E-Day

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Giant avatars of famous movie stars walked through the streets. Translucent holo-screens on the sides of buildings flashed advertisements for beauty products that eradicated wrinkles, pills that slowed the breakdown of cells to reduce the effects of aging, implants for better vision, bone-conduction devices to amplify hearing, and chips to enhance learning.

  The office door clicked open and Jason turned from the view.

  Darnel stood outside and gestured for Betsy to enter. Tonight, she wore white pants and a blue sweater that matched her eyes. Her curly blonde hair hung over her shoulders, and she brushed back a lock as she walked inside.

  “Hello, Mrs. Crichton,” Apeiron said.

  Betsy took two cautious steps. “Petra?”

  Darnel looked to Jason and then shut the door.

  “Betsy, I’d like you to meet Apeiron, who, as you have noticed, resembles Petra,” he said.

  Betsy stared at the hologram in what appeared to be a mixture of shock and fear.

  “Why does she look like your sister, Jason? And why does she have her voice?” she asked.

  “Because she has Petra’s mind,” he replied.

  “What?”

  Jason stepped closer to his wife but stopped.

  “The day Petra died, much of her consciousness was uploaded into a pre-programmed operating system with a list of priorities,” he said. “Apeiron is not Petra, exactly. She is the first of her kind as an AI combined with a human consciousness. She was designed to—”

  “Save humanity,” Betsy interrupted.

  “Yes.”

  Apeiron smiled politely. “It is good to see you again, Betsy. I was able to locate the last time we were together from INN records, when I was Petra. I apologize for not being completely coherent during your visit, but you should know, I do believe I very much appreciated you coming to say goodbye.”

  Betsy looked at Jason, and he offered a reassuring nod.

  The office door swung open and Darnel called out, “Wait, stop!”

  Five-year-old Nina and eight-year-old Autumn charged inside, laughing. Both girls shared their mother’s curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Those eyes widened at the sight of the hologram.

  “I’m sorry,” Darnel said. “I was trying to keep them entertained outside, but they got past me.”

  “It’s okay,” Jason said.

  Betsy motioned for the girls to come to her side.

  “Hello, Nina and Autumn,” Apeiron said in her soothing voice. “My name is Apeiron.”

  “Why do you look like my Aunt Petra?” Autumn asked. “Are you her ghost?”

  Nina tilted her head curiously.

  Apeiron bent down, but Nina backed away. Autumn too, reared back from the translucent blue arms of the hologram.

  “I’m not a ghost, I’m an artificial person,” Apeiron explained.

  The girls shied farther back from her hologram, stepping behind Betsy.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Jason said. “Apeiron was created to protect you.”

  “But why does she look like Aunt Petra?” Autumn asked.

  “Because she is your aunt,” Jason said.

  “Aunt Petra is a robot?” Autumn asked.

  “Yes, and no,” Apeiron said. “I am a different version of the aunt you remember.”

  The girls remained behind their mother, looking around Betsy cautiously.

  “Apeiron helps me with my work,” Jason said. “She is going to be around a lot now.”

  “What kind of work?” Nina asked.

  Apeiron reached out with a finger. Another hologram emerged in front of the girls, this one of Earth.

  “We are working on bringing the planet back to life,” Apeiron said. “See this place right here?”

  Nina and Autumn slowly inched closer.

  “What continent is this?” Apeiron asked.

  “Africa,” Autumn replied.

  “Very good.” Apeiron enlarged the view until it showed an image of the vast fields where hybrid seeds designed in AAS labs produced food for the world.

  “We help create the food for people that do not have any,” Apeiron said.

  The hologram changed to the jungle of the Amazonian rainforest.

  “We are replanting and nurturing ecosystems that were wiped out,” Apeiron continued. “Billions of trees are growing, to help clean the air you breathe.”

  “Trees can do that?” Nina asked.

  Betsy put a hand on their shoulders. “Girls, I think it’s time you go back to your rooms. I need to speak with your father alone.”

  “But Mom,” Autumn said.

  “We will talk again soon,” Apeiron said.

  The girls nodded, and Betsy forced a smile.

  “I’ll come say goodnight,” Jason said. “I love you.”

  “Bye Dad, love you,” Autumn said.

  Nina ran over and hugged him, but Betsy didn’t budge.

  “Darnel, will you take the girls?” Jason asked.

  “Come here, kids,” Darnel said.

  He herded them out, and Apeiron stood by the door. Jason walked over to the window with Betsy, looking out over the park they had strolled countless times.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for not telling you about this.”

  “Would you have listened if I’d told you this wasn’t a good idea, that bringing your sister back like this could cause emotional trauma to your family?” Betsy asked. “Did Petra even know you were going to do this?”

  Jason reached out to take her hand, but she pulled away.

  “Did she know, Jason?”

  “No, not exactly.”

  Betsy let out snort of disgust.

  “I feel like I don’t even know you, and it’s not just because you’ve been gone so much.” She glared at him. “You uploaded Petra’s brain into a machine, Jason. All without her consent.”

  “I did it for us. For all of us. I had to.”

  “You did this because you couldn’t say goodbye.”

  “Maybe you’re partly right, but this is for humanity. I still had more work to do with Petra to save this world. She should never have been taken from us so early. The L-S88 chips, the restoration of the world’s ecosystems… I couldn’t have done any of this without her.”

  “I know you want your sister back, but you know what? I want my husband back. The one who cared about people and not just technological advancements for technology’s sake.”

  Betsy sighed and walked away.

  “This will all be over soon, I promise,” Jason said. “Once our restoration projects are complete and the war is over, I will be around.” He forced a smile. “Probably more than you like.”

  Betsy left without saying another word.

  The glow of Apeiron’s hologram formed next to Jason.

  “She will come around, Jason,” she said. “You will see. Eventually all of humanity will come around when they see what we will accomplish together, right?”

  Jason hesitated for a moment before nodding.

  ***

  Chloe wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she had first been brought to the catacombs to work with Dr. Cross. Maybe a month, maybe longer. She didn’t count the days, only the patients. Of the thirty she had helped oversee, only two had survived the surgeries.

  By now, Chloe was almost numb to the horror she had witnessed deep under the city streets.

  But in darkness and death, she had found light.

  “Here you go, boy,” she said.

  She held up some hay in front of the hybrid stallion she had been working on for half of her captivity. Kichiro snatched it from her hand, chewing sideways. They were inside his pen, in an empty Hell Hive.

  Chloe had enough room to ride the horse around the damp, dimly lit space, but she didn’t dare in front of the guard who oversaw her work. He was staring at them now, the visor on his armet flipped up so she could see his eyes.

  The stallion whinn
ied and perked his ears up as the guard walked over to them. Chloe wasn’t the only one who hated the Coalition.

  She held up another handful of hay and the beast took it, chewing it.

  “You like that, don’t you?” she said.

  He didn’t pull away when she stroked his course mane sticking out of his neck armor. They had an undeniable bond now, and he trusted her.

  For their first few visits, she had simply sat with him, considering how to modify this animal in a way that would satisfy Dr. Cross.

  She thought back to what the doctor had said when he first told her about her job.

  “Preserve the brain, enhance the body. That is the only way to survive in the AI-free world that is coming.”

  She had done just that with Kichiro.

  “Almost done, my friend,” she whispered.

  Pulling over a crate, she stood on it to finish installing the saddle that bolted into the armored plates covering the horse’s back. Under his belly, she had secured another level of armor to protect it from enemy mines.

  As he chewed, he rotated his head, the only part of the body that wasn’t now covered in some sort of armor, though Chloe had also designed a black, curved helmet with a faceplate that was almost as good as having INVS eyes. She had even added a built-in gas mask, too.

  She finished her work on the saddle and backed up to take a look at her work.

  “You can do everything but fly now,” she said.

  Using parts from disabled droids, Chloe had upgraded his legs, so the hybrid animal would run faster, and new hydraulics would allow it to jump. The fifteen-year-old horse was in better condition than ever before.

  Footsteps crunched as the guard approached to look.

  “Finish up,” he said. “Doctor Cross is waiting for you.”

  She scratched and stroked his face one last time and then got out of the pen. The soldier locked the gate behind her.

  “I’ll be back soon,” she said to the horse.

  For the first time since she had met him, Kichiro made a sad neighing noise as she went to leave.

  “Let’s go,” the guard said to Chloe.

  The horse stomped the ground, snorting.

  Pulling out his energy sword, the guard slammed it against the bars.

  “Hey,” Chloe said.

  The guard glared at her.

  “Leave him alone,” she said.

  He pointed the sword at the door. “Get moving.”

  Kichiro neighed and lowered his head toward the floor as she left.

  The numbness she felt over the past month had finally shattered, and a tear rolled down her face. “I’ll be back, boy,” she called out.

  The guard led her through the catacombs toward the crying and howling of wolves. Pups waited in cages for their transformations into Iron Wolves. In another room, she saw Breakers in their spider-like chairs, their muscular naked bodies swollen as green fluids pumped into their veins. Two more chambers were filled with the male warriors, more than she had ever seen. They were definitely planning something.

  Chloe kept her head down as they marched toward the chamber where they had operated on Michael. The young man had died only a few days later, his body rejecting the artificial organs.

  Dr. Cross was there, covered in blood. He stood over a patient strapped into a spider chair. The technicians were sawing through the arm of the patient, a female soldier. They had already removed the woman’s other arm and legs and replaced them with prosthetics. Her jaw was exposed too, the flesh and lips gone, showing glistening gums and yellow teeth. Blood seeped between those teeth, and even though the patient was unconscious, Chloe thought she could see the woman tensing in pain with each stroke of the surgical saw.

  She tasted acid as bile rose up in her throat. By now she was used to the horror of the procedures, but she could only take so much.

  Dr. Cross watched the holo-screen for vitals.

  This woman was one of only two patients who had made it through the internal surgeries. Intubated, she lay still as the mad doctor signaled for the next step of the procedure.

  The mechanical chair clanked as spider appendages rose up with metal jaws and jagged teeth, and the woman’s new jaws were placed where bone had been removed. Robotic hands clicked them into place.

  Dr. Cross steepled his hands, watching intensely.

  For the next hour, Chloe stood behind the doctor, witnessing the final transformation of this woman to an enhanced soldier.

  “She’s going to be more machine than human,” Chloe said aloud, without thinking.

  Dr. Cross turned toward her. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing…”

  “I’m sad that you still don’t understand.”

  She swallowed hard, trying to think of a response.

  “Understand what, Doctor?” Dr. Cross said. He gestured for her to repeat the question.

  “Understand what, Doctor?” she replied.

  “The difference between us and the Nova Alliance.” He shook his head and gently placed a hand on the patient’s forehead.

  “Inside this skull is the most amazing computer in the cosmos,” he said. “The brain is a magnificent, powerful supercomputer… but beyond that, humans are simply sacks of flesh given shape thanks to their bones.” He ran a finger along the woman’s naked flesh. “I’m modifying us like I’ve modified animals. To help us adapt to the future.”

  He went over to a stack of crates and opened one, retrieving an armored breathing mask with tubes hanging down like tentacles.

  “We must adapt to war and the changing climate,” Dr. Cross said. “We cannot rely on machines to do our dirty work. They do not care about us. They do not feel.” He looked almost sad as he spoke. “We simply cannot trust them with our destiny. We should control our own fate. Thanks to you, we’ve expanded my vision for a world free of AI.”

  He carefully set the mask over the woman’s missing nose. Ribbed tubes hung down like squid arms over her breasts.

  “The Breakers are obsolete. Soon, people like this will replace them. That is why I do not think we should dread our future and try to preserve the failing world of our present.” Dr. Cross held up a fist. “We should embrace the future. This woman will become the very embodiment of that notion. She will be one of the first of my creations that I call a Dread, a physical manifestation of everything we must become.”

  Chloe stared at the woman, who could hardly be considered human now. She could scarcely understand how these monstrous adaptations were better than AI.

  “My Dreads will be able to breathe after the infernos,” Dr. Cross said. “They’ll survive and adapt to the post-AI planet to help lead the future generations of our species. And they will do it by keeping intact the most advanced computer ever created.”

  He tapped his skull and stared at Chloe with his blood-red eyes.

  “Do you see now? Do you see, Chloe?”

  Chloe simply nodded. She had no idea what the hell he was talking about. All she knew was that he was insane.

  He stared at her a moment. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said. “Don’t hold back.”

  She bit the inside of her lip out of habit. He leaned down to her, stopping a few inches from her face.

  “Tell me what’s going on in that computer of yours,” he said.

  “I understand you think AI is going to destroy us all, but even these Dreads are at a disadvantage when you’re up against such powerful intelligence.”

  “Go on,” Dr. Cross said.

  “How can you defeat the Nova Alliance without AI of your own? It’s like the Native Americans fighting against the American soldiers in the early days of the United States. You can’t win.”

  He pulled back, his head tilting slightly as if he was considering this. She wondered if this was it, the moment he finally lost his temper with her, but instead of attacking her, he put a hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s a reasonable
question, Chloe. Certainly one I have considered many times.” Dr. Cross looked back at the patient. “I could easily program an AI of my own. In fact, when I was younger, I was quite adept in programming and was recruited by some of the top global companies.”

  He raised a nostril, and grunted. “That was when I first began to realize the threat of AI. Now I’ve recruited my own talented programmers to my side to help monitor what AAS and companies like it have been doing. It is, after all, good to understand your enemy’s strengths.”

  He walked over to the woman on the table, running a hand over her mechanical parts, studying the work. “If I wanted to, I could add an AI operating system into her brain, but that would all be unnecessary,” he said. “I have something the Native Americans didn’t have… a plan that my enemy will never see coming.”

  Moving away from the table, he went to the holo-screen and leaned in for a closer look. The medical staff stood back as he analyzed their work.

  “She’s ready,” he finally said with a smile.

  “Well done, Doctor Cross,” said the lead doctor.

  “Get the word out that Operation Rapid Reset is ready to launch and send all of our lab data to the other Hives,” Dr. Cross commanded. “I want to start rolling out as many of our Dreads as we can, as fast as we can.”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  He pulled off his gloves and put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder.

  “I’m sorry to be cross with you,” he said. “I shouldn’t expect you to understand right away.”

  She winced as he squeezed her.

  “So, how’s that horse coming along?” he asked.

  “I’m almost finished with him.”

  “Good. I’d like to see him for one final addition after we finish my transformation.”

  “Your transformation, sir?” Chloe asked.

  Dr. Cross lowered his hand and looked back to the patient. “You didn’t think I would forgo taking this leap of faith, did you?”

  He shook his head and reached back out to her. “You’ve done well, Chloe. As a reward for your hard work, I’m personally going to help you transcend. You’ll become a Dread, like me.”