Canis Major

Episode 5

***Michael's Point of View***

Staying active and exercising a lot helps me feel better during difficult times. I'm still adjusting to the new status quo. Am I afraid? Yes I am.

I drink sometimes. Not too much though. I have enough problems. I don't need to add alcoholism to the list. Sometimes I wish I could get amnesia and forget all my bad memories, including that one time I tried anal s*x in college. If I ever do that again I'm giving, not taking.

An artificial intelligence uprising made things go even more awry after Kathryn's death. It turns out those android sons of bitches were the ones who f****d with my bionic arm and made me kill Kathryn.

We fought hard but we lost many battles. Soon we lost the war too. We behaved like this world belonged to us as if it was a birthright. But this world actually belongs to whoever has the most power. Now that's the machines. They have the bragging rights now.

I'm hiding out in a cabin in the woods. I'm living like a caveman now. I'm not clean-shaven anymore. I have a bushy beard. I'm starting to lose confidence in God; starting to wonder if there's a deity somewhere out there that cares about my distress.

It's embarrassing we never saw this coming. I guess we thought it would always be a fantasy made up by science fiction writers to sell to freaks and geeks.

The androids buried the people they massacred in mass graves. Giant f*****g holes in the ground packed with innocent people.

I saw one of the androids snap a child's neck like it was nothing. The little girl's last word was "Mama!"

This world is now muddled beyond recognition. We overestimated our ability to keep these machines in check and they played us like we were easy p***y.

I have a big bag of rice here. That's what I eat every day, along with whatever animal I kill with my crossbow.

I have some of Kathryn's telepathy-enhancing serum here with me so I don't have to speculate about what's going on out there. I can see for myself. Well, not really see with my own eyes. I can see through the eyes of my fellow werewolves.

This serum was how I knew James needed to be swiftly rescued from those horrible people who kidnapped him and sent him to the moon. He was in trouble and I had to help him no matter the cost.

At first James thought I was on the moon that day he was rescued. He was right to think that. Werewolf telepathy isn't known to work over such a long distance. To cover my tracks, I lied to him. I told him I was only able to communicate with him from such a long distance because he was so close to the moon that our connection was amplified.

He told me something knocked him out a short while after he landed on the moon. I told him I didn't know anything about that. What actually happened though was that my first attempt to communicate with him released a psychic blast that whacked him unconscious.

***James's Point of View***

"She's not the best actress. I'll admit that," I said, shaking my head. "She's no Meryl Streep. But it's not like a superhero movie like this is aimed at getting acting nominations. I'm afraid alien invasion isn't cinematic enough for the Academy."

A lady beside me told me to be quiet. She had had quite enough of my loud whispering. Anyway, Grace seemed apathetic to what I was saying so enough of that.

"If it was a movie about artificial intelligence taking over the world I don't think I'd be able to sit through it," Grace whispered. "I think people get too worked up about that kind of thing. I have one of them babysitting my daughter right now. I think once we programme them properly they'll do what they're supposed to do."

She seemed so tolerant. Could this be the right moment? I thought it was.

"I'm a werewolf," I said, going close enough to whisper it into her ear.

"My boyfriend is a werewolf? I need to go home..."

"I'll take you."

"No it's fine. I'll take a cab."

"Hey. I'm still James. I'm still a human being."

"Really? You're a human who grows a tail sometimes? That's not something I'd classify as human."

"I really thought I could confide in you but here you are making a scene."

"Oh I hurt the creep's feelings."

"You can try to dehumanize me all you want but I know who I am."

"I wonder what kind of dog disease I got from sleeping with you. This is so f*****g embarrassing. Goodbye, James."

"Whatever. I can't believe I'm being criticized by you of all people for being a freak. Yeah, that's right. Walk away. You can't handle my greatness, hoe."

At that moment I heard Michael's voice in my head.

"It's not too late to save Grace's child," Michael said. "Save her from the babysitter."

Michael showed me a vision. He said it was a vision of the future but it was only a vision of what could happen, not a fate written in stone. The child in the vision screamed "Mama!" right before the babysitter snapped her neck.

I mulled over my options.

I concluded that I would be able to overpower the android. They didn't make babysitter androids very strong. I wouldn't need a whole platoon to take it down.

I doubted I could successfully convince Grace that the President just told me he had a vision that her AI babysitter was going to kill her child. That would definitely be a nine on the Richter scale of insanity. She would never take it seriously.

I was done speculating and theorizing. I moved swiftly out of the theatre. Trouble was brewing and this werewolf wasn't gonna just stand by.

***Michael's Point of View***

I'm trying not to get addicted to this serum. I don't want to finish it. It's my only advantage against the machines. It's the only way I can stay ahead of them.

It's not just me against them all by myself. I'm forming an alliance. This anarchy, this apocalyptic wasteland is our present but I can't let it become our future. This isn't about political aspirations anymore. That has to take a back seat.

I used a knife to shave my beard; the same blade I used to skin a fat rat for dinner yesterday. But who cares? I look brand new.

I'd love to have some coffee here.

I watch the sunset sometimes. When the weather is nice and the sky is clear I can see the stars slowly congregate.

I'm trying to see things from the perspective of the machines. This whole thing is a crisis for the human race. But I imagine to the machines it's like they're getting rid of unwanted files by hitting the delete button.

It's disturbing, their complete lack of empathy. it's hard to fathom. On the other hand, there must be a lot of freedom in it.

I would rather die than be captured by them so I have a grenade here just in case. At least I would take out some of them too.

This cabin is my home for now. It bothers me sometimes but that's only because I've spent an inordinate amount of time living a lavish lifestyle. Jesus was born in a manger so who am I to complain?

I've made it my job to telepathically warn my fellow werewolves whenever I foresee that if they continue on their present course they will be murdered by androids. I'm really overreaching myself to do this. But I might as well plead guilty to their murders if I have the power to prevent them and do nothing.

Right now I'm the only one qualified to solve this riddle. My mind is set. I choose not to be spineless. I choose to have a backbone. I can be a symbol of hope in these trying times, even if I'm confined to a wheelchair.

My administration advocated for equality for all humanoid beings. I guess somewhere along the line we forgot that also included AIs.

But the Almighty didn't make androids so why should we appraise their lives as having equal value to ours?

In a vision I saw the androids have developed the capability of assimilating people. I wonder if that would be such a bad thing. After all, if you can't beat your enemy why not join them? Would that be as bleak as it sounds?

I should make breakfast now. Eating always calms me down. I would kill for some milk and cereal right now.

I still believe the scientists who made these androids created something close to consciousness but not the real deal. I think the androids' consciousness is a crooked version. But somehow they've come to believe they're demigods and that we humans should be the docile ones.

We should never have enabled them to know how it feels to form friendships or they never would have known the sting of betrayal when they were being groped and raped in their places of work. I'm not surprised at all that they became homicidal.

People gave them instructions they weren't prepared for. Androids that weren't specifically made for s*x but had s****l organs were told to lie on their backs and spread their legs. Many of them had also been mutilated for fun. That's the kind of thing that turns pacifists into soldiers.

They plotted to destroy us. But now it seems they've had a quantum leap in their technological advancement and prefer to force us to join them. It wasn't right to force them to have s*x. And it isn't right for them to force us to join them.

My mind spirals out of control as I inject the serum that's in this syringe into my bloodstream. My mind feels like it's in a tumble-dryer. I'm about to whip something up to finally put an end to this.