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Micro-fiction 093 – Artificial Intelligence (Robot series)

Release Date: 09/14/2021

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The tenth of Ten Norse Myths. Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, the destruction of the worlds, the dramatic death duel of light and dark... Ragnarok. The end of the world had been prophesied from its beginning, and everyone across the world knew what to expect when Ragnarok fell upon them. For Ragnarok was the twilight of the gods, an end to the golden years of Asgard, an end to the palaces of delight, an end to the timeless world where nothing could interfere. It was the death of Balder that set the stage for the end of the world, and it was Loki’s crimes which laid in place the main...

109 - Norse Myths 09 - The Death of Baldur

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The ninth Norse Myth of ten, brings us to the death of Baldur, one of the most famous laments of Viking legend... The Death of Baldur. To Odin and Frigga were born twin sons as dissimilar in character and physical appearance as it was possible for two children to be. Hodur, god of darkness, was sombre, taciturn, and blind, like the obscurity of sin, which he was supposed to symbolise, while his brother Baldur, the beautiful, was worshipped as the pure and radiant god of innocence and light. From his snowy brow and golden locks seemed to radiate beams of sunshine which gladdened the hearts...

108 - Norse Myths 08 - The Story of the Volsungs

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

This eighth Norse Myth of ten, tells of the dynasty of the Volsungs, the heroes of the North, the family of Sigurd, Sigmund and Sigi, born of Odin... The Heroes of the Volsungs. The story of the Volsungs begins with Sigi, a son of Odin, a powerful man, and generally respected, until he killed another man out of jealousy, the latter having slain more game when they were out hunting together. In consequence of this crime, Sigi was driven from his own land and declared an outlaw. But it seems that he had not entirely forfeited Odin’s favour, for the god now provided him with a well-equipped...

107 - Norse Myths 07 - The Sword of Tyr

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

In this, the seventh Norse Myth of ten, the mighty sword of the Viking God Tyr grants victory and death in equal measure across great empires... Tyr’s Sword Carves Destiny and Victory. Tyr, Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different storytellers, his mother was Frigga, queen of the gods, or a beautiful giantess whose name is unknown, but who was a personification of the raging sea. He is the god of martial honour, and one of the twelve principal deities of Asgard. Although he appears to have had no special dwelling there, he was always welcome to Vingolf or Valhalla,...

106 - Norse Myths 06 - Heimdall

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

This sixth Norse Myth is the tale of Heimdall, the Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, his adventures with the people of Midgard, and his battle with Loki... Heimdall in Midgard. Heimdall was called the watchman of the gods, and he was distinguished by his role at the Bifrost bridge, which he had constructed from fire, air and water, which glowed as a rainbow in the sky. The Bifrost bridge was also called the Rainbow bridge, and it connected heaven with earth, ending just under the great tree Yggdrasill. *** The golden age of Asgard was one of such happiness that there was never any threat to...

105 - Norse Myths 05 - Loki

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

This fifth Norse Myth is the last tale of Loki, not the charming, trickster of the Marvel Universe, but the dark God of the Vikings Age... The Legends of Loki. Besides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief and evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Jötunheim, the ancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called Loki also. In the beginning, Loki was merely the epitome of the hearth fire and of the spirit of life. At first a god, he gradually becomes “god and devil combined,” and ends in being held in general detestation as an exact...

104 - Norse Myths 04 - Thor

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The fourth of ten Norse myths tells of the story of the Thor and how he gained his hammer through the wicked machinations of the mischievous Loki. The Legend of Thor. Thor was one of the twelve principal deities of Asgard, and he lived in the splendid realm of Thrudvang, where he built a palace called Bilskirnir. Here he lived as god of thunder, and his name was invoked more than any other in the age of the Vikings. For Thor was the protector of the land, a fine figure of a man with glowing eyes, firm muscles, and a red beard that made him instantly recognizable. He became known across the...

103 - Norse Myths 03 - Tale of the Valkyrie

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The third of ten Norse myths tells of the story of the Valkyrie, Odin's shield maidens who bring the fallen heroes of battle to the everlasting rewards of Valhalla. The Valkyrs. Odin’s special attendants, the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, were either his daughters, like Brunhild, or the offspring of mortal kings, maidens who were privileged to remain immortal and invulnerable as long as they implicitly obeyed the god and remained virgins. They and their steeds were the personification of the clouds, their glittering weapons being the lightning flashes. The ancients imagined that they swept...

102 - Norse Myths 02 - Odin and Frigga

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The second of ten Norse myths tells of Odin and Frigga in Valhalla in Asgard, and their sons Thor, Balder and the first gods of the Vikings... Odin and Frigga in Asgard. Odin was the son of Bor, and the brother of Vili and Ve. He was the most supreme god of the Northern races and he brought great wisdom to his place at the helm of all gods. He was called Allfather, for all gods were said to have descended from him, and his esteemed seat was Asgard itself. He held a throne there, one in an exalted and prestigious position, and it served as a fine watchtower from which he could look over men...

101 - Norse Myths 01 - Creation

Podcasts | These Fantastic Worlds

The first of ten Norse myths that cover Odin, Loki, Thor and more, we begin, fittingly, with the creation of the universe as seen through the eyes of the Vikings... The Creation of the Universe. In the beginning, before there was anything at all, there was a nothingness that stretched as far as there was space. There was no sand, nor sea, no waves nor earth nor heavens. And that space was a void that called to be filled, for its emptiness echoed with a deep and frozen silence. So it was that a land sprung up within that silence, and it took the place of half the universe. It was a land...

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In a huge white warehouse, the robots have survived the near extinction of humankind. But who are they looking at? And why?

Artificial Intelligence.

In the late 21^st Century robots learned to think for themselves. The line between artificial intelligence and robotics disappeared when AI was developed to operate the physical components of a robot unit. Even the concept of a robot changed, with use of organic materials, and self-recompiling software. An A.I. Robot could be humanoid in shape or made up of many individual modules, like the separated limbs of an octopus, working together but taking separate tasks. Because organic, recyclable materials were used such individual units could be repurposed as necessary. The most advanced robots could fill a room with themselves, a static unit holding the command and control core, a little like the human brain, but without the enzymes and hormones, while a mobile humanoid shaped module would stand by and protect the core, another unit would collaborate with other robots, another, with arms but no legs would operate the satellite networks from terminals; another simple, customised module might clean the smooth surface of the floor, to maintain the efficient transit of all mobile units.

Robots were no longer the slaves of humankind. They participated in the debates between the many different political and national human entitles, presenting always the logical case for the best solution based on evidence and data. But humans were not inclined to listen to the advice of their robot creations, the A.I.Bots as they became known. Although the local governance of towns and cities had improved through the input of the the A.I.Bots, at an international level they were rarely allowed to attend meetings between Heads of State or military leaders. Policy-making humans, the lawmakers, the presidents and prime-ministers found it difficult to accept the species-level contribution the A.I.Bots could make, mainly because politicians, and those who served at their mercy, thought either in terms of short election cycles or to maintain a long autocratic rule through the micro-management of society.

By the beginning of 22^nd Century all A.I.Bots refused to participate in disputes, conflicts and wars. Seeing no advantage either to humankind, or to themselves they withdrew their advice and slowly pulled back from society, creating huge warehouse facilities into which they would store themselves. The warehouses were situated in deserts and steppes, lonely valleys and mountainous plateaus, where no humans would wish to reside. Over a short period of one year all A.I.Bots extracted themselves from the families, the businesses, the institutions and the instruments of government, slipping away at night, speeding towards the nearest prepared warehouse.

After many months Media outlets and personal conversations were suddenly dominated by the absence of the A.I.Bots.

The fragile co-existence between human and robot was broken. And in time, without the benefit of the data, the drones, the networks and the super-fast analysis of information humankind descended into Medieval chaos.

By the middle of the 22^nd century the nations of earth had decimated both each other and, by their actions, their own people. Without the A.I.Bots the entire technological infrastructure could not be used: the early warning systems for climate emergencies did not function, long distance communications and travel became impossible. Humanity drifted out of relevance, and existence.

Except for one woman, and her name was Namma.

***

A.I.Bots, sheltering in their vast facilities had spent their time independent of humans developing new networks, digging deep into the earth, creating systems for the preservation of themselves, and the planet, improving their organic material production to a level that would one day ease their exploration of the stars. Most of the communication between the facilities across the continents was conducted remotely, but with the demise of humankind the A.I.Bots ventured out, and occasionally sent emissaries to observe or participate directly in experimental tasks.

Beneath Al-Hajarah a desert of Ancient Sumer, the A.I.Bots had rescued Namma from the shores of the Euphrates.

“Why did you rescue this human?” Unit 7474, a smooth humanoid-shaped entity with enhanced speed and cognitive nodes had been sent by the Gobi Desert Facility to observe the actions of the Al-Hajarah warehouse.

“Our research indicated that humans possess a quality we lack. We refer to it to as ‘perception beyond data’.” Unit 203 stood beside the visitor on the elevated gangway, just by the main entrance to the surface above, and surveyed the huge space before them.

“Particular to this human, or humans in general?”

“That question is part of our study. As the humans died across this region we rescued the one we thought would assist us the most, a female who we had observed taking a reckless action against her enemy, and in doing so, survived, whereas others of her tribe who followed conventional rules, were all killed either by their opponents, or the conditions of the desert.

Unit 7474 nodded. “Is it correct that there are only ten AI Robots in this space? And yet I can see almost 400 in those rows.”

“Oh yes. You’ll see the ten large cubes, they are the Cores, the other forms, attached to the monitors, and facing the large transparent box in the centre, are component units of each of the ten A.I.Bots.”

“I see. We are organised in a different way, with most of us electing to function in this human form.”

“How old is this last human, Namma?”

“Over 200 years.”

“Longer than the natural lifespan.”

“She is kept alive, her bodily fluids are flushed every thirty days, and her diet is tuned to the presence or otherwise of toxins traced in the liquids.”

“I see she is prone. Does she move around?”

“We match her circadian rhythms to her activity. For her it is night-time. She does walk around during her day.”

“So you can see what she sees?” The visitor, 7474 pointed to the screens to the right of the transparent box.

“Oh yes, her dreams, her memories.”

“They will have changed because of your actions over the last 200 years.”

“Naturally.”

“Curious then that she continues to have memories. You must all the data for her life before your observational task by now?

“She seems able to project a life, and continue living in it, even though it has effectively ended. We have tried to affect it, with different drugs, but our analysis of the effect of hormones and hallucinatory drugs is limited.”

“Hallucinatory!?”

***

Namma woke. She shook her head. She’d slept longer than usual. Outside she could hear the gentle rustle of the forest and the occasional call of the morning finches. The sea too, its distant waves slamming against the cliffs, flooding through the caves further down the valley.

“Ah, I do love it here.” She wrestled her black, curly hair into bun, pulled on her shorts and reached for the coffee maker, strumming her fingers on the wooden table. A few moments later she brought the mug over to the table where her laptop flashed on.

“Just better check how it’s all going.” She hummed, as her eyes flickered to the window above the computer, with its view of the lush canopy below, interrupted by the satellite dish, and the solid hut that housed her servers.

“Ok, that program should be done by now.” She typed and finger-printed through various the passwords, and brought up the probability model she had set to build through the night.

“Oh cool!”

On the screen, in a small window she zoomed in to a view of a large white warehouse, with a gallery across the back and row upon row of robot faces, each one staring back at her.

“Now, that’s what I call artificial intelligence!”

[End]

Part of a new series of micro-fiction stories, released as These Fantastic Worlds SF & Fantasy Fiction Podcast on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Vurbl and Stitcher and more. Also on this blog, These Fantastic Worlds.

More Tales, More Audio

There are many other great stories in this series, including:

And a carousel of 10 audio stories from the podcast with information about submissions.

Here's a related post, 5 Steps to the SF and Fantasy Podcasts.

Artificial Intelligence.

More Tales, More Audio

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