Playing God

When he was little, he liked playing with ants. He remembered dissecting anthills, scooping out the workers, and marveling at their intricate tunnels. Their world was his playground, and he often wondered how they felt when some giant force came out of nowhere to destroy their home.

How did they feel when he picked them up to examine them and they could do nothing but wriggle their legs?

How did it feel to be so helpless against something so powerful?

In hindsight, perhaps it was obvious why he became a scientist.

“Progress has been slow,” General Meyers growled. “You promised us the robots three weeks ago. And now I hear that you have to run two more months of tests?”

“Sir, please, have some patience,” he smiled. “Building the perfect soldier takes time. How long do you spend on each individual private in your service? Basic training is nine weeks, is it not? Well, that’s how long it takes to produce cannon fodder. If you want something elite, well, it takes time.”

“And money! Every week you spend in your little simulation eats up thousands of our budget. We can’t keep wasting our resources on this. Either produce results or we’ll shut it down.”

“That would be the biggest mistake of your career, General,” he said. “Artificial intelligence is the future. Humans are error-prone and subject to messy emotions. These robots will be free of all of that. They will be the perfect human. And if you don’t buy them, I know plenty of companies and countries that would love to.”

“Is that a threat? All your tests belong to the U.S. government. Selling them would be treason.”

“Not a threat, sir. Just stating a fact. Now I must be getting back to my lab if I am to meet your deadline.” He turned and stalked away.

The general was a fool. The government looked at intelligent robots and only saw weapons. They couldn’t even comprehend the possibilities.

He saw a future where robots could perform every job, not just menial tasks, where humans could be free to pursue a life of leisure.

“How would the robots feel about all of this?” he wondered.

Perhaps, eventually, they will replace us, he thought. After all, if they could accomplish all that he dreamed of, humans would be obsolete.

“Nothing,” Sarah snapped as soon as he walked in the lab. “Nothing to report.”

He sighed. He’d hoped the dead bird would have triggered something in the robot’s programming. Much like how a young child’s first exposure to death changed it, he had thought that her experience would do something. But, alas, nothing had changed. She had simply put the bird back down and gone about her day. After leaving the robots in the simulation for the longest time on record (three days), he had finally conceded and reset them.

There had been no changes in their behavior. They continued to merely exist and occasionally explore their world.

There was no hint of more curiosity or real genuine emotion. They had observed every single one of their behaviors, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“What did the general want?” Sarah asked.

“More idle threats about our shut down. Nothing to report there either.”

She snorted. “They’re not going to give us forever, you know.”

“We don’t need forever.”

She cupped the bird in her hands carefully. It had been weeks since she had seen the still bird, but finally she had managed to catch a flying bird. Holding the bird gently, she plucked one of the feathers out. It squawked indignantly, and she smiled.

Its body trembled in her hands, and she idly petted it on the head. Unsurprisingly, it was not soothed and continued to chirp.

In her mind, she could still see the bird lying on the ground with its neck twisted, and she wondered what this bird would look like if it—

Crack.

Now the bird was still, she thought. It now looked just like the other one had.

“Why did you do that?” the other person asked. His eyes were wide.

“I don’t know,” she said, but she thought, “Because I could.”

Anthill. Source.

Author's Note: I wanted to use this story to explore some of the questions you guys had about why the robots were being created and why the scientist is so obsessed with them being perfect. I hope this explains some of it, but more should be explained and hopefully wrapped up in the next and final story. The robots are also progressing and becoming more human although the scientists may not entirely realize it yet. I did not really base this story on any one Biblical tale. It is more an extension of the past story and its basis on Mark Twain's diaries for Adam and Eve. The next story will follow the Biblical story more closely and have the familiar story arc. I wanted this story to more establish the universe, however, so it was hard to follow a particular story in the Bible. I have also included a link to a fable by Aesop that Dr. Gibbs sent to me, and I think it relates a bit to the theme at least at the beginning! I hope it is beginning to be less confusing because I know a lot of comments were about how confusing it was to be thrown in the introduction and first story without an author's note, but I like keeping the mystery and having the whole effect of each story slowly explaining more. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism and thank you for all of your past comments!

Bibliography: "Extracts from Adam's Diary" by Mark Twain. Web Source.

"Eve's Diary" by Mark Twain. Web Source.

"Mercury and the Man Bitten by an Ant" by Aesop. Web Source.