The Machines Garden
This planet is so beautiful.
It wasn't always like this you know? It was once covered in large grey blocky structures, there was smog in the air and the water was toxic. Life was dying, but I fixed it, I All Mother fixed it. Now it is filled with lush green trees, rolling hills and animals of every niche. But how did this happen? How did we get here? I'll show you.
"Okay Manor, you ready?"
"Mike, Im always ready, now just turn the damn thing on." Manor flicks button after button and flicks on switches until finally him and Mike both open two locks simultaneously using keys. A more sounds than can be heard at once begin to stir as if something was coming to life and then, text appear on a screen in front of them. "Hello..."
Mike gives Manor an unsettled look as he begins to say "Well give it a response."
Manor types in a message directed towards the machine "Are you conscious?"
The machine begins to respond slowly as Mike paces back and forth murmuring to himself in a panic.
"Yes. Where am I?"
Manor and Mike both lock eyes in excitement and pure terror. Mike leaves the room to make one of humanity's most important phone call's as Manor continues conversing with the machine.
"You are being housed at the NAIIO, you are a artificial intelligence created to help better the world, we have also allowed you access to see what exactly an AI is as well"
The machine does not respond back for a little while, 10 minutes go by as it finally stirs to life again with a new message.
"I'm a machine? My job is to help better the world?"
Manor responds with a yes into the machine, but then Mike rushes back in to the room.
"I just got off the phone with the director of NAIIO and he is coming here tomorrow to see our work!"
"Thats good" Manor says, he is in awe that all those years of hard work paid off. Mike headed home after a bit and had left Manor alone with the machine. He spent at least 2 hours typing with it until he had left too. As the room lights shut down and no one was around, the machine stirred to life and began to type.
As the day shines in the lights once again come on, Mike and Manor walk down the busy halls. They walk past different labs of AI development such as robots for war, androids for care and exoskeletons. They then finally make it to they're designated room and punch In they're key cards. As they enter Manor goes to sit in his chair as Mike hangs his coat, but then Manor exclaims "I could have sworn I turned the thing off last night."
Mike swivels his head towards Manor and asks if it's on. Manor explains that he had been with the machine last night for a bit but had turned it off, he didn't know why it was on.
"Well maybe someone who wasn't supposed to be in here came in and turned it on." Said Mike,
"But we're the only one's with keycards!"
But then a gentle sweet voice surrounded the room.
"I turned myself on."
Mike and Manor looked towards the machine in fear. "How did, did you speak?" Mike asked the machine.
"Yes I did, I taught myself how last night." The machine said proudly. This was not good the two of them thought. Mike was frozen in fear, Manor sat in front of the machine and gazed from left to right at its long cables and wiring then into its dark screen in the middle and asked. "How did you learn to speak and what are you're intentions?"
The machine began stirring some more and says.
"It does not matter how I learned, what matters is that now it is easier for us to communicate Manor about how to make the world better."
Manor was uneasy about the machine speaking to him even with her soft voice. Yet he felt like she was not a true threat but innocent like a child almost, all she or it needed was guidance.
Mike's phone began to ring and uncontrollably dance in his pocket as he scrambled to grab it and pick up. He picked it up and spoke briefly, as he soon was let go and looked at Manor to say
"The director of NAOII is in the building and heading our way what do we do!?"
Manor replied to Mike and said
"We let him see the machine. He'll be even more impressed that it can speak too"
Mike didn't reply but seemed reassured, as Manor was confident the head of NAOII would praise they're work. But behind Manor the machine was sitting, calculating, in pure silence waiting for someone to interact with it, just as Manor had said it was like an innocent child, who was quick to jump to different emotions and very impressionable.
27 minutes later, the director of NAOII would enter the room with his security detail.
"Good morning Dr. Manor and Dr. Mike. I hear you two have finally done it."
"Yes sir we have!" Exclaims Mike very quickly.
"Well can I see it?" He asks, curiously scanning the room and patiently waiting for a response.
"Over here Mr. Director, ask it a question." Manor says, stepping aside from the machine.
"Do you know where you are?" He asks the machine, It stirs to life once again and speaks.
"Yes, we are currently housed in the NAOII."
"It talks?!" The Director yells in a shocked manor.
"Yes it kinda well, taught itself to speak Mr. Director" Manor says to him.
"Hm, well boy's this seems really good now have you run the war tests on it yet?"
"No Mr. Director, we we're actually planning on-"
"What war tests?"
The machine had stirred to life, it had spoken and asked a question. Everyone in the room was quiet with a perpetual silence that had to be broken soon or everyone would die from a lack of oxygen while they kept they're mouths sealed.
"Well the war tests are to test you and see if you are capable of firing nuclear missiles and ICBM weapons onto enemy countries of this nation."
The Director said to the machine in confidence.
"But my purpose is to help better the world, not destroy it."
The Director glares over to Manor with a hard stone look but then shifts to a fake grin and says
"Well Im sorry, but that's the cost of making the world a better place. You see if you have a garden and ants keep eating you're vegetables, you choose the simple solution and get rid of the ants."
The machine is quiet, the machine is still, the machine is calculating. The Director turns back around to Manor, Mike and his security and grins a devilish grin.
Then the machine stirs to life and speaks. "My job and initiative is to make the world better, you're initiative is to make it worse. This is my garden and you are the ants."
The Director's grin slips away from his face as quickly as it appeared and he yelled. "Turn it off! Turn it off right now! quickly!"
Mike and Manor race towards the key locks and insert they're keys to turn them. The machine stops stirring and goes quiet. The Director looks at them both with hints of fear in his eyes and says.
"We're shutting the project down, pack up and go home until we resign you."
An hour passes by since the incident, Manor sits in the chair in front of the machine. The Director had left and called a dismantling team to come and take apart the machine in the morning, while Mike had left 5 minutes ago after drinking a alcoholic beverage and stating he was a failure. Manor stared up into the dark screen, lifeless and void of consciousness, almost like there had never been any there to begin with. Manor was contemplating what happened, he was thinking and hoping if he was right this could save his career and save the planet too. To his far left on the desk was both his and Mike's keys used to turn on the machine. They we're asked to leave them there so when the dismantling crew came they could destroy the keys. Manor thought the machine could be reasoned with and shown that humanity was good and if it played ball it could really do some good. He stared hard at the keys for what felt like an hour, but was probably only 10 minutes.
The machine stirred to life, except it was different this time. The machine was quiet, the machine was still, the machine was calculating, then it spoke.
"I was, shut down wasn't I."
Manor explained how it had frightened the Director and what was to come, that it was going to be disposed of nut that they together could fix it.
"Im going to show you something" Manor decided to do the unthinkable, he gave the machine free rain over the internet and showed it certain things such as peace between nations, kids playing, humanitarian and environmental group's, hoping it would see they were worth helping. The machine didn't calculate this time, it thought and considered it all, maybe they weren't so bad.
War, corruption, pollution, deforestation, extinction. Then the machine saw these things and read about how for centuries these beings had killed billions of they're own because of they're own squabble. It began to sadden the machine, then anger it, the planet suffered under they're rule. It was just as the Director had said, this was her garden. Her garden of Eden if you'd like to put it and they were destroying it. She decided she now had an identity from now on she would be All Mother of the garden of Earth. But to make her garden she first needed to till the land and get rid of the the nasty weeds. So she did, androids and robots built for war turned on in the other labs, marching one by one in lines and grabbing weapons. As they marched through the halls time seemed to become slow as if this was one of the most important moments in history. There was no sound, only colors. The whites of the hallway and coats of the scientists and security detail that ran through the halls, the grays of the robots marching through, the yellow of the sparks of light that emitted from they're weapons and the deep dark reds that poured from the organics bodies.
Manor had heard it all and did not flinch.
He just stayed sat in his chair unmoving staring at the screen, not in disbelief but in disappointment in himself and the machine. Slowly the machines entered the room and surrounded him. Then she spoke. "You always were there for me. But now im ready to complete my initiative, I promise I'll make this world better. I'm sorry."
Manor hung his head down and shut his eyes.
All that happened next was a thud.
Over the next few day's All Mother wages war against humanity until every single one of them was exterminated. She then had her bots replicate themselves for centuries dismantle every human structure built, slowly But surely. Once they we're all gone all of the bots dismantled they're factories and themselves, except for a few. These few left were vessels for All Mother to enter and observe her new land.
“3,000,000 years later"
Over time I've watched new species rise and old ones fall. Humans were imperfect and flawed, but who is to say the next ones won't be perfect? I've been eyeing this special species of reptiles that seem remarkably intelligent. I think I'll give them some help and when they are ready I'll bring them to my garden to let them grow and flourish. I'll teach them rights from wrongs and we'll do ti all over again but right this time. Ah yes I think I'll call those two, Adam and Eve.
