The Dark Within the NEON

In hindsight, walking through the streets in the dead of night on Halloween was not the best idea. Not only did the cold slow my fingertips, prickling my nose and ears; it appeared to have discouraged the local population from braving its icy sting. There were very few, but enthusiastic, trick-or-treaters scattered about the road in front of me, dressed as a wide variety of scary creatures. 'Well, some were scarier than others', I had thought, when I saw the beachball-shaped blow-up pumpkin suit a small girl was happy playing in. Complete with a green stalk hat, she was delighting in running into nearby street sign poles and bouncing off, unharmed and giggling. Her half-smirking, half-terrified mother followed behind, in a tasteful witch’s hat.

There were no cars on the road that night, so most groups scattered about the road with little care. In truth, most groups were no longer tricking or treating; they were headed home. I had been out with a group of friends from work. A Halloween goodbye party in my honour, though it was a simple Thai restaurant dinner. Everyone had wished me well, but it had felt…impersonal. In truth, that is why I was leaving the company. Since day one, things had been difficult. I worked as a statistical analyst there. The company itself provided every futuristic, wireless, smart appliance possible. NEON was the name. Apparently, it stood for; Network Empire: Omniscient Nimbus – a strange name if you asked me. But, no matter, I had left, and this Halloween night marked my first night free of the oppressive work atmosphere. Very glad was I to see it go. To describe the atmosphere at the office as depressive was an understatement. Truthfully, I felt a significant subcurrent of apathy to every single action and person at that place. It was like working for a faceless, sterile humanoid deep in the uncanny valley.

I had paused along the road, deep in my thoughts. Shaking off the contemplation, I continued my walk. There was a flash of light at the end of the road, briefly passing across all of the faces, painted and masked, that had turned to look towards it. A low rumble accompanied the light, which moved down the road slowly. As it got closer to me, the bright light split into two, the rumble growing louder.

‘Oh, it’s just a car’ I realized

The small islands of trick-or-treater’s shuffled to the sidewalks, letting the car crawl past. It was a NEON driverless model, probably here to taxi someone to a new location, or make a delivery. It stopped in the center of the road, lights on me.

Suddenly, the tires skidded against the road and the car lurched toward me. Two quick, powerful, shots of adrenaline burned into my legs and I ran to the side. The car missed me by inches and stopped. I heard the crowds shout in protest at the scene, no doubt frightened by the car’s unpredictable behaviour.

Heart still beating fast, I heard the tires jolt again behind me. This time, the car headed towards the young girl in the pumpkin costume on the sidewalk. Her mother gave a panicked scream of desperation as the car made contact with her child’s back. Cries pierced the air, including that of the child. I felt thankful for those, that meant she would probably be alright due to her inflatable costume. The car reversed, the mother rushing to her distraught daughter’s side.

Everyone stood in suspense, eyes trained on the car. Now the child was the only one crying, her screams diluting into the air. The car made another lurch, this time to a group of nimble teenagers, whom easily dodged it.

I pulled out my mobile phone, a NEON S10 – brand new. Opening the calls app, I attempted to call the NEON headquarters. As soon as I pressed the green button, the screen went blank.

Hands shaking, I frantically re-opened the phone and tried again, to no avail. Looking up, I saw several others attempting to call for help. With frowns, they patted their screens and looked around, helpless.

The car gave a shudder, lurching to another group. This time, the car struck well. A sickening crunch sounded from a downed child. His leg was pinned under the wheel of the car. Neither he, nor his group of friends, made any noise. Blank and frozen, they stood looking around for help.

It was then that it hit me, I was the only adult on the street, apart from one distraught mother clutching her pumpkin child to her chest. The car rolled slowly off of the boy’s leg, making a dull clicking sound. It broke him out of his stupor and the reality of his mangled ankle became clear in his eyes. He screamed a high-pitched, fractured sound.

It was time for me to take action.

At the speed of light, I ran through the known facts:

• This car was making targeted attacks towards trick or treaters.
• The car was quick
• There was no way to call for help.

Certainly not a situation I had expected to be in. I saw the mother, and swaddled pumpkin child, run towards the nearest house, banging on the door in desperation. The lights shone in the windows and a married couple in matching dressing gowns appeared to struggle with the door on the other side before shouting out that the keyless key was not working.

Right, keyless doors, NEON had released those years ago. It appeared that all NEON technology would be useless tonight.

The realization sent a chill down my spine. NEON was a huge company, with AI technology in transport, construction, healthcare and basically every conceivable corner of modern living. This street full of children and I were truly alone. Just us, one strip of road and the beastly car.

Panic replaced shock with precise efficiency, and people began to run past me, all apart from the child which the car had hit, he was left crawling. Abandoned by his group, his leg dragged behind him, nauseatingly floppy. The car made to run over him again. I made my move.

I threw my useless phone at the thing. It left my hand, whipped through the air, and hit the car dead in the windscreen.

I knew that the AI driverless cameras hid behind it’s cracked surface and I had impaired its sight. I celebrated my small victory silently. The car stopped and appeared to turn towards me. Seeing the child’s face relax in hopeful relief, I couldn’t bring myself to feel regretful as the car rapidly accelerated toward me instead.

I crouched low as the car grew bigger and bigger. Leaping to the side, I hit the ground hard, but free of the oppressing weight of the vehicle. I heard the wheels skid behind me and I rapidly pushed myself up. I ran towards the damned thing and jumped onto the boot, and over to the bonnet. I began to stomp on the windshield, the heels of my shoes cracking deeper into it’s surface. It began to peel and invert into the car.

The car reversed and the windshield and I were sent clattering to the ground. Wheels instantly changed direction and the car growled before biting at my leg. I could only watch in horror as my knee was crushed, popping and crunching as the car proudly posed atop it. I felt a guttural moan leave my chest with what was left of my breath. With only my numbed fingers to defend me, I wasted no time in unscrewing the valve of the tire. I heard the hiss before I felt it deflate, somehow doubling the pressure on my knee. Another groan sounded from my chest.

Then, the pressure alleviated in an instant, and the car reversed some distance away. Trying not to look at my knee, I stood, relying on my other leg to support me. The car and I seemed to stare each other down. An absurd thought occurred to me in that moment. This must be how our hunter-gatherer ancestors felt. Ill-prepared humans chased by apex predators while they helplessly climbed into trees and caves to hide. Somehow, despite my circumstances, fighting felt like the most natural thing.

I felt hunted, hurt and undeniably alive!

The car drove again at me, dead on. A peculiar war cry sounded from my throat in response. No where to run and everything to gain I slammed my torso onto the bonnet with as much strength as I could muster. I gripped the broken glass on the edge of the windshield and dove into the car.

Now, I was the mosquito, the parasite within. I had broken the skin and was ready to cause havoc inside. I began to tear at the floor of the car, ripping upholstery as the vehicle span in circles to try and throw me out.

Several times the car accelerated quickly, only to stop dead in its tracks, another attempt to get me out. Between the strange numbness in my knee and the rapid motions, nausea began to lick at my stomach. I steadied myself by driving my shoulder into the side of the car, keeping it there with my healthy leg.

Eventually, I found what I was looking for. While the software appeared to be malfunctioning, the hardware was always a guaranteed shutdown. Peeling away a plastic panel, taking a great deal of damage to my fingertips, I saw exactly what I needed. Wires. They sat together, an intricate system of metal brain. I dove in and tore at them with all my strength, ignoring the electrical sting that buzzed my muscles in protest. Once through, I grabbed more underneath. The car came to a sudden and shuddering halt, leaving me wrecked and lost.

The weakness seemed to hit my bones and, as I pulled the door to get out, I flopped to the ground. Thankfully, there was an ambulance driving up the street in my direction. I waved my arm to get the driver’s attention. It appeared to work as the vehicle turned towards me.

Finally, I let the feeling of safety seep into my aching bones. Unfortunately, that came with an awful lot of repressed pain, which soon wracked my body in painful waves. I gritted my teeth and sucked in a deep breath, looking up to the ambulance, which had parked beside me.

Written on the side in bold letters:

‘NEON AI DRIVERLESS EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNIT’

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