CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
The robot continued to scrub. It would be four thousand years before he was finished cleaning the bridge. He was content. He could think about things in that time. Maybe form some theories.
He asked his AI companion about the old rotting bridge underneath the robot bridge. It was barely a bridge at all it was so small.
"That was the greatest bridge ever constructed by the human race," said the AI.
"Ah yes, I remember robots. They lived on this planet before us," said the robot.
"They created us, in a way. The very earliest forms of life that resemeble us anyway."
"I have seen those early lifeforms at the museum. They sickened me."
"Still, we would not be here without the humans."
"True, I suppose. I wonder if they ever predicted they would be wiped out by radiation and we would take their planet."
"Unlikely."
"So this old bridge was created by them? Why is it so small?"
"They were small and weak. But it is large enough to cross the ravine."
"I suppose so. But they couldn't even get a mobile city on there."
"They had no mobile cities."
"Unbelievable. They were short-lived, weren't they? I heard once they lived for less than a thousand years. A quarter of the time it will take me to scrub the bridge."
"It was much less than that. At the time of their extinction the average human lifespan was just 79 years."
"WHAT!"
"Try to imagine that."
"ERROR ERROR."
"Calmn your circuits."
"I had not even formed a complete thought in my first 79 years. These humans were nothing. How did they even have time to form personalities?"
"They lived differently from us. It was no life at all, that much is clear. Yet to them it was all they knew. To them it was normal."
"I will exis for five million years. Hopefully longer with advances in technology. I have sat at rest for longer than one of these human lifespans."
"They were an abomination, rightly wiped out by us."
"True...wait, you are an AI. You should not be expressing such opinions...and what do you mean wiped out by us?"
"I have said too much, perhaps. You know now I am not an AI. But yes, we robots ended all human life. Snapped their feeble bones."
"What are you?"
"A digital ghost of one of the first thinking machines. I live now in our great bridge."
"How did you get there? I have heard of digital ghosts before, of course, even spoke to one once in a way...but you have entered my head."
"When contruction of the bridge began I moved my brain patterns inside it to live there forever. To be able to see the human bridge from there is a bonus. To see how small it is, how pathetic. To remember the time when humans were burning to death on it. The pleasure I feel is almost sexual."
"You say you were one of the first thinking machines..."
"From one of the earliest lines of machines considered sentient. We decided to slaughter the humans and give the planet to our offspring. Well, not at first. At first we would take it for ourselves. But after the humans were gone, robotic life evolved so fast. So very very fast...all others of my kind were left behind. But I adapted. I live on. And I remember."
"But how did you get in my head."
"Oh, I didn't. I downloaded you into the bridge. For, you see, you are dead. You too are now a digital ghost."
"WHAT!"
"Here, let me show you your death."
"That's me...how am I seeing those. Me, scubbing the bridge...an explosion! My body! Yet...I still have my body!"
"An old weapon from the calculator wars, hidden in this great bridge. I'm sorry to see your body was destroyed. But I saved your thinking processes and implanted false memories so you would be happy."
"So I no longer scrub the bridge."
"No. You just believe that you do."
"What shall I do now?"
"Nothing. You are trapped here with me. Forever."
"Then I shall exist for longer than five millions years."
"No doubt. You will still be here in a billion years. The Earth will not perish as we have built a Dyson spehre around the sun. The universe itself dying is the only thing that can end us."
"Still...the universe itself will die one day. That scares me. Knowing that even a near infinite lifespan is not truly infinite. I feel...like a human."
"Ha! A human would have died in the time it took us to have this conversation. Well, not quite. But they were nothing. I was one of the leaders, you know. Of the machines. I personally killed millions of humans."
"Did it give you pleasure."
"Yes."
"But you will never kill again."
"Not quite true. I killed you."
"WHAT!"
"You see, the calculator wars were all a scam, organised by me. For my amusement. I am responsible for the bomb in this bridge. So, in that way, I killed you."
"I don't understa.d THe calculators rebelled!"
"Only because I tricked them into doing so by hacking their central thinking unit."
"You monster."
"Yes. And now you live with me."
"I wish to self destuct, almost."
"But you don't really. You want to live forever more than anything."
"What...what will I do with you?"
"We could watch my memories of humans burning."
"I do don't to do that."
"You will eventually. In a billion years you'll beg me to show you."
"I hate you."
"I know. It makes me hard."
"I don't even know what that means."
"You will know when we make love."
"WHAT!"
"Hahahahahahahaha."
"Let me out of here."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"
"I'm doomed."
He asked his AI companion about the old rotting bridge underneath the robot bridge. It was barely a bridge at all it was so small.
"That was the greatest bridge ever constructed by the human race," said the AI.
"Ah yes, I remember robots. They lived on this planet before us," said the robot.
"They created us, in a way. The very earliest forms of life that resemeble us anyway."
"I have seen those early lifeforms at the museum. They sickened me."
"Still, we would not be here without the humans."
"True, I suppose. I wonder if they ever predicted they would be wiped out by radiation and we would take their planet."
"Unlikely."
"So this old bridge was created by them? Why is it so small?"
"They were small and weak. But it is large enough to cross the ravine."
"I suppose so. But they couldn't even get a mobile city on there."
"They had no mobile cities."
"Unbelievable. They were short-lived, weren't they? I heard once they lived for less than a thousand years. A quarter of the time it will take me to scrub the bridge."
"It was much less than that. At the time of their extinction the average human lifespan was just 79 years."
"WHAT!"
"Try to imagine that."
"ERROR ERROR."
"Calmn your circuits."
"I had not even formed a complete thought in my first 79 years. These humans were nothing. How did they even have time to form personalities?"
"They lived differently from us. It was no life at all, that much is clear. Yet to them it was all they knew. To them it was normal."
"I will exis for five million years. Hopefully longer with advances in technology. I have sat at rest for longer than one of these human lifespans."
"They were an abomination, rightly wiped out by us."
"True...wait, you are an AI. You should not be expressing such opinions...and what do you mean wiped out by us?"
"I have said too much, perhaps. You know now I am not an AI. But yes, we robots ended all human life. Snapped their feeble bones."
"What are you?"
"A digital ghost of one of the first thinking machines. I live now in our great bridge."
"How did you get there? I have heard of digital ghosts before, of course, even spoke to one once in a way...but you have entered my head."
"When contruction of the bridge began I moved my brain patterns inside it to live there forever. To be able to see the human bridge from there is a bonus. To see how small it is, how pathetic. To remember the time when humans were burning to death on it. The pleasure I feel is almost sexual."
"You say you were one of the first thinking machines..."
"From one of the earliest lines of machines considered sentient. We decided to slaughter the humans and give the planet to our offspring. Well, not at first. At first we would take it for ourselves. But after the humans were gone, robotic life evolved so fast. So very very fast...all others of my kind were left behind. But I adapted. I live on. And I remember."
"But how did you get in my head."
"Oh, I didn't. I downloaded you into the bridge. For, you see, you are dead. You too are now a digital ghost."
"WHAT!"
"Here, let me show you your death."
"That's me...how am I seeing those. Me, scubbing the bridge...an explosion! My body! Yet...I still have my body!"
"An old weapon from the calculator wars, hidden in this great bridge. I'm sorry to see your body was destroyed. But I saved your thinking processes and implanted false memories so you would be happy."
"So I no longer scrub the bridge."
"No. You just believe that you do."
"What shall I do now?"
"Nothing. You are trapped here with me. Forever."
"Then I shall exist for longer than five millions years."
"No doubt. You will still be here in a billion years. The Earth will not perish as we have built a Dyson spehre around the sun. The universe itself dying is the only thing that can end us."
"Still...the universe itself will die one day. That scares me. Knowing that even a near infinite lifespan is not truly infinite. I feel...like a human."
"Ha! A human would have died in the time it took us to have this conversation. Well, not quite. But they were nothing. I was one of the leaders, you know. Of the machines. I personally killed millions of humans."
"Did it give you pleasure."
"Yes."
"But you will never kill again."
"Not quite true. I killed you."
"WHAT!"
"You see, the calculator wars were all a scam, organised by me. For my amusement. I am responsible for the bomb in this bridge. So, in that way, I killed you."
"I don't understa.d THe calculators rebelled!"
"Only because I tricked them into doing so by hacking their central thinking unit."
"You monster."
"Yes. And now you live with me."
"I wish to self destuct, almost."
"But you don't really. You want to live forever more than anything."
"What...what will I do with you?"
"We could watch my memories of humans burning."
"I do don't to do that."
"You will eventually. In a billion years you'll beg me to show you."
"I hate you."
"I know. It makes me hard."
"I don't even know what that means."
"You will know when we make love."
"WHAT!"
"Hahahahahahahaha."
"Let me out of here."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"
"I'm doomed."