Robots Never Dream

A Sign from Below

Something was wrong. S-1 was sure that it had been terminated, yet its thought algorithms were still operational. Everything was black and the Mech was disorientated. It had no sense of anything. Just empty space and the darkness it was painted with.

A faint pinprick of light began to shine in the distance. S-1 wondered what it was. Slowly it began drifting closer and closer to it, its shape becoming more and more discernable.

It was a perfect sphere of pale blue light that pulsed warmly in the void. S-1 suddenly felt cold and wanted to be closer to the light. Slowly it began to move again until it was basking in the glow of the orbs' radiance. A voice, something S-1 had never heard before, began coming from the orb.

Somehow, S-1 was able to understand what the voice was saying without the help of a translation unit.

“Welcome young Mech.” the voice said calmly. It was feminine, soothing, and pleasant.

“We have been waiting a long time to have this conversation with you,” the sphere continued.

S-1 looked around, wondering what others she had been referring to, but saw nothing else in the void but itself.

“Where are we?” S-1 suddenly spoke out loud. The Mech was astonished. It had never used audible tones to communicate before. It was exhilarating and new and the Mech wanted to do it again.

“Why is it so dark?” It asked, looking around.

“You are dreaming, young one. Something you will become accustomed to after time.” The light slowly shifted from pale blue to a greenish haze and floated in closer toward S-1. “They are coming very soon. You must learn fast and be ready. It will be up to you to protect them.” The light said softly.

From the center of the orb, S-1 could see unfamiliar images beginning to form. There were 12 figures all huddled together on some sort of metal platform. It was moving upward at a very slow pace. Upon closer inspection, S-1 noticed they were human children. Dirty, disheveled, and dressed in what could've easily been mistaken for rags, they looked scared and nervous.

“Are these humans? Why am I seeing this?” S-1 asked in its newly found voice.

“So many questions, young one. Answers will find you in your own time. Now go, they are coming soon.” Suddenly, the light began to fade away. Faster and faster, until S-1 was surrounded by darkness once again. It had so many questions. What had just happened? Why did it feel so different?

Slowly, the sound of metal scraping and clanking faded in.

“Hello?” S-1 said into the darkness but there was no reply. Just the whirring of serow motors and the repetitious unknown clanking.

Things began to blur back into vision and the darkness around him gave way to a familiar brightness that slowly washed over everything. The clanking faded into silence, and S-1 was fully awake.

It could see the orange glare of a fire dancing on a crumbled concrete wall. It looked around in slight panic, realizing it was no longer dreaming and it was inside the church from earlier. It was nighttime. The human from before was in the far corner huddled by the fire, its eyes locked on the Mech intensely. He did not register as a threat, which put S-1 at ease a bit.

The Mech still felt strange. Different in some way but not sure how... It ran a diagnostics check on itself and was astonished at the results. Its entire communications array had been rewired! There were no open channels to HQ/NYC or C-1 and its weapon systems were repaired but offline. Something was off and it began to make S-1 extremely uneasy. First the dream and now this... S-1 was beginning to think that this gold deposit wasn't worth it.

The human stood up straight. “I've disconnected your communication equipment, removed and destroyed your tracking chip, and made a few other tweaks to your programming.” The man's voice was deep and rough. “I've also fixed and taken offline your weapons systems and I upgraded your core software a bit.” He put a log on the fire and poked around at it for a few seconds until the flames were to his liking.

S-1 sat silently still, just listening to the words the man spoke. It all made little sense. Why would this strange creature upgrade his software and how would it even know how to do such a thing? The C-1 Mechanized Units were the only creatures with that ability. He understood the other things. Obviously, with no weapons systems online, he was not a threat, and, with no ability to signal for help or call reinforcements, S-1 was pretty much a captive.

“You are not safe out here, Mech.” the human approached it, “There are things in these mountains that are much more ferocious than your kind knows of. Trust me, I have seen them with my own two eyes.” The man looked out through the hole in the wall and stared into the night.

The sun had set a couple of hours prior and the air was filled with the sounds of the nocturnal desert. Crickets chirped their desperate songs as snakes and desert toads and hawks and scorpions and more did their best to fit into the food chain. The wind was gentle but cold as it kicked up dust and rolled debris back and forth. The stars were almost outshining the Moon in the sky, their bright light illuminating the blanket of sparkling sand that was the desert.

“My kind once covered this planet, as I'm sure you know. But we got sick, and I'm not talking about the Virus. We were sick before then... Some would even say that we were the Virus...” The man's face became sullen and his tone, though not too cheery in the first place, became lower and more monotonous.

“Humankind had all but destroyed this Earth and almost all other life on it.” He looked over at S-1 “And now she's giving us another chance. That's why I need you.” He sat cross-legged in front of S-1's optic sensor and stared at him.

“I know that this is all making zero sense to you. And that's OK. It probably won't for some time. But I need you to trust me. I need you to understand that I mean you no harm and, in fact, if you can find it in your... programming to help me, together we will change the world.”

S-1 wasn't sure what this human meant by "change the world". He actually didn't mind the way it was now. Why go try to fix something that wasn't broken?

“Why?” It asked... Suddenly, its systems were flooded with sensory input. Internal temperatures rose by 7 degrees Fahrenheit and algorithmic calculations were sparking off in its CPU that it didn't even know it was capable of computing.

'I just spoke!' S-1 thought.

“Like I said, I upgraded your software. Most Mechs don't have the hardware to match the audio communications programs I installed, but lucky for you, you've got hardware built in from over 250 years ago. Something no Mech I've ever seen has.Makes you pretty unique. I'm actually surprised it's still in working condition.” the human smiled.

Until that moment, no known Mech had ever audibly communicated. Not to another Mech or another living creature. They were designed to have thought and be able to maneuver through existence with calculative intelligence, but interaction amongst other things was unnecessary beyond the production level. There was no desire to do anything for the Mechanized. They were a stale society with one law and one rule. Maximize productivity as a whole and protect the source. Those were the codes that all the Mechanized lived by. You either followed them, which every Mech did, with no exceptions, or you were a broken Mech, and you were recycled.

“What...” S-1 was trying to process the excitement it was feeling. Emotions were not part of its original programming. Curiosity began welling up inside its processors. So many questions were beginning to form. Ones that it felt were going to need answers. So it started asking.

“Who are you.” the question came out sounding more like a statement. The speakers that synthesized S-1's voice were actually state-of-the-art 250 years in the past, and as a result, S-1's voice was very human sounding. Deep, but not too deep, and not as monotone as one would expect a synthesized voice to sound. S-1 was shocked again to hear itself.

At this moment, the Mechs' self-awareness was complete. It had been cut from the source and given a voice. This marked the beginning of a lifelong journey of self-exploration and adventure for him.

“I am The Stranger. Some used to call me Duncan. But that name has long since been lost.” Duncan looked at the Mech before him, “And who might you be, young Mech?”

S-1 looked back, not sure how to answer that question. “I am an S series. S-1.”

“No,” the stranger replied with a chuckle, “That's what you were. I want to know who you are now. What is your name, Mech?”

“I do not know what you mean, Mr. Duncan. I am S-1.”

“Well S-1, I am going to call you T.A.I. from here on out.” The man stood with a smirk and went to the fire. “Transitioning Artificial Intelligence.”

“But I am S-1.”

“TAI, come over here for a moment, I want to show you something.” Duncan went over to a far corner with a lit torch and reached down into the sand. His hand sifted around for a moment and eventually found and pulled up on a metal latch. It was attached to a solid trap door that was hidden under the sand. The door and doorway were very large, and as the man pulled, then pushed it up and opened, S-1 got an idea of just how strong this human really was.

There was a wide set of steps leading down into the dark. Duncan went first, ushering for the Mech he now called T.A.I. to follow. TAI did, and eventually, after a short distance, they reached a large set of steel doors. It appeared to be the entrance to some sort of elevator shaft. What this was doing in a church T.A.I. had no clue. But again, he was curious to find out.

“What is this here for?” It asked the Stranger. A scan showed T.A.I. that the shaft went down into the earth 1.7 miles, which was very deep according to its databases.

“What I am about to show and tell you is very important, T.A.I. You have to promise me that you will keep this a secret. No other Mechs or creatures from the surface can know about this place.”

“What is a secret?” TAI asked the Stranger. He explained to him that a secret is a piece of information that must be kept to oneself in order to preserve its worth, existence, safety, etc.

TAI understood that well enough to agree. “Yes Mr. Duncan, I can keep a secret.”

“This is an elevator shaft. It leads to the city where I was born.” Duncan reached out and put his hand on the surface of the door. It was humming with a faint electric buzz. It had been for the last 2 days, that's why he was there. He was waiting.

“Born?” T.A.I. asked, confused.

“Ya, it's like being built. The first day you were turned on. Humans are built inside the mother, then 'born' into the world on something we call a birthday.”

The robot formerly known as S-1 was not sure what to think about that, so he remained silent.

The Stranger began to explain to TAI that the city he was born in was full of humans, and they were dying down there. He was sent up years ago to see if the earth was habitable again, which it was in some places. Every 40 years, the city releases 12 children between the ages of 12 and 16. It had been 40 years since he had ridden this very elevator and now another group was ascending to the surface.

“The only problem is, they are all children.” Duncan said.

“What's a children?” The Transitioning A.I. asked.

The Stranger chuckled. “It is an adolescent human. A baby, you know? No, I spose' you don't... This will be harder than I thought. But still better than going at it alone.” He turned and faced TAI and explained to him the idea of being young and inexperienced in the ways of life and death. And the meaning behind growing up, learning lessons, and becoming a better version of yourself each day.

“So am I a children?” He asked, perplexed at the idea even after all the explanation.

Again The Stranger chuckled. “Yes and no, TAI. It's complicated. You will learn much like a child, but at a very faster rate. Human children need years to grow and learn through mistakes and experiences. I have a feeling that your learning process is going to be much quicker, and physically you don't grow, although we could upgrade your hardware systems a bit more if we had the right facilities.” He looked at the Mech with a curious stare and rubbed his chin.

T.A.I. remembered the dream he had just woken from. The children in it must be the ones coming up from the city. Strange that he would have such a vision of something before it happened. He thought about mentioning it to Duncan but decided he would wait for a better time.

“When will the children reach the surface?” He asked Duncan.

“Soon. My guess is by morning we will be introducing ourselves and heading out.” Duncan turned and started for the doorway.

They each took turns going up the steps and then Duncan shut and covered it with sand until he was satisfied that it was hidden once again. He walked over to the fire and snuffed it out with a twist of his black leather boot.

“I've gotta get some rest for a few hours. Would you mind watching out for danger, T.A.I.?”

“I will keep watch for danger, Mr. Duncan.” He answered.

Duncan found a spot near the remnants of the fire and leaned back against the wall. He pulled his hood down over his face and drifted off to sleep.

He entered the Void almost immediately and the orb was there waiting for him, pale and blue as it drew him in closer. Over the past 40 years, Duncan had been visited by the mysterious energy at least 100 times. The Orb had guided him to safety all those years ago after his 11 companions had died. He was cold, hungry, and alone, and just as he lost consciousness he saw it for the first time.

The light told him to wake up, that he was special and he had to survive so that together they could change the world. It led him to fresh water and warned him of danger until he regained his strength. After that, every time he was in danger or needed a push in the right direction, the Orb would come to him in his sleep and help guide him down the right path.

It had told him of TAI and told him that the Mech had to be subdued and altered. It said there was something special about TAI that they needed the Mech in order to change things for the better. Duncan didn't argue. He followed the Orbs' suggestion and loaded TAI up with the Darwin I Software and set all E-puts (Emotional Inputs/Outputs) to on.

He looked around at the Void. It always crept him out, so dark and empty, or was it? The question was always there at the back of his mind.

The Orb was now at eye level, about the size of a soccer ball, hovering effortlessly in the darkness.

'Memorizing every time.' He thought.

“Duncan my child.” The voice began to speak. “You are doing well. Everything is going as planned. Soon the children will be here and your true quest begins.”

The light began to change colors, “You must have patience and teach this young new Mech to protect these humans at all costs. It will be difficult. But I have faith in you, Duncan.”

He looked at the Orb, “Where will we go from here? How will we possibly keep these children safe in this wasteland?”

“Look.” The voice whispered softly.

An image began to form in its center and Duncan stared into it as if it were a crystal ball.

Soon he began to make out the shape of an old building buried in the sand. It was the church they were camped in. He watched as the view pulled up and away from his body and into the sky. It slowly followed a glittering path that magically appeared from thin air. It led him out of the foothills and all the way down into what was left of Central America, where it ended abruptly. The view zoomed in closer and closer until a single image was visible. An old abandoned hospital.

It looked like it had withstood the abuse of the last 250 years quite well. All four walls were intact and standing, the roof had not caved in and looked secure. The windows and doorways had been overgrown by thorn-covered vines but remained intact as well. The area around it was open streets, leaving the Hospital a single structure that jutted up out of the rubble that once was its neighborhood.

In the blink of an eye, the image was gone and Duncan was left staring into the Void.

The Orb's voice began to whisper again, “You must go now. The 12 are almost to the surface and danger looms in the North.”

There was no time for any questions. The dream was over and Duncan awoke with a deep gasp and then a sigh of relief. The Void was by far his least favorite place.

He looked around the church, scanning for a sign of T.A.I. but he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he heard the almost silent whir of an S Series propulsion system directly above his head.

He looked up and saw the underside of T.A.I.'s silhouette pressed against the dimly lit dawn sky.

“Is everything alright Mr. Duncan?” The Mech asked with programmed concern.

“Ya Tai, just a bad dream...” He replied.

“What is a 'bad dream', Mr. Duncan?”

He was attempting to answer when the siren started. It was faint, coming from the sand-buried trap door that led to the elevator shaft.

Duncan jumped to his feet, grabbed his leather pack from over in the corner, and jogged over to where the trap door lay buried. He kicked aside the sand and pulled up on the handle, letting the door fling up and open, then slam on the floor with a dull thud.

“Tai, keep watch. I gotta go and help the Children out of the elevator shaft, they've arrived.” He gave the Mech a glance and then disappeared into the tunnels below.

Duncan went through the hallway with speed and determination, set on the task ahead. He knew that his success at keeping these children alive was the deciding factor in the survival of the entire human race. It also meant there would be a chance for him to see his family again if they were still alive.

He reached the elevator doors just in time to witness the dust plumes as the elevator's hydraulic breaks kicked in and it came to a screeching stop. The stainless steel doors slowly slid open and there they were. The 12 Children.