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AMEE is the main antagonist of the movie Red Planet. It is a robot ready for the missions of Mars with mechanisms for digging and drilling rocks; that also serve to combat hostile life. But this got out of control due to a system failure that could not differentiate between friends and enemies.
Biography
Origin
The Earth, in 2050, is in a state of crisis due to severe pollution and overpopulation. Automated missions have planted oxygen-producing algae on Mars as the first step in terraforming the planet.
Twelve years later, when the amount of oxygen produced by the algae inexplicably drops, the crew of the mission Mars-1 must discover the reason for this situation and continue the mission of doing the red planet suitable for human colonization.
On the way to Mars, the crew play cards and drink alcohol produced in the laboratory while they get to know each other, while they are introduced to AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion), a specialized robot to be able to walk on rocky terrain. like that of Mars.
Red Planet (2000)
The spacecraft reaches Mars, but a solar flare damages several key systems. This compromises the ship's navigability and forces Bowman to stay on it and make repairs while the others descend on Mars. Their first objective is to locate an automated habitat sent years ago to store food and oxygen for the arrival of the crew.
The ship suffers damage as it enters the Martian atmosphere, forcing it to vary its trajectory and to land quite far from the place where it intended to do so, close to the habitat. During the process they lose "AMEE," Chantillas is mortally wounded; Furthermore, it does not have enough oxygen to carry it to the habitat, where its ruptured spleen could be healed. With limited oxygen, Chantillas asks the crew to leave him behind and complete the mission. Meanwhile, Bowman must deal with various disasters on the ship, including a zero-gravity fire and numerous computer and systems failures.
Finally, Gallagher builds a radio transmitter using parts of the Mars Exploration Rover brought in by the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997; it uses an old frequency that is deprecated, but as Gallagher says, 'it's better than just yelling for help' . Because radio transmission travels at the speed of light, it takes hours for the message to reach Earth.
Mission control discovers the message, and they tell Bowman on Mars-1, just before he leaves the orbit of Mars, to change the frequency of his transmitter to the old-fashioned frequency. She guides the men on their way to a Russian probe called Kosmos, to use the sampling system to launch itself back into orbit.
The only problem is that the men have to travel a long way across the hard Martian surface to reach the probe. The three men start walking, occasionally speaking with Bowman and reporting some strange discoveries on the surface. There are small areas of algae in some places, but they find no explanation why they have completely disappeared in some regions.
Lost and Found
Pettengill's behavior starts to get erratic, but this doesn't stop Gallagher and Burchenal from starting some philosophical discussions. During one, Burchenal remarks that as a genetic designer, he is a realist. "I write code," he says. He does not have time to take the "easy way" by indulging in religious or spiritual explanations of natural events. Gallagher fights back, noting that spirituality is not a departure or denial of science, but an acknowledgment of its limitations on human problems: "It takes more than just intelligence to live a spiritual life."
AMEE - Mars Robot
AMEE sightings in the movie Red Planet (2000)
The situation is complicated when Bowman warns them of an approaching storm, and the three travelers take refuge in a small cave. There Gallagher passes Bowman's message that the Russian probe can only carry two people. Pettengill, feeling guilty and worried that the others will abandon him, escapes with the radio in the middle of the storm, but is intercepted and killed by AMEE.When the storm ends, the two remaining crew members retrieve the radio and continue their journey, but make a scary discovery. Pettengill's body is infested with insect-like creatures that feed on his flesh and Burchenal captures two of them and carries them along on the journey. They also use a flare and discover that the little insects seem to come out when exposed to heat. Burchenal and Gallagher resume their journey.
Hostile Planet
Pettengill's behavior starts to get erratic, but this doesn't stop Gallagher and Burchenal from starting some philosophical discussions. During one, Burchenal remarks that as a genetic designer, he is a realist. "I write code", he says. He does not have time to take the "easy way" by indulging in religious or spiritual explanations of natural events. Gallagher fights back, noting that spirituality is not a departure or denial of science, but a recognition of its limitations about human problems, as Iit takes more than just intelligence to live a spiritual life.
The situation is complicated when Bowman warns them of an approaching storm, and the three travelers take refuge in a small cave. There Gallagher passes Bowman's message that the Russian probe can only carry two people. Pettengill, feeling guilty and worried that the others will abandon him, escapes with the radio in the middle of the storm, but is intercepted and killed by AMEE.When the storm ends, the two remaining crew members retrieve the radio and continue their journey, but make a scary discovery. Pettengill's body is infested with insect-like creatures that feed on his flesh and Burchenal captures two of them and carries them along on the journey. They also use a flare and discover that the little insects seem to come out when exposed to heat. Burchenal and Gallagher resume their journey.
Along the way, he finds a large field covered with algae and that is when Burchenal realizes what has been happening. The creatures appear to be some native Martian life form that has lain dormant until a food source, such as algae, arrived and took root. The insects eat the algae, producing oxygen as a by-product, making the atmosphere breathable. However, insects tend to spontaneously burn when touched by a flame.
Unfortunately, Burchenal makes this discovery just as blood from one of his wounds begins to fall to the ground, causing the insects to go into a frenzy and pounce on him, trying to eat him. He passes the suit from him to Gallagher and lights a flare. Before being eaten, he sets the insects ablaze, setting off a chain reaction that burns all that remains of algae and most of the atmosphere in a region large enough to be seen from orbit.
Gallagher reaches the Russian probe, where he must make preparations for the trip and confront AMEE to take away its power source, to be able to turn on the probe and launch into space. With low oxygen levels, Gallagher's only hope is to get close enough to Mars-1 to be rescued by Bowman.
They return to Earth with the sample and, although the mission is a disaster, it provides crucial information about Mars that will greatly aid future colonization efforts. The insect sample may contain the solution for the Earth situation, due to its nature of eating everything and producing oxygen as a result.