Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Forty-Five

Strange metals and translucent materials covered the high-tech laboratory. The smooth surfaces appeared as if they were brand new, but as far as Alex knew, there hadn't been an industrious civilization on this planet it quite some time.

Alex was still in shock at where she was and how she was able to speak to an alien lifeform using only her mind. Sitting with the large beast, Alex listened intently as he told his story.

'We had made a huge mistake,' Ziya said, speaking with Alex in a remorseful manner. 'We even realized it before it happened, but still there was no stopping the inevitable progression of innovation. Our species by nature is too curious for our own good sometimes. We kept pushing the boundaries of science and technology until we created complex machines that could think for themselves.'

'Artificial intelligence,' Alex thought.

'There was nothing artificial about it. We thought we could control them by imputing protocols that would make them harmless and not be able to alter their own programming.'

'So what happened?'

'Once the machines could think and act autonomously, they saw little use for us. In fact, they saw us as a threat to them.'

'Why were they created in the first place?' Alex asked.

'It started off innocently enough,' Ziya said. 'At first they performed undesirable or dangerous tasks. They were used for everything from law enforcement, construction, farming, to menial jobs, but then we needed to see what else they could do. We assumed they would always be machines with strict programming, but they became something that nobody saw coming. They had souls.'

'Souls?' Alex repeated.

'It's the only way I can describe it. Your species, as well as mine, are complex organism, which are greater than the sum of our parts. We have something in us that is intangible, cannot be measured... some kind of life force. When the machines resembled a similar complexity, they inherited a certain spark from the universe. They had personalities, desires, interests... we didn't expect it and were ill-prepared to deal with it.'

'Did your people go to war with the machines?' Alex asked.

'By then it was too late. We did not have adequate weaponry to protect us from such an attack. We are a peaceful civilization and have no need for weapons of mass destruction. It was a merciless slaughter. The machines attacked our computer networks, disabled our communications, immobilized us, and then exterminated us. Some managed to survive for a little while by laying low and hiding underground, but eventually they suffered the same fate.'

'I'm curious to know how you survived,' Alex asked.

Ziya lowered his head with sadness. 'They killed my family, my friends, and everyone I have ever known. They didn't stop until my entire race was extinguished. I suspect I was one of the last remaining survivors.'

'That sounds awful,' Alex said. 'I'm so sorry you had to go through that.'

'Thank you. It was very difficult to lose everyone I have ever cared for and watch the entire history of my people disappear.'

'I can only imagine.'

'Before this mass extinction event, I was a scientist and this was my laboratory. I had been working on the ultimate disguise — a way to upload my consciousness into a computer and become one of them. That would be the last place they would look for someone of my kind.' Ziya said. 'But I knew I couldn't remain there forever. I needed a new body. That would be the only life worth living for me.'

'So how long did you stay in the machine?' Alex asked. 'And how did you get out?'

'Fortunately, I wasn't in the machine for very long. I had created a new species of animal that was similar in anatomy and brain physiology to my species, and with similar dexterity. I made it fast, agile, and powerful. But above all, it had a thick coat of white fur, which would be perfect for the storm that was coming.'

'Storm?' Alex asked.

'I planned to unleash a fury on these machines that would surely kill every last one of them. They may be powerful enough to kill us, but nothing is more powerful than nature. Through my cloud-seeding technology, I intended to manipulate the weather patterns and release a devastating snowstorm that would punish them for years.'

'You said you planned to do it... why didn't you cause the storm?'

'I forgot.'

'What do you mean?'

'Uploading one's consciousness from a machine into a fully autonomous creature had never been done before. Plus when I did it, I did so under extreme duress and time constraints. I had set up as much of the details before I began the process of uploading my consciousness into the machine.

'The transfer was quick and before I knew it, I opened my eyes once again. I had single-handedly made a very important scientific breakthrough and yet I had no one to share it with. However, my short-lived jubilation was interrupted by the sad realization that I was alone in the universe.

'While still getting used to my new body, I came up with another plan. I wanted to take a piece of my consciousness and put it in another creature so that I would have a companion. I wondered if it were possible so I hooked up myself and a pet of mine I had at the lab. I planned to only transfer a few things such as rationale, kindness, language, and a few others into the tiny creature, but what ended up happening was that my conscious was split in two — a part of me was in the beast, and another part of me was in the tiny creature. The transfer messed with all kinds of things including memory, language, and intelligence. I was no longer myself.

'Now as this beast, I completely forgot about who I was and my plans to manipulate the weather. As far as I knew, I was a creature in some strange laboratory. I didn't even know about the experiment I had just conducted with me and my little friend.'

'That's a fascinating story, Monk... oh I mean, Ziya.'

'It's okay, call me Monk.'