A Sip of Infinity

A Game of Fate

 “How in the name of Christ?!!!!” yelled Harold, utterly thunderstruck at the android that I built. Harold’s reaction was that of a caveman who was handed a smartphone. He touched the robot maniacally, trying to raise its arms and knocking hard on its head.

                     “Heyhey, get a grip on yourself, it’s not as strong as you think,” I scowled at him, as he glued his eyes onto it. The android had a milky white body, its outer body was made of Bakelite (a type of plastic which is used to make electrical plugs, telephone body and also buttons of shirts), I had designed it to have an oval face with accurate human-like facial features: two equally spaced eyes with a lens, a distinctly ordinarily shaped non-pointy nose, and a proper-sized mouth. Its legs were as rickety as that of a skeleton’s, nevertheless, I had constructed it in a way that it wouldn’t fall even if pushed with immense force.

                     “I…I thought we’d build one together, believed it’d probably take us months to manufacture even a prototype… How on earth did you achieve this Jared? And that too within just a week?”

                       I was lost now, didn’t know how to answer, the truth was I had built it myself, worked twenty-four hours since the past week. Digesting, processing, and implementing every bit of info I could discover through the internet as well as books. A feat that would’ve been improbable perhaps even by both my and Harold’s efforts combined, was achieved in a week.

                      “How do you control it anyway? Have any controller or something?” he asked, waving aside the awkward questions.

                      “It’s an intelligent robot Harold, just as we proposed to make,” I reminded him, though with reasonable calmness. “I programmed it to respond to humans, it can speak English and ten other languages including Arabic and French. It can think logically, like play and win a game of chess, can direct people in performing a task such as guide them in operating a new computer system, etc. But, I have limited its intelligence to this level, hence, it is not in his programming to lie and cheat,” I elucidated, words coming out of my mouth automatically. At the end of my explanation, Harold ogled me, though this time his eyes were filled with suspicion.

                      “Are you concealing something from me?” he probed, looking me in the eye.

                      “Why on earth would I hide anything from you, Harold? I built it myself, spent sleepless nights working on it, going through the web and various books, and oh yeah! I forget to mention, I did have some assistance, from online experts through chatrooms. They guided me perfectly on how to build one,” I retorted confidently, he opened his mouth again to argue back but I cut him off immediately, stating that if I had anything suspicious or untrustworthy activity going on why would I have asked him to join me for starting a company, I would’ve done it myself, at which he nodded in absolute agreement and dropped the topic.

                The next few months passed with a wind of accomplishments blowing across the sky. We finally set up our company, named Bane Enterprises, with an enormous office in Bur Dubai. More AI robots had been built, though this time by a group of engineers that our company hired, many of them were dropouts but highly skilled at the job. Moreover, our company was able to advertise the robots worldwide through a local television channel that we tied up with, leading to robot sales across Asia and North America. Thus, raising a hundred million dirhams within a single month. I bought a brand new apartment in one of the most luxurious buildings in Deira; a three-bedroom place with a breathtaking view of Downtown, and the metro through a vast glass window. Along with a jet black limousine, and the latest Ford Mustang. However, amidst the bliss of success that I felt, there was one thing that had completely been erased from my memory and whose price I nearly paid.

My boundless mind contemplated the future prospects, as I drove to my magnificent new apartment in my mint Mustang. How far could I go? I thought, gripping the steering wheel with a sort of exhilaration. From millions to billions, perhaps even get my name stamped among the wealthiest magnates of this century in the near future. Abruptly, something crashed on the rooftop of my car, causing me to move sideways and nearly collide with the back of a truck. It was Chang, and I knew exactly what he had returned for.I couldn’t stop the car as we were on the highway, in the meantime, he stabbed a sword through the rooftop of my pristine car, as I moved aside to avoid his attacks, and in doing so had to use my legs for controlling the wheel at one point.

“Chang please listen to me, I have your doubled money, I’m gonna pay you back now!” I yelled desperately, but he gave me a deaf ear and resumed his savagery.

Driven with an irritating range, I raced the car at a speed of one fifty miles per hour, swerving various vehicles and running two red lights as my mind converted the entire scenario into a racing video game and provided me with complete control with hundred percent accuracy. Nonetheless, he was incapable of even loosening his incredible grip off the car's roof, and he continued to sabotage the roof like a brutish beast. At that moment, my eyes fell on a stationary pickup truck on the right side of the highway, with a hugely wide metallic plank slid down. I struck the iron when it was hot, as I sped it right across it and….the car flew. We were in mid-air when I sprung up through the massive hole in the rooftop, created by Chang’s sword, and with annoying fury I kicked his chest hard, sending him flying down and smashing over a Cadillac Escalade SUV, while my car leaped over a flyover and landed atrociously on the ground as I took the wheel again and sped off.

I felt a mixture of ferocity and frustration, thinking of my precious car, which thanks to Chang had been thoroughly damaged beyond repair. It was a miracle that it hadn’t blasted after that gut-wrenching landing and had managed to drive me home. I was ready to pay back his money, in fact, I was going to deliver his money before going home.  

That’s the freaking problem with these type of people, I thought irritably, nobody is ready to be patient and forbearing. If Chang had been so, he would have saved himself a hell amount of pain and my car that dreadful wreck. I wasn’t even certain whether he was alive or not. I sort of hoped he was, I didn’t want someone’s death on my head and conscience. And then, the thought of mother arose in my mind again, reawakening the dormant feelings of poisonous anguish, despondency, and heart-breaking culpability. I had learned to conceal the guilt, buried it deep inside my heart, however, they broke out today. It was solely my fault that she was no longer with me today. If and only if I hadn’t acted so rashly and attacked Ben Joe, she would have been here with me today, inexpressibly delighted and proud of my achievements. I imagined, eyeing intensely, the gorgeously mesmerizing view of downtown through my apartment's vast gallery. But whatever fate has in store, remains in store…..