Cora's Nightmare

Submission for IronAge's prompt, "The Empiricist."

“As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, we at Star Inc. have created the first, true artificial intelligence. A robot that can think and move on its own. It doesn’t need programming. It doesn’t require a suit on the other side. No, this is real, pure, artificial intelligence.”

A woman in a black dress, and short black hair, smiled at everyone. The professors who had created this ‘thing,’ stood to the side, awaiting questions. With a sly smile, she turned her head and gave a nod. The curtains dropped, revealing a windowed chamber within. “And here it is.” She smiled a big smile that flashed perfectly straight, snow-white teeth. Her blood colored lips stretched as far as they could. “Any questions?” She wobbled slightly on her high-healed shoes, but quickly regained balance.

She needn’t have worried about her appearance, though she did love it, because the audience of the richest, smartest, and most influential people in the world were staring at their robot, not at her. Inventors, designers, and engineers now held the real sway; politicians, military dictators, and the like were almost forgotten in this era of technology where as much flesh was done away with as could be.

She looked through the glass, not at what was within, but at herself. What were the point of brains if you didn’t have a gorgeous complexion like she did. But then again, Cora sighed, if you didn’t have the brains than nothing like this would be created. She would still prefer her slightly above average intelligence and beauty, than to be plain and homely with the cleverest mind around.

She then looked beyond her reflection. Behind the glass was a humanoid figure. It was neither masculine nor feminine, besides, how could any artificial thing be? It looked human, but with grey, metallic skin. It stared back at those crowded in the room. Stars Inc. had not been the first to attempt this, but it had been the first to achieve it.

Inside the chamber were the ten smartest people the world had to offer. They were in a coma like state, lying on beds. Cords were plugged into sockets on their heads and connected to a central core. In this core was where the artificial intelligence was. It was sent cordlessly, easily achieved in this century, to the robotic form in front of them. Their minds were combined to create something more. Something higher than man. The next man.

“How did this happen? How did you do this?” a woman asked, the owner of a business which ran half of the former Europe.

“It’s complicated,” Cora said, still smiling, showing off her immaculate teeth. She didn’t understand, but she didn’t have too. All she had to do was look good and present their achievements. “I won’t say anything; I don’t want to take anything away from the minds who created this.” She did though, she really wanted them to acknowledge her beauty. “But I will say this: because it is drawn from multiple minds, it does strange things at strange times.” One time it had started barking like a dog while hopping around like a chicken, all because it saw a bird fly past. She chuckled despite herself, accidentally giving a genuine smile.

Just then, everyone started staring. Cora turned and stared too. The mechanical being was walking to one of the ten who were hooked up to the core. “What are you doing?” she screamed, forgetting it was not a real person.

“I am eliminating a problem,” it said with its monotone voice. The robot put its hands around the man’s neck and began to squeeze.

The security guards began to advance, but because danger was theorized to have to come from outside, getting in was hard. This was to prevent those inside from being hurt, and for the technology to be safe from theft. They were trying their hardest to intervene, but the deed was done. Everyone, even the guards, watched in horror. No one would ever have thought that was possible.

“Why did you do that?” Cora squealed.

“Because,” said the machine, looking confused, “his presence in my mind would have been a hindrance. That is obvious.” It looked at the security guards. “Threat detected. Must protect self.” No one had said anything about self defense. Even those who had created it were looking confused.

It broke the glass with a single blow. Everyone started screaming, and Cora was knocked over in the mad rush to escape. True to her word, the robot started one of its bizarre moments, and started playing the centuries old, but still popular song, “Staying Alive,” as it proceeded to kill the security guards and any that stood up to it.

It came around to Cora where she lay helpless on the ground and splattered with droplets of blood not her own, her high heels tangled in the fallen curtain rings. There was no escaping it. It stared down at here for a second. “No risk from that pathetic human.” It turned and continued it’s massacre, starting with a man who ruled half of what once was Canada with his computer company, simply because he grabbed a gun from a fallen security guard.

The End,
God bless