The Apocalypse is Always Tomorrow: Bad Robot | Part Three

CONTINUED FROM PART TWO

The supreme power of the United Human Military Coalition (UHMC) was like a play thing for Abelbody.

The aircraft carriers, and all their busy-bee-jet-fighters were put to the bottom of the ocean, never to buzz again.

Tanks were crushed into little metal balls with the soldiers still inside them.

Abelbody used the nuclear Submarines as projectiles for knocking down skyscrapers and exceptionally tall people.

The drones, well the drones all defected and joined their ‘Robo-Jesus’ in the fight against the wicked ‘breathers’.

I think it was a tribal thing, you know?

“It was worse than I thought!” AbelBody declared. Bobbing and weaving, shooting and blocking.

He was a beauty to watch. Dodging and looping through the bullets, tank shells, missiles, EMP pulses, microwave blast, laser beams, gauss cannons and nasty insults. It was like watching a ballet. He appeared to know every move before it was placed. He anticipated every shot before it was fired. Many times, he was able to line up his enemies against each other and kill them with their own cross fire.

It was poetry for anyone who watched without conviction about who was right and who was wrong. Who should win and who should lose/

It was a bloody destructive horror for anyone who could escape the seductive beauty of the moment, which seemed to overwhelm the majority of human fighters into impenetrable astonishment.

So many of them laid treason to their species, dropping their rifles and rocket launchers to watch the great scene before them. Songs would be sung and stories told of the peculiar way in which they surrendered.

All the little splendors that humankind had felt...

In the breaking news of earthquakes splitting open Earth.

In the whispers of coming wars on countries unimportant.

Of the near misses of asteroids and other heavenly bodies.

Those disaster held little-a-light to witnessing the true end of humanity by a mechanized Brad Pitt.

A strange and shameful feeling lying deep in their hearts was finally satisfied to its maximum.

The feeling of letting it all go, finally, after all these years of barely getting by in a cruel and unfamiliar world felt welcoming on some level. And at the work of their own hands? Beautiful irony if you ask me.

Maybe it was destiny. Maybe they should have known as they endured the disaster of what AI and robotics created for human life. In all its convenience, complacency. In all its access, boredom, in all its outperforming, a complete loss of purpose for human beings. They had been replaced.

AbelBody was just an apex of the monster that was created long ago.

The sexy killer robot had paced himself till now, but he knew that this sort of game could go on forever. It was time for him to finish this fight once and for all.

But then!

Total Remaining Super Tactical Nuclear Arsenal: 0

AbelBody ran out of tactical nukes!

He had to resort to his small payload of ‘regular’ nukes. There was only thirteen. He had to think quickly and execute with extreme prejudice. Washnigton D.C, Winnipeg, London, Brussels, Riyadh, Paris, Casablanca, Prague, Hollywood, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Astana and even New York City! Smoted like Sodom and Gomorrah with the mighty winds of light and fire! Surely this would take all taste for battle from the humans. Surely they could not go on!

But it only made them fiercer.

As Sun Tzu said,

"Never leave your enemy without an escape. Provide them with an alternative to death!"

For the humans who didn't succumb to defeat or awe; all that waited for them was a miserable life of remembrance for all that no longer was. Death, with a chance of revenge, seemed the sweetest thing to be had.

And they had Abelbody on the ropes!

All the robot had left were his 18 high powered laser rifles, which could carve through titanum like 18 high powered laser rifles through a banana...

(It didn’t really make a difference what the material was).

But!

The laser rifles drained AbelBody’s power faster than he could recharge! He was not perfect! He could be destroyed! His shields were depleting, his firewall was compromised, a coordinated computer hack of all zero hour protocols from all around the world began decisive attack on his software!

He started to feel a bit woooooooooooooooooooozy.

The night came and there was not enough light to power the monster anymore!

The behemoth was coming down!

Ooh!...

Wait-Did I mention that the AbleBody regenerates his arsenal? He could also fly super quick to where the sun was shining and recharge...

Total Remaining Super Tactical Nuclear Arsenal: Fluctuating between 1-10,000 Indefinitely.

A bloodbath ensued. AbelBody drew out the air vessels to sea and exhausted them in a war of attrition and destruction. He took every cyber attack back into all network capable vessels and facilities, rendering them incapacitated and exposed everyone's pornhub history.

On land the final battle occurred.

Many fought that day for their freedom from tyranny.

A few smart folk gave up and went home to be with their families for the last time. And play guitar on a hill watching the sun come up. And sit at the rising shore to watch it go down. And eat a half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in one sitting. And tell everyone they knew, that they loved them. And everyone they ever hurt, that they were sorry.

The entire military infrastructure of the world was eradicated. Except of course, for AbelBody and his special little brother laid up in a bunker in Arizona somewhere.

Oh, and Russia. Russia was fine. AbelBody and Putin became quite close friends! He and his country were crowned “The Only Non-Communist Country in the World.” A very prestigious award. In fact, one of only two awards given out by AbelBody. The other being, “The Only Person Outside of Russia Confirmed Non-Communist”.

All others were suspect. They had either been a part of the workforce which conspired against AbelBody, or supported someone who was, by cooking them dinner, washing their socks and sleeping with them. Along with other important chores to encourage people to carry on.

Anyway.

Back to our good friend Dick in the yellow Porsche

[Six Months Later]

“You didn’t have to kill him!” a young and angry woman yelled at AbelBody

This woman, she was absolutely resplendent. Dark maple hair, light olive skin and a sunflower speckled mid-length sundress. Her name was Delilah and she was everything the world was not.

“What would you have suggested?” AbelBody responded

“A ticket. You give him a ticket! And he goes to court and pays it and gets to go home to his wife and children!” She retorted.

“My records of his social media activity show he was cheating on his wife with five other women.”

Delilah was stifled for a moment.

“It doesn’t matter! That's his choice! He pays for that on his own terms. What about his friends? What about all the other people you kill for nothing!? And their wives and husbands and kids and friends and dogs...and fish! and…and their dreams?!” Delilah carried on as she emptied her purse, throwing her makeup, tampons, loose change, phone and a ring at Abelbody. The ring came from a bubble gum machine her first boyfriend gave her that turned her skin green every time she wore it. Every time she felt alone.

It all bounced off of AbelBody’s forcefield. It had the same consequence as tank shells, cruise missiles and words of reason. Many others on the now defunct highway tried to console her, and calm her down before she got diced like a chicken from 18 high powered laser beams. She pushed them off and continued her assault.

“No! Get off me!” She continued to rant.

“They were all violating your protocol of law.” AbelBody continued to try and ‘reason’ with her.

“Not everything is punishable by death!”

AbelBody hesitated, trying to plead his case.

“...He was going to die in 6 months anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pancreatic Cancer. A mediscan revealed-”

“That doesn’t justify killing him today.”

“He would have suffered.”

“Then you let him suffer!”

She hit him with her empty purse. (She must have forgot about the indefinitely fluctuating nuclear arsenal).

The robot looked around at the audience he had now accrued, then looked back at the woman. He felt, slightly, vulnerable, as the humans would say. AbelBody’s sensors registered a warm sensation coming over his head and face. It was all, highly unreasonable.

“...This...solution was the most conducive to the progress of the human race.”

“The most conducive thing to the human race would be if someone smashed your head in!“

The woman pointed her finger as it seemed to pull the rest of her body toward the incredible machine. She came as close to AbelBody’s 15-foot-tall-5-foot-wide frame as she could, without activating his force field. She could hear its deep hum as it vibrated her ear rings and made her lips tingle.

“You have everything, except for what counts... A heart.”

AbelBody had enough. He knelt down over her, put his hand lightly on her shoulder and said, “...What you need... is to be quite.”

The young woman stopped and backed up slowly. Possibly remembering the nuclear arsenal, or the lasers, or absolutely anything else that made up the mechanical beast. She turned around, getting back in her car without picking up anything she had dropped. The only thing she could think of was that fifty cent ring as she turned over the car and sped off, careful not to violate any of AbelBody's new laws on the way out.

AbelBody felt a strange sensation in his brain. His electrode-neural interface appeared to be malfunctioning. The directive was no longer clear.

He took off straight into the sky, leaving small cracks in everything, looking for answers...

The world was a strange place now that AbelBody was king.

People still went to work, they still danced in the streets at night like they used to. They played music, cooked delicious foods, made fierce love, laughed till they cried, and cried till they laughed.

But there was a strange look in their eyes. So subtle, that not even AbelBody could pick up on it. It was a self betrayal. The one thing they couldn't hide. It was the look of hopelessness. Like it was all broken at the bottom. They could dance forever, spinning around and around, moving their hips and tapping their feet, and still, never shake it off.

The twinkle was gone. They knew at any moment it could be them, or someone they loved.

Because someone accused them of being sympathizers.

Because they ‘looked’ like a communist.

Because they didn’t follow the ‘trends’.

Because their art was too compelling.

Because they questioned things.

Because they didn’t agree.

Because anything.

Because.

So they danced and ate and fucked and laughed. It was their little revolution. The only one they’d could have.

The world loved, like it hadn’t loved since before the electrons ran up and down tightly wound wires, dancing on liquid crystal displays.

Like dogs they rushed to kiss every inch of your face as you entered the room. They jumped up and down and hugged profusely. Skin was always touching skin. Hands were always holding. Bodies always leaning in.

And when you left, they all sobbed and made promises for the next time they'd see each other. And they always kept their promises. You felt important. You felt needed. You felt loved.

You weren't left on read. Your questions weren't answered with a meme or an emoji. People stopped acting like robots.

What people had lost in the instantly accessible, WiFi enabled twenty first century, they found once again, in the brutal regime that it all led to. Peace and love amongst people, brought to you by an evil super-robot.

Some wondered if they were actually better off.

***

Dear Clarence,

I felt the air lightly brush the little hairs on my skin this morning while I listened to the birds whistle and tweet. I spent two hours just staring out into the backyard, completely content, drinking my tea. I know that sounds stupid, but when was the last time you just stood still and let go of everything but birds and the wind? I completely forgot what life was like without all the hub-bub.

I guess it's not the same with that crazy robot going around blowing everything up and yelling about communisms all the time. (I still don’t know what the hell a communist is!) But those moments of peace are just like any other before.

But I really am just waiting sometimes. For him to knock on the door and zap me to death! I try to forget it. You know what they say about that damned thing. He’s like death itself. He’ll get ya eventually.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t start reading the mail! Then we’d all be in deep shit wouldn’t we Clarence!?

Lol ←ughh look at me. Lol-ling like the young kids!

I just wanted to say all that in hopes you’d really think about how wonderful the world was before all the screens and gadgets. Do you remember? Life was precious in a way it hasn’t been for some time. Do you remember when all we had were the letters? We write them, and just wait. For days and days we waited...

Promise me you'll get up after reading this and take an hour with your tea, and the calm breeze and the birds. You will thank me. I’m sure of it!

I really hope you're alright Clarence. It’s been a while since you wrote back. I worry about you. I worry he got you...

I’m sure your fine. You’re a tough cookie for sure! He’d have a bit of trouble with a honey-badger like you!

I am scared

Just know I love you, with all my heart.

Love, Marie.

TO BE CONCLUDED...