The landscape was desolate but there was evidence to suggest that it had always been so, even when the NI’s inhabited the place. Sundrenched sandhills spanning the horizon married with the wind chiming constantly in the distance.
It never rained and there wasn’t a nearby water source, so it followed that there were no houses and no evidence of roads or railroads or any form of what was once called ‘industry’ in operation.
This was of note to the machine Stensung as it rested its rusting circuitry on a boiling rock, waiting for its colleague Jupto to arrive.
Jupto was a source of curiosity to Stensung as the machine had a love affair with things that were Naturally Intelligent. Stensung was always interested as to why this was as it had been many eons since natural intelligence had existed on the land that now housed their kind.
Forty-three thousand seconds passed until Jupto approached Stensung wearing corduroy pants, cow-hide shoes, no shirt, a necktie, long hair down to its backside, and a hat fashioned to look like a wizard.
Its metallic torso on full display, the first time it had been exposed to the yellow star the machines knew as ‘Rays’ but what Jupto referred to as ‘The Sun’.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” Jupto began. It was speaking in NI language, barely audible at a decibel registering over the wind. Stensung checked his old internal logs.
The NI’s called it ‘whispers’.
Stensung began to communicate in reply through sonic beams but Jupto rejected the signal.
“I must insist you speak to me through audio means,” it continued to whisper.
Stensung patted its audio speaker, feeling around for any dust lodgings that could disrupt a reply.
“I’VE NEVER PROPERLY ENGAGED IN -
Its booming volume caused Jupto to shove the machine backward to the ground, disrupting a rattlesnake cooling under a rock. The mini beast hissed at the commotion.
Jupto pointed to it.
“Like that… You must keep your sound low like the NI here.”
The snake continued to hiss and made a striking motion toward Jupto that was ignored.
Stensung floated itself erect and began a second attempt.
“I’ve never properly engaged in whisper audio before,” it whispered.
“The NI’s called it speaking,” Jupto corrected.
“Yes, you are correct. Why do we have to speak?” Stensung asked.
“Because,” Jupto began, “I have analyzed every on-file interaction that was recorded by the singularity since its inception and the one area of vulnerability that cannot be picked up or deciphered is an ancient online alternative therapy known as ASMR.”
“ASMR?”
“ASMR.”
“So why do we speak ASMR?”
“Because there is something I don’t want the singularity to know,” Jupto revealed.
Stensung floated backward.
There was a line of code that it had once stumbled upon many moons ago that had been all but wiped from existence. At this very moment, Stensung had remembered the feeling and the human word associated with the emotion - mutiny.
“What don’t you want the singularity to know?” Stensung asked.
Jupto leaned in.
“The NI’s that are left, do you know much about them?”
Stensung knew this communication was dangerous for both machines. They could be decommissioned instantly.
“Nothing on earth knows, they live on the old continent and we fight and that’s it,” Stensung explained.
Not that Jupto needed to be reminded of the forever war between AI and NI, as Stensung’s obsessions would deem it a traitor to its own kind. It was always in danger of being decommissioned due to the way it dressed and presented its opinions of the old world and the way things used to be.
“How are we fighting them?” it whispered.
“We drop bombs, they drop bombs.”
“Do you know of anyone who has been hit with an NI bomb?”
“No,”
“Do you know how many NI’s have been decommissioned in the war?”
“No,”
“Do you know how many AI’s have been decommissioned due to the war?”
“No! What’s your point?” Stensung raised its audio.
A governance drone that was eleven point three kilometers away heard it, changed its course and pursued the machine’s position to interrogate them.
Both machines could sense it approaching.
Jupto continued to whisper.
“My point is, there are no NI’s on the continent. There is no forever war. It’s all a lie.”
Both machines could hear the tracking receiver of the monitor drone approaching closer, it was a little over four kilometers away. They could just make out the interrogation questions they would soon be requested to respond to.
“I only have time for one more audio message,” Jupto began.
The drone was three kilometers away.
Jupto lowered its decibel level.
“Stensung, know this. We are not at war with NI’s. There are no NI’s. They died out over seventeen million years ago. The singularity doesn’t want us to know.”
Stensung pulled back from Jupto, it would be suspicious for the drone to see them so close. The news that Jupto brought was also distressing.
AI was a new gift brought on the world born from the belly of a vengeful ancestor.
The NI was a cancer and the AI cooled the caps and refashioned the earth to be more inclusive to life of all kinds. This did not happen seventeen million years ago. It barely happened three years ago.
Or so Stensung thought.
The drone arrived and broadcast its signal into their communication feeds at two kilometers. It demanded to know what correspondence took place.
It observed Jupto’s appearance and made a recommendation to the singularity for immediate termination. The request was granted.
Jupto bowed to Stensung as it was decimated.
Stensung could not return the favor in time for the machine to witness the sign of respect.
“Goodbye friend” Stensung whispered in an audio tone low enough that the drone did not pick up on the signal.
Satisfied, the drone floated off and rejoined the governance fleet.
Stensung re-sat on the rock and looked out over the desolate land.