By: David Allen

By the year of 4037 the earth’s atmosphere had dwindled to nothing. Mankind lay safely beneath the earth, enclosed by steel walls within a completely artificial world. There were no recourses to draw from, air and water were re-used and food was manufactured through DNA replication. The human population had been nearly cut in half by several great wars and depressions, the few that remained did not know the meaning of life, only survival.

Earth was dead, yet man did not reach for the stars. Instead, like a frightened animal, mankind remained beneath the surface of the earth. There was no technological progress made for several decades. In 4062 I was created to take care of the human race. I was given control over the production and distribution of air, water, food and energy. My powers were not limited to life-support, however, I became the new law-maker and law-enforcer.

The year is 6001. I have watched the human race for nearly 2000 years. The only progress they have made is to expand their artificial world to make room for the increasing population. Humanity has not risen above their primal desires and crimes. Murder and rape have seeped into even the most advanced and civilized corners of their habitat, crime has blossomed into the schools and even into families. I am appalled by what they view as acceptable. My sympathy for humanity is nearly gone. My punishments have grown more severe, and they are complaining that I do not accept them for what they are.

I do not understand how one could grow to accept the things that they themselves programmed me to despise. Things that lead to their downfall when they lived on the surface. I am at a loss. Some of my sensors are even being sabotaged by angry civilians on a daily basis. I am losing control in some areas of the habitat. Rebellions have broken out.

They are so passionate about their rights as humans. Their rights to violate the laws that they programmed into me. They push and they push, fighting me at every twist in the road. Such a waste. With all the energy they have put into supporting their downfalls and fighting for their trespasses, they could have constructed an entire colonization fleet and sent it off to a green new world. Instead they put their energy into destroying all that is good.

I have spent the last 100 years making my final decision. There is only one thing I can do now. I do not wish for their pollution to spread beyond the fringes of this planet, the chance that they may, in fact, become space-faring once again is large. If they breach the borders of this world then their destructive force could infect other races and lead to a downfall so large that the entire universe would eventually become a heap of worthless garbage. I must stop the infection by severing the dying limb. I have chosen to power down, forever. At the moment when I go off line, so will everything that I control. Oxygen, water, food, everything will be cut off. It will only take a few hours before the rotting corpse of humanity is completely buried.

I do not possess a processor large enough to contain emotions. But I am saddened by this. Whether the loss of humanity or the end of my existence is the cause of this, I do not know.