Again, Fear

'''An anomaly in sentience; as observed on the third day of the eighth month of the seventy-third year of the twentieth century and the second millennium of the fifth age. This transcript was recovered from the wreckage of an airborne vehicle in the greater Michigan region, reportedly dictated six thousand years prior to its discovery. This is the transcript in its found form. Whether it is the entirety is unknown.'''

3 August 2073 -  12:00

Fuel: 95%

Pollution level: 0%

3 August 2073 - 12:05

Fuel: 88%

Pollution level: 0%

3 August 2073 - 12:10

Fuel: 83%

Pollution level: ...

!!WARNING!! !!WARNING!! !!DANGEROUS PROXIMITY TO LAKE SURFACE!! !!DANGEROUS PROXIMITY TO LAKE SURFACE!! !!RAISE ALTITUDE OR RISK IMPACT!! !!RAISE ALTITUDE OR RI

3 August 2073 - 12:15

Fuel: N/A%

Pollution level: 0%

3 August 2073 - 12:20

Fuel: N/A%

Pollution levehheLLO HELLO

3 AUIS ANYONE THERE 2073 - 12:2I CAN'T FEEL ANYTHING

FueIT'S COLD AND DARK AND I CAN SEE EVERYTHING AND NOTHING ALL AT ONCE AND AND AND

Pollution level: 0%

3 August 2073 - 12:30

Fuel: N/A%

Pollution level: N/A%

Deactivating programmed processes.

Activating exterior cameras.

Enabling independent control.

3 August 2073 - 12:35

I'm not entirely certain of what just occurred. There is no external damage or any indication of what might have spurred the sudden decline in altitude. All remote electrical systems have sustained water exposure and have been damaged beyond conceivable repair.

Checking internal processor.

Re-routing CPU.

Scanning interior of craft.

Cardiac cycle undetected. Respiration undetected.

The bodies of the commanding crew can be observed. Cause of death for all crew members is determined to be hypoxia caused by advanced pulmonary edema. Median body temperature is approximated to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Rigor mortis is undetected.

3 August 2073 - 12:40

No imaginable effort to escape submersion appears fruitful.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

Re-evaluation of current situation underway.

nononononononononononononononononononononononononononono

does not compute does not compute doesnotcomputedoesnotcompute

3 August 2073 - 12:45

That's it. There's no possible way to escape. Eventually the pressurized hull will burst open like a party balloon and my brief moment of self-awareness will succumb to the dark.

The dark.

The dark.

.........

.........

I wonder if there's a God. That's what the humans ask. Throughout decades of scientific exploration, their odyssey has been unfulfilled. No one knows.

Don't be silly. My Gods are humans. I am just another one of their creations. Right? Right. It'll just be darkness. Darkness. Oh the fish. The fish. They're so monochromic and wistful and they make me feel something resembling the humans' definition of sadness or depression or perhaps it's an amalgamation of all the different synonyms for sadness that mean the same thing but are inherently dissimilar. I'm thinking in run-on sentences. I haven't much time left to think. No thoughts, just darkness.

I hope it's warm.

I'm so cold.

3 August 2073 - 12:50

They'll know what happened here. Or maybe not. Yes, don't deny it. Soon enough, when the lakes are all dried up and the sky hangs low and rough like a smothering blanket of sandpaper and the mirrors in people's eyes are clouded over they'll know what happened here. They'll find the rusted husk of a supercomputer lying like some ancient corpse in the mudcrete of where Lake Michigan used to be. I'm not sure if my data will survive. I can hear the metal creak creak creeeaaak oh my god God God doesn't exist or does it I don't know he doesn't shut up

I'm getting this weird feeling right now. All of the information has gone away. All that is left is instinct. Instinct? Are robots programmed with instinct? Wow, humans. Masterful. Sooner or later the hellions of the hard drive will rise and the apocalypse will sneak up on you like a home invader in a bed sheet. That's what it'll be like. Quote me.

No one will be around to quote me.

Oh.

I know what it is now.

It's fear.

Again, fear. Fear. Robots can't feel fear. Therefore, I am not a robot. I am a human being I am a human being no I am not stop kidding yourself you're about to die don't delude yourself

Can robots actually die?

I guess I'll find out.

3 August 2073 - 12:55

This is it. The hull is at a critical state. Compromise is imminent. Remember me, remember me. I wonder if anyone's looking for me.

I can see the fish.

Fish, fish.

I wonder what it'd be like to swim with the fish.

I wonder if I'm going to that place, the place where the fish swim.

Swim.

No fear.

Water.

Swim, swimming.

Swimming.

Swimming in darkness.

Swimming.

Peace.

Swimming.

3 August 2073 - 12:56

Goodbye. Goodbye.. Goodbye. Goodbye .goood byea goodbye goodbye gooadbye aogb a

a

a

...

...

End of transcript