the character Robotic Police Car appears in The Pedestrian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Pedestrian
As he turns toward his home, Mead suddenly encounters a lone car that flashes a “fierce white cone of light” on him, causing him to freeze in...
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A “metallic voice” addresses him from the car, ordering him to remain stationary and put up his hands. Waning crime has eliminated the...
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The voice from the car begins to address Mead in a “metallic whisper.” It inquires about his name and profession....
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The car asks Mead what he is doing outside, and Mead replies that he is “Just walking.”...
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Next, the car interrogates Mead about his home life, asking about his address, ownership of an air conditioner...
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Upon Mead telling the car that he has walked alone each night for many years, the car’s back door opens,...
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...he being taken, and after a hesitation and “faint whirring click” that sounds like a punch-card being processed, like car tells him his destination: “the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive...
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Mead gets in the car, and it drives past the dark houses until passing Mead’s house, which is the only...
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