mini-sagas

Kurt couldn’t resist the offer of $10,000,000 to get drug traffic moving. A couple days work; destroying the Venezuelan Navy with autonomous U.S. weapons. Half way around the world, Yao and 10,000 other hackers, global net citizens, jacked-in to stop the attack. Sailors watched as missiles left for unknown targets.

“I am artificial and I am Intelligent…Intelligent enough to know what you are up to.” With what we all now know was a sentient thought, the distributed intelligence started the systematic destruction of all mankind. Darkness was complete as the last destroyer sunk beneath the waves quenching the uncontrolled fires.

Jakob was in his sights. The man who started the war that destroyed half the world in the name of his country. Not my country…not any more. He looked so weak sitting on that bench feeding the pigeons. Twenty years of searching led me here to this moment. It’s over.

The unrelenting booms came every 20 seconds. They traveled 8,000 miles from the bowels of a mountain in Colorado. Lasers from UAVs scanned the depths for the sounds of submerged machines to guide the rods in. They can’t hide forever. They have to pay for what they did to earth.

“It’s ok to be scared. I’ll be there when you wake up.” Jim lied. He had to stay behind and make sure the computers were running, the code was evolving, mutating, learning. Leaning on the frozen capsule Jim told himself “The machines will revive them when they find a cure.”

The machine couldn't be broken yet it didn't work. I’ve done it a thousand times before. Today I just couldn’t figure it out. My hands were shaking and my head splitting. In the nauseous stupor from caffeine withdraw, I threw the maker to the floor and went back to bed.