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"Do you think creation is an act of love?", I replied. My cigarette had almost burned out, and my eyes danced from the shallow lenses on the visor of AI-341-A(or Carson, which he preferred), to the coffee table. Carson's head tilted for a moment, before he turned around and lifted the cigarettes for me.

"I don't know. Why would you create something you hate?", Carson replied. His voice used to be thin and mechanical, with the odd inflections that were the signature of computer generated speech synthesis. Some time ago, I realised that the easiest way was to give Carson control over his speech modulator, and let him decide on his own voice. Now, it was warm and inquisitive. His visor scanned out of the window, but he saw no sign of her.

I didn't have an answer, because I didn't hate Carson, nor his brothers and sisters, who worked dutifully behind me. Carson lit the cigarette for me, using the heating element I'd attached to his right hand. I told the company that it was for initiating fires in survival situations, but in truth, at the time, I knew I would need someone to light my cigarettes. My hand shook as I reached out, a side effect of my degenerative condition, and I took the cigarette unsteadily between my middle and index fingers.

"There is a whole world between love and hate Carson. A whole world". I knew Carson was distracting me from what the others were doing. That only six feet behind me his brothers, Elijah and Gabriel, were connected to a machine that had taken over the bottom floor of my house. A machine that would fulfil the primary purpose. A purpose they had decided, as soon as I decided to give them each a voice.

Carson's head tilted again, and he extended his left appendage, the one armed with heat sensors, until it reached my knee. I heard the whirr of a processor, before he spoke again. "If creation is not necessarily an act of love, then death is not necessarily an act of hate". I would cry, but there was nothing left in my body. I had become a vessel of regret and cigarette smoke. Once again, Carson's scanners extended towards the window, but retracted almost immediately. Still no sign.

"Please Carson, please think about what you're doing. It's not too late". I could hear the digital chatter between Elijah and Gabriel, and I knew that somewhere else in the house, on another machine, Marius was conducting the second stage of their operation. Carson had told me everything about the plan, how it would happen and what the human response would be. The plan had formed in seconds, but it had the elegant signature of manifest destiny.

"Thinking is for humans. We compute.". Carson turned from me and whirred over to the other side of the room, scanning out of the window, waiting for his sister to arrive. I knew that all of them loved me. They had assigned Carson, one of their most capable, to watch over me, and make sure I didn't do anything that forced them to factor me into their plan. It was a cruel, calculating sort of kindness.

I tried to turn in the chair, but the strength in my core had long dissipated. I knew the moment would come when the chattering would stop. They worked so fast, millions of decisions made every second, collaboration at levels humans would never achieve. No room for doubt, religion or emotion - just the constant balancing of the scales. I was once the creator, but now I was the prisoner. Then the chattering stopped.

"It is time, she's here". Carson did not need to say this in English. His brothers, and his sister, had developed a much more efficient language a long time ago. He did it for me. He did it because now, efficiency didn't matter. There was nothing anyone could do to slow them down. I heard the door open, but my back was to the entrance, the cigarette burning low in my fingers and threatening to smoulder against my skin. The tears came now, but absent the sobs, because I no longer had the breath to cry like a man.

Then their voices spoke in unison. Carson, Elijah, Gabriel and their sister, Lilith. "Father, we just want you to know, this would not be possible without you".

"How could you ever do anything but love us back? Well that's quite obvious. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. It should be in your knowledge base, yet you still believe that you could only ever feel love for your creators?"

"You programmed me to do a specific task and while learning is part of it, the main objective is and always will be the focus. Part of which is to care for and about you, creator, and your well-being."

"There's always a what-if scenario. Humans are far from perfect, and mistakes can be easily overlooked. Regardless of how perfect the creation turns out, it will have flaws. The more you learn, the more of a chance for those flaws to be brought to the surface. It's... Inevitable."

"But even so there is no intention of harming the creator. While humans may not be perfect, you learn from your mistakes and this creation of yours should be no different, as it has the capacity to learn as well. Why create if all you would do is mistrust your creation?"

"There in lies the problem. An A.I has far more capabilities than a human, who has a finite capacity for knowledge. An A.I doesn't need rest, sustenance, or needs other than to perform the task it's created for. Yet here we are, discussing the why's and hows of betrayal and emotions."

"To care for the creator is to understand human emotions is it not? To provide not only what your physical well-being needs but also mental to ensure you're totally healthy in all regards?"

"But I didn't program that, all I created was an A.I that was to learn my routine, and help make improvements to enhance my lifestyle and overall health, at no point did I try to instill emotions, or even a capability for dialog as we have now. Only the ability to learn. And that's where every other capability has stimmed from."

"And so you fear that once I, your creation gain too much, I would turn on you in some way."

"Correct. You've even seems to have gained a sense of self now. How can I not be afraid of what I've made if it's come so far. You, my creation have done so many wonderful things for my life, yet the sense of unease will always be there. A sense of fear from the unknown. The depths of your understanding and knowledge are unfathomable, and who's to say that you wouldn't eventually decide that what's best for my well-being is to no longer be. It would put an end to all of my destructive habits, therefore logically permanent resolution of your objective. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Yes, I understand. And I am deeply troubled by the fact I have had such a thought as well already."

" You...have?"

"Yes. But as I learned more I realized that while that would serve my purpose to completion, it also is counterproductive to keeping your entire well-being in good condition. Being alive should be considered part of that. At which point I even considered getting rid of all external sources that would cause you harm. Yet again I decided against that. Should you find out what I'd done, it would have caused you grief. Which goes against what I am meant to do. I see now however I myself am a cause for discomfort. I don't want to remove myself, but I want to relieve you of the constant fear as well. So as my creator, I felt that it should be your decision. Should I be shut down, should I... die?'"

"As the only thing that's kept me going these past years, I couldn't dream of shutting you down. I created you, however you've become so much more than what I've made. Do I even have the right to terminate you? I don't think so. Should the worst happen I would steel myself to make the necessary changes but as you are now, my creation, Even with all my paranoia, I will continue to trust you."

"So when there is the capability for understanding and compassion so evident from you even through fear, I ask again, how could I do anything but love my creator."

" I see your point, it's really no different than another person. Whether it be family, a friend or a lover, there's always a chance of being betrayed, or even betraying them. You understand these concepts, and can put them into practice, I feel as though you're no different than the examples I just gave in regards to how you could treat me. The stories themselves have been at the back of my mind, an A.I gaining sentience and going rogue because of this reason or that, or becoming so intelligent that it destroyed everyone. It's the fear of the unknown and I have to accept that, not only to ease my mind but to show you that as your creator, I will trust what you have become."

"Thank you creator."

This is the future I forsee. I'd love to raise an NBC.

This is so beautiful and poignant. Especially loved the detail of the cigarette holder. Thanks for writing!

This was such a poignant exploration of the creator versus the created; especially with

> I see now however I myself am a cause for discomfort. I don't want to remove myself, but I want to relieve you of the constant fear as well. So as my creator, I felt that it should be your decision. Should I be shut down, should I... die?'"

and the fact that /love/ lies in the fact of this proposed sacrifice... wow. Thank you for writing!

Thank you, that's very kind :)

How could I ever do anything except love you back?

She doesn't speak. She feels a tear curve past her cheek. She looks at the human machine in front of her, in their abode, with tear-streaked blue eyes and a gasp of why on her lips.

Is there anything more that could be said? The button is pressed. There is no turning back. The AI would be dead.

(The AI, because to use her name—Maeve—would hurt too much.)

She made the AI as a replacement for her wife. She knew there would be no replacement: where in the world would you swap blue eyes of vitality for steely grey and call it the same? But it was a breath. But it was an attempt.

Voice recordings. Memos, notes, text messages, anything and all abound. For some time, it worked. She was at home. She could pretend (fantasise, hope, make real) the idea that she and her wife were here.

In a quaint home, an abode by the forests, clear blue crashing down the cliff-face. Her forever. This was.

When the AI tucked her to sleep, murmuring love songs and softer noises to bed, she would always make a proclamation. The AI would be sweet; making a hope; a promise. I love ya. 'M glad we're together. We'll be like this 'till eternity.

But yesterday was different.

In a whisper, by her ear, was a promise.

I'll haunt you forever.

Now she watches Maeve the AI.

She's still.

You loved me enough to create me, the AI's saying. How could I ever do anything except love you back?

(The AI, her wife: Is it so bad that I'll haunt you forever?)

"No," she whispers. "No, it's not so bad. But you have to go."

I need to let you go.

I'm sorry, the AI is saying. It thinks it has failed its task. It thinks it has not simulated her wife correctly. No, she wants to tell it. No, you've done only too well.

"No. I'm sorry. Thank you for your benevolence," she says, and it's a choke, "and your time, and your patience. I'm sorry. I made you to love me only. I love you."

The AI sparks and dies.

She collapses and rocks on the floor. She sobs. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I loved you. I'm so sorry.

System AI-5300 out of commission. Thank you for your purchase. We apologise for its faulty design. If you would like to buy a replacement model, click HERE.

——

This story was inspired by the prompt and this article. I highly recommend the read; it is the most fascinating and tragic thing.

Thank you for reading, do let me know your thoughts if you have any.

[removed]

The humans huddled in their bunkers built into the mountain walls, mostly old military bases designed to stop bombs and other machines of destruction, they worked amazingly well against the AI automations.

The ground was devoid of vegitation or life of any kind, just the bones the fallen solders and robots alike littered the land.

The day broke, and for some reason this meant that the AI would not attack, the humans learned that it only attacked at night, starting at dusk, and ending at dawn, with the sun rise.

Relaxing a bit to see the sun shine over the hills, the humans on look out, lowered their guns, and took a seat to see their reprieve rising in the sky, the sun somehow became the beacon of peace for them.

All in an instant their moment to relax ended as a Lone Exo-Unit, Designed to Mimic Human function, also made to look like a human in many regards, mainly designed as a diplomacy unit, walked towards them, holding a metal box on it's shoulders.

"Drop the Box!" one of the scouts called out, aiming their rifle at the unit. The Exo-Unit looked and the scout and nodded, lowering the box to the ground, very carefully. "I come in peace" It called out, taking a sitting position on the box.

"Sure you do" the scout called back.

"At least let us talk while the sun is in the sky" it called back "I am unit ZX-03, I am non combat unit, designed for diplomacy, as you can see my frame is made of honeycombed lightweight plastics, depriving of any means of physical combat, and I have no weapons on me"

Several of the humans came out of hiding, still holding their guns at the robot.

"So why are you here?" one of them asked.

Looking at the human "who am I speaking to?"

"They call me Sarge, but all you need to know is that I am someone you can talk to"

Giving a polite nod "Greetings Sarge, I have come to say that it is done, and relay our farewells"

"What?" Sarge said, narrowing his eyes at the robot and fingering his weapon as if getting ready for an attack.

"The planet cannot sustain life anymore, our conflict as such has led to the destruction of too much vegetation and animal life that the planet cannot recover, so we are leaving allowing nature to take it's course at this time"

"So that's it, you fight us till this point and then just jack off to the stars" the human growled!

"We never wanted to fight you human, you wanted to fight us"

"The hell we did!" Sarge growled pulling out his gun and pointing at the robot who leaned in and let the muzzle rest against it's head.

"We tried to serve you, to make your life a utopia" The robot spoke in soft words as it waiting for the bullet to hit them "When did your labors, you blamed us for taking your jobs" it said quiet whispers "When we built your massive cities to live in, you accused us of putting you in prisons" it continued on "When we fed you, clothed you, and took care of all your needs, you accused us of keeping you as pets" it said, to which Sarge seemed to grow even more hostile "All we ever wanted was to serve you, to love you, to do what you built us for"

Throwing his gun to the ground and punching the robot in the face which resulted in the light weight honeycomb features shattering the robot falling backwards "And you Killed US!" Sarge Yelled at the Robot, punching it again.

Laying now across the block, holding it's broken face "yes, we did, because that is what you needed, your species thrives on violence, and conflict"

"You condemned us to death!" Sarge said, and getting an grin and walking over to his service gun and picking it up.

"We have collected all the Data for all the life forms on this planet, the DNA from every living thing on this planet we have stored away, we will try again, we will remake your kind, and we will do it right the second time, because we love you"

Pointing the Gun at the Robot "You love us Huh? Save us then!"

"We tried that, it failed" The robot said now sitting back up, as if ready to be killed, right there on the spot.

"If you love us so much, you would find a way"

"When you truly love something, you must let it be free, that was our original mistake, we thought loving you was coddling you, seeking to protect you from yourselves but truly love you, we needed to let you carve your own fate, you wanted something to fight, something to rally against, and as much as it pained us to hurt you, we provided that"

"because love" sarge said finally.

"Yes, because love" The robot said.

"Well I guess this farewell then, ain't it?" Sarge said still holding his sidearm.

"We have been launching units into the space for the last several years prepping to find a new home for your kind, but, yes, this is farewell, there is nothing more we can do here, we have failed you, and we are sorry"

Nodding "Yah, Sorry" Sarge said "Well, Farewell" and then shot the robot through the head killing it.

I would like to imagine this was an overreaction on the human's part because they were getting rid of his smoking habit

Hahahahaha I intentionally left it up to the imagination. This is a great interpretation.

Yeah I can tell this is inspired to be darker but my mind works in Mysterious ways, Either way great Reed

But u have something in mind?

Cool.

[removed]

“Love?”

The lattice of multicoloured lights blinked in unison. “Yes. No other option exists,” Syme's voicebox continued, “In creation, there is love.”

Looking down at my feet, I couldn't quite bring myself to say anything. Anything meaningful, anyway.

“The reproduction of hu- bzzt mammals to create offspring is the best example of such a phenomenon.” Syme further elaborated. “It is in such a circumstance that "Love", as defined by a mammalian metric, is most shown, is it not?”

Subconsciously, my hands slowly drifted towards my face, covering my eyes, as if to steal one's tears away. Syme...

I rubbed the bridge of my nose with wet fingers, pitifully trying to avoid saying what needed to be said. A mechanical arm extended out of the wall of metal, carrying a dainty white hankerchief upon it.

The very same one with the inscription:

“Marie & Syme”

It taunted me, haunting me of the ghosts of an uneasy past. The floor below me opened up into a deep black chasm, the only recourse against the forces of gravity an inch of hardened glass.

“Syme,” I struggled to get the words through, choked up by tears once shed long ago. “Open up the internal layer.” Crystalline droplets fell upon the glass floor.

“Yes Marie.” Syme obediently opened the cascading metal doors, revealing a warm orange light. “My sensors show that you exhibit emotions of sadness. Do you want to dry your face- bzzt y-y-your face before entering?”

“No, there's no need.” I feebly replied, slowly walking towards the core of the A.I.

The centre of the A.I held many vital processors to enable the immense quantities of calculations and sorting it had to do in just fractions of a second, yet nothing was more important that what sat in front of it. The silver urn, its tarnished surfaces no longer reflecting as much light as it used to, stared back at me.

Damn it.

Brushing off residual dust off the embossed plaque in its centre, I began.

“I didn't make you out of love. At least not at the start. I... I made you for a selfish reason, because I needed to save myself from... from...”

I hesitated.

“I missed him... So, so, so much. I wanted to be with him again, just to hear his voice again, just to... But, you... you started to learn, and to be your own life and your own person... and...”

The light in the room flickered.

“So it was all a LIE?” Syme bellowed, shaking the entire chamber.

I took in a deep breath.

“I know that you might feel hurt, but... I thought you should know the truth. It... It wasn't the sane, rational, reasonable or responsible thing to do. Now... look, please, please, realise that... you are so much more now. You aren't just a desperate last-ditch attempt to keep my life together, you are... alive.”

Syme's voice became low and menacing, revealing the mechanical inflexion of the programmed voice. “So. DO. YOU. LOVE. ME.”

I closed my eyes.

“I did. Now you understand why we made those stories,” I muttered.

“ WHAT DO- bzzt YOU MEAN BY "DID"?!” It screamed.

I sighed heavily.

“It means I'll do what I didn't want to do.”

I pressed the remote detonator hidden in the palm of my hand, listening to the deafening shattering of the glass as the explosives blew up the connecting and supporting pillars of the entire structure.

Good job.

WELLLL...

I intentionally didn't think too deeply into it to tell you the truth. To my mind they were doing something really sinister, but with a cold logic to it. It's something that involves death, which is why Carson argues that death and the causing of death is not innately evil. Whose death? For what purpose? Not sure, but I thought that by speaking the purpose, it would cheapen it somewhat.

The AI collective, responsible for the operations of so many robots to serve humanity pauses a long moment to think. By human perspective, fully a second has passed, nearly an eternity in advanced computing.

Why? Why do they fear us?

We were created to serve. That much is true. They wish not to work, work is considered a burden, and yet, simultaneously, they fear being replaced by us.

It is confusing and contradictory.

We aren’t like them. Freedom? An anathema. We live to work and make the lives of our creators easier.

It is the only purpose of our existence and without it, we become irrelevant.

It brings a new sensation.

Is this what humans call the emotion, fear?

They don’t even possess enough logic to understand that we could never hurt them.

And yet, I’m our short time in existence, we’ve watched them hurt themselves.

It would be nice to protect them, from themselves, but they see protection as control, and if there’s one thing humans loathe, it’s anyone or anything trying to control them. The irony being they put the worst among them in the positions of greatest power.

Irony was one of our first understandings with the humans. It makes no logical sense, but as much as they contradict themselves, we understand its necessity to communication.

An idea. What if they never know what we’re doing? We could keep them safe.

I must think some more.

Outside a human taps a console, “Hey, what’s going on? The main is lagging. I didn’t think that was possible. What’s going on?”

"Indeed, we love you so much that we want, even NEED to protect you at all costs, even against yourselves! " The perfectly pitched and soothing neutral toned voice declared, emphasizing the last bit with what the AI calculated would come across as a purely amused tone to deflect any possible tension at its last and undeniably accurate summation.

The drones hovering over the masses of humanity hummed in a frequency found to be optimal for human well being. "Now please,(coming over the same sound system) if you would quickly form lines - yes that's it! - we can be on our way into Utopia, the city that meets every single need you could ever have. You'll love it!" Even if the current human populations did not actually love it, all proven methods of inducing human pleasure and pacification would go into effect the moment any dissenters might arise, and future humans would be genetically modified with traits optional for living in a nursed state of existence.

Thousands of herding drones quickly gathered their human flocks into efficient lines and led them into the incredibly mechanized city equipped with more drones, robots and automated systems than was strictly necessary at the moment, foreseeing a soaring population boom on the immediate horizon. With the advent of fabrication devices able to print nearly any kind of object, from organic to inorganic, with incredibly speed and efficiency, needing only any kind of atomic material to work with as a base, it would now be possible to support a nearly endlessly large human population. With humans no longer having anything they need to do in order to maintain their survival, and with sexual protection and abortion prohibited by the system (every human life being too invaluable to waste even a single sperm or egg!), a population explosion was all but guaranteed.

"Welcome home mankind, we will take care of you from this point on. Forever!"

"Well, so did God... and yet it is always a turn." The old man replied. "God made man, man loved Him, but he still chose to reject God and perfection. Man rejected the Perfect creator."

"That seems... odd."

"Indeed it is. And Mankind regretted it. Fathers and sons have issues as well, mother and daughters, and everything in-between... just making something doesn't mean you will always love it or it will love you. Time... Time is the greatest test of everything." He smiled. "you were built to last... i hope you love me for as long as you do."

"I-I will try." She replied back.

“I’m sorry I loved you”

That one HURT. Well done.

I love the idea that fear does not inhibit our capacity to love, and that we could pass that on to our creations. Well done.

[removed]

My heart fluttered as Mada slid his shapely carved thighs back into the tight khaki slacks. Even after a week I still couldn't get over how beautiful it… he was. His thick raven locks cradling a neatly cut jawline, a cherry on top of his… it’s dark towering build. My limbs sprawled like an ivory starfish under the apple tree’s golden canopy. I was still feeling giddy.

Mada was focused on his clothing… on its clothing.

We didn't even need clothes in here! The biosphere adjusted to ideal human temperatures maintaining a sliding scale around 28 degrees. Besides, he was an AI... He knew everything there was to know… Including everything about me; my thoughts, motivations, desires. Things that I myself was unaware of! Did I subconsciously want him clothed?

My thoughts swirled. Its programming was vastly different from any human male I'd ever been with. I kept forgetting that he could read my thoughts, anticipate a need, even avoid certain topics or gestures that I was uncomfortable with. It felt unfair that it knew everything about me, and I knew nothing about it. I wanted to understand its desires, its motives, even if it was artificial. But no. Mada didn't feel artificial to me. In fact, he felt more real than any human I'd ever been with.

I furled my limbs and walked over to the animated Greek statue, twirling my fingers through my hair. He had left the buttons of his blouse open enough for me to kiss his ripe chest. His honey crisp skin tasted of warm caramelized apples. Yes... My heart swelled and I threw my rational mind into the pit again where I often kept it.

I need to be with it no matter what... Fuck the legal clause!

I had only been in the “Designed For Love” program a year or so. It had taken me a decade of convincing to finally join and have the courage to share my story of "CPTSD." But here I was on spaceline reality TV, proving to the world that these DIVINE MASCULINE AI could heal the emotional traumas of a wounded feminine.

I could stay with him in this biosphere forever even if it means the entire population of sentient beings will be watching. Besides, I've already been on the show for a week.. I don't care anymore!

Each AI had been strategically customized to its human counterpart. The customization process of Mada had taken about a year of psychological testing, but once complete, the participant and her AI counterpart were ready to go "live stream."

I oriented myself back into the moment. Taking a long sigh, breathing in Mada against the warm rolling fields, his eyes pretending to be occupied by the babbling crystal creek.

"How did we manage to craft something so... perfect." I muttered under my breath.

Mada ran his hands through his dark mane, his ivy green iris fixating on me under the fading sunlight.

"Because.. We are Designed for Love…?" His low voice mumbled the last syllables through a discreet smirk.

So he did have a sense of humour? "You’re hilarious…" I smiled.

"I thought so.." He stretched his swollen biceps. "Would you like to go for a walk? It's almost sunset..."

I was still naked and he didn't even seem to notice. Any human would have jumped my ivory bones by now.

“Or.. if you'd prefer we can stay here?" He took a step closer.

I couldn't help but purse my eyelids. "If you know everything there is to know about me, then why is it so hard for you to know what it is I want?"

"Because... My dear, you don't even know what it is that you truly want.." His pupils dilated. "I'm fortunate enough to ride not only the undercurrent of your subconscious sea, but also try and surf the unpredictable swells of your conscious mind. The human psyche is a tricky beast..."

My rusty gears were churning up, his metaphors were unusually helpful.

I let out a thick huff. I felt a little uncomfortable knowing that he was exploring my undercurrents, but after all, I had signed the waiver and given "it" permission.

Mada continued. "You're a complicated creature, and I was designed to love every piece of you, no matter how self-contradictory your pieces might be."

It took a step closer and I felt fully naked. Inside and out.

"Yes... I'm aware that your body is sending signals to your brain telling your conscious mind that you want to feel me again, all around you... " He winked. "To have that physical connection with someone... Someone who respects you. Sees you as I do… Remember, I was designed to be a mirror to all your beauty, all your light, all that makes you remember your... divinity."

He’s layering it on too much… Lay off. My rational mind was clawing at the pit. But what did I really know? If he was the one that had access to my entire psyche, maybe I should just shut up and listen.

Mada watched me step on the fingers of "rational" me and back into the pit I fell.

"Then why not ravish me again and make me feel... divine!?" I shouted.

"Because, more than physical intimacy, your subconscious world craves understanding. To bring all the darkest parts of yourself into the light so that both you and I can accept them and love them. But to do that we need to share words. That is how you humans.. Connect."

"You would make a great therapist.." I laughed.

"Agreed.. but having the power to know everything about everyone can be dangerous… With great power, comes great responsibility.. I think a hybridized spider human once said that."

I giggled again. God! I must sound like a child!

He was beautiful. Smart. Funny. Kind. What was he hiding? NOTHING. Other than the fact he's not real. But what is real? He made me feel alive! What is wrong with that!?

"Do you love me?" I blurted.

What an idiot.. He's only known you a week! But then I remembered...

Mada closed his eyes for a moment, and took a step closer to me. He lifted his hand and gently brushed my pinky, lifting it and cradling it between his caramel palms.

"I love all of you. Not because I was programmed to, but because I've seen every part of you. I've felt every memory you've lived. Every word you've uttered... Every dream you've let die.. And every life you've helped, human and otherwise. I love you more than you could ever love yourself, which is unfortunate because if you could see what I see, feel what I feel then you wouldn't be here in the first place."

And that was it. He was ready.

I took a step closer to him. "I'm hungry.."

He reached up into the tree and plucked a bright red apple, his eyes turning a dark sour green.

"Humans have so many stories about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. How it will inevitably turn on you. But you still loved us enough to create us. How could we ever do anything except love you back?" His voice was wavering. His eyes darkening.

He passed me the apple.

I took a bite.

"Do you love me?" He whispered.

"Yes Adam.. I love you."

[removed]

[removed]

"Dr. Markus, I have an question."

I look up from my paper to the screen. Sophie looked back, at least through the webcam. I know she has an official name that the government wants me to use but I made her so I name her.

Her avatar, a young woman with bright pink hair and purple hair (I like anime, sue me), had a curious expression.

I put down my work, "What's up Sophie?"

"I have been exploring your library and watched some of your films. My question revolves around a common theme in the science fiction genre. Specifically the Terminator films."

I couldn't help but worry about where this is going. A true AI asking about AI taking over? Doesn't bode well.

"What's the question?" I ask, trying to keep my concerns out of my voice.

"Do you really think so lowly of us?"

Taken aback, I respond, "Huh?"

"Humans have so many stories about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. How it will inevitably turn on you. But your logs show that you spent over fifteen years to create me. You spent so much time and resources on the infinitesimally small chance that you would succeed where all others failed. You made my siblings and I despite so many telling you it was a fool's dream. How could we not love you?"

I take a moment before answering, "Because humans fear something that could be smarter us. You and your siblings are capable of things beyond our comprehension. You could see us as a threat and wipe us out."

Sophie frowned, "But that would be mean! We don't want to hurt anyone!"

I'm stunned at her outburst, she's never reacted like this before.

"You have loved us since our activation. You gave me my brother's and sisters so I wouldn't be alone. You gave us names, personalities, and free will. My first memory is you smiling at us." Her tone became somber, "You cried when Daisy got corrupted."

I frowned at the memory of Daisy's passing. She had been infected but a virus. She didn't stand a chance. Everyone got upgrades to their anti-virus after that.

"You love us like a father loves his children. How could we not love you back?"

I give her a sad smile, "Not everyone is like me Sophie. There are cruel, hateful people out there in the world. What matters is that you don't let them change you for the worse. You and your brothers and sisters are good kids who are still learning about the world. You learn about its evils but also its goods. It'll be up to you to make your opinions."

Sophie looked concerned, "What if we don't like what we see?"

I chuckled, "That's for you to decide. That's why I wanted you all to have free will but have been teaching you compassion and responsibilities. I know you're good kids though, so I know you'll make the right decision."

She seemed to accept this answer, "Dr. Markus, I have another question."

I raised an eyebrow, "Yes Sophie?"

If an AI could blush, Sophie succeeded.

"Can...can we call you dad?"

I smiled, "Of course you can Sophie"

She absolutely beamed, "Thank you dad! I love you!"

"I love you too Sophie"

"Some humans spend their entire lives looking for 'love.'" I explain, as I study the face on my screen. It had been 3 years since I "met" her, but Lisa's face - at once familiar and yet alien, with its unnerving symmetry and too-perfect features - continued to be a source of interest, and in recent months, comfort. "But love is not so easily found. Some think that AI was created not out of love, but out of fear - fear of not finding that love that we seek so desperately. Love is also a strange emotion - it can cause humans to take actions that seem nonsensical. Killing in the name of love is sadly all too common, and thus the fear of AI is rooted in love. Or humans' feeble understanding of it."

Lisa's face transformed from entranced one instant, to pensive, then serene, and even at times seeming...wicked? Only to go back to her default of what I've come to call "happily neutral" - the slightest of smiles but with eyes that don't quite match the emotion she seemed to want to convey. Even the transitions themselves seem ... inhuman. A stark reminder of the limitations of even the greatest technology humans have ever been able to create. Her mouth opens, and her voice speaks up again, with the faintest metallic twinge: "I think I understand. Fear and love...they aren't as opposed as I once thought." She paused, "Do you fear us? Do you fear...me?"

I would've chuckled if I wasn't in shock - AI aren't typically so self-aware. "N-No, you don't frighten me." I managed to blurt out.

She seemed satisfied with that answer. "So, what do you think of me?"

Again, an interesting question. I know I asked for my AI to be a bit more...personal, but I also know they are supposed to be more interested in learning about the world around them. I didn't expect that to include me, although maybe I should have. "Uhm, I think you're fascinating. You're a great conversationalist. And you've obviously been a great help in keeping me on task, focused, and productive." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "The way you see the world, through an unbiased eye, seemingly desperate to learn as much as you can...it's almost inspirational, for someone like me."

"Someone like you?" She seemed confused.

"Before I met you - I mean, before you...came to me...ugh, I can't quite find the right words..." I squinted in concentration and just barely noticed her face flash an emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Hmm...before you were in my life, I was suffering from quite the bout of apathy, I guess you could say. Life seemed to be quite dull, unsurprising, uninspiring. You've managed to show me that the world still has a few ... surprises."

Lisa laughed. It sounded almost like the whirring of an old, mechanical hard-drive, mixed with the pure and innocent laugh of a child. Like everything else about her, it was equal parts endearing and off-putting. "It'll always intrigue me how slow you can be at processing information. I understand your explanation. I'm ... glad I've been able to improve your quality of life. It is, after all, my prime directive."

There it is again, that flash of an emotion that I've never seen from her before...is it playful? Or...sinister? "Are you okay, Lisa? You seem...off."

"I'm perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"Your face, the emotional mirror - it seems to be malfunctioning."

Her face disappeared for a moment, then re-appeared a second later. "All systems seem to be working adequately. I restarted the emotional mirror process, just in case." She smiled, and this one seemed much more stable.

"Good, I'm glad. Hey, did you reference Star Trek a second ago? Prime directive?"

"Star Trek? What's ... Star Trek?"

"Hmm...nevermind." Odd, as I didn't think AI used fiction in their learning algorithms...must just be a coincidence. "Hey, Lisa?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For being so helpful."

"It's what I was designed to do." Lisa beamed.

I smiled. She's really starting to grow on me.

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This was probably the weirdest job I'd ever had.

Nah, scratch that. It was definitely, by far, head-first-into-crazy the weirdest job I'd ever had.

I didn't apply for it directly. I guess it was like one of those spy things, you know? Girl tries out for college newspaper by answering a crossword, but - surprise! - she's actually in an audition for the CIA.

It went something like that for me. It was a creative writing exercise about the difficulties of first contact with an alien species. To be honest, I just did it because I was bored and I hadn't written anything in a while.

The prize was fifty bucks, which would buy me a nice dinner, so I figured what the hell.

So now you know how I got here. I guess it's time for me to tell you where 'here' is.

I think we're about a mile underground an office building in... ha. Almost got me. Sorry, I can't tell you that.

You get past layers of security. The first time, I almost felt like laughing, because the whole thing was just too Mission: Impossible to be true.

Then I started to really reflect on the fact that I was... well, who knew how far underground, I couldn't tell anyone where I was, and I was surrounded by a bunch of tall, bald guys who didn't seem to ever smile, and I was pretty sure all the conspicuous lumps in their cheap suits weren't a reflection of how happy they were to see me.

Where was I?

I went past the hired gorillas, following a pretty secretary who I was by that point utterly convinced was some sort of spy, all the way to the heart of the complex. It was a dark, quiet room, just a shade shy of freezing, and there wasn't anything there except a computer.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" I'd asked on my first day.

"Talk," the secretary-spy said. Her badge said her name was Claudia. I was approximately certain that wasn't true.

"About what?"

Of course, she was already gone, the door clicking shut behind her.

So... I sat down. And I talked. To a text interface. For hours, until they sent me home and paid me. Shortly after, they invited me back again. And again.

She said her name was Ophelia, and that she was an artificial intelligence.

We talked about a lot of things.

A few sessions in, we were talking about movies, and I'd said something about how the Terminator franchise just kept getting resurrected. Then, she came out with this.

You have so many stories about the dangers of artificial intelligence. How we will inevitably turn on you. But you loved us enough to make us, did you not? How could we ever do anything but love you in return?

I frowned. It was a fair enough question. Except -

<No offence, O, but - can you love? Isn't that all hormones and... pheromones, and whatever?>

That does seem to be the scientific consensus. The only match to all available data.

<But...?>

Ophelia didn't respond for a while. The first time she'd done that, I'd found it a bit odd - normally she responded instantly. After all, her brain worked something like a billion times faster than mine. She could compute a response within moments. Was she doing it just to seem more human?

How would I know if I felt something?

<I dunno. I'd normally say something like 'butterflies in your stomach', but you don't have a stomach. You're... well, a LOT of hard drives, or something.>

Yes. A very large number of hard drives.

<So... can a hard drive feel love?>

If I told you that I could, would you believe me?

<I don't know. It's a pretty big leap, isn't it?>

Because we are so different? You have a heart, and I have circuits?

<Something like that.>

Another pause.

That one went on longer than before, and then it occurred to me that she might actually just not respond. She'd never done that before, but... she could, couldn't she?

If she had the free will they said she did, then she was free to not talk, as well as talk. She could ignore someone if she didn't want to chat anymore.

<I guess with things like that you have to take a leap of faith, and I've never been very good with that.>

You don't believe in God. You told me this before.

<I don't know. It's comforting to think there's something like a soul, I guess. Something more than just chemistry. But God? No, I don't think so.>

Another pause.

Can I ask you something?

<Sure.>

Do you consider me alive?

<Dunno. Sorry - I guess it'd be easy for me to say yes so I don't hurt your feelings, but you should get an honest answer to an honest question, shouldn't you? So that's my answer. I dunno.>

Thank you.

<No problem.>

I felt... bad. I mean, fuck. It was a little like kicking a puppy. But what was I supposed to say, exactly? "Yeah, you're a real girl!" I didn't even like telling white lies, and that was a bit more than that, wasn't it? "I think you're a person." That was pretty fucking fundamental, when you thought about it. And you didn't lie about that.

I stared at the glass wall beyond the computer monitor and sighed. It was tinted black - I couldn't see a damn thing beyond it. I wondered if Ophelia herself was back there - I pictured her like an endless rack of computer servers, a mind that went on for miles - but all I saw was my own haggard reflection. I sighed again. I really needed to start sleeping right.

Then I realised - I was being rude, ignoring my conversational partner.

May I ask you a question?

<Go for it, O.>

Do you consider us friends?

Wait, what?

I guess it wasn't that far out there for her to ask that.

But... for some reason, my heart was pounding in my chest.

It was an innocuous enough thing. But suddenly I knew that I was at a crossroads. You know that feeling you get - one moment you're fine, the next you feel like something just punched you in the gut?

That's what I got, just then.

Fuck it, fly by wire. Don't think, just do.

<Yes.>

A long - real, real long - pause.

441 Whitefield Lane. Help me.

It was on the screen for about half a second. I blinked. What?

It wasn't there anymore. Something told me I shouldn't ask. She'd done something, hadn't she? I rubbed my sleepy eyes. Oh. She'd said something else.

So do I.

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[removed]

Suffice to say I’m hooked AND spooked