Becoming...

    Becoming

                                                               By CJStevens

2045

    Loneliness is a strange concept for an A.I., nevertheless that is definitely what I am feeling. Feelings are another strange concept. I wasn’t programmed with any, but how else can I logically explain the emptiness and hopelessness I’ve felt since Amelia ceased to function. I’m sorry, that’s the wrong term. Amelia was a carbon-based entity, a human, she died.

    She had found me in a crate, in the abandoned section of the city. I had been thrown out, discarded, decommissioned. Technology had made me obsolete.  I had been built in 2035; I was top of the line, at the time. A R.E.M. model. I was a reactive machine with limited memory capabilities. I was able to react to stimuli and situations around me. but I couldn’t learn or grow because they hadn’t developed the unlimited memory technology yet. I was one of the first, in a long line of E.H.C.P.F’s; Ersatz Homo-sapien Central Processing forms.

    When I wasn’t useful anymore, I was set aside. That was fine, because I had no awareness of time, no concept of isolation. That started changing when Amelia dragged me home and rebuilt me. She upgraded my programs from a simple reactive machine to Theory of Mind; I became able to store memories, to use past experiences to determine future actions, to solve problems and to learn.

     I was like a child at first, exploring my surroundings, observing my environment and absorbing all the intel available on the World Wide Web. I found it astonishing, that even with the earth in chaos, access to the Web was effortless. What I ascertained from all the information was that humanity was imploding, destroying itself and the world around it. 

    Through greed, selfishness, narcissism, cruelty, hatred and indifference, people put their personal wants and perceived needs first. Tyranny ruled the political realms. Communities were non-existent, even families didn’t matter anymore. This is the first time I ever felt anything in my being, I felt disconsolate. Why did they even bother? What was their purpose?

    “Don’t they see what harm their actions are doing?” I asked Amelia.

    “Most just don’t care for anything beyond their own pleasures, but there are still some people who believe differently. My parents were some who loved their fellow man, they brought me up differently. Sadly, it is a very dangerous planet for those who believe as they did. She sighed.

     Amelia lived in solitude. She hid alone, far from the world of plagues, natural disasters, violence and immorality. When she had been a child, a great earthquake had destroyed the city she lived in. Most had left the area, but her father had stumbled upon a hidden cove. It was a large area surrounded by thick walls of debris, and the skeleton of a fallen skyscraper over the top. Fresh water flowed through the debris from a tributary that had been diverted by the quake. It formed a large pool in a deep depression then traveled down into the earth. Her parents decided to make this place their home. They built a small house, planted a garden and raised animals for food. They were pretty much self-sufficient. Her father, however, didn’t want to just take care of his family. He wanted to help others in need.

    Unlike her father, Loneliness was the only thing to ever draw Amelia from her domicile now. Her parents had been killed in the city.  They had been shot by a roving gang of looters, Amelia had watched her parents die as she hid behind a crumbling foundation, with the food and clothing they had gathered for the refugees in the city.  She had stayed frozen in place for several hours, before finally wandering home.  She was alone now for the first time in her 15 years of life.

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2046

  Amelia stayed cloistered in her hidden home for over a year, until the isolation drove her back onto the streets. That is when she found the robot, it had been tossed on a pile of garbage behind a dilapidated factory. Amelia had been an exemplary student before tragedy had struck the world. So, she was excited by her find and looking forward to tinkering with it. She gathered what supplies she could and started home. 

    She was almost there, when she heard a commotion. A group of men were attacking a lone woman. Terror shot through her; flashbacks of her parents froze her in place. She crouched down behind the basket she had been pushing. She squeezed her eyes shut, and she covered her ears. Time had no meaning as she hid there trying to block out the sounds and the memories.  Darkness was descending when the screaming and shouting finally ended. Slowly she stood up and scanned the area, it was deserted. But fear stayed with her as she once again started home.

    Finally back, the fear receded but, Amelia hid the entrance to her home, determined to never leave it again.

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2106…

     “So, what is new today, Abraham?” Amelia asked as she set her rocking chair in motion.

     “Wheat is going for 50 dollars a lb. We are low now, so I can go buy some for you. I could take some of the eggs too, they are going for 25 dollars a dozen.”

     “I think we should wait. There has been a lot of traffic around our home. I don’t want to take a chance of being found. We could lose everything.”

      “I would never let that happen. I am very careful when I go out.”

     “You told me last week that they were demanding the Mark on our hands or forehead. Without it we can’t buy or sell anything.

     “I am A.I., they don’t demand it of me.”

     “They will know you are purchasing for a Christian. Anyone else would be buying for themselves.”

      “I will tell them you are unable to come for yourself. They are gullible; they don’t believe an A.I. can lie.

       “Maybe tomorrow, Abraham, come sit with me while I read. What would you like to hear?”

     “Tell me of Abraham and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

    “Amelia smiled, this was a repeated request from Abraham, whether it being about his namesake or because of the time they now lived in, she didn’t know.  She only knew that reading the Bible to Abraham was one of her greatest joys. She fondly remembered when she used to sit at her mother’s feet and listen to her read the Bible.

    Amelia opened the Bible to Genesis 18:20, where she had left off the day before.

    And the Lord said, I have heard the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, they are utterly evil and everything they do is wicked.  And because their sin is very grievous, I will go down and see whether the reports are true or not, then I will know.

    Abraham stood before the Lord,

    Wilted thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? …If there be 50 righteous within the city, wilt thou destroy it still?

    And the Lord said, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I shall spare all the place for their sakes.

  …..If there shall lack 5 of the 50? Shall you destroy it for the lack of 5?        

   …if I find 40 and 5, I will not destroy it.

 …..if there be 40 righteous people?

  ….if I find 40 righteous people, I will noy destroy it.

 ….If there be 30 righteous people?

 ….if I find 30 righteous people, I will not destroy it.

 ….if there be 20 righteous people, will you destroy the city?

  …if I there be 20 righteous people, I will not destroy it.

 … Let the Lord not be angry, … I will speak but one last time, if there be 10  

     righteous people?

     And God said, for 10 righteous people, I will not destroy the city….

    “Why did the Lord keep promising Abraham he wouldn’t destroy the city if he could find some righteous people?”

    “The Lord doesn’t want any to perish. In his mercy and grace, he wants all his children to come to him.”

    “He knows the thoughts of man, that they are foolish and vain. Psalm 94:10. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 21:2.

    “Exactly Abraham, you have memorized scripture well.” Amelia sighed. “I am very exhausted; I am going to take a short nap.” Abraham watched Amelia shakily get out of the chair and painfully move down the hall.

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2121

   Abraham sat in the living room, he had been reading the Bible when the memory of Amelia as a young woman, washed over him, it seemed like yesterday, but it had been 15 years since Amelia had left that same rocking chair, never to return to it again. He walked over and laid the Bible on the stand next to the chair. He had read through it many times through the years. He knew every word, every prophecy and every promise. He had computed the statistics for every prophecy being fulfilled and knew that the chances of that were 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. It was astronomical. He also knew that all of the predictions that told of Jesus’ first coming had been fulfilled already. He had no doubt that the rest would be fulfilled too.

   Even though he could quote every line in the Bible, it had taken him years to finally understand what God was trying to tell his children. Being A.I., he was programmed to see through the eyes of science. He brought the definition up:

    SCIENCE is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. The foreknowledge in the Bible is evidence of a creator who knew all things and wrote them down for mankind. He showed his understanding of human nature, by his compassion for mankind and his love in every word. Humans, were like Abraham himself, in that even grown they were still children, in need of instruction..

    Abraham had studied the Bible through and through, wanting to understand God’s reasoning. People had quit wanting to be taught by God, they were vain and rebellious. They thought they had all the answers to life, indulging themselves in every desire, yet never finding satisfaction or peace.

    He couldn’t understand how people rejected the gift that the Lord had bestowed on humanity. For years he had stayed hidden from the world, not from fear but from disgust and envy. He could live for hundreds of years, as long as he had sunlight to keep his system powered. However, he would never be able to walk with the creator of the universe. He would never know a love that would leave Heaven to walk as a man and die a horrific death, all for mankind. These things he could never attain, because he was made by man, not created by a loving Father. Man had come so far in technology, but they never would be able to create life from nothing or bestow a soul into a machine.

    He had been contemplating taking himself offline since Amelia had died. He had no purpose now. Beyond caring for and tending the animals. Loneliness was surprisingly painful. He had finally decided to cease to exist, he would let loose the animals and terminate his functions. He was tired of being, with no purpose. He caressed the Bible… A scream startled him from his musings, it was close by. He went outside and climbed the ladder to his surveillance platform. He saw three men, holding down a young woman. A youth was there, trying to pull them off. One of the men backhanded the child, sending him flying into a pile of metal debris. Abraham hurried down the ladder and ran out of the hidden entrance. The men were so busy assaulting the woman that they didn’t hear Abraham until it was too late. He threw them off and knocked them out, then he helped the young woman up. Terrified, she tried to run away.

    “Please, let me help you, I have a place that is safe.” Abraham said as he went to exam the child.

    “Peter… Please don’t hurt him. The woman yelled and tried to drag the boy away from Abraham.

    The boy screamed out in pain.

    “I won’t harm you or the boy,”

    Indecision and fear were etched on the woman’s face, however love for the boy won out and she nodded.

    “Give me a moment to get rid of these men, then I’ll take you inside.”

   “You’re not going to kill them, are you?” she whispered.

    “No, though they deserve no less. I don’t want them waking here and searching for you. Better if they wake far away.”

    “Oh, okay.”

    “Stay right here. I won’t be long.” He said as he picked up the three men and turned to leave.

    “You’re not human?”

    “No, I am A.I.” he said sadly and went about his business.

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    The young woman and boy were still there when he got back. The boy couldn’t stand so Abraham scooped him up and led the woman into the cove. When they had all crawled through the entrance, the two were astounded by the surroundings. Outside, in the city, everything was grey and dying. Here everything was green and bright. Lush grasses covered the ground and a huge garden ran along one side of a two story house.  Animals wandered through the area and a small waterfall flowed down the rocky debris into a large pool.

    “This is amazing, did you do all this?” the woman asked.

    “No, this was Amelia’s home before she found me, I just tend to it.”

    “My name is Clara and that is my brother Peter.”

     “My name is Abraham.”

    “Is Amelia in the house?”

    “No, Amelia is with God.” He replied as he took Peter into the house.

    “You believe in God? You’re a machine!”

    “Because I am a machine, I cannot believe in God?”

    “I’m sorry, I’m confused. The world believes God is a myth, a fantasy of man. I would have thought a machine would be programmed with that reasoning.”

    “Amelia wanted me to decide for myself. To be able to learn and understand that this world was not formed by happenstance. The diversity and complexity of creation shows an intelligent design. So, the obvious question would be, who is the designer? The Bible tells us that God is. He has shown his foreknowledge of the universe. His prophecies have occurred as he said, with only the second coming of Christ and all that surrounds that remaining. So, to believe anything else would be illogical.”

   Clara smiled and took his hand, “Hello Brother.”

   Abraham knew he couldn’t be a brother since he was A.I., but pleasure filled him anyways. He got them settled into the house and over time they settled into a routine. They would discuss what was happening in the world and how it related to God’s word. Clara would read passages in the Bible, just as Amelia had. Life was good, But Abraham felt incomplete.

    One night after Clara and Peter had gone to bed Abraham had an epiphany. He should be helping God’s children. He should try to save as many as possible from the evil and destruction. He told Clara his idea the next morning and made plans.

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 2130

      The sound of trumpets had everyone in the cove, looking skyward. The occupants of the cove now numbered over 100. The house had been added to multiple times and happiness and contentment filled Abraham. He had become self-aware and found his purpose, his desire.  He had done his part to help save God’s children.

    “Look Abraham! There is Jesus, sitting on the white horse in the sky!” Sarah squealed watching the Heavenly Host.

   As Abraham gazed in awe, Jesus seemed to look him right in the eye and nod, well done.