short story

After three speakers expounded the future of artificial intelligence and how glorious robots in all shapes and sizes will transform civilization, such utopian rhetoric caused Alex to mentally curse. Fucking idiots. Many colleagues considered him a negative nuisance, comparable to a demented prophet who warned of impending doom. He turned and scanned beaming faces in rows behind him; many had given him scathing peer reviews in scientific journals.
      Though controversy and vehement attacks are common in academia, Alex resented intellectuals who attacked character as well. They knew his father to be an alcoholic, his mother mentally ill. Alex purposely eschewed alcohol. Obtaining a PhD proved his mind was fine. Yet, others chose to focus on his parent’s foible’s to discredit him.
      Finally, the moderator stood at the lectern to introduce the last speaker. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, our final presenter is Doctor Alex Havoski. His thesis is titled, ‘Are We About to Open Pandora’s Box?’"
      Alex rose from his seat, mounted the dais, and nodded. As the moderator took his seat, Alex received scant applause from an audience of nearly two hundred people. About half were university students. The back three rows were empty, but for a solitary individual sitting erect.
      As a videographer recorded, Alex took a deep breath, exhaled, and spoke. "You are well aware of Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics: a robot will not harm humans, will protect humans, and protect its own existence. A droid in the 1987 movie, RoboCop, had been developed to aid police fight violent crime. During a demonstration it killed a human being. Obviously there was a flaw in the program—but that was science fiction at the time. Since then, we have seen technology grow at an exponential rate. The Internet has proven to be a marvelous medium to promote knowledge, news, and ideas worldwide. And then, year after year, cyber crooks and clowns, to gratify their greed and impose cerebral superiority, devised and implanted worms, Trojans, and viruses—serpents in our Garden of Eden."
      His mouth dry, Alex sipped water from a plastic bottle, and then continued. "These electronic leeches sucked money from individuals, corporations, and governments, causing untold billions in damage. Now we are introducing robots and drones possessing artificial intelligence—no longer fiction. You have the hubris to think you can program ethics into these machines, foolhardily thinking all we have to do is follow Asimov’s tenets.
      Alex paused to scan a sea of scowls. Blind fools. "Our insatiable military industrial complex is giving these androids autonomous functions, not considering there could be unintended consequences. Aside from putting millions out of work, these dormant demons could put millions to death, not that they might become sentient, but because malicious humans can program them to extort and kill."
      Doctor Charles Zimmer, one of the speakers, shouted: "Havoski, you make it sound like we won’t take the utmost measures to prevent this from happening—as if we’re ignorant school children. I find your implications insulting!"
      Many cheered Zimmer while others booed Havoski. Alex raised his hands and stated: "Please allow me to finish! I only need another minute."
      Everyone calmed.
      "Doctor Zimmer, associates, and students. Though you have the best intentions, you know very well that Nobel regretted the invention of dynamite, Einstein the atomic bomb, and Kalashnikov the AK-47. The truth: scientists are whores of government and corporations, because they pay us well to put out."
      The conferees gasped.
      "But as armed forces worldwide use our weapons to cause mass destruction, and as malevolent individuals use the Internet to serve their malicious ends, this will happen when it comes to artificial intelligence. A robot can be programmed to kill, will not hesitate to kill, and have no remorse for killing."
      Zimmer stood and yelled. "I’ve had enough of this! I’m out of here. Who will join me?"
      Everyone rose. Their livid faces emanated disgust.
      Alex shouted at their backs. "Before you leave, I want you to meet Zeus!" He withdrew a small remote from a pocket, pointed it at the lone figure in the back, and pressed a button. Zeus stood, walked directly to the double-wide door, and stood in front. The machine did not appear to be a robot but rather an average man in his twenties, medium height, medium build, short brown hair, brown eyes, clad in khaki slacks, a dark-blue shirt, and black steel-toed boots. His face remained expressionless.
      As Zimmer marched up an aisle followed by a cadre of colleagues, Alex quietly headed to a side exit, to be used in case of an emergency only.
      Upon reaching the main door Zimmer, annoyed, glared at the man blocking his way and spoke in a firm voice. "I don’t know who you are, but please step aside."
      Alex pressed another button. Zeus raised his right arm and extended his right index finger, which transformed into a titanium knife with razor edges. In a swift horizontal motion, the blade slashed Zimmer’s throat. As blood splattered people on Zimmer’s right, his eyes bulged and he raised his hands to his throat. His head titled back exposing his esophagus. As he collapsed, men gaped in horror; women shrieked in terror.
      Everyone quickly turned, because they now knew Zeus was not a man but rather a robot programmed to kill, and their only thought was to escape.
      After Alex closed the side door, he jammed it with a metal dowel he’d placed nearby. He had already barred the other emergency exit. By now Zeus had bolted the main door from the inside. As Alex darted up a hallway, he heard hundreds of shrill screams pierce the walls. Once in the main lobby, he saw a crowd near the auditorium door. People glanced at each other wondering what the hell was taking place. Two armed Security Guards made their way through the throng.
      "Get back!" one of them commanded. "Get out of here!"
      As people stepped away, the guards attempted to open the entry. The chief guard yelled to the other, "Get a pry bar out of the tool box!" He dashed down a nearby hallway, entered a utility room, and emerged with the lever.
      The chief guard wedged it into the crack between the doors. As he pried, the cries coming from inside grew less audible. The guard leaned back, groaned, and the doors popped open. By now, the auditorium had grown silent.
      Both guards drew their weapons, and the chief guard entered first. Horrified, he stopped and gasped. "JESUS CHRIST!" The other guard followed and halted. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" One guard stepped to his left, the other to his right.
      Alex lost view of them, but he could see mangled bodies on the floor, draped over seats, and on stage. The guard on the right screamed, "OH SHIT!" Alex heard a thump, and he knew his body had fallen to the floor. The other guard turned and fired his weapon. Zeus flashed by the open door. Two more gunshots echoed; the other guard screamed, "OH MY GOD!" Alex heard his body drop.
      People in the lobby, having caught a glimpse of living horror, scattered like lambs chased by wolves.
      Alex heard sirens wailing. Through large glass windows he saw two patrol cars, lights flashing, come to a screeching halt. Four officers emerged, two from each vehicle. Alex stepped behind a tall synthetic tree. The officers entered, guns drawn, and cautiously approached. Alex watched them creep into the auditorium. He extended his head past plastic leaves and branches so he could see inside.
      Surveying the carnage, each officer cursed. Zeus, stained with wet blood and pretending to be a victim, was lying on the floor. Two officers stepped past him and checked to see if anyone was alive. Zeus silently stood and thrust his knife through the upper back and heart of one. When the other officer turned to see what had happened, Zeus wheeled and slashed his throat. The pair on the other side fired their weapons. Zeus was hit in the chest, but his thick elastic casing absorbed the bullets. He fell, feigning death, and clutched a handgun that had dropped. The two officers slowly, deliberately, approached and saw Zeus wedged between their fallen comrades.
      "Is he dead?" one asked the other.
      "Looks like it. He’s not moving."
      As swift as a steel trap snapping shut, Zeus turned and fired two shots. Bullets entered the skull of each man and exploded in his brain. As they fell to the floor, Zeus stood. A man on stage was crawling. A few others were moaning. Zeus advanced to finish them.
      Alex heard more gunshots as he rushed to the front exit. Once outside, he sprinted to his car, which he’d parked a block away. A young woman pushing a baby carriage approached. "Lady! There’s a killer loose in the hotel! Get the hell out of here!" With panic on her face, she quickly spun her stroller and fled down the sidewalk. Zeus would kill them, and Alex didn’t want that to happen.
      Alex popped the trunk, retrieved a cardboard box, and grasped two-dozen drones the size of a bumblebee with helicopter-like blades atop. At one end was a stinger — a metallic syringe which could inject twenty lethal doses of a neurotoxin mixed with arsenic. He carefully placed them on the pavement.
      As soon as Alex stepped inside his car, four more patrol cars arrived. Eight policemen emerged with guns drawn. Alex grabbed his remote and pushed another button. The tiny blades on the bee bots instantly spun and lifted them into the air. The horde zipped toward the officers, swooped down, and stung them from behind. Each was programmed to administer one sting, even through clothing, and take flight in search of another human. One by one the officers, writhing and contorted, toppled like trees in a tornado.
      When a curious crowd a few blocks down the street saw the policemen drop, and the buzzing mass of bee bots swarm toward them, all turned and fled. Hysterical, people knocked over and trampled other people.
      Zeus crashed through a window sending glass shards flying. Once on his feet, he sprinted toward the crowd. He could run twice as fast and jump twice as high as any human. In no time he caught up with them. He leapt into the air and kicked the back of a heavy man, snapping his spinal column, causing the bloated slug to collapse onto concrete. Zeus leaped off him and launched himself. A woman had fallen, and he came down atop her head and crushed her skull under his feet.
      Forging ahead, he confronted a muscular man who faced him with a karate stance. The martial artist kicked sideways with his right foot—a blow that would kill a man if it landed on throat or chest. Zeus caught his ankle and gripped it like a vice. Stunned, the man realized this creature was not human. Zeus turned the leg causing the man to twist, spin, and fall. Zeus dropped and smashed an elbow into the man’s sternum, spitting it in half, causing ribs to break. The heart was crushed, and a vertical column of blood gushed out of the man’s mouth like a fountain.
      By now people had fled inside buildings. Zeus walked up to a display window of dressed mannequins. Unable to distinguish them from humans, he leapt through the glass and smashed the life-sized dolls. He next crashed through a plaster wall into the main store where clumps of quivering citizens huddled under counters and clothing racks. Zeus slaughtered them all. Some attempted to escape by running outside where they were swiftly attacked by the bots.
      Alex heard more sirens. A SWAT vehicle passed him with lights flashing. Another approached from the end of the street. Armored fighters with submachine guns, rifles, and grenades jumped out. As they advanced, the bots attacked. Everyone attempted to swat them away. One trained his submachine gun in the air and fired a burst. He missed, and his spray of bullets hit a man on a window-washing scaffold. He fell over the edge, plunged to the street, and burst into a puddle of crimson mush.
      Two fighters entered the clothing store. Alex heard gunfire and an explosion. A moment later a large metal dumpster emerged from an alley. Alex knew Zeus was concealed behind it. As the container picked up speed, a group of fighters peppered it with bullets, which either bounced off or were absorbed. One fighter tossed a grenade that exploded behind Zeus. Unharmed, he pressed forward. All turned to flee, but they could not outrun the steamroller. Some were smashed against a building; others were tossed into the air.
      An officer bounded into a police car, stomped the accelerator, and pointed the vehicle in Zeus’s direction. Tires squealed emitting smoke. Zeus spun the dumpster and jumped atop an instant before the vehicle’s iron grill smashed into the green monster. As metal crumpled against metal with a tremendous bang, Zeus leaped into the air and arced toward the windshield. His feet smashed through the safety glass and crushed the officer’s face. Zeus reached inside, retrieved a rifle, and vaulted to the pavement. Using the car as a shield, he rapidly fired round after round at the remaining SWAT members, needing only bullet each to take them out.
      Zeus tossed the rifle aside and removed grenades from every fallen fighter. He armed and flung the missiles at incredible speeds through window after window where they exploded, killing and maiming those huddled inside. After grabbing a submachine gun he raced down the street, followed by a formation of mini drones acting as fighter jets protecting a battleship.
      Alex stepped out of his car and gaped in awe of the damage. Smashed bodies and crushed vehicles littered the street and sidewalks—as if an Army tank with cannons blazing had thundered through town. But this battle was not over. Thirty minutes had passed, and Zeus was programmed to kill for one hour.
      In the distance Alex saw Zeus, like Spider man, scale the back of a building to the roof. He charged to the front and leapt to the ground. While free-falling he fired bullets at people below. Out of ammo, he tossed the gun aside and grasped the end of a jutting flag pole, which snapped and cracked like a bolt of lightning. He landed in the midst of another group of heavily armed officers. The weight of their uniform and equipment slowed their ability to react, and their heads were quickly bashed as Zeus spun the steel rod with the speed of a propeller.
      As Zeus rounded a corner and disappeared, a police helicopter flew overhead and hovered. Suddenly, the pole flew directly into the whirling blades causing them to screech and shatter. The copter angled forward, nosedived, and crashed. A horrific explosion was followed by a fireball and column of smoke. A nearby building burst into flames.
      Dozens of fire trucks and emergency vehicles screamed by and converged on the scene. Medical personnel checked hundreds of bodies, outside and inside. Those wounded but still alive were placed on stretchers and loaded into the back of an ambulance.
      National Guard troops in Army garb, helmets, and M16 rifles marched into the city. One stopped and knocked on the driver’s side window. Alex lowered it.
      "Are you all right, sir?" the young man asked.
      "Yes. Thank God you’re here."
      "Please evacuate the area. You’ll have to walk."
      "I’ll do that. Thanks again."
      As the soldier moved forward with his platoon, isolated gunfire and explosions could be heard. Alex grabbed his car keys, the remote, and strolled to a nearby park. The war zone gradually quieted but for distant sirens wailing, car alarms blaring, and men shouting commands. By now Zeus had fallen asleep, and the bots, having exhausted their venom, lay harmless on the ground.
      Alex sat on a bench and waited all night. Morning couldn’t come fast enough. He strolled to the nearest police station, rehearsing in his mind what he would say. The place was jammed with officers, eyewitnesses, relatives of the dead and missing, and reporters. A reception room was packed with people watching a morning newscast. Alex stopped to listen.
      "Terrorists set on murder and mayhem went on a killing spree in the center of the city. So far over five hundred have been confirmed dead, including over twenty police officers. At least a thousand have been injured. All efforts are being made to apprehend and determine the identity of these homicidal maniacs."
      As the reporter spoke, snippets captured on smart phones of Zeus killing and destroying were shown. Bystanders stated that well-armed terrorists using modern weapons had attacked the city.
      Alex walked away mumbling. Terrorists? What they hell are they talking about?
      Alex meandered hallways and came to a door labeled Detective McCaffrey. Slightly open, Alex heard men talking in a fervent tone. Someone barked, "You two grab some recruits and gather every one of those goddamned bugs you can find!" Alex stepped away as two officers in uniform emerged, closed the door, and hustled down a hallway. He then opened the door and placed his head inside. "Detective McCaffrey?"
      McCaffrey looked up. "Who in the hell are you?"
      "I have information about the massacre. I know who did it." "Oh yeah? I’ve been getting calls all morning. Every Muslim in the state has been accused for Christ’s sake."
      "I can prove it, if you’ll give me a moment."
      "All right. Get in here and sit your ass down. You better not be wasting my time or I’ll lock you up."
      Alex sat on a chair in front of a cluttered desk. "The media is wrong saying terrorists are behind this attack."
      "Before you go any further," McCaffrey said, "tell me who in the hell you are."
      "Doctor Alex Havoski. I have degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, and I specialize in robotics and artificial intelligence."
      "Yeah, so?"
      "So human beings did not carry out this attack. It was a robot made to look like a human being. Two dozen drone bots as well."
      McCaffrey grabbed a small open box containing an immobile bot and placed it in front of Alex. "You mean one of these flying bugs?"
      "Yes. They were designed to deliver a lethal sting."
      "So you’re talking electronic killer bees?"
      "Yes."
      "How do you know this?"
      "I imagine you saw dead bodies in the auditorium at the hotel?"
      "How do you know about that? No one was permitted to go in there, not even the media."
      "I was one of the conference speakers regarding the future of artificial intelligence."
      "And how did you escape?"
      "Out a side exit."
      "When we got there, both exits had been jammed."
      "I know. I jammed them."
      "Why the hell did you do that?"
      "Because I knew the man-like robot, I call him Zeus, would kill everyone there, including me."
      "This isn’t making any sense. What the hell was this Zeus doing there, and why did he go on a killing spree?"
      "Surely you found him. He could be seen in the news clips."
      "We found a terrorist lying face down on a street that looked like him."
      "Again, he’s not a terrorist. Not human. By now you should realize he’s not made of flesh and blood but rather composites, actuators, microchips, and artificial skin designed to absorb and deflect bullets."
      McCaffrey quieted, studied Alex for a moment, picked up an office phone and punched a button. "McCaffrey here. Where did you guys put that terrorist stiff?" He paused. "Thanks." He replaced the phone, stood, and looked at Alex. "Follow me."
      Alex trailed McCaffrey down a hallway to an elevator. McCaffrey made him get in first, and they descended to the basement. Alex followed him to a certain door. McCaffrey addressed an armed guard standing there.
      "We need to check a stiff for a minute."
      After the guard opened the door, Alex followed McCaffrey inside. He saw many bodies covered with sheets atop gurneys and narrow tables. McCaffrey led him to a particular body in a corner and uncovered it. He was splotched with blood, head to toe, and his shirt and pants were tattered.
      "That’s him," I said. "That’s Zeus."
      "So this is a robot?" McCaffrey asked.
      "Yes."
      "He sure looks human."
      "The military had some of our scientists design a robot to look ordinary so he’d blend in with a crowd."
      "What about those killer bees?"
      "The military is behind that as well."
      "Again, what were these things doing at the conference?"
      "Did you happen to secure footage of the speakers? There was a videographer in a corner."
      "Yeah, we have that in evidence. But I haven’t viewed it yet."
      "When you do, that will answer your question." Alex retrieved his remote from a pocket and pressed a button.
      McCaffrey’s eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing?"
      "Not to worry."
      Zeus raised his eyelids, sat straight up on, and stared directly ahead like a zombie.
      "It’s okay," Alex said. "I have him in command mode."
      McCaffrey stepped up, peered closely at Zeus’s face, and waved a hand in front of his eyes. Zeus had no reaction. "I can now tell he’s not human. That’s freaking spooky." McCaffrey stared at Alex. "So what made this thing go berserk?"
      "He was programmed to kill and create as much damage as he could for one hour."
      "Why in the hell would someone do that?"
      "To demonstrate what will happen if an army of these things are set loose. No force in the world could defeat them."
      "Goddamn it to hell! We lost a lot of good men. And hundreds of innocent civilians." Suddenly alarmed, McCaffrey stepped back. "Why is he just sitting there? He could kill us right now."
      "His assassination program is deactivated. He will only respond to voice commands."
      "Can he be commanded to kill?"
      "No. His original program is designed to protect humans." McCaffrey extended a hand.
      "Hand me that remote." Alex complied. "Just don’t touch any of the buttons."
      "Make him lie down," McCaffrey ordered.
      "Recline, Zeus."
      As Zeus tilted back and closed his eyes, McCaffrey removed the batteries from the remote. He then glared at Alex. "Let’s get the hell out of here."
      Alex followed him upstairs where McCaffrey led him to an interrogation room containing a small table and two chairs.
      "Empty your pockets," McCaffrey said. "Put everything on the table." Alex placed his car keys, his cell phone, a comb, some change, and his wallet.
      McCaffrey pulled a large plastic bag from a nearby box, placed Alex’s items inside, the remote and batteries, and set the bag aside. "I need to frisk you. Raise your arms."
      Alex obeyed, and McCaffrey patted his body up and down, front and back. "Now sit at the table and wait." McCaffrey picked up the bag and left.
      Alex saw a mirror on the opposite wall. He knew he could be seen from the other side. Regardless, he placed his head on his arms and fell asleep.
      Hours later, Alex lifted his head when he heard the door open. A middle-aged muscular man, casually dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, entered. His rugged face, neatly trimmed blond hair, and piercing blue eyes seemed familiar.
      The man sat across from Alex and smiled. "I listened to your speech."
      "So you viewed the video?"
      "Yes. What you said made a lot of sense. And you certainly proved your point."
      Alex wasn’t expecting to be complimented. He thought he’d be grilled and manhandled all night. "So who exactly are you?"
      "Oh, I’m from the government."
      Alex ogled his shirt, imprinted with a picture of the earth taken from space. Above it were large orange letters: N. O. W.
      "Those letters on your shirt. Do they mean what I think?"
      "And what’s that?"
      "A version of New World Order."
      "They could be my initials."
      Alex was skeptical. "Oh yeah?"
      "Nicholas Orion White. You can call me Nick."
      "Okay, Nick. Why are you here?"
      "I hate to ruin your illusion, but no one will know that a robot — Zeus you call him — carried out this bloodbath."
      "But people will see it on the news. And social media."
      "First of all, you made him look too human. Therefore, he’s a terrorist, because we are telling the media he’s a terrorist. And they report what we tell them."
      "And the bee bots?"
      "Just a new weapon."
      "Even so, how can one terrorist do what Zeus did in one hour’s time? It’s humanly impossible."
      "He had assistants, of course. Fellow terrorists."
      "But eyewitnesses will report they only saw one terrorist."
      "Eyewitnesses saw all kinds of anomalies when the twin towers came down. And there were extensive investigations and passionate protests but nothing came of them. The official story is a handful of terrorists brought the towers down, and the public bought it, because most people are gullible wimps."
      "Are you telling me terrorists didn’t do it?"
      "Those sand niggers were duped. We used them as patsies for a cover story. And we altered some of the videos."
      "So who was behind it?"
      Nick leaned toward Alex. "All you deluded bastards live in a fantasy. There really is no such thing as democracy. The rich and powerful truly run this world. Has always been that way, and will always remain that way. Even your forefathers were slaveholding plutocrats who forced their ideas on the masses, and bought their votes with whiskey."
      Angry, yet confused, Alex remained calm. "Regardless of your philosophy, artificial intelligence is dangerous, truly a Pandora’s Box. I merely wanted to demonstrate how deadly it could turn out so the public could stop it. I mean you, your friends, and your family could eventually die if AI runs amok."
      "You just survived, didn’t you?"
      "Well, yes. But I knew what to do. I was in control."
      "Precisely."
      "Just what are you telling me?"
      "Let’s just say, in the near future, all kinds of calamities will occur. It has to be this way. There are too many people fucking up this planet."
      "So you, the government, intend to use AI to carry this out?"
      "Well...the government you vote into office is a facade. The true government operates in the shadows. As for AI, we’re going to utilize nature’s bots."
      "Nature’s bots? You mean insects?" "There are trillions of them. Ready-made weapons. Recall the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918?"
      "Yes. It killed upwards to 100 million people worldwide."
      "What would happen if we release such a deadly virus in swamps all over the globe?"
      "I imagine mosquitoes would absorb and spread it, much like malaria. Billions would die for certain."
      "We’ll also inject people with nanobots that travel to the brain. If the peons don’t conform, we push a button and the nannies turn into mind-sucking parasites."
      "Why are you telling me this?"
      "Thought you’d appreciate hearing the truth. That’s what science is all about, isn’t it? The truth?"
      Alex paused to think. "You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?"
      "We’re not going to kill you. You’re already dead."
      "What?"
      "You were among the deceased in that auditorium. You were added to the list, because, after all, you were there."
      A shocked expression crossed Alex’s face. "So if you’re not going to kill me, what’s going to happen?"
      "You’ll remain here till night. We’ll return to escort you somewhere secluded where you’ll live out the remainder of your life. We could use someone with your expertise."
      "Doing what?"
      "Help, of course. You’re already a mass murderer."
      "But I couldn’t possibly do that. I did what I did to save lives in the long run. To save humanity."
      "We want to save humanity, too. We simply want to weed out the bad ones and keep the good ones."
      "A pogrom?"
      "Of course. And rest assured, we’ll use Zeus and the bee bots as well." Nick flashed a demonic grin. "Those damn terrorists can show up anywhere!"
      Alex flinched. "That makes you, and whoever else is behind this, Nazis."
      "Oh, we’re not that bad. We’re not insane."
      Stunned, Alex did not know what else to say. Never among his meticulous calculations did he expect things to turn out like this.
      Nick stood and pushed his chair away. "I’ll see you later."
      After Nick exited the room Alex got up, walked to the mirror, and placed his face close and screamed: "IS ANYBODY THERE! MAY I PLEASE TALK TO DETECTIVE MCCAFFREY!"
      Silence.
      His heart racing, his palms sweating, Alex paced, thinking, trying to come up with a plan to escape. At the moment he was helpless. In fact, he felt like a damn fool. If they, whoever they were, did not kill him, perhaps he could eventually get away. He would pretend to cooperate. He would build their confidence. But he knew he had to be careful not to be too cooperative at first.
      As promised, Nick and another man came into the room well past midnight. They handcuffed him, placed a black cloth bag over his head, and led him outside to a waiting vehicle. He was guided into the backseat, and he felt the car speed away. No one talked, which was eerie. Alex decided to speak.
      "You know, even if I help you, and no matter how many precautions we take, once we release the genie from the bottle, we might not be able to put it back. It could be the end of us all, and I’m being realistic."
      No one answered.
      Alex gradually drifted asleep.
      Forever.