“So Mr Speaker, why is it called Hydra?”

Jones was sceptically staring at the TV screen when a businessman asked this question.

On the screen, beside the portly speaker, stood the so-called Hydra. It was so silent that Jones thought it gave all its voice to the speaker. It was exactly the height of the Speaker, only that it was a slender green thing. Where a head would normally be, Jones did not see any eye, any ear, any nose or any mouth. Instead, seven long, slim arms protruded from there, floating in the air. How it managed to stand up must be a scientific mystery because there were no legs and the whole thing was soft and slimy. It almost reminded Jones of the lime-flavoured jelly sticks he ate as a child.

“Sir, that should be obvious, shouldn’t it? The robot is a hydra blessed with artificial intelligence and biomimicry, with the ability to photosynthesise,” answered the speaker confidently.

Jones heard a unanimous cheer from the crowd. The speaker waited for it to die down, and continued, “And not only that, our developers were inspired by how hydras reproduce, and now our Hydra can bud an exact copy of itself when it produces enough energy to do so. Buying one of our Hydras, therefore, folks, is like buying an infinite amount of Hydras!”

“Well then, Sir. What can you use the Hydra for?”

This time, the question came from a young, tall gentleman. He looked at the Speaker expectantly.

“Good question!” started the speaker, “Anything you can imagine of, the Hydra can do for you. But the main thing, folks, is this. You see, space colonisation has been the engine of our world since the 21st Century genius Elon Musk’s Mars Colonisation Plan succeeded back in 2103. The Hydra will be your greatest tool to play your part in this era of exploration. It can help you build your own space projects and keep your interstellar properties healthy. One new robot for a man, one new chapter for mankind!”

The crowd cheered again, this time even louder. Some talked excitedly to their neighbours. Others rolled up their sleeves, ready to make their order. Somebody even attempted to take away the sample Hydra next to the speaker, who had to summon the security guards to protect the model.

“But Sir, I have a question.”

Everybody turned around. A small boy had stood up.

The Speaker faced the child fondly. “What have you got to say?”

“Our science teacher told us that hydras reproduce asexually, so the offspring is identical to the parent. If any problem arises in the programming of a Hydra, all its  offsprings and all their offsprings will carry the same error. I just wonder what will happen in the event of this.”

Deafening silence swept across the room. All everyone did was stare at the boy.

It felt like a century until Jones heard the speaker shakily say, “Thanks, little boy, for that question.”