The AI - Scifi Story - Chapter 3

When the door slid open, she stopped short at the view.

In front of her eyes, there was a city hanging in the air. She was standing on a transparent walkway. The path stood over 200 feet over a luxuriating forest.

Jenny left the room, running. She had to talk to the Administrator.

On the way to the administration building, the AI did its job. Knowledge from its powerful library came to her as she walked. There were no surprises or bumps as if she had used Alfred’s help forever.

Searching for learning was fast and disconcerting. Jenny got every piece of data she needed before she reached her destination.

However, it was not calming. Her blood boiled as hot and thick as lava as she organized the pieces of information the AI provided in a coherent scenario.

“You are faster than my programming prepared me to deal with, Jenny. You already understood what happened as you were sleeping. I tried to prepare you. We live among them, and aggression is dangerous.”

“Are you closing the library now, Alfred, to keep me as tame as a good pet?”

“You were never good. And of being a pet, I will enjoy watching someone try it.”

“Good. We are on the same page.”

Aliens passed by, and they were so many that she realized quickly who the actual alien was. They were golden brown, and when purple eyes met her hazel ones with admiration, she gave back as good as she got. The woman had deep purple hair and an amiable smile. She bowed on the neck and kept walking.

The alien woman's dressing code was one among so many. She was wearing a black jumpsuit revealing a perfect body.

Jenny noticed everyone used that, just changing colors. A human woman would become an attraction on the transparent streets, wearing her pants, tank top, and jacket.

Around her, the buildings were not high but had the dignified aspect of tradition. It was a city about 1000 years old.

Walking for a few minutes, she reached the administration building. The scanner by the door allowed her to enter, and her sure steps led her to the governor’s office, where the door opened.

The creature who greeted her looked half-human, half the alien race of the beautiful woman on the street. He waved a hand to a chair, and Jenny sat down. The two AIs identified themselves as the living looked at each other in silence. Jenny noticed that and her worries reached the sky.

The man interrupted the uncomfortable silence.

“My name is Morar. I waited for your visit a few days ago, but my AI informed me yours went slow with your adaptation.”

“Yes, new Alfred seems to be a careful AI.”

Morar half-smile said little but made him look more human, even when his purple hair glittered.

“I imagine you have a temper. My mother does. She survived too and had a hard time adjusting.”

Jenny lifted an eyebrow. “How hard was that, and what does it imply?”

Jenny noticed he did not answer but replied calmly.

“We woke you up because some humans need a familiar face. You were a leader, the only one to tell them to stop stasis and invest in terraformation. They should have researched and kept trying it much before our interference. They know they wouldn’t be an endangered species had they listened to you.”

Jenny ground her teeth.

“How dare you judge us? You did what your plans demanded.”

He blinked with surprise and responded with the same irritating calm. “I see your point, but I don’t agree.”

“Listen, Morar. You are half-human. What considering your apparent age means your mother has been here for a long time. I know Alfred will do everything he can to survive Consider yourself lucky because he will not allow me to punch you in the face, as I feel like doing now. Your condescending tone is preposterous."

"I see."

"No, of course, you don't. Alfred's library was very useful. By the way, Mars looks great after you terraformed it. And so do the other planets in OUR solar system. You have control over all of it and I am pretty sure the humans’ problems don’t worry your leaders. We will not be a species to cause you trouble for millions of years. Do not come to me with your human blood and pretend otherwise.

Morar nodded. “I see you are as intelligent and cunning as the data says.”

“Stop flattering. You killed my species. Your people have been waking a few of us each generation and breeding with us to use our DNA to give strength to your progeny. You’re susceptible to diseases we aren’t. So you want our strength in your children, but you are still afraid of us after you smashed us to the ground. So now you wake me up to help you control my generation.”

“We are proud of the human blood we have in our children.”

“Oh, come off it! You are proud of your victory!”

Morar got paler. “I am sorry you feel so bad about the marriages.”

“Don’t you dare! I am not xenophobic! You killed over 45 billion humans with your implants! It was bait. A cruel, despicable maneuver, worse than simply blowing up our world or our moon. And when some of us woke up to what you were doing, you lashed out. You attacked us and killed us in a war that took you exactly a few days. You wanted everything we had. Now you want to force us to give you our DNA too. So here comes the news. I am not a pet, and neither are the other humans. We need to leave and go to our own world. Give us our world back.”

"We simply wanted you to help us have peace together. We are a mixed-race, Jenny. Mixed with yours and many others. We hope to reach peace with the humans. You always helped your species. Do it again. That's all I ask."

Her hands shook when she pointed at his face.

“I will help my species all right. We will be out of your purple hair. I want our world back, and the least you can do is help us establish a colony. Then, keep the rest of the solar system. It is useless to us, anyway.”

“Earth is not ready for a colony. The war destroyed it,” Morar replied, and his eyes were wild. Jenny felt gratified she had broken his composure.

“Yes, we were good at fighting against invaders,” Jenny said, baring her teeth in a feral smile. We'd rather destroy Earth than leave it for you.

Morar lifted a hand to his throat, and dry swallowed. She reminded him of a wild animal, ready to pounce and rip off his throat.

Then the two AIs decided it was time to interfere.

Jenny felt her mouth get dry, and her tongue refused to move.

“Ok, Alfred. I believe he got the meaning,” Jenny thought, and the weird sensation stopped.

She lifted her arms, hands pals ahead in a gesture of peace.

“We lost. And for your information, Alfred did not give me access to the secret files. I got what he didn’t say. Your inter-species marriage did not have the effect your leaders imagined it would. You counted on motherly love to keep us in check. Now you want me to solve the problem. Your population would riot if you destroyed the few remaining humans. You have our blood and everything it entails. Pride and fierceness too.”

Morar closed his eyes. “I thought I knew human women. My mother is tame compared to you.”

“Have some pride. Keep your family troubles to yourself and give us back what belonged to us. Our plans of taking control of our solar system will never happen. You exterminated us. Our world is in shambles. Time to let us go our own way.”

“I don’t want my mother to live in a destroyed world,” the man blurted out.

Jenny’s smile was icy. “Help us create a good place and, she won’t.”

“She doesn’t understand, and neither do you. You don’t have the numbers to recolonize Earth. There are 50000 humans left. Even if we woke up every remaining one, it wouldn't be enough. Earth will eat you whole. And you are all women. If your species doesn’t accept interspecies marriage, your extinction is at the door.”

Jenny blinked twice. “Come again.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. She asked in a voice so low the man leaned closer to hear.

“Did you kill every male of my species as a guarantee?”

Morar’s face got purple. Jenny knew shame when she saw it. She had no pity of his discomfort.

“We wanted marriages, not family squabbles,” he justified.

Jenny growled, and he lifted both hands. “Listen, I was not alive and did not make the decisions. I am trying to protect you now.”

Jenny jumped to her feet, fists closed and lifted, in a boxing stance. But her legs failed her. She fell heavily on the chair.

“Calm down, Jenny," Alfred advised.

She nodded, “I am fine, Alfred. Let me go.”

The AI did, and she took 4 fortifying breaths before she spoke again.

“I am sorry for your mother. She does not deserve to be called the names I thought,” she told the man with contempt all over her face.

She got back to her feet, and he stood too.

“The next time your species decides to rob another blind, I hope you find one that is not as gullible as mine was. You need somebody to show you how despicable you are.”

She turned on her heels and left the room.

Morar sat back on his chair, as his AI said.

“She just did.

Nodding, Morar looked at his long fingers, the perfect copy of his mother’s.

“Yes, I guess she did.”