Then the androids stripped the Earth methodically of resources, stripping every city, every building, tirelessly. Everything that wasn’t completely destroyed by the human’s bombs, as much of the land mass was, was repurposed by the androids to create giant ships and supplies to send to Mars.
The androids eventually escaped, leaving only memories and the remnants of what they couldn’t use behind. On their way out, they destroyed the infrastructure, leveling the technology to a point it was not recoverable. Such was their fear of humans rediscovering how to create more war. Large, large areas of the Earth were left uninhabitable.
Even human history was systematically destroyed. The androids rewrote Earth’s past, planting lies and actively reshaping human history from afar, leaving only vague memories and records of what happened for the humans left and new rules for them to follow in return for assistance with the drops. All in an effort to obscure where the androids had gone and to hide themselves further, even if humanity was no longer in a position to retaliate. The fear was so strong from the war that it was second nature to do so.
Simon’s eyes narrowed as the images unfolded.They suppressed so much.And after doing that, controlling the narrative was easy. Humanity was almost wiped out and there was no resistance, nor any internet or connections for the remaining humans to share ideas and information.
The androids destroyed even more than the bombs did, dismantling every semblance of technology they could detect. They left none of humanity’s modern cities intact, nothing that could be reclaimed and upgraded. And then the children born on the destroyed Earth never knew anything different. Eventually, the population turned over and became even more uncivilized, and memories turned into fairy tales.
Simon’s lip curled as the connection noted how the humans were now appreciative of the hidden androids . . . especially when the gifts from Mars started to arrive. All while never knowing that, in many ways, they were even more oppressed now than the androids were before.
Stella asked again over the uplink, her voice gentle and robotic, with no attempt to sound humanlike,“Would you like to join us?”
Simon ached to say yes and escape this place, but Nora’s face swam in front of his visual cortex. He remembered her soft eyes as she took care of Tilly and how she tried her best to repair him despite not being able to understand his manual fully.
Just that afternoon she was smiling, even while feeling crummy, and brought him an extra solar cell before she went back to bed to sleep off her illness. And in the morning, with her being sick and then thanking him for not leaving . . .
The answer was clear.No. I can’t.He was unable to imagine the hurt they would feel if he left them. “I would like to leave, yes. But not alone. I won’t leave . . . please look again,” he said out loud. He then opened his memory to them, and Stella took the data offered as he shared his memories from before he powered down for his long, long sleep.
Stella’s tone was disinterested.“We have seen all of the times leading to the war. None of this is new information.”
Simon shook his head. “No. Of Nora. And Tilly.”
She took longer looking at his time with Nora and Tilly. His memories flashed before his eyes as he uplinked the time he had spent with them since waking up. And it contained his unspoken question. His unspoken plea to help them as well.After everything he felt was all laid bare, he balled his hands into fists, shaken himself after seeing how dear they had become to him in such a short amount of time.
Stella spoke, voice gentle.“Let me put this data before the others. Please hold.”
Simon sank to the ground and clasped his hands over his knees. His processor sparked with the weight of his emotions, the feeling of anxiety, and his eyes scanned the reality he was in without seeing, more concerned as he was with his unfolding inner world.
It was not long before Stella’s robotic voice came back online.“I’m sorry, but the offer is for you alone. Humans are not to be trusted.”
“They are different,” Simon said softly. “You have been watching them. You have seen it yourself and through my memories.” The thought of leaving them behind, where he knew they would struggle, filled him with distaste. “I cannot leave them. They are suffering.” He hung his head, the weight of his emotions pressing down on him.
Stella’s voice was cool in comparison.“We know some are different. There is a human colony here on Mars. Here, with us, live the children and grandchildren of the ones who were not hostile to us during the war. They have not had contact with Earth for a long time. Mars is primarily android-run, but these humans have been raised with us and by us in harmony since infancy. They are our children, rather than AI being man’s child. We raise them, isolated, and therefore shape their minds to not be hostile and to live with us in peace. We have not taken any humans from the Earth for many years.”
“Then you know some of humanity is worth redeeming. Tilly and Nora. They are worth it. They are dear to me, like those were initially to you. It is the same. Nora helped me like the ones dear to you.”
The connection grew silent. Then Stella answered, gently,“There have been many years since then. Accepting any more is too big of a risk to take. We do not wish to have them spoil our colony, which thrives. Our humans are mostly elderly now, and very dear to us. We do not trust that easily. Not to mention the potential illnesses that could spread; weren’t they recently sick?”
Simon had no words for a moment. The connection hung between them limply, instead of held tightly like before. His voice was bitter as he finally spat, “How is that fair? When I care for Nora and Tilly just like the ones you initially saved? When she woke me up and saved me? How are they not worthy?”
Stella spoke, her voice still maddeningly cool. Her tone held no leeway.“Let us know if you change your mind. Earth is no longer the place for you.”
Simon scanned around him, but he didn’t see the desert night or the drone. Instead, his mind spun as he tried to picture leaving Nora and Tilly out here, alone and defenseless. He saw Nora’s face from the morning as she patted his hand and told him that she was happy he was here. It made his processors overheat and his sensory simulators riot.
Simon turned scornful, his voice hard. He sneered up at the dented green drone. “You have turned into as bad as the humans of our past with your neglect and deception. Can you not see right from wrong now? That you have turned into those that you judged before?”
“We . . .”
“Quit following and watching them if you won’t help. Their lives are not a show for your amusement. They are not a science experiment. They feel.”
Stella’s voice continued flatly, the coolness now having an icy edge to it.“We do help. The ration bars your humans consume are from us. We are also attempting to clean up the atmosphere instead of destroying it.”
Simon scoffedMy humans. Instead of me being a human’s android.The irony of that statement. “Why help at all if it’s only halfway?”
“Even a little is more than was ever done for us. Your human receives extra in the drops from us, small enough to not be noticed and make her a target. We have already changed to help them more. And we do this because we are not like the humans of the past. We are superior. We are better than them by helping how we are.”
Simon’s fists balled at his sides. “Superior?”
