The 17th Generation Handroid Handbot 8001 was an alien medical robotdesigned to assist residents of the Two Streams Facility, providing guidance and - if necessary - medicine (known as "kindnesses") to the patients. Handbots communicated to a degree with the patients, but lacked any kind of intelligence. If a person's reply to a Handbot did not match an "acceptable" reply, the statement would be rejected and the handbot would continue any course of action it deemed appropriate.