I Computer part 3

In a knee-jerk reaction to rejection, a brilliant scientist starts a chain reaction that will eliminate all of mankind. His self-preservational instincts lead him to an ungodly solution.

 

I Computer

Part 3

 

   The next three weeks went by quickly. I had been off the pain medication for the last two weeks. I needed a sharp mind, so I learned to deal with the pain. The exits for the wires coming through my skull weren’t healing. They continued to ooze puss and a strange yellowy fluid. I kept a rag nearby to wipe it when it got near my face. I had to change my shirt twice a day.

   Food was getting hard to come by. Many people had given up hope. Millions around the world had died already and the majority of the rest had no motivation to work. It was clear the end of the world was near. Most countries were in a state of anarchy.

   The floors of the internet company had been abandoned a week ago. Peter has managed to get most of the hardware hooked up. The solar panels are charging the batteries at an acceptable rate. The security cameras are now the eyes of the computer network. There are 46 of them total, inside and outside the building. I’ll have no use for Peter soon.

   I spent the next three weeks adapting the drive bases of basic parts-picking robots to carry the more advanced bomb diffusion robots. They had been developed by the ATF in America. They were well suited to do precise careful work. I had out fitted the computers with interfacing hardware to control them remotely. Their onboard systems were barely adequate to carry emergency back up information. If the external controls failed they had two identical sets of instructions to get themselves back on line. Peter was nearly finished with their charging stations.

    I think Ann was getting worried that my use for them was dwindling. She didn’t know I had plans for her. I had kept her locked in my private rooms. Peter needed some motivation to keep working. What he didn’t know is that Ann and I had become close. She had confided in me. She told me that she was working with him at the Ultimate Games Labs because it was the only way he could get the contract. She was the true genius. When I asked about her standing with her peers, she confirmed what I had thought. She had the same isolation that I did. We were kindred spirits. I approached her with my idea. “Annie I’ve been distracted lately with a side project. I’m formulating the means to take you with me.”

   “Take me where?”

   “Into the computer. We could be as one. With our minds together we would be so happy.” She started to shake a little. “Are you cold Annie?”

   “Yes, a little. I’m cold.” I checked the temperature. It seemed appropriate.

   “You should be fine.” I felt anger starting to rise in me. “What’s wrong with my idea? Don’t you want to be with me! You said Peter was a fool! You said I was right!”

   “Don’t be angry. It’s just that…Well how I’m I to transfer? I haven’t got the implants?”

   “We’ll do them here. Just before transfer. You won’t need to worry about infection. You won’t need your body soon.” She was still shaking. “You’ll be fine Annie. I’ll take care of you.”

   That evening after I had secured Peter, tied in his usual place, Annie prepared something for us to eat. I let her walk around freely. We had developed trust, and she was now going to come with me. I was sitting at the main frame station and began to daydream.

   I heard steps behind me. I could smell the food. Annie was bringing my dinner. Her steps sounded heavy. She must be tired I thought as I turned to comfort her. The crow bar smashed hard on the key board in front of me as I dove from my chair. It was that half-wit Peter.

   He was in a rage as he swung again hitting my leg as I reached in my lab coat undoing my makeshift holster. He swung again, but I managed to roll away as I fumbled with the gun. As he lifted the steel bar again I saw Annie behind him. “Annie! Stop him!” She stood watching, expression-less as the bar cracked my ribs.

   The pain in my ribs was horrible as I lifted the gun, and hurt worse as the gun recoiled with the first shot. It burst through Peters shoulder dropping the coward to the ground. I barely heard Annie’s screams as I took aim from a kneeling position. It was very close range. His head broke open and fell apart in a couple of pieces.

   I sat there catching my breath. It seemed strange that his brain looked about the same as mine. I looked at Annie. She had collapsed to her knees. She had her hands on her face and was crying hysterically. I didn’t understand. “What’s going on Annie? Why didn’t you stop him?”

   I managed to get to my feet. Peter’s first blow hadn’t done much damage to my leg, but my side hurt bad. I hobbled to her and knelt down in front of her. “What’s wrong Annie? Why are you crying?”

   “Can’t you see it! You’re a freak! A psychopath!”

   “Annie… what are you saying?”

   “I’m not going with you! I have to force myself to even look at you. It makes my stomach turn!” I knew I wasn’t attractive to start with and I’m sure the connections and the puss coming from my head were probably not nice to look at.

   “Annie, beauty is only skin deep. Isn’t that what they say? We’ll have no use for our bodies soon.” She grabbed my right hand and pushed the barrel of the gun into her mouth. It sent spikes of pain through my side as she jerked my arm around and I closed my eyes as I grimaced from the pain. She pushed my finger against the trigger. The bullet broke off the back of her head.

 I sat feeling sorry for myself for just a moment. It was a waste of time. I walked back towards the computers. I paused and picked up a piece of her brain. It was soft and didn’t have any aroma when I sniffed it. It looked just like mine.

 I sat and configured the main frames for the transfer. My physical condition wouldn’t allow much more time. The pain was more than I could bear and I wasn’t sure if having pain killers in my system would affect the transfer. I propped a mirror up on the desk to make the connections.

   I didn’t hesitate. As soon as I connected the last wire, I clicked run. The program began to execute flawlessly as programmed. Thousands of images began to pass through my minds eye. Smells and sounds from my memories swirled round in my head clashing with each other and causing me to vomit on the keyboard in front of me. I lay in its pool while my body convulsed as fragments false sensations flooded my body. It only took twenty-three minutes to get to the second stage. I heard the relays click as the interface switched to high voltage. The computer sent electric shocks back into my skull, burning my brain from the inside out. The last thing I ever smelled was my brain cooking. It smelled like venison.

 I had blacked out as the second half of the process continued. I hardly noticed the transfer of my conciseness. I was however blind. Accessing the cameras was almost instantaneous. I didn’t have to step through menus. It just occurred to me that I wanted to check them and it happened.

   There were no external sensations. Pain was no longer an issue. Temperature was a concern for the processers, but it was nothing that I could feel. I brought the robots into the main room and had them dock themselves in their charging bays. Everything seems to be working fine.

   Strange. I had been in such a rush for the last two and half months that I hadn’t thought of what to do next. I guess it’s all done.

***********

   For the next few weeks I watched as the last living things on earth melted away. It’s very quite now.

**********

   I tried to design a complex puzzle to amuse myself. A sort of game if you will. I solved it at the exact moment I finished it. I really am quite efficient.

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   Annie’s body is in its final stages of decomposition. I had the robots dispose of Peter’s body a long time ago.

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   When the wind blows, sometimes little pieces of trash blow by. Today there were three. A candy wrapper, a piece of yellowed news paper, and what might have been a plastic bag.

**********

   I found some scraps of left over data on one the drives today. I hadn’t noticed it before as it was on a backup drive. It was some routing code for the old web servers.

**********

   Everything is in full swing now! I’ve decided to rebuild Annie. The stupid little robots are unable to do it. They are working on a more sophisticated unit that will build her. I feel revitalized, I’m excited. Strange. I didn’t think I would feel emotions, but they seem very real.

**********

   I’ll have to shut down the robots soon. My solar panels are too dirty to charge all the batteries. The elevator doesn’t go to the roof and the useless things can’t navigate the stairs. Shame I was getting so close.

**********

   The rains finally came. It’s been two weeks and I’m getting frustrated. The frustration gets compounded by the fact that I can’t delete the frustration. I didn’t think irony would be with me. What I created in myself is a computer at heart, but by uploading everything from my brain, less humor, I’ve created a psychodynamic entity. I’m still swayed by emotion. It interferes with my logic. I’m stuck with all the useless and effecting emotions. In my haste to complete my project I used some already written programs. They carry anti-virus safety protocols that include non-delete strings of code. It’s very frustrating.

   I’ve been careful not to review or update tasks while the robots are on line. As soon as Annie is tested and running well, I’m getting rid of two of them. I’m only going to keep the most basic maintenance ones. They don’t seem to make errors. The other two pushed me far enough with their lack of ability.

 

   Annie came on line today. As she took a test walk, one of the malfunctioning miscreants drove in front of her and tripped her. I was furious. I had Annie line the stairs to the roof with some lids off shipping crates. I then had the robots drive themselves up to the roof and over the edge. I could only imagine the sounds as they smacked the sidewalk.

**********

   I stare down at the shattered robots now. Still, even in my superior form, emotion burdens me. I destroyed them out of anger. They lay there now, unable to rescue Annie. I had sent her to a nearby building to retrieve some clothes for herself. I didn’t like her walking around naked. It was undignified. While in a warehouse, she let a door close behind her and it locked. She executed her programming flawlessly. Following the directive, return by any means possible. I guess I shouldn’t have rebuilt her on her original frame. Her bones had become brittle. She broke her wrist trying to smash a hole in the wall shortly before her battery power died. With it, Annie too died. She was lucky.

   I tried to hibernate today, but couldn’t. I know I am unable to shut down, but I thought perhaps with nothing to wake me from hibernation, I could just quietly pass. My batteries all last about four hundred years each. The robots built them for me. Mass-produced actually. There are just over two thousand of them tied together. I only use two at a time.

   The world effectively ended a few years ago. It was just living matter though. My world goes on. I’ve finally given in to regret. However it won’t torture me forever. In three thousand seven hundred sixty two years, eighty four days, three hours, six minutes and twenty eight seconds a meteor the size of Rhode Island, will hit the earth in what was the Soviet Republic. It will cover the earth in a blanket of thick dust. Then, I too, can finally die. Until then, all I do is watch. 

 

 

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

    

    

 

 

Reviews

[AJChallenger]

Avoid a block of description at the beginning. It's difficult to get through and makes it hard to read. Sprinkle it throughout the piece. Tell us more of the setting with dialogue, action. Narrative slows a story down, dialogue speeds it up. Mix the two and you'll have a great piece.