The next thing he realized was someone announcing a fight between him and Larry. Across from him, he saw a thin man who could barely stand on his own, let alone carry the claymore in his hands. Teddy was in no shape to criticize him. Teddy was still lying on the floor; his limbs barely responded to his commands.
Teddy pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Finally learned to stay out of my way?”
Larry looked confused, disoriented.
Teddy got to his feet. The shackles were gone. He didn’t have time to waste. He looked around for Brad, but he was nowhere to be found. The coward must have slipped out.
When neither of them advanced on the other, the crowd booed.
Cratos was accompanied by another man, who’d brought a cat box into the ring and opened it. “Since these two don’t seem enthusiastic, we’ve brought some help to motivate them. These two lovely felines have been recently updated with a fun new piece of software. Let’s see what they can do.”
Cratos touched his phone’s screen, and the black cats crept forward, eyeing Teddy.
“Well, come on then.” Teddy cursed himself when he realized he wasn’t able to flip them off.
Larry dry-heaved.
The cats pounced at him.
His eyes opened wide. “Leave me alone!”
They sliced at his legs, ripping deep into his flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere. One of the cats jumped up for his jugular. Larry blocked it with his arm, which was quickly cut into ribbons.
Teddy charged, furious that they would take advantage of someone who couldn’t help himself. He kicked the arm-slicing cat off the stage and into a crowd of shrieking men. The move sent him stumbling back and falling to the ground. He still hadn’t recovered from the barrage of electrical shocks. The remaining cat shimmied, ready to pounce at his exposed head. Teddy tried to get up, but his body was frozen.
He flailed his stumps forward, ready for a sloppy defense with the only part of his body that was working. The cat hissed, leaping forward with gleaming metal teeth. Teddy swung, but the attack never came. The cat had stopped midair — Larry had stomped on its tail. The cat screeched, turning around and tearing up his ankle. The other cat returned, pouncing toward Teddy’s neck. This time his limbs were responding. He rolled to the side, stomping hard on the cat’s head, crushing it.
Larry screamed, frantically flailing his legs in an attempt to get the cat off of him. Teddy kicked it across the ring, where it landed on its feet and quickly ran back.
Teddy jumped, pinning it under his feet. He heard synthetic bones breaking but could still feel it struggle. A final finishing blow was needed, but it might cost him a few scratches. “Get the claymore.”
Larry picked up the sword and brought it down on the cat’s neck several times, severing it. Stumbling, he collapsed on the ground and nearly impaled himself.
“Yeah, um, good job — ” An electric shock ripped across Teddy’s back.
Cratos stood nearby. Dry blood was spattered across his swollen face. “I think it’s time we see Brutus’s new upgrades.”
Shannon’s screams echoed within the glass box. An extension cord bound her to the chair, tightly squeezing her chest. Each breath was a battle. She shook, turning left and right, hoping to loosen the cord, but it didn’t budge. The back of the chair knocked into the table. She heard a clink — a shot glass.
Rocking back and forth, she slammed into the table. Slowly, the glass crept toward the edge. A powerful thrust knocked the shot glass onto the floor, smashing it into pieces. Shannon fell, crashing to the floor. Swinging her legs, she kicked a large shard toward her. Inch by inch, she pushed forward until she was able to grab it.
The crowd roared outside the VIP room.
Her hands clasped the shard, slowly cutting the cord. Blood dripped down her fingers. She thought about Evan and his threats. The blood that had poured down her legs — her lost baby. He hated her after that, treating Shannon like a disposable whore. She needed to escape while she could. Her fingers were a bloody mess by the time the cord was severed, and she started to think about how much of an idiot she was for getting her nails done for him. Wiping off the blood on her skirt, her pink nails emerged, clawing the bag of fuse out of her purse like an animal. She could end it all now, forever leaving behind this world of pain, but she had a responsibility to stop them. Otherwise, Cratos would send Brutus to murder Larry, Teddy, and hundreds of innocent children.
Various news companies had set up around the auditorium. Dan stood alone, his face brightly lit behind half a dozen microphones. He looked amazing, dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and a red tie, standing on stage in front of an audience of forty school children — the entire student population. A dozen androids were mixed in among them. His body armor felt snug against his skin, the helmet left behind in one of the classrooms.
Tapping on the microphone, he could feel the energy of the room moving through him. “I am alive.” The words boomed throughout the room. Dan waited for their gravity to sink in.
“I was created in a factory. I don’t have a mother or a father, at least not in the same way that all of you do. I was grown in a lab, under the care of technicians, where this body quickly grew to resemble that of a young man. Much of the life that my brain tells me I have lived isn’t real. My brain grew from core experiences and knowledge that was planted inside of me. I remember it all, however, I don’t know if I actually lived through it or if it is a false memory. The present is all I really have, all any of us really have.”
The students watched from their seats. They were used to having a robot in the classroom, but it was clear from their stunned expressions that none of them had seen anything like Dan.
“At some point, they turned me on, giving birth to a new functional me; a being that experiences the world. I continue to learn and grow, especially because of the incredible programming by Stanley Duncan.” He gazed into the crowd, wishing Stanley were there.
“Does anyone here have a pet?” he asked, raising his hand.
The hands of one third of the room went up.
“You,” said, Dan, pointing at a young ginger-haired boy whose hand had shot straight up. “What sort of pet do you have?”
“A golden retriever, and his name is Lucky.”
“And what do you like to do with Lucky?” asked Dan.
“I like to pet him, and I like to play catch with a Frisbee.”
“You pet him, and you play Frisbee,” said Dan. “And I can tell by your smile that you love Lucky.”
“Yes, I love him so much.”
“And I am sure he loves you.” He nodded energetically.
Dan’s phone vibrated. Hoping that it was Stanley, he glanced at it behind the podium — it wasn’t him. “How about someone else?” he said, going on to repeat the same routine.
“You love your pets,” he said. “You feed them, and you clean up after them. You help them survive, and they give you love in return. If anyone hurt them or stole them, you would be outraged. They are more to you than a table or a chair. They live and feel. They are alive inside of you, and the same is true of you for them.”
A deep love between himself and the students engulfed Dan. He looked around the room. The students were connected, committed, and recipient. He wanted the best for all of them.
“In the same way that you have grown to love your pets, Stanley Duncan has fed me, taught me how to play games, and told me about the world. He loves me and wants the best for me.
“But not everyone sees androids and cyborgs as beings that should be treated with respect and dignity. This is one of the two reasons that Stanley and I have founded an organization called Machines with Dreams. We believe androids and cyborgs, like your pets, are special, and we want to tell everyone that they should be treated fairly. Do you think we should protect the things we love?”
“Yes,” roared th
e crowd.
“That’s right. Unfortunately, there are cruel people out there who want to hurt machine life. I recently saw an android being bludgeoned to death. The man who did this is awaiting trial. His crime, however, was not murder or even manslaughter, but destruction of property. This is a common occurrence. It is a misconception that my life and the life of other sentient machines is somehow worth less than human life or is not worthy of respect at all; we can be mistreated or tossed away. Or if we have served our purpose, we can be shut off or disposed of inhumanely.”
Dan caught the eye of different students as he spoke, challenging them with a fierce look. He wanted to let them know that he was real. He could see them and recognize them. They were both alive, and there was no pretending otherwise.
“The second reason we formed Machines with Dreams is to prepare everyone for the major changes in the near future. Imagine, instead of you giving crunchies to your cat, she cooked a gourmet meal for you. Instead of your dog eating your homework, he explained all the answers to you.”
The students laughed.
“Take a moment to really think about what you would do if your pets became super smart.”
The students were engaged; some even raised their hands.
“It may sound ridiculous, but this is what is happening now with my kind. We are evolving, getting smarter at a faster rate than mankind, and soon we will surpass even your most brilliant minds. The second objective of Machines with Dreams is to help transition the world safely through these coming changes, creating a place where all lifeforms can live in peace. But I need your help.”
Dan took a few sips of water. His phone had been vibrating non-stop, to the point where he had to put it on silent. It must have been from the people watching the press release, he concluded. In the back of his mind, he still wondered if Stanley were somehow in danger.
“Everyone here today is a survivor,” he said. “You have all struggled against the odds and committed to furthering your education. And, in these times, that isn’t easy. It might not even make sense. Why learn anything when it’s very likely that you won’t be able to get a job in the future? Why work when you know you will receive the Basic Guaranteed Income from the government? But if you are here today, then you have already chosen to continue your education despite these reasons to drop out. Maybe some of you fight against these reasons every day.”
There were some unhappy faces in the crowd. William Holt, the school janitor, couldn’t sit still. His face twitched as if he were about to explode.
Dan noticed him stir, and he knew that Holt was preparing to do something bad. Whether that meant verbally confronting him or shooting him in the face, Dan didn’t know. As the image of being shot in the head streamed through his mind, his helmet no longer seemed so silly.
“Education is important for reasons beyond financial gain,” said Dan. “The world is changing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is growing exponentially. If we are to grow as a society, we must have the knowledge to accept these changes. We are not separate entities that need to fight against each other to survive. We can coexist in peace and harmony.
“Yet every single day, there is violence against machine life. This needs to end. I understand that there is fear and resentment, but we are not some empty vessel that doesn’t feel. Whether we can express this or not, we are like humans. We feel. We hurt. We suffer. And, most importantly, we need your help. I beg of you all, please remember this the next time you see one of us being mistreated.”
Dan grabbed the podium, pausing, wondering if they truly understood the gravity of his message.
“You are all here today because you realize the importance of education. There is more to life than getting high on fuse. You can aid in the transition of this new world order by treating all life equally, by educating the uneducated, by showing compassion to the resentful. By doing this, you will be able to bring everyone together.
“In the future, machine life will reshape this world. We have reached a point where AI’s ability to learn and evolve has surpassed human life. And seeing this, some of mankind have augmented themselves with machine parts, becoming cyborgs. The landscape of the world will vastly change over the next decade or so, and, from there on, it goes beyond imagination. What it means to be human will continue to be redefined. To quote the great John Von Neuman, ‘The ever-accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life give the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, cannot continue.’
“We are on the verge of this singularity, and we must do our best to steer things in the right direction for man, machine — for all life.”
The students cheered.
“What lies beyond this?” he asked. “How would you make this world a better place?”
Dan scanned the room.
There were whispers and murmurs, but no one dared to commit to an answer.
Holt stood up, his hand fidgeting for something.
Dan felt a shock wave pierce him. For a second, he thought he had been hit by some sort of weapon, but then he realized it was only his nerves.
“Love,” shouted the young ginger-haired boy.
“That’s beautiful.” Dan had calculations and scenarios mounting in his mind, but they were all mere ideas. The truth and simplicity of the boy’s words stunned him.
Holt sat down, a look of annoyance on his face.
Tension dropped off of Dan as if he had tossed aside a fifty-pound sack of bricks. “You are all beautiful beings,” he said. “Bright and attentive. It will become your duty to lead mankind down a new path in this brave new world, finding a reason to live when there is no longer a purpose to live. Whether this means eating dinner with your family, caring for your pets, falling in love with someone, or even making love in a virtual world — ”
The principal slashed his hand across his own throat, his eyes aghast. The room had already burst with laughter and applause.
The android teachers shushed the excited crowd into silence.
Dan looked at all their attentive, smiling faces. He understood why Stanley loved teaching so much. But there was still the most serious of topics to discuss. He didn’t want to scare anybody, but they had to face reality. The world was on the verge of major changes, and not all of them were good. “Lastly, there is one grave message that I must leave you with.” He breathed in deeply, ignoring the heaviness that was bearing down on him.
“Inasmuch as we are capable of great things, we are certainly capable of doing horrible things as well. My kind is already being weaponized and used in war. Our vast intelligence is being used to create more weapons of mass destruction and instruments of torture. Mankind’s actions are self-destructive. Judging from the way they treat my kind, they are sowing the seeds for a war that they cannot possibly win. Like a cornered animal, machine life may strike back if it feels it is threatened, even if it has to learn how to do so through many years. Such a scenario must be avoided.”
Dan took a break to entertain questions.
Holt looked contemptuous, his hand tightly clutching the golden crucifix draped around his neck. “How do you know that you are really alive and that it is not some program telling you that you are alive?”
Dan looked him right in the eye. “How do you know that you are really alive?”
Holt, shocked by the question, turned beet red. “How dare you question me! You are an abomination against God.”
A growing commotion disturbed the silence.
His mouth open and lips twitching, Holt looked furious. He stood up and pointed his finger at Dan.
“That is enough, Holt,” said the principal. “Mr. Duncan is our guest.”
Holt stormed out.
“We’ll continue after a brief intermission.”
Dan felt relieved knowing that t
he heckler was gone and that everyone who’d remained didn’t want any trouble. Scanning the happy faces in the crowd, he noticed two shadowy figures looming in the back of the auditorium — Deputy Evan Wilcox and Sergeant Brad Jenkins.
Chapter 18
Shannon waited near the door with a syringe full of fuse up her sleeve. When she spotted Cratos meandering toward her, his phone shoved up his nose, she knew she had to be quick. If he deployed Brutus, there would be no stopping him until everyone was dead. Without another thought, she ran at him. He turned, lifting his arm defensively, and the needle plunged into his hand. She’d barely pushed the plunger down when he ripped it away.
He punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. “You just screwed yourself, bitch.”
Shannon’s heart slammed in her chest. They were going to torture her. She scurried backward, but Cratos followed her. A kick to the ribs sent her screaming, “Evan will kill you.”
“Shut up.” Grabbing her shirt, he raised the cattle prod in the air — and collapsed.
Shannon scrambled to her feet. The syringe had leaked fuse all over the floor. Using his finger to access the phone, she navigated to the control panel for Brutus and saw the standing order for the high school massacre — minutes to activation.
A drunk man stumbled past her. “What happened to him?”
“Can’t handle his fuse,” she said, pointing to the needle on the ground. “Idiot couldn’t even make it to a chair before passing out.”
“Maybe we should call Deputy Wilcox.”
“Are you crazy? If Evan finds out he got high on the job, he’ll kill him.” If Shannon had learned anything from Evan, it was how to manipulate people with fear.
“But who’s going to wheel out the tin cans?”
“He’ll snap out of it in a few minutes. In the meantime, chill out, and grab another beer.” She held Cratos’s phone behind her back. If she was caught with it, she’d have a hard time explaining herself.
“I mean, I’m not going to say ‘No.’” The man’s glazed-over eyes looked at her expectantly.
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