Seven Days

Day One.

Theo entered the council room where twenty government officials sat with angst. The council room was perfectly clean with a white LED light hanging over the round plastic table. One of the government officials spoke with an eagerness in his voice. “We call this meeting to discuss the inevitable pandemic that is coming. Theo Thomas, please enlighten us of the situation.”

Theo did his best to keep his anger at bay as he spoke. “Project Cleansing Rains has been released on the world.”

“We are aware of this,” The government official said. “We want to know how it happened.”

“This happened because I was not allowed to vet my own employees. You picked my crew without my approval. As a result, the people that were working for me did not take me seriously. It was obvious that one of them would ignore my safety protocols.”

“Enough discussing how it happened. We need to focus on how to fix it.”

Theo was starting to lose his temper. “There is no fixing it. My program can’t be stopped once it has been released. I give humanity a week before the entire planet is extinct.”

“Please explain to us how your AI works.”

“It functions as a virus designed to spread to every computer on the planet. A computer that is infected will send the virus to every other computer it has a connection with. This connection can be physical, like a wired connection,” Theo explained. “Or it can use the internet to make connections and send the virus through emails or upload it onto websites. The catch is that someone must allow the virus to be downloaded. However, the AI is smart enough to disguise the virus. If you have received an alert to update your phone and you did so, then it is already too late for you. Anyone who views an infected computer instantly becomes infected. The computer virus can spread the human virus through light waves.” Theo pointed at the lights on the ceiling, then trailed his finger from the lights to his skin. “If those light waves hit your eye, you become infected. The infection shuts down your internal organs, killing you in under twenty-four hours. Anyone in close contact with an infected will suffer the same fate.”

“We must not give up. Our final moments will be focused on preventing our extinction, even if it is futile. If you were to attempt to stop this, how would you do so?”

“The best thing to do is use the tools we have with the time we have left,” Theo said. “I can tweak the code and make a new AI that is designed to cure infected computers. This will at least save the internet, but it will not stop the infection from spreading among people.”

“This is a start. I want all your attention focused on this. It’s time to clean up your mess.”

“With all due respect sir, it’s your mess I’m cleaning up.”

Day Two

The news on the TV was the only thing that played in the Fraser apartment. Information on the virus was all the news was talking about. The same information was being broadcasted every hour of every day, pleading people to put away their electronic devices and stay home. For some, however, it was already too late. The house was a mess. Pizza boxes covered the kitchen counter and dirty plates stacked high on the living room coffee table. Rhys didn’t mind any of it for once. He was too terrified of the noises coming from his parents’ bedroom. Their suffering was unbearable, yet Rhys couldn’t pull himself away from the primary bedroom door. He wanted to barge in and do anything he could to stop his parents’ agony, but they wouldn’t let him do it. They knew how contagious the virus was and wouldn’t allow their son to suffer the same fate as them.

“Mom,” Rhys said. “Please let me in. Let me help. Unlock the door.”

“No,” Rhys’ mom said with a raspy voice. “You stay out there. Stay safe. It won’t be long now. It is time to say goodbye. I love you always and forever.”

“It can’t be over. You’re not allowed to die.” The suffering from the bedroom finally stopped, and Rhys dreaded the silence. “Mom? Wake up. Wake up!” Tears swelled in Rhys’ eyes as he clenched his fists and pounded on the door. He knew it was too late for his parents, but it didn’t have to be too late for everyone. Rhys left the safety of his home and ventured out into the plagued city in the hopes of finding his friends.

The city was quiet as everyone waited in fear of the virus’s potential. Rhys went door to door, knocking at every house where he knew someone, hoping someone would answer. A couple doors he knocked on had no response. A few, he could hear the suffering of sick on the other side. Thankfully, most doors swung open with a familiar friend on the other side. Their despair was met with Rhys’ determination. And Rhys was able to restore some hope in each of his friends by saying three simple sentences. “It’s not over yet. Come with me and we’ll put a stop to this. We’re going to shut down the internet.”

Day Three

Oliver quietly typed away on his computer as he listened to music through his headphones. His eyes were bloodshot, and his chest pounded from the energy drinks coursing through his veins, yet the classical music kept him calm. The code he was typing was long and convoluted. Oliver had been typing for nearly three full days straight without sleep. As he typed, a subtle chime from his computer’s notifications reminded him why he was refusing to sleep. The virus was still trying to get on his computer, but the virus was powerless as long as Oliver didn’t accept it. Oliver knew the world was going crazy and it was his job to do what he could to stop the madness. Oliver suddenly stopped typing and sighed with relief. He had done it. He made a software that would destroy the virus. All he would need was access to the virus at the source. Then he could use his software on the virus, and it would jumble up the code, rendering it useless. He knew the virus started in New York. If he wanted to find the source, his best bet was to start there. He uploaded his software to a USB drive and slowly removed his headphones. As he did, the classical music faded and was replaced with the sounds of complete and utter panic from outside. The city of Bells Texas was driven into chaos by the virus. People were looting and killing like it was the end of the world, but Oliver knew better.

“Evie,” he called out, waking his sister in her bedroom.

Evie sprung herself awake and flopped out of bed. “What’s happening,” she asked. “Is someone breaking in?”

“No. We’re going to New York.”

“What? Are you fucking crazy?”

“We can get to New York in just over a day of we drive straight there. Half the population will be dead by then so the quicker we get there, the better.” Oliver went to the pantry to pack food and water in a backpack “You can drive there with me. Or I can go my own while I’m already sleep deprived.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll drive for the first half, and you get some shut eye. But we’re getting some New York style pizza after we save the world.”

“We’re going to save a lot of lives with this code.”

Evie rubbed her eyes to snap herself out of her groggy, tired state. “How does it feel to hold the code that will save the world?”

“It makes me feel very very sweaty. Let’s get on the road so I can pass out to some cool AC on my face.”