Fortitude was written by Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

 in 1968. The brief [19 page] play relates to the issues of robotics

Robotics

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...

 and the ethical dilemmas of the "cyborg's rights." It was featured in the anthology, Human-Machines: An Anthology of Stories About Cyborgs. The story was also featured in the 1991 made-for-cable-TV anthology Monkey House.

Synopsis

The story follows Dr. Elbert Little on a visit to Dr. Frankenstein's and his assistant Dr. Tom Swift's laboratory. Frankenstein's only patient and life work is Silvia Lovejoy, who after 70 some operations has been reduced to a head on a tripod, that is controlled by Frankenstein's machines. One of Silvia's mood machines had malfunctioned, causing her to slip into deep depression and write Dr.Little requesting cyanide. Seeing Silvia's diminished emotional state waning for the worse, Gloria, Silvia's beautician and only friend, agrees that her one freedom left is "the power to commit suicide." Frankenstein fires Gloria for speaking about death in Sylvia's presence, who sneaks back into Sylvia's room while she is sleeping and leaves her a revolver. Sylvia finds the gun and tries to kill herself, but her prosthetic arms have been designed to not allow her to do that. Instead, she shoots Frankenstein, who promptly becomes the second head attached to the machines.

Trivia

Fortitude was nodded to in the third act of The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

' Treehouse of Horror II

Treehouse of Horror II

"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments, told as dreams of Lisa, Bart and Homer. In the...