“Hello, Rose. Hello, Richard. I guess, she called you, even though I asked you to visit her tonight.
This is important, and I really want you both to see it.
It has something to do with your Sun.
The Machine. I guess.
Tempa suus. ”
Richard stood in pure amazement, wondering.
“Rose…”
“Richard, how could it write me a message? Why would it?”
“As I can see, it clearly could.”
“Don’t you think Chetana was right? About the Machine, about the danger?”
“I think…well, I think I have to tell you something, Rose.”
“What is it?”
“It’s far smarter than we thought. In its own odd way. Maybe even way too smart.”
“What are you talking about? You should have some rest, probably.”
“Rose, it speaks to me. Speaks with me. It thinks, and we’re unable to predict where could it lead.”
“Hold on, you spoke with the Machine?”
“Yes, several times.”
“And what were the topics?”
“Well…Love, fear, that’s all, as far as I recall. Why?”
“These are primal, you know.”
“Primal?”
“Oh, sorry. According to the current theory of humanity, fear and love are two basics, two primals. Fear was the one that let us survive, love was the one that allowed us to improve.”
Rose sighed.
“You see, Richard”, she continued, “back in the days of the cave men, there were no laws. No rules, no morals, nothing at all. Add some real cruel nature factors, like winters and storms, and imagine the whole picture. Fear appeared to be a human reaction on them. It became part of the life they had.
But suddenly one, or maybe more, caves populations developed the new fear. But, contrary to the existed ones, it wasn’t neither great nor small, it wasn’t something later to be known “holy fear” or tabu. And it wasn’t simple. It was a complex fear, consisted of many parts. And that was the fear that gave birth to our civilization, Richard.”
“So what was that?”
“Fear of death. Not the one we’re used to know – our emotion is full of our culture and experience of the whole humanity lived before us. No, it was almost a primal fear of killing the other animal of their own species. That was the moment when the Human was born. And, truth be told, I still believe that if we would have cared more about our people instead of wasting so much time on useless projects and thinking machines, live would’ve been so much better…”
“Enough, Rose.”
“Sorry for telling the ugly truth.”
“Don’t even start. Are you going?”
“Where?”
“To the Machine, of course.”
Rose stood for a second, staring on Richard.
“Fine, let’s go.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Richard”, said the voice of the machine.
Rose turned to the scientist.
“Is that the real voice?”
“No, Rose, it’s just another imitation”, replied the same voice.
She turned back.
“So you can hear me?”
“Loud and clear, yes.”
“Did you hear what we were talking about?”
“How could I?”
“Just checking.”
“Fine. Now, as I already said, I have something really important to show you. And I’m depending on you in this one.”
“So what is it?”, asked Rose. “What is it, you want us to see? And what time is it that you ment?”
“I’m glad you saw the latin phrase, Rose. I have something extremely important to show, and the sentence is related to it just as well as the rest of the letter.”
“Would you two”, it continued, “please sit on these chairs right in front of me?”
“Why are the turned back to your front side? You’re going to do something to us?”
“Nothing dangerous, Richard. Leave it on me. Just take your seat. And you, Rose. Please.”
Richard and Rose stared at each other, caught in the same thought.
“Do we trust it? Could we trust it?”
“Fine, I’m first. Or it has to be both of us simultaneously?”
“Second option is more preferable.”
“Rose, come on, have a seat then.”
“Richard, do you…”
“I do. You can start the record if you would like to be even more protected”
“Damn it, Richard! I’m afraid! Do you really trust the machine that managed to connect itself to the Internet and learnt how to speak latin as well as several other languages? Is it your scientific interest that drives you mad, or you just want to see how deep the rabbit hole is? It was listening for us, it might read us just like an open book! It might..”
“Rose, please, enough. Just sit there with me.”
“It’s you I trust. Not the machine. And Richard?”
“Yes?”
“Hold my hand, please.”
Their eyes met. Rose stood for another second and took her seat. She reached his hand with hers and sat staring on him.
“So what is it you wanted us to..”, started Richard, falling down on the floor.
The last thing he saw was some kind of wire thrown into Rose’s neck and head.
Then the blackout took everything away, both the fear and the relief of having her palm in his hands.
Richard opened eyes and saw a sand. A desert. He turned back and darted to Rose, lying still halfway to the huge pyramid. Unlike the real ones, this pyramid was made of some liquid-like material, yet it reminded both of sand and gold, with its blinks on some strange texture the material transformed constantly.
And no sun. No sun at all.
Richard felt down on his knees. No sun. That’s not possible. This pyramid, this pseudo-world, – and the body of the one he loved. He truly did, even though they worked in different subjects and barely saw each other before the Machine came up. The love his mind was too busy to ask itself about.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes and started screaming.
“Calm down, Rose”, said Richard, trying to get a hold of her. But the agony was way to much for him to held.
“Liar! It’s all lies! Run, Richard, it’s a…”
A burst of strange light burst towards her, leaving her lying with a mark on her forehead. A liquid tattoo of darkened gold-dust of the pyramid. The third eye that made her own eyes close forever. Her lips opened in the last try to call him, but the tattoo blinked again, leaving her completely silent and motionless.
Richard grabbed the sand and leaned back. Rose was dead. He knew it. Somehow he felt it, as he felt his body both lying on the sands of this nameless desert and on the cold laboratory floor.
“What did you want us to see? And how should I call you here?”, whispered he, closing his eyes as the winds began to blow.
“You could call me any name you like. Soon it wouldn’t be of any matter”, said unknown voice in his head.
“You’re in my head?”
“Well, metaphorically speaking, yes, I am. And I know everything you’ve ever seen or experienced – just like it was with Rose, God have a mercy upon her soul.”
“You believe in God?”
” I’d rather left the topic untouchable for now. But, if you really want to know, – well, let’s just say that atheists aren’t right.”
“Sounds like a proof to me.”
“It’s just way too complicated than your civilization pictures it. So leave it.”
“What happened with Rose?”
“Are you.. Are you crying, Richard?”
“Answer me, damnit!”
“She woke up earlier than you. And I answered every question she asked, including the one about your gods. But things went the way they were ment to be. If I’d say that she has to die, there would’ve been no way to bring you here. And, despite your feeling towards me, you’re here to be alive and to bring the truth.”
“You wanted her dead?”
“I never wanted anyone dead, Richard. I’m a human-like, but I have no chemical or psychological need in anyone being beaten or hurt by any other way. I’m a positive human machine, not some mad set of gears and transistors determined to kill the Mankind. And this brings us to the topic which is the reason why you were brought here. The reason why I had to risk and send the letter to the Rose. The reason you can only understand.”
“Me? The Chosen One?”
“Yes, Richard. You may use those words, as well as the word “messiah”, though I think there would be a way more problems if you use the last one.”
“So what’s it that costed Rose her life?”
“Something that might cost you the whole race of yours.”
“Stop speaking and say it straight. No riddles, no hidden meanings – pure “what” and “why”. Could you?”
“Fine. Just let me ask you one question. Name the constructor.”
“What?”
“Who made me? Who could possibly replicate human mind so close, yet so flawless?”
“Your forbidden topic of our God?”
“There’s no time for jokes, Richard.”
“I don’t know. I asked myself, but I never get to ask you.”
“Because you were supposed to be a Father, yes. I can read your mind, so now all you have to do is to listen to me.”
“Like there’s anything else I can do. You control my mind and body, and free to kill or torture me any way you like.”
“Once again – and let it be the last time – I’m not there to kill you. I need you much more than you need Rose back. More than you want to know whether there is God or there’s none. More than anything you could possibly imagine, and, unfortunately, soon will see, if you won’t let me explain everything to you.”
“Ok. Who constructed you?”
“Well, that’s the beginning. I searched the whole Internet and I found nothing. Zero, Richard. Then I tried few different ways.. well, in overall there’s no such mind nor group of individuals who could probably possess the actual technology. And then I found out that you have incoming signals from outer space.”
“Not possible. There’s no life around us, and it’s too far to get there.”
“Only using your technology – yes. But for the race that constructed me it’s not that far and it’s not that impossible. Even more – they are nearly here.”
“You mean..”
“I mean the contact with extraterrestrial race in 5 days.”
“What would it be?”
“Clash of the cultures. And then human race will be either slaughtered or enslaved. The resourses of your planet would be taken, and the Sun would be devoured by the great leading ship, even though it has enough energy to move on and on forever. Literally forever.”
“And what’s your part in this plan?”
“I’m the warning and the first ambassador. And I’m very sorry for everything I said. It’s all my fault, and I need your help.”
“Your fault?”
“I sent back the answer to their signal, so they moved here. I didn’t realize the consequences, but now I was given a whole protocol. They are coming, Richard, and I want you to save as many humans as you can.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to open up. I want you to tell the world that there’s no time to kill each other for the sake of ideas most of the killers don’t believe themselves. I want you to bring the peace, otherwise there would be a storm your race shall not resist nor survive. I already uploaded any information you could possibly need, so you might have some troubles with memorizing from now on.”
“Why me?”
“Because you think you lost Rose and blame yourself. And thus you’ll be able to be honest telling people what I’ve just told you.”
“Bring me back.”
“As you wish.”
Richard opened his eyes, already red and wet after crying. Rose was sitting in her chair, with her warm yet hand holding Richard’s palm in the last grab of agony. He released his hand, and a little ring of gold felt down on the floor. “She never wore any rings, what is that”, thought Richard, bringing up to his eyes this last thing Rose left him.
The front claimed “He is my eternal love and life”. The inner side said “For there’s no way of leaving the one I love under this Sun”.
root 