Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Next Generation ran from 1987-1994—the formative years of my childhood. Watching TNG was a family ritual during these years (what else did I have to do in the evenings? I was eight!) I was a somewhat willing victim of the exposure and, let’s face it, so were you.

But this is 2030 and Tokyo, where tragedy in one’s personal life is the missing ingredient to unlock science’s great mysteries. The now-inspired scientist finally completes his greatest work: a human robot. He names it Toby, but we know him better as Astro Boy.