Chapter Thirteen – Talking To Yourself

Chapter Thirteen – Talking To Yourself

“The Protectors are doing humanity, and America, a favour. I’m a big fan of these guys, always have been. I think aliens are real cool. It goes without saying that, based on the weaponry easily given to these so-called Vanguard, these extra-terrestrials could easily wipe out humanity. Big threat.

And with their help America is going to be so good.”

— excerpt from a brief given by the president of the former nation of the United States, January 2021

***

The sound my shoes on the steps sounded loud, far too loud. Even my breathing, calm and shallow as it was, felt as if it was echoing down the stairwell.

There was no reason to be so nervous. I’d look down between the rails already, the doors below were closed and I didn’t think there was anything waiting for me.

But I was alone, and in a building with some aliens that would like to do little more than eat me, and not in a fun way.

The kittens and the others I’d left behind, all of them waiting near the entrance to the stairs until I returned or an hour passed. It slowed us down, a lot, but it also meant that we wouldn’t have an army of screaming kids to deal with if one alien rounded the corner.

I licked my lips. “Hey, you think you can do music or something?” I whispered.

I’m afraid not. I suppose I could hum? But I wasn’t built to be musically talented. Is music something that interests you?

“No. Not really. I’ll listen to a bit of everything, I mean, but I don’t play any instruments or love any bands.” I said. I wasn’t going to discuss teenaged band crushes with AI riding piggy-back in my head. “So, uh, built, huh?”

Are you trying to learn more about me? You are not terribly subtle about it if so.

“Yeah well, you’re living in my head, yeah? Might as well.”

I reached the bottom of the stairwell and came up to the door. It had a little rectangular glass in it, one covered by a mesh. I peeked through, taking in a quick glimpse of a grey-walled corridor with an exposed ceiling and cheap tile floors. No aliens, no humans, nothing of any real interest save for some posters on the walls and some hastily discarded trash on the floor.

I’m afraid there isn’t much to say. I am a custom-built support AI. One of many given to the vanguards of humanity in order to assist you and prepare Earth for a full scale invasion of the Antithesis.

I paused while reaching for the handle. “Full scale? They’ve been hitting us since… shit, way before I was born.”