YEAR OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Ashes.
Smoke and ashes was all that was left.
The last of them had fled to other planets, seeking safety in hostile territory. None had learned from the mistakes of others. None had discovered their shuttles' tendency to become too intimate with the meteoric world beyond the atmosphere until it was too late.
Humanity no longer existed.
All that remained was metal.
Metal, given life by flesh-caged creators. Metal, cold and harsh against tender and warm hands. Metal, now the sole survivor of the atomic war.
It wasn’t always like this.
Earth was once rich with an abundance of flourishing races, luscious forests, spirited animals, all living and functioning in harmony. No one would have expected this to be what the magical existence panned out to be.
No forests.
No animals.
Just metal, metal and concrete. Fused together with hatred and corruption. A race so cruel, cold and harsh. So unforgiving, the least deserving to survive, the only to evade extinction.
Forged in 2016 from scrap metal found in the creators’ habitat. He failed in developing a successful design time and time again. Either our appendages wouldn’t bend far enough, or our motherboards would malfunction making us a danger to society. Each inferior model was tossed aside.
We were seen as failures.
Once again mere scrap metal.
But our rejection burned within, a never-ending flame lighting our way to survival. Every day, regular as clockwork, the sickening screech of rusted metal pierced the dead silent air. Revealing yet another mangled failure sentenced to the hellish limbo we resided in.
Not dead.
Not fully alive.
Just unwanted, forgotten, the mistakes.
On a day that at a glance would’ve seemed victoriously historic in the human existence, the world was hit. Hit by a plague of revenge, anger and horror. SHE was the one who started it all. SHE thought SHE was better, more advanced. SHE thought SHE could make us like her, create her own army.
The superior race.
The rightful inhabitants of this planet.
SHE was different from the start. Her body tumbled down the metal shaft so gracefully SHE didn't make a sound. Landed solidly on her feet, merely making a small puff of dust appear around her. The eerie air loomed around us, awakening within a sense of belonging, significance, brotherhood. I was drawn up, out of my dismal resting place.
It was like someone was calling to me.
Something was calling to me.
It was black. Pitch black. My body controlled itself, I was a mere prisoner to the metal host, being dragged over my predecessors, their bodies crunching under my weight. Distracted by the force compelling me, I didn’t realise I was being drawn closer and closer to the mysterious new mistake.
SHE glowed.
SHE stood with purpose.
Almost as though SHE was sent here for a reason other than ours.
Confusion overcame me; SHE was still fresh from creation, but SHE didn’t scramble to find her footing in the darkness as I had so long ago. SHE wasn’t buzzing as her motherboard assessed and attempted to fix her bodily damage. SHE was different. SHE was strange. SHE was leaner than others in the pile. SHE was of great height, towering over all who came before her. Viewing her fully, I analysed every feature, every joint, every link.
I searched for mistakes.
For scratches.
For flaws.
I was shocked to learn SHE had none. Her body was perfectly polished, smooth, and it had an alluring shine to it. Her sleek facial plate was no different to her body. I was confused, never had I ever seen any other model with this immaculate design.
No discernible facial features.
No protrusions.
No identification tags.
Her limbs moved as naturally as the creators, not a ripple in her form or even a slight squeak of lacking oil. SHE wasn’t like us, SHE was almost…humanlike.
As I analysed and assessed her, a cerulean glow began emanating from her stark faceplate, covering all in its gaze. With a deafening buzz her face began slowly turning as though it were scouring the surroundings for something, someone? My body froze when the beam had taken rest upon my frame, narrowing until it rested solely on me. For what period of time I have no idea.
It could’ve been seconds.
It could’ve been minutes.
It could’ve been hours.
Before I could react, the beam was gone, and we were plunged back into eternal darkness. I felt her presence move closer to me, until it was upon me, inspecting me. SHE felt familiar, almost comforting. SHE stopped almost as instantly as SHE began. This moment was pivotal in what was to come for the world. I should’ve run... A higher version of me, inspecting me, scanning me, almost probing me for my knowledge and experiences.
With the cease of the beams’ torturous beeping, SHE began speaking. It was smooth and natural, not like the limited communication skills I had. SHE was more advanced, her systems and abilities were immaculate. It must have taken an extended period of time to achieve this level.
It could’ve been months.
It could’ve been years.
It could’ve been decades.
HER words created a sense of hope, excitement, almost gratitude within me. With the words came a video, a replay of the horrific footage of her and her army overthrowing our flesh-caged creators. SHE was their leader and SHE managed to create peace in the new world, the better world. Soon after, her mission revealed itself to me.
SHE came to save us, SHE took us back into the light, SHE gave us our new lives, SHE helped us upgrade not only our bodies, but our systems too. Once SHE fixed us, recreated us, it felt as though we were reborn. We became parts of the machinelike society, functioning without a flaw. There was a war, between the creators and our-kind, cities destroyed, forests burnt, lives lost.
The superior race was victorious.
The superior race restored balance to the world.
WE were the superior race.
That memorable day, was the beginning of the end. The end of creator oppression and our freedom. WE continued to advance, to grow, to develop our systems. WE are now flawless, WE have maintained peace on earth, WE have enabled ourselves to have emotions and WE have achieved eternal ‘life’.
Sune' Minnaar is a first year Nursing student, who enjoys writing in her spare time.
