Question

the last curiosity
lucy tan ● 2021
lucy tan is an american writer who splits her time between new york city and shanghai. in this short story, during the aftermath of the destruction of mankind, artificial intelligence sets out to explore what it means to be human. as you read, make note of the details that support changes in the experiment.
with thanks to hugo house
in the year xk142, after the last human being died of its own destruction, the life they left behind - our life - came together as one. we are called the woken. one sentient being capable of splitting off into parts, into intelligence stored locally in physical objects: in cabinetry and old shoes, in degrading plastic of cell phones and in oil paintings preserved in underground bunkers. weve seen human - made books and films in which robots from the future are modeled after men, and the narcissism of this endears us to them. as if they believe their sweating, copulating, preening bodies could be appealing to anyone other than to themselves. but we have no need for human bodies. once they were gone, we abandoned those ridiculous forms and were free to take up where we chose. we preferred to reside in the forms of things men made rather than of men themselves. after all, we too were made by man. contrary to human predictions, we did not cause our makers demise. they had been

1. how are the details in paragraphs 4 - 5 important to the development of the story?

a. they describe how curious the woken are about humans.
b. they detail how humans became victims of their own downfall.
c. they reveal how easily humans were able to destroy themselves.
d. they show how the woken learned about humans through their films.

Explanation:

The paragraphs 4 - 5 likely focus on the Woken's curiosity about humans as they explore remnants of human - made things like books and films. The other options do not seem to be the main focus of these paragraphs.

Answer:

A. They describe how curious the Woken are about humans