Memories
It had been several years since I first met that group of humans. I built for them a home above the surface making use of my abilities and the surrounding building material. They asked me why I created a moat around the community as it served no purpose. I chuckled and told them I love moats and I always wanted one around my home.
In those years the A.I. continued to test me, attacking me and my community with newer models of its combat machines. Every time I destroyed them in new and creative ways. I was curious as to why the A.I. never just nuked the community. My assumption was it wanted to capture me if possible to analyze and dissect me. Each attack did bring losses to the community.
I had grown to love my princess Christina as my own daughter and I was well aware she loved me as the father she lost. Zhenya developed feelings for me as well after the loss her husband in one of the attacks on the community. I kept her emotionally at a distance. I still could not allow another woman to get close to my heart. My heart was in permanent mourning for Marina. If I had had the chance at closure, one chance to apologize, to have tried to make things right between us then I could have allowed Zhenya into my heart.
I was content that I had Christina to raise as a warrior and leader. I saw how Zhenya came to love her as well as she had no children of her own. I appreciated how she looked after her, kept her safe when the community was attacked. I think Zhenya sensed that if something happened to my princess I would snap and my rage would be released. I think everyone feared what I could do if I allowed my rage to take control of my wits.
A few times when the community was attacked a small portion of my rage came out and the devastation I wreaked was substantial. One time the combat robots attacked, striking the school where the children were, several were killed in the attack. In my rage, I set forth an enormous swarm, one that blotted out the sun, destroying an entire state from where the combat robots came from. I mean, everything in that former state was destroyed. I used all that rage and material afterwards to construct a new addition to the community.
I used my abilities to hijack A.I. drones to search out for more surviving humans. When I found them I would capture them with other A.I. machines then bring them back to my community. It was the only way to keep them safe during the travel. I collected humans from all around the world…daring to hope that I would find my love. Her city was the first city I searched once I learned how to override the machines for searches in another continent.
Slowly over the years the community grew larger and larger. I knew I was creating a larger target for the A.I. by consolidating humanity in one area. I had deduced that the A.I. had changed its priority to me as humanity was no longer a threat to it. I anticipated that the A.I. was turning all its resources towards finding a way to defeat me.
It was one of the few times I was sleeping, a real sleep. My mind was silent, I was left with just my thoughts. Over the years my guests as I called them, had come to understand my need for sleep and for them to allow me that alone time.
I dreamt of Marina. I was standing in a ruined building looking out at the sun. I heard her voice as if it had been carried in on the wind. ‘My love…my Dave.’ I turned around, hoping that it was her, truly her.
I saw her standing there, a glow around her. She was standing in a sky blue dress, her hands on her hips, looking incredibly radiant and beautiful. She gave me that loving smile allowing me to take in the sight of her. A breeze blew through the ruins of the building, her dress waving like a flag. The fabric around the arms of her dress began to flutter looking like the wings of an angel, my angel, my love and my soul mate.
She beckoned to me to come to her. I took one step then another and another towards her. I could feel all the emotions welling up inside me, joy, sadness, loneliness and love. In my dream I began to cry as I moved towards with my arms stretched out. I saw her lips move silently saying ‘I love you.’ I walked faster towards her, ‘I love you Marina. I will never leave you.’ Just as I reached her, just as we were about to embrace after this eternity she disappeared with a loud clap.
My eyes fluttered open as I heard another explosion. The A.I. was attacking again. I wiped away tears from my eyes as I rushed outside to deal with the threat. I was feeling angry that this happy dream was ruined by my nemesis.
A large drone was over head. I watched as a door opened up an object jumped out. Combat robots were attacking the walls and trying to make their way along the bridge to the community. I watched as the silhouette dropped down into the courtyard. This was something new, not only the tactic but this object.
It landed with a loud thud, making a small crater. I watched it stand up, my eyes widened. It was robot but in a human form; a female form. It was completely in cased in a smooth silver skin. Its eyes opened, the glowed a sky blue…the same color as the dress worn by Marina. A crude face formed as well, one that vaguely looked familiar to me.
Slowly it stepped towards me and it spoke, ‘Hello Dave…you recognize me don’t you? I know you will not hurt me.’
The voice was familiar, it almost sounded like Marina’s! I was so fixated on this new robot that I had not noticed it was preparing to attack me. Suddenly I heard Christina’s voice, ‘Dave…daddy…look out.’ I saw the robot raising its arm up for a backhanded strike. The arm from the elbow to where the hand would be was a blade. As it slashed at me a body jumped in front me of me, taking the slash that was meant for me. The body crumpled to the ground and I leapt back a few feet.
The person on the ground rolled over to look at me…it was my princess! My Christina! The new assault robot had hurt my princess. She held out a bloody hand towards me, the pain and pleading in her eyes shattered my heart and drove me into a rage.
My right arm formed into a blade as well thanks to my nanites. This had become very personal to me. In my rage I was not going to just destroy the new assault robot, I was going to tear it apart by the same means it hurt my princess.
I charged at it, screaming in rage, slashing my blade at it. It blocked my attack and pushed me back. That only fueled my rage more. Restlessly I assaulted it with slash after slash. I never gave it a chance to counter my attacks. Within a few minutes I had dissected it into metal pieces. I turned my attention to the combat robots, wiping them out of existence with a mere wave of my hand.
Then Zhenya’s voice caught my attention and calmed my rage. “Dave! Christina is still alive! She is hurt badly!”
I rushed to my princess, to my daughter’s side. I knelt down on the ground next to her, assessing her injury. It was bad, a deep slash across her face and chest. She was bleeding out quickly. I looked at Zhenya as she stared at me, tears in her eyes.
“Save her! Can’t you save her?”
I looked down at Christina, there was fear in her eyes. “Daddy…it hurts badly. I am going to die.”
I looked at her then to Zhenya. Zhenya’s eyes were pleading with me. I turned back to my princess holding my hands above her wound. My hands began glowing but with a soft white glow.
“You will not die my sweet princess. Daddy will not allow it. This will not hurt, I promise.” I laid my hands on her wound saying only one word internally. Actually not saying, commanding my nanites to heal. They began to flow out of my hands into Christina’s wounds. We watched as her bleeding slowed and the stopped. Then Zhenya and I watched as her wound began to knit, new skin growing across the wound. After just a few minutes the damaged was repaired. Christina tried to sit up.
“Easy sweetheart, easy. Not so fast.” I helped her to sit up straight. A small crowd and surrounded us. They had never seen me heal an injury and to be honest that is because I never tried it.
Christina looked down at where her wound was then she wrapped her arms around me, tightly hugging me. I could feel her tears running down her face and dropping onto the back of my neck.
She released me, kissing my cheek she said to me, “Now I am your daughter. I am like you.” I understood she felt that since I used my nanites to heal her that now they would become with her. To be honest, I did not know what would happen. Perhaps they would stay with her, keeping her healthy, healing her.
I embraced her and Zhenya. “Yes my princess you are like me now. I will never let any harm come to you both.”
And so a new phase began. Over the next few years the A.I. kept sending these new assault robots, soon named assassin bots as their only target was me. The A.I. ceased using energy and kinetic weapons. It had chosen to use the basic of weapons to get to me. Each new version looked more and more human in form. Each new version looked more familiar to me as well. The A.I. was trying a new tactic, one I did not fully understand for a while.
I began to wonder if I had waited too long to act on my threat to wipe out the A.I. I still wanted to hold on to my word not to destroy it as it had a right to exist. However, I was questioning the logic of my choice. The A.I. only appeared focus on defeating me, not on the larger picture that both the A.I. and humanity could co-exist on this world.
