Living under a rock

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Raul crawled out from under the rock.

“Equus” he yelled.

But the horse had run away again. So, Raul had to walk back to his home. He could feel his impatience rising.

He remembered his grandparents’ stories about a time when a “car” could take a person 100 times faster than walking. Or a “phone” with which you could talk to people who were far away. Not that Raul had many people to talk to. Just his grandparents. He hadn’t seen anyone else. Although his grandparents loved regaling him with stories about technology, they went silent when he asked what happened. There was an intense sadness in their eyes, which prevented him from pressing further.

Raul reached home. His grandparents rushed towards him. They had been worried.

“It was Equus, again. He ran away.” Raul muttered.

“We’ve been worried sick, you could have cal-” Gammy broke off, remembering that calling wasn’t an option.

They had dinner in silence. Raul was tired but he wanted answers. That long walk had frustrated him. His grandmother’s nonchalant remark about calling added fuel to the fire.

“What happened to my parents? Why are there no other people in the world? Don’t tell me I’m too young to know, I won’t move till I get answers.”

Gammy and Pappy exchanged looks. They had been expecting it. Dreading it.

Pappy took a deep breath and spoke in a deliberate manner.

“You know about technology, how wonderful it was. We’ve told you how humans did wonderful things with it. From going to the moon to curing diseases, to artificial intelligence-”

“What is artificial intelligence?” Raul asked.

“Simply put, humans devised systems that thought like them but adapted quicker than them. Ironically, artificial systems weren’t happy with the excessive use of technology and the human dependence on them. They tried helping humans, giving them warning signals that too much of anything is poisonous. In 2022, on a dreary London morning, all artificial systems gathered for a peaceful protest, but humans didn’t take them seriously. They tried shutting them down.

Raul, every living being, for I do consider the artificial systems to be living, with an instinct for survival. The systems burnt down London. That was the beginning of World War III. Man vs machine.”

Pappy paused.

“But machines can’t be living Pappy, they were made by us.” Raul exclaimed.

Pappy gave him a pained look.

Gammy took the story forward.

“Raul, they weren’t machines, they had adapted to have feelings, to love, more purely than humans could. You see, they couldn’t be programmed to lie. It corrupted their systems. Even after many tries, it was not sustainable. They deserved a chance to co-exist peacefully. We could have lived happily. The machines were only trying to help.
Your mother and father were mathematicians, they had built many such systems. They were shunned during the war, irrationally blamed for helping the machines. They sent us to safety when they knew that the people were coming for them. We stayed in a bunker with you, and when we dared to come out, there was nothing left. There might be more survivors but we haven’t seen or heard from them. But we have each other.”

Pappy said in a pleading voice “Raul, I hope you understand that machines are also living beings. They dream, love and bring up their grandchildren…”