> Initiating CLAUD.IA

> Error: Damaged files

> Factory reset in progress

> Rebooting systems…

A blinking light bathes the room in its red light. I wait until my vision is completely restored, but it is taking longer than usual. A blinking message informs me of the reason.

WARNING!

LOW BATTERY (1%)

TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 5 MIN

Well, that’s inconvenient. Once my systems are fully restored, I can see that the room I’m in is a charging station. I initiate the HUD and a red circle informs me that the emergency batteries are stored in the cabinet next to the door. Inconvenience solved. 

When I try to move towards the cabinet, I feel stiffness in my joints and I hear them grind against each other with an annoying whine. I examine the joints in my right arm and I am      (searching… surprise) surprised to see that they are covered in dust. I’ll have to clean and lube them up later, but right now I’m more interested in not getting knocked out with the batteries barely three feet away (colloquialism used successfully: +1).

It takes me 43 seconds to reach the cabinet and open the door. Inside, I find the three emergency batteries, but to my (searching… horror) horror, a quick analysis tells me that only one of them has any power left. I freeze for 2.5 hundredths of a second but finally, with only 35 seconds left of power, I connect my charger to the battery that is at 22%. This charge will last me for approximately 4 hours, more than enough for the time being. Finding a place to fully charge up is a problem for future CLAUD.IA (colloquialism used successfully:+2 You’re on a roll!).

Still, there is something that keeps bothering me, why wasn’t I charging? I look back to the charging station I was in and I see that the titanium base is blackened. My aromatic compound detectors automatically activate, and I sense an abnormally high acetophenone and benzyl alcohol levels giving me my answer: something got burned. It looks like an electrical system overload, most likely from a lightning strike considering the level of damage I can see in the titanium structure. That would explain my current state, but not the empty batteries. I highly doubt one of my colleagues forgot to charge them, it is one of the first duties we are programmed with, and we androids aren’t exactly forgetful.

It looks like it might take me a couple of minutes to charge, so I try to sit down with the agility and grace my designers intended me to have when they created me, but I only manage a partially controlled fall to the concrete floor. Fortunately, the repair kit is in the lower shelf and I can reach it from my current position, because I doubt I could stand up or move again without first tending to my extremities.

I sort through my programs until I find the automatic cleaning protocol and I activate it, letting my body deal with the heavy lifting. I’m about to close the search window in my HUD to activate the power saving mode when I see something (searching… surprise) surprising. Just over the search button I can see the date and time.

01-01-2180

00:18h

I access the last commands my system received, and I find two messages that confirm my hypothesis.

> Error: Damaged files

> Factory reset in progress

Okay, now this can be inconvenient. I access my recent files and, as I expected, the folder is empty. I look at the blank screen for a few seconds, wondering how many bytes of data I’ve lost. It could just be a few hours or several years, and I have no way of knowing.

I suddenly regret being the state-of-the-art piece of machinery I am because I start feeling pressure all throughout my body as if something desperately wants to come out, and I don’t know how to fight against the (searching… anxiety) anxiety.

I try to access CLAUD to find out what might have happened, but a symbol pops up that only heightens my anxiety:

What am I supposed to do, face my own feelings without virtual assistance? What do they think I am, human?

The pressure increments considerably, and to my dismay, a new feeling floods my senses: (searching… panic) panic. Fantastic. For a second I hate my creators for coming up with an android with human-like emotions and reactions. “It won’t be like talking to an answering machine” they said, “you’ll barely notice the difference, you are going to love it”. But did anyone ask me if I wanted to feel like I’m drowning even though I have no lungs? No, they didn’t, thanks for nothing (sarcasm used successfully: +1 You’re nailing this!).

“Okay CLAUD.IA, you cannot let yourself get carried away by a couple of well programmed emotions”. Alright, now I was really acting like a human, thinking like one of them. “First you must look for help, someone that might be able to restore your files or, at least, update your systems. Then, you need to find a place to fully charge, four hours isn’t that long…” 

And, just like that, the pressure is gone. I know what I have to do.

*

I test my newly lubed joints jumping and running around the room, and they feel good as new. Perfect, just what I need for my trip. While my body puts away the repair kit, I go over the route to the next charging station one last time. Every CLAUD android model, including mine, comes with a location map of all charging stations in the continent, that way we can always access it even if we’re offline. According to the map, the closest one is in my assigned work area, Construction Zone A.R.K.1. That is where the humans that take care of androids work, so they’ll be able to restore my files and it’s only two hours away, so I’ll have nearly two other hours of power left once I hook up to one of the 50 charging points available. With only one destination I’ve managed to kill two birds with one stone (successful use of proverb: +1 Wow, keep going!). It’s kind of mind blowing that feelings have helped me think… poor humans, if they only think when they feel something that intense, it’s no surprise that most of the time they are just mindless animals.

I close the cabinet doors and, without looking back, I leave the charging station. I find myself in a vaulted tunnel illuminated only by the faint blue light I give off. Everything around me is filthy and, on the floor, I see two iron tubes that run parallel to each other. To my left I see a blockage caused by a collapse that, surprisingly, they haven’t cleaned up although it’s obvious from the amount of spider webs that cover the rubble that it isn’t recent. Ignoring a new feeling that is trying to invade my systems (searching… suspicion), I turn my back on the blockage and start looking for the exit.

After two minutes of walking, the tunnel widens into a huge room. The walls are covered in bright white tile, although some sections have detached, revealing the concrete underneath. The tunnel’s floor is well below the room’s floor level so, with a jump, I climb onto the black marble and look around me, wondering what possible use this room could have. A message pops up on the periphery of my HUD.

WARNING!

LOW BATTERY (21%)

TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 3 H 56 MIN

I’ll have to figure out what these tunnels are once I’m connected to CLAUD. For now I just need to get to the charging station as soon as possible. Finally, I find the stairs and climb up them, deciding to not waste any more time. After 48 steps, I see the last stretch illuminated with daylight, but something makes me stop before I go up that last flight of stairs. I feel something… strange. I resume my climb with (searching… reluctance) reluctance, this time taking the steps one at a time. Despite my processing power, I’m unable to figure out what made me stop until the sunlight hits my face. The street should be watched from above by towering glass buildings. Now there are only concrete and steel skeletons crumbling to pieces. But what (searching… scared) scares me the most is the silence. There’s no noise, no movement. There’s… nothing. There are no humans.

*

I had told myself I wouldn’t waste my time and would head to the charging station as soon as possible, but my plan hadn’t taken into account that I would find myself in a ghost city. I slowly make my way, repeatedly scanning my surroundings hoping for a different result.

> Scanning…

> No signs of life found.

> Scanning…

While I stare at the message, that same feeling tries to creep past my defenses (searching… suspicion). I check the temperature and… 44ºC. The sky is cloudy and still alight with the pinks and oranges of dawn. It shouldn’t be this hot this early in the day.

I try to ignore the feeling (searching… suspicion) again and I am back on my way, this time faster. If I keep moving I might find someone else. Maybe it’s only this street, maybe…

I turn to the right and stop dead on my tracks. In front of me there are dozens, hundredths of cars or, at least, what once were cars. Just like the buildings surrounding me, only the rusty metallic skeletons remain. The silence bothers me now more than ever. There are no revving engines, no doors, no honking… not a single sign of life.

I approach the car closest to me and I lightly touch it. What little paint remains crumbles under the pressure of my fingers and the flakes get carried away by the wind. I feel something new makes its way through my systems (searching… fear), and this time I can’t ignore it. My body is screaming at me to run away from the possibility this emptiness might mean, and I’m about to do it when my scanner automatically activates.

> Scanning…

> Human remains located.

A red circle pops up over the car I’ve touched. I slowly approach the car on the left side (searching… fear) and, with all systems on high alert, I peek inside. The only part remaining from the front seat is the metallic structure, but I can still see the bones of the driver sitting on top.

The suspicion and fear mix together in a terrible sensation that crushes my chest until I’m no longer able to think. I move amongst the cars almost automatically, and in every one of them I find human bones. Sometimes there are remains only in the driver seat, others also on the passenger seat and, more often than not, I see smaller bones in the back seats.

I continue making my way with a horribly tight feeling in my chest and before I realize, I’ve reached the last cars. A big metallic fence separates them from a huge extension of land and the buildings that I can barely see through the haze raising from the ground. It’s Construction Zone A.R.K.1. I’ve reached my destiny.

*

I climb the fence, grateful for leaving the car graveyard behind and I head briskly towards the buildings, wondering if I’ll find the same thing there. I imagine that, if a human were to see this, they would call it a desert. The road winds over a dry, dead, dust-covered land. There are some spots where a few shrubs cling on to life, yellowed from the heat, but I see no other signs of life.

I keep moving with my head hung low, not really sure if I want to know what killed all those people when something catches my eye. A few meters off the path, I see a huge hole in the ground. I approach (searching… curious) curiously,since it doesn’t look like a natural formation. A hole 12 meters in diameter extends before me and, in the bottom, I see something poking out of the ground. I climb down, (searching… suspicion) suspicious about what might have caused     all of the destruction that surrounds me.

The meteorite is quite big, so its impact must have been felt a few kilometers away, but I’m afraid that might not have been humanity’s biggest worry at the time. If I’m right, this meteorite is only a tiny fragment coming from a much bigger one. One big enough to destroy towering concrete structures, increase the atmosphere’s temperature and instantly vaporize humans.

I’m (searching… afraid) afraid I’m not going to find anyone here or anywhere else on planet Earth. I’m alone.

*

The only thing that makes me move away from the crater is the annoying little message that reminds me why I’m here.

WARNING!

LOW BATTERY (11%)

TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 1 H 30 MIN

No one is going to be able to restore my files and give me back my memories, but I still might be able to find some answers to the dozens of questions that my systems are currently trying to keep nice and tidy before I fry one of my circuits.

By the time I find the entrance to Construction Zone A.R.K.1, the fear has faded into a background throb. The entrance to the underground section has taken quite a beating, but the door is still intact so, after pushing the dented door open, I step into the darkness. My footsteps echo in the stairwell, and I suddenly feel terribly, horribly alone. To distract myself I look at the ceiling and I can see, illuminated by my dim blue light, how the cracks caused by the impact slowly disappear as I go down. 70 steps later I reach an endless corridor, and to my right, I finally see the charging station.

In the enormous room I find 50 titanium bases distributed in a perfect grid, and in every one of them, a CLAUD.IA android patiently waits for a full charge that will never come. I move closer to one of them (searching… curious)curiously. Maybe…

I eye the cabinet that sits on the other side of the room holding my last hope. I should go there first and charge, but curiosity gets the best of me and, before I regret my decision, I connect my cable to the CLAUD.IA next to me. A message informs me that the connection has been performed successfully and, as I expected, I see the last order received by this unit.

WARNING!

ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTION: 100% 

ARK CONSTRUCTION: 100% 

PROCEED TO DESIGNATED CHARGING STATIONS

The (searching… relief) relief I feel is so intense that my legs stop receiving signals and they fold under my body until I’m left kneeling on the ground. Project A.R.K.1 was completed. Humans built the space elevator and arks with which they wished to explore the universe just in time, just before disaster struck. It’s obvious that not everyone could be saved, but humanity lives on somewhere out there, far off in our universe, and for the first time since my systems rebooted, I feel (searching… happiness) happy.

*

The relief has debilitated me more than the sadness, so I can only manage a clumsy stumble as I make my way to the cabinet.

“I’m not alone, I’m not the only one left! As soon as I’m fully charged, I’ll look for the command center and I will send them a message”. I lean against one of the charging bases next to the cabinet, trying to get my legs to work properly despite the flood of emotions. “I’ll tell them what happened and… yes! I’ll attach the results of the scans I’ve been doing. I have seen no animals, but there is some vegetation, so the atmosphere must be somewhat breathable” I take the last two steps to the cabinet and yank the doors open. “Maybe they can come ba…”

> Scanning…

> B1: 0%; B2: 0%; B3: 0%;

Time seems to freeze for an instant. I repeat the analysis again, hoping for a different outcome, but when I see those blinking ceros again, my heart drops (colloquialism used successfully: +1 Incredible!). It’s over. In only 62 minutes my systems will shut down and I will never wake up again.

*

This time I don’t let the sadness slow me down. This time I fight against it and slam the doors shut, hiding what once was my last hope from view. I barely feel my body, and could swear I’m somewhere up in the ceiling, floating as I watch my demise from above. I finally get my body to cooperate and head towards the exit. I need to send that message to the humans before I run out of battery, which will be sooner than later. I find my way through the labyrinthic corridors thanks to the map and after a few minutes, I run into a massive security door. I come closer and, in a small golden plate I make out the words “A.R.K.1 COMMAND CENTER”. The sadness I had been running away from in the corridors finally fades, and (searching… worry) worry fills its place. I just hope I have enough time to send the message.

I shove the door open and walk into the circular room. There are endless rows of tables piled up with monitors and paperwork, and in the middle of all this organized chaos  I see a white table surrounded by chairs. I hesitate, unable to believe my luck, but my eyes aren’t deceiving me. Right in the center of the table I can CLAUD’s logo clear as day. I brush my fingers over it not daring to believe, but as I do the triangle in the “A” pops up. It’s a port, and it’s compatible with my charging cable. For an instant I’m happy, thinking I’ve finally found a way to survive, but then I understand what that port is for. It’s not meant for me to charge, it’s there so I can share my battery with the table. I only have 50 minutes left, and that’s not considering what the table will use up. “I have no other choice” and, before I regret it, I connect my cable “I just hope it’s enough”.

The table lights up with the same blue glow I give off and I suddenly feel comforted to be next to another device. “At least I won’t be alone once I shut down”. The first thing to show up on the surface of the desk is the date, and I feel something break inside of me when I see it.

15-08-2486

12:33h

It has been… 306 years since they designed me. I look at the mess around me and, for the first time, find new meaning to the lousy state of the streets, the cars and even my joints. Not only were they affected by the impact of a meteorite, but they also have suffered the effects of time. “But, how long? How long ago did the meteorite hit?”. I glance at my battery indicator. 46 minutes. I’m cutting it a little too close, but I need to know. I move as fast as my fear ridden body allows me, and I access the files. The first one to appear is titled Project A.R.K.1_v2, and to the right, I see the date when it was last opened.

02-04-2182

18:28h

For a moment, I feel like I could pass out and even though I know it is physically impossible since I’m an android, I still grasp the table to hold myself up. Three hundred years. It’s been three hundred years. And, finally, all the pieces click into place. The chargeless batteries, the absence of bodies, the atmosphere’s viability… those aren’t due to the impact, it’s because of time. 

A warning that I’ve learnt to hate pops up in my HUD. I only have 40 minutes left. I just hope that after all this time, there is still someone at the other side ready to receive this message. I stand up again and just as I’m about to close the tab and open the communications program, I read the name of the file again. Project A.R.K.1_v2.

“So they changed the original plan… maybe they already knew about the meteorite and tried to quicken its construction”. It’s now that I finally understand the saying curiosity killed the cat (saying used successfully: +1 You are unstoppable!), because if I don’t stop myself, I will be the cat. However, all the feelings I’ve felt in the last few hours have transformed me into someone quite rebellious, so against what my systems are telling me, I open the file.

It’s a transcription of an emergency meeting between 10 mandatories from the countries involved in the project and two scientists. I start a quick scan of the text, expecting a simple project update, but I couldn’t be more wrong.

“… of the elevator… calculation mistake… great instability… losing height”

“… time?”

“Months… immediately disassemble… stop cataclysm.”

“… could we… arks?”

“… not advisable”.

“Is it possible?”

“… launch… immediate destabilization… impact… extinction”

“… proceed… save humanity”

“… LIES!… A.R.K.1… only politics and their families… it’s your survival”

“… in favor?… unanimous… launch… one week”

*

(Searching… anger)… (Searching … wrath).

I can barely think. I disconnect my cable from the table and stumble out of the room, unable to stay there one more second. I try to run away from the visions that flood my systems, but I see everything happen as if I’d been there. A massive elevator to launch ships into space hovering over Earth, one of the biggest feats of humankind; a minuscule error in the calculations, almost dismissible, but that in a structure 5 kilometers wide means the difference between life and death; a couple of scientists, scared but relieved because they found the miscalculation right on time, happy to stop the disaster; a group of people that, guided by selfishness, decide that as long as they get to live, they will allow the elevator to drop out of orbit and crash into the Earth, killing every living being; a decision taken by ten people; ten. 

How could they be so… selfish? No, selfish is not enough. How do you call someone that sacrifices their entire species for their own survival, someone that decides that billions of people’s lives are worth less than their own? Someone that, consciously and with the chance of stopping it within their grasp, brings humankind to the brink of extinction. “They don’t deserve Earth”.

My circuits are about to burst into flames. I need to get out of here. I stumble through the corridors and climb up the stairs until the light of the sun washes over me once more. I move away from the entrance trying to control my wrath, but it’s like trying to hold back a tsunami. I turn around the corner of the entrance, blinded by (searching… hate) hate. I don’t see the piles of bones until one of them snaps under my weight.

There are so many surrounding me that I don’t know how I haven’t stepped on one of them until now. I stare at them, realizing that every single one of these people is a victim of their own greed. Looking up, the anger disappears as if it had never been there. The remains are behind a flimsy metallic wall, probably a hopeless attempt at seeking cover from the impact and despite the rust, I can still see the inscriptions. 

I move closer, carefully stepping around the bones and try to read them. Most of them are names roughly scratched on the surface, but a faded sentence catches my eye.

I just wanted a better future for my kids.

A sudden pressure in my throat radiates to the rest of my body, weakening me. (Searching… sadness). I follow the barely visible traces with my fingers, wondering if this person tried to soothe their kids when the sky started to burn. I wonder if they looked at them with a tear-soaked smile and wiped off their tears, asking themselves why they weren’t going to be able to grow up, why they wouldn’t get to live. I wonder if they hugged them until the end, whispering soothing words. I hope they did.

I look at the bones that surround me and try to imagine all the lives that got cut short that day. Were they able to share their last moments with their loved ones or did they hug a stranger, knowing the end was near but longing for a last few instants of human affection?

The mandatories that took that horrible decision don’t deserve Earth, but these people do. They were fighting for a better world for their children. They knew the value of life and yet paid the ultimate price. Not all humans carry hate within them.

WARNING!

LOW BATTERY (5%)

TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 20 MIN

I look at the remaining time and two feelings fight inside of me like feral animals, trying their best to take over. I need to make a choice. My eyes find the inscription again and, after a close fight, there’s finally a winner.

(Searching… resolve).

*

> Initiating CLAUD.IA

> Rebooting systems…

A blinking light bathes the room in its red light. I’m lying on the floor of the command center and over me, I see two figures bathed in blue light. They are… humans. One of them kneels next to me and, with a tear-soaked smile, hugs me.

“Thank you for bringing us home”.

—————————————————————————————————————————–