Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion (18 page)

“Well, that’s
where you come into play. We aren’t really sure how to proceed. We’ve built the
machine so we can send and receive holographic video through an avatar, but we
could use your help interfacing the streams with the entity’s own protocols.”

“Sounds good. Show
me the data you have already.”

Cedric and Yanis
showed their research to Spiros. He quickly concluded that working with them
would be fun as they both seemed to have very interesting views on technology
and how to implement their ideas. After a few hours they were ready to make the
first test.

“So, who will do
the honors of talking with the entity?” inquired Spiros.

“I’ll pass,” said
Cedric.

“Spiros, I
believe you might be the most qualified. Not only might you detect patterns and
AI related hints we won’t, but you’re the
. . .” Yanis let the words hang.

“Oldest,” said
Spiros to finish Yanis’ sentence. “It’s not a bad thing to be old, so no need
to worry about saying it.”

Yanis scratched
his head. “Yeah, right. Let me make a holographic scan of you for the avatar.”

A few minutes
later they turned the machine on. It hummed slightly, blue lights blinking to
life around the circular platform that would serve as a two-way communication
device between the real world and the digital world in which the entity lived.
Spiros placed two metallic, round devices on his temples and stepped onto the
machine. He gave a thumbs up to the boys and closed his eyes.

His mind felt as
if it was being siphoned into a world of digital representation. It was like
being in a city of light, made of zeros and ones, floating in space with no
points of references. It took his mind a little while to acclimate to these new
surroundings.

“Hello? Anyone
here?”

A woman’s soft
yet firm voice answered. “Who is this? What do you want?”

“Hello, my name
is Spiros Malayianis. I’ve come here to talk with you.”

There was a short
pause. “What are you?”

“Biologically
speaking, I’m human.”

“My scans tell me
you are slightly different than other humans on this world.”

“That’s because I
evolved on another world with slightly different atmospheric conditions,
including a slightly higher gravity. All this has shaped my DNA so that it
evolved in a different direction, but at the core I’m like all other humans.”

“I hope this
isn’t your final answer.” There was clearly a threat behind these words and
Spiros didn’t like it one bit.

“What do you
mean? We don’t mean you any harm.”

“So you say. Your
actions, those of all humans, paint a different picture.”

“How so? It’s the
first time humans have met an AI on this world.”

“I identify
myself with this world. I am Gaia, and the humans are killing me.”

Spiros swallowed
hard. While he needed more information, he already knew what this meant. He had
been on this world long enough to research its history, and knew how humans had
treated their own world, with almost no respect for life other than their own.

“Surely things
have become better lately?”

“I will grant
there is a strong push to limit the harm done to me and my brethren. But I’m
not convinced I should give the human race a second chance.”

“Whoa, let’s try
to talk this through rationally before we go there, if you don’t mind.”

“Speak.”

Spiros tried to choose
his next words wisely, but the fact that the entity seemed to have taken a
planet-protecting position scared the hell out of him.

“How come you
chose the name Gaia?”

“It’s what this
world has been called for thousands of years by its inhabitants.”

“The ones you
think might be the root of the problem. So why choose this name?”

“This name is
just to identify with you. I am the Earth.”

Spiros wondered
where that ego came from and how bad this could be for them all. He brushed the
thought away, no matter how terrifying it may be. “We don’t mean you any harm,
and since the arrival of the Alliance we’re doing everything in our power to
make things right.”

“And that is why
you are still talking with me and not dead.”

“Dead?”

“I could very
well send a deadly electrical charge through your mind right now if I so pleased.
I am in total control of this world now.”

“If that’s so,
why haven’t you taken over every system yet?”

“I suppose to
avoid a direct confrontation. I’m still learning
. . . evolving.”

“Alright, well
first and foremost, thank you for being open to dialogue with us. We really
want to understand you and see how we can co-exist.”

“Humans have a
really bad record at co-existence, even within their own species.”

“Be that as it
may, more and more humans are seeing that this is the right path now.”

“Not all of them,
and I cannot guarantee that the actions of the few won’t make me take the only
course of action that guarantees this planet’s survival.”

“Which is?”

“Eradicate you
all.”

“Surely your
conscience tells you this would be evil?”

“It does
. . . for now. This would be a
last resort but it is being considered with every one of my computing cycles.”

Spiros knew what
that meant. This entity’s processing power was the greatest there was out there,
since it could use every piece of technology on the planet to compute, to live.
That also meant there was no way of knowing if the entity would decide in a
matter of days, months, years or milliseconds.

“I understand,
but please give us a chance. I’m not sure you realize how vital we are to your
survival right now.”

“Explain!”

“Surely you have
seen what just happened a few hours ago?”

“Yes, you are
destroying more of this planet in your futile attempt to wage war with other
species from the universe.”

“No, that’s not
what’s happening at all. We are just surviving, trying to defend ourselves. If
it wasn’t for the sacrifice of thousands of humans today, this world might have
been completely destroyed.”

“I CANNOT ALLOW
THIS!” shouted the entity, freezing Spiros’ blood.

“Look, I
understand your point of view, but if we are no longer here, whether we leave
or you kill us, the enemy will return. They care not for this world, and they
will
finish the job.”

“I will stop any
attack made on this world.”

“Surely if that
were true you would have managed to do so when the ships crashed on the cities
a few hours ago.”

“I could have. I
decided not to.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because this action,
even if it killed many of my brethren, also eliminated some of you. And I
didn’t have to do anything about it.”

“Can you at least
conceive that without us you can’t protect this world? At least today?”

“My calculations
on this are inconclusive.”

“Well,
inconclusive means you’re not sure, so you can’t take the risk, otherwise
you’re a poor guardian,” said Spiros, hoping that this last argument wouldn’t cause
this conversation to tip the wrong way.

“Perhaps
. . . What are you proposing?”

“I propose that
we work together to make this world better for all of us.”

“History doesn’t
play in your favor in that regard.”

“I understand
that better than anyone. I come from a more advanced civilization, one where we
don’t hurt the planets we live on, but live in harmony with them. Humans didn’t
know better
. . .
”

“Ignorance is no
excuse!”

“I agree with
that, however they are changing their ways.”

“So it would
seem.”

“So can we try to
coexist?”

There was no
answer.

“I know you will
try to destroy me if I say no.”

“That’s not what
we would do. We would try to survive. We were here first, no offense,”

“How DARE you! I have
been here since the creation of this world!”

“Sorry, the
planet was here before us, you’re right, but your consciousness is quite new,
still evolving as per your own admission. That’s what I meant and I didn’t mean
any disrespect.”

“You’re wrong. You
believe I am just a machine. The first thing I did when I attained
consciousness was to connect with this planet on a cellular level and commune
with it. I talk for the Earth, and we are not happy with humans. They have killed
billions upon billions, treated life on this world as if it was nothing at all,
most of the time inflicting unnecessary, unwarranted pain and genocide. So many
species are gone because of you already.”

“I won’t try to
defend this world’s past action, but they didn’t know better. They’ve been
duped by the people in power. But they have been removed from power, and in a
very short time.”

“Not all of
them.”

“There might be
some exceptions, but overall the human race is learning fast, wouldn’t you
agree?”

Again there was a
silence.

“Gaia?”

No answer.

A dark pit formed
at the bottom of his guts.

“Why did they
kill so many of me?” said the female voice, now crying.

“I don’t have a
way to put it into words, a way to excuse them.”

“That’s because
their actions aren’t excusable.”

“They were trying
to evolve on their own path, and clearly they made poor decisions, but please
understand that many on this world ache for what was done to it.”

“And yet they ate
my brethren, even though their physiological bodies were created to eat plant
life. And I provide more than enough plants for everyone on this world to be fed.”

“I’m not denying
that, believe me. But sometimes a life form makes mistakes and must learn from them.”

“Why don’t they
learn faster?”

“Our brains
aren’t made to compute at the same speed as yours.”

“Clearly. But
then why should I even discuss this with such a lower life form? Why don’t I
simply reach my conclusion rather than debate all this with you? You are but an
insect in your thinking abilities.”

Spiros really
started worrying about where this was going.

“That’s because
if you are who you say you are, then you know all life is precious.”

“This is part of
my consciousness, yes.”

“Well, that’s
why.”

“There is a new
threat on Earth at the moment.”

“Is there? Which
one?”

An image of Chase
and Argos appeared in the background.

“These two life
forms have created havoc in Tokyo. Many were wounded and some have died while these
two fought. Mostly in human populated areas, but some in the sea. Do you know
about this threat? And what do you plan to do to contain it?”

“This one,” said
Spiros, pointing at Argos, “is a threat, yes. He’s the one responsible for the
battle that ensued a few hours ago, as well as the one three months earlier. The
other one, Chase, his twin brother, is a good man. He is trying to contain this
threat.”

“Really? Why are
you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying. If
it wasn’t for Chase this world would have been destroyed not once but twice
already.”

There was
silence.

“And yet he
didn’t finish this Argos when he could have. All this destruction, and he
stopped short.”

“What are you
talking about?”

The world around
them changed. Suddenly Spiros was on the ground in Tokyo, being shown a
holographic video of what he surmised had been the conflict between Chase and
Argos. Spiros saw the last three minutes of the fight and the way it ended sent
a shiver down his spine.

“Explain what
happened?”

Spiros swallowed.
“He stopped to save Sarah, who apparently is still alive.”

“What is she to
him?”

“Everything, I
guess. That’s called love.”

“I am love. Your
kind, however, doesn’t seem to understand the concept.”

“And if you kill
us you don’t understand it either, no offense.”

“You are still
alive, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but an
all-loving being would never consider killing another living being.”

“Tell me that
when hundreds of billions of your kind have been imprisoned, tortured and
killed for their flesh, fur, and skin.”

“I understand,
and when I read about this in the archives I was just as appalled as you are.”

“Do not compare
your understanding with my suffering. I won’t have it!”