Sunset - Written by Alex Johnson
Sunset
The Admiral panted along. How foolish he had been, to try and overthrow the government! Machines were inconceivably more powerful than any human, had more control over others of their kind. Machines were invincible. What had he been thinking?
Sure, everyone said it was a stupid idea, but he didn't listen. Why should he have? The AI Control deserved to be destroyed.
In the plight of the moment, The Admiral bit his lip in anger, drawing blood. He paid no attention and kept running.
The AI Control was a strong organization, more efficient than any human society had ever been. However, it lacked any social warmth, everything was coldhearted. The laws were too strict, the life too structured. How could they possibly-
The Admiral's train of thought became interrupted as he dived behind a freshly fallen sign, avoiding the view of a searching Orbulate. He waited about a minute, not breathing or moving. He didn't even allow himself to think.
After the robot had passed, The Admiral slowly, cautiously moved out from behind his safety wall. He didn't know why he dived behind the sign; he didn't even know why he was running. He would get caught, just as all humans had always been, as they always would be. He looked back at the sign. "NO HUMANS ALLOWED UNLESS PROPERLY CERTIFIED." A disgusted look crossed his face, and he turned his back on the sign, toward the sunset.
Humans were a minority. Machines prevailed. They ruled the land, the laws, and everything else under the sun. Humans were only employed so society could benefit from their creative integrity. Computers were smart, yes, but they would never be human. They would never be able to bring themselves the benefit of happiness.
Many solutions were proposed to this problem. It was obvious, to many biologically based sapients, that once a human less method was developed, humans would be made extinct. Computers had already taken their toll; the human population was only 1/4 of what it had been 50 years ago. The machines were making more and more of the babies impotent at birth, so they may not be able to achieve the miracle which had brought them into the world.
DL743 was a prototype computer, the only of it's kind; a machine capable of creative thought. It was built to look human, for some perverse reason. Although this computer had a few bugs, they could be smoothed out in a matter of months. It wasn't even that powerful a computer, seeing that all the circuits fit into the cranium. All that really mattered, the place where all the designing work had gone into, was the personality chip. This gave DL743 the creative abilities the equal to that of a human with an IQ of 160.
This information had frightened all underground leaders, especially the Admiral. He knew not where the information came from, but that wasn't important. What was important was the act of destroying it, possibly allowing the human race to continue a few more years.
That was why he himself had been on the mission to destroy it. He wanted to be sure the job was done correctly. He had been there, he had been sure. When he looked into the eyes of the doomed machine, what he had seen frightened him. DL743 was crying.
The explosion did not go as planned, there was an automatic self-destruct sequence pre-programmed into the buildings. He was lucky, and for all he knew, the he was the only one left. Jones, Stevenson, Grimes, Stravorsky... all gone.
The Admiral watched the last diminishing rays of the sunset trickle over distant buildings, bringing the bleak night. He wished for the days when the sun might rise again over the human race.
He heard a faint hum behind him. He glanced over and saw an executioner android, one with a single, efficient barrel. A coldhearted, strong barrel. Making no attempt to run and hide, he looked up at the sky again, somehow at ease. He knew that he was unlikely to see a sunrise ever again.
The barrel pivoted slowly toward the Admiral. He shut his eyes to what he knew was coming.
Written By Alex Johnson
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