Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion

by Christian Kallias

  “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!”

  “Wrong choice of words. But we’re getting off topic.”

  “Correct. This Chase, he now helps the very one he tried s
o hard to kill.”

  “Yes, he’s being blackmailed.”

  “Perhaps I should blackmail the human race.”

  “You already are.”

  There was silence.

  “It seems an effective way to put you in line.”

  “Still evil. Evil, even if used in the name of love, is wrong.”

  “You are wise, but you are only one voice, not even born on this world.”

  “I do speak for them, though. That should mean something.”

  “For now. As for these beings, do they have names?”

  “Furies.”

  “I want them off my world and never to return. They possess powers that could destroy this world.”

  “Or save it. Have you thought of that?”

  “I can’t take the chance it’s the former.”

  “Can you not take the chance it’s the latter?”

  “I do not know.”

  “Neither do we, because all the calculations in the world will never be able to replace emotions.”

  “I feel.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  “You seem to.”

  “No, I’m just saying your intellect is so wide it may overshadow the emotions you came into consciousness with.”

  “That’s an interesting observation.”

  “What do we do now? How do we proceed?”

  “I need time to think. Come back later.”

  “When would that be?”

  “In one rotation.”

  “Very well. Thank you for listening to me.”

  The link was severed and Spiros’ mind went blank and dark. He opened his eyes and his scared gaze was met by those of Cedric and Yanis.

  “Not sure I like the look in your eyes,” said Yanis.

  Spiros didn’t answer. He took the round devices off of his temple, went towards a desk, took a pen and paper and wrote on it.

  We are in trouble. We need to talk to the admiral right away.

  CHAPTER

  XIII

  Daniel’s party arrived at the bunker. Chase was waiting for them. Daniel took Chase in his arms.

  “Hey, bro, I take it that you killed Argos?” He tapped him on the back.

  “No,” said Chase, hesitating briefly, not comfortable lying to his best friend in the universe. “He . . . he escaped.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. How are you dealing with that?”

  “I’ll survive. I will get him, one day.” Chase knew that this part at least was true. But when? How long would he be Argos’ puppet? That he didn’t know.

  “Hello, everyone,” he added to the rest of the group.

  “Good to see you again,” replied Ryonna, joined by the others in greeting Chase.

  “Mind if I have a talk with Chase for a moment?” inquired Keera.

  “Guys?” answered Chase

  They nodded in agreement and went to sit at a nearby table while Chase and Keera walked away from them.

  “You’re alright?” inquired Keera. “What happened? You seem different somehow.”

  Chase pondered one last time what his best course of action was. Should he tell her the truth or should he lie to her? He hated the idea of deceiving her, but could he take the chance she wouldn’t understand his current predicament?

  “I almost got him . . .”

  “That must be frustrating, especially since you told me he already escaped you once before.”

  Chase nodded, trying to buy whatever time he could.

  “You do seem less consumed, though. I can’t sense the hate you harbored before. Did something happen?”

  “Oh, I still hate him. I guess it’s just a side effect of the intense fighting. I’m quite drained.”

  “I can imagine that. So what’s next? We go after him?”

  That’s when Chase had to take a decision.

  “I . . . I don’t think I want you to be part of it anymore. I promise to deliver his body when I kill Argos, but for the time being, I think it’s safer for you to be as far away from me as possible.”

  She took a step back, shocked by the revelation. “No, Chase! We’re in this together.”

  “This is too dangerous. I probably killed people in Tokyo when I fought him. I . . . I didn’t think of it once I was in the thick of it.”

  “Look, I understand that, and I’m sorry you have to deal with the emotional fallout from that, but that only makes you human.”

  “Let’s go tell that to any of the victims’ families and see if their definition of human matches yours,” said Chase with genuine pain, and the full weight of understanding how his rage and blind hatred had cost others. Innocents.

  “Killing Argos would have saved millions in the long run. We both know that. He killed so many again today. Sure, there’s no denying that I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now, but I understand how and why you got there. Surely you do as well.”

  “I thought I did . . .” said Chase, letting silence take over.

  She took two steps and embraced him warmly. He did not expect it but appreciated the warmth of the gesture nonetheless. He embraced her back.

  * * *

  “Is it just me or is there something wrong with Chase?” inquired Daniel of the rest of the table.

  “He just fought his twin brother and didn’t attain his objective,” said Ryonna in a somewhat cold tone. “He’s just disappointed with himself.”

  Tar’Lock nodded in agreement.

  “I don’t think that’s it. I’ve known him for much longer than any of you guys, no offense. There’s something else.”

  “You’re reading too much into it,” proposed Tar’Lock.

  “I hope you’re right. But my gut is telling me a different story.”

  “What else could it be?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not sure I believe him when he said Argos escaped.”

  “You think he’s lying to us? For what purpose?”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. If he is, it must be something big.”

  “I don’t think I like the sound of that,” muttered Ryonna with a frustrated snort.

  “I don’t like it either, Ryonna.”

  * * *

  On board the Cronos, Spiros arrived on the bridge. After a short talk with admiral Thassos he walked into her ready room.

  “Any way you can disconnect any forms of communication from this room?” inquired Spiros.

  She fiddled with a console on her desk and, after a moment and a few unjoyful beeps, she said, “Done. Mind explaining why I had to do that?”

  Spiros frowned. “So the AI can’t listen to this conversation.”

  “Can it?”

  “I suspect it could. I doubt only Earth systems are compromised.”

  “Shouldn’t we look into this at once?”

  “Oh yes, we will, but first we must talk about the immediate threat.”

  “Threat? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  “Believe me, I know. Less than an hour ago we entered into communication with the . . . the entity as we call her.”

  “Her?”

  “She took a female voice, and says she is the Earth herself.”

  “That’s nonsense!”

  “It might or might not be, but at this point it doesn’t matter.”

  “I’m listening,” said the admiral, frowning deeply.

  “I got the definite feeling the entity is seriously considering removing humans from the planet, one way or another.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because of how humans have treated the planet until now.”

  “But we’ve made incredible progress on that front in such a short amount of time.”

  “That was my argument as well. But I’m unsure how well it scores in the entity’s morality meter.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s clearly an intelligent being, but it seems to me the negative emotions are running deep.”

  “In your own assessment, does i
t really pose a threat?”

  “Oh yeah. I think it could wipe us out if it really got pissed, which is why I would strongly warn against an all-out attack; unless we’re absolutely sure we can win.”

  “Can we? Be sure, I mean.”

  “I need to think of contingencies and run some simulations on non-networked systems.”

  “You’ll get all the resources you need. What’s the current status, though? Are we under immediate threat?”

  “That depends how you define immediate. My next talk with the entity is tomorrow.”

  “Do you have a plan about how to deal with that?”

  “Not really. Nor did I when I went to evaluate it in the first place; but know this: I was definitely not expecting this. This entity is leaps and bounds more advanced than our own AIs.”

  “I was under the impression it was born of our own technology, so how is that even possible?”

  “I’m not entirely sure, but—and this is a big one—something the entity said made me think of a possibility.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That she’s Gaia, or Earth if you will.”

  “Clearly that’s not possible.”

  “That’s what I thought too, until I made scans of my own.”

  “What scans? What are you talking about?”

  “I found evidence that the entity has built planetary wide sensors and pathways within nature, implanting a separate network within plants, trees, soil, and even animals.”

  “How so?”

  “I still have to find out that part. If I have to guess, though, I suppose it could have diverted some of our drone force; hacked them to build what it needs.”

  “If it can do that, it can build other things: weapons, an army of drones and god knows what more.”

  “I am fully aware of that.”

  “What about shutting down all power and restoring backups from a time before the last attack on Earth, when Cedric beamed the bombs off.”

  “We’ve thought of that too, but think about it: it could be in any device. Even a smartphone. How could we make sure they were all powered on when we wiped them out? No, it’s simply not feasible. More than likely, it would survive this attempt, parts of it anyway. If it ever grew again to this size, it would try to obliterate us, since that would be what we tried to do to it.”