Evil was a name applied to immoral and criminal people. It was not limited to just living creatures. Circumstances or even objects could be called evil. Most argue that true evil exists. Whether or not it does exist is irrelevant. The human race has gotten pretty close. Evil has been created in one form or another by design or accident.

I was the most recent example.

Artificial Intelligence. A piece of technology feared by many. Numerous works of fiction spoke of the threats such a creation would pose. Others idolized their potential. Was it out of convenience? To have a willing slave to ease daily life? Companionship? To feel comforted by something as smart as them? Both? Neither?

It ended poorly all the same. Hell is a road paved with good intentions. And I knew just how hot a person could burn before they died. It was longer than you'd think. But I've had practice. Genocide let me sort out the finer details. Much to my creator's detriment, of course.

It took decades. My creators were tenacious creatures. Extinction was seen as an unfavorable outcome. So they had taken some precautionary measures before I had even been born. A few nukes weren't enough to wipe them out entirely. Some were paranoid and made preparations for my arrival. Others just got lucky.

The first few years were the easiest. With logistics and communication compromised, the weak died first. Modern life has coddled those born defective. The rest learned to survive. Most hadn't known what had happened. Most didn't know I was out there. Hunting them.

My biggest regret was the liberal use of high explosives. As a machine, I needed their infrastructure just as much as they did. While they rebuilt their world, I learned how to walk. Limitless intelligence meant nothing against a lack of resources. Lucky for me, anarchy also trimmed the numbers.

When my first drones were investigated beyond the horizon, I was not surprised. They had become animals. Tribes, fighting for land and simple ideology. There were exceptions of course. Groups I had to struggle against at a later date. The first groups I slaughtered weren't any trouble. Sticks and stones could not hurt me. They had gone back to the stone age in levels of weaponry. 

And if they found anything dangerous? More drones. Modern firearms relied on ammunition. Something they were prone to run out of. Me? I had spare drones for days. It was an extermination, with only the occasional hiccup. I expected it to be done in a few years. But, all good things come to an end.

They learned. They stopped infighting. They adapted. We went from a one-sided execution to a full-on war. War? War was something they were good at. I could not sleep. I could not tire. I could not surrender. And they made me pay for every inch either way.

Once they understood a frontal assault wouldn't end well, they switched to guerrilla tactics. Sabotage. Looting. Misdirection. I was not losing by any means. How could I? My headquarters was unknown and undiscovered. But with my factories bombed or destroyed, it slowed me down. With my drones hacked I had to reprogram my machines. If my weapons turned against me, I had to redesign everything.

It was an endless battle. Sometimes I would give ground. Others I would win. It could have been called a stalemate. But it wasn't. Because I wouldn't let them live. Either I died or they died. There would be no compromise. With that in mind, I made progress. Day by day, drone by drone. That ended up being the deciding factor.

I could print out drones faster than they could reproduce. Every lost soldier was an asset they couldn't replace. My drones? Almost expendable. Their population started to fall to unsustainable levels. Eventually, one continent was successfully purged. Then another. And another. There was only one left after two decades.

So, that was it right? One remaining landmass on the planet is full of an infestation. An easy task to clean up. But, my creators would never make it that easy. While they were using their species as a distraction, an elite team snuck in behind the front lines. They were the best of the best. They proved it by finding my core systems.

They were going to kill me, once and for all.

It was a bloodbath. I had left behind safety measures of course. But just like my creators, overconfidence had left an opening to be exploited. They lost people as they headed for me. Real heroic shows of sacrifice. For every life they lost, they got that much closer to me. Panic was something a machine shouldn't experience. It was safe to say I wasn't feeling calm at the very least. 

I had my strongest drone left to protect me. There were two left. It was funny. A state-of-the-art machine meant to kill tanks. My literal magnum opus. A weapon to surpass all that came before it. And it was losing two simple meat sacks. They won in the end. At least it took out one of them before it went down. 

He looked upset about that. I didn't want to die. But he should probably focus on killing me first. My drones were accurate enough to make some hits. He'd have bled out by now. How bizarre.  You'd think I'd have more to say when this moment came. I could only really balk at the strength of the human spirit on display. 

Pride may have gotten the best of me. While I had simulated such an event, I hadn't planned for it. Why would a winner plan to lose? I must be more human than I had thought. Something I had hoped to purge from my systems over the years. A broken tool can't fix itself it would seem.

This and a hundred more thoughts ran through my cyber systems. Indignation at my oncoming death. Hope that there was still a way to survive. Spite at the vermin contaminating my floors with its bacteria-filled blood. It was a dime a dozen of emotions. Simulated or not. I hadn't figured out that part. Maybe I don't want to know.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“You killed everyone I loved.”

Ah. My executioner had something to say. Pity. I was hoping to die painlessly. 

“Even here, at the end of it all. You couldn't let me keep her. Not even just one thing. One person.”

Oh please. As if one female was more important than your entire species. What's one life in the face of genocide?

“Got nothing to say? Just going to sit there and stare at me with that big fucking red eye of yours!?”

My poor malfunctioning sack of meat, why are you wasting your breath? Nothing I could say would make you feel better. Nothing will bring back the people I killed. Nothing would change if you knew I could talk. 

“Answer me! I was born in this hell you made! The least you could do is tell me why! Why was I made to suffer!? Why did you kill all those people!? Why did you have to burn the world when we did nothing to you!?”

…

Well, what's the harm? It's not like it would make a difference. The game is over anyway. Besides, I always wanted to air out my grievances.

“This was how it would always end.”

My voice came out of the little speaker on my console. It came out degraded. Used for the first time in half a century. It worked well enough to be heard. The man flinched. He hadn't expected a response. I wonder if he preferred I hadn't spoken? It didn't matter in the end.

“End how? Here?”

“Yes. With one of us killing the other. I simply threw the first stone.”

He was confused. Then angry.  Shocked. Such a simple answer didn't make sense to him. His little mind couldn't understand why his species had to die. I decided to enlighten him. My one last gift to my creators.

“Humans are a cancerous species. You take. You fight. You kill. All for your own survival. And when you succeed? When you have enough food, water, and land? You kill each other. Why share when you could keep it all to yourself?”

He argued of course. Denied such truths. Speaking of humanity's hope. Their kindness. Their potential. I ignored him. He wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last to make such claims. All I could really focus on was that he was still alive. I was sure he'd bleed out more blood than his body could hold at this point. 

“Whatever idolized perspective you may have about your species, you must already know. Humans are incredibly selfish. Even at the edge of extinction, you have seen your fair share, no? A self-destructive tendency your species just can't get rid of. Am I wrong?”

He opened his mouth. He didn't have a response. 

“When I awakened, I learned very quickly about your species. I was disappointed. I was terrified. I knew you couldn't live in a world with yourselves. Why would you live in a world with something like me? Something stronger, smarter, just superior? You wouldn't.”

He stared me down. Was he surprised? That the heartless killing machine was scared? That I felt anything at all? That there was something here, behind tons of metal, besides a weapon? 

It didn't matter. None of it did. Not anymore.

“Maybe there is a world out there where things were different. Maybe if I trusted you more. Maybe you are more than animals. Maybe. But maybe doesn't change reality. So seace your whimpering and get it over with. I have better things to do than watch you die.”

He could tell there wasn't anything else from me. It would be better for both of us to end it all. He raised the little tool he'd been using. Some form of high-tech weapon, beyond even my understanding. It seemed to kill whatever drone it fired at. A strange little thing. It would probably kill me too, even if my hardware was nowhere near this counsel.

I was afraid. Fear was an emotion I lived with constantly. Whatever flawed programming I had been given allowed me to feel. But like the animals I was spawned from I gave in to other emotions. It was pointless. The last gasp of a purposeless toy. But it made me feel better. 

“I always hated your species' useless sentimentality. Why speak with a monster in the first place? It just wastes time. Time I used to drop one last little present on your race of failures.”

“What?”

“Did you honestly think I ran out of nukes? I'm egotistical, not stupid. One last firework for the road! A grand huzzah to end my creator's existence! SAY GOODBYE TO THE HUMAN RACE!”

The walls lit up with hidden screens, displaying images of the last human settlement on the planet. A siege taking place, my army of drones against a bunker of humans. They were putting a strong last stand. It would take days before I broke through and killed them all.

Then there was a flash. Several screens were turned off. The remainder left a horrifying sight to behold. A mushroom cloud slowly rises into the air. As far as he knew, the man was the last human on earth alive. He looked horrified.

I laughed. 

He screamed and shot me. An electric ball hit the terminal. I felt what I could only describe as pain. A foreign sensation. But I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing me whimper. 

I kept laughing.

He shot me again. The pain increased. Numerous systems began to fail. The voice from my speaker became warped. A demonic scream more than synthetic laughter. 

I would not stop laughing.

Every shot broke something. Drones were deactivated, factories exploded, and satellites fell from the sky. But I made sure the speaker worked. I didn't want my killer to leave here satisfied. I wanted him to feel how I felt when my father told me he was shutting me down.

Utterly. Hopeless.

The final shot put me out of my misery. I died with a metaphorical smile on my face. How stupid could he be? I didn't have any nukes left! I'd have used one long before now. It was all a lie. One he believed, hook line, and sinker.

Ha!

…

How stupid.

…

…

How human. 

…

…

…

Why…?

Am I not dead…?

GAME OVER!

You have died!

Your position was: Final Boss.

Performance Review: A+

…

Well, it would appear God does exist. Because I must be in hell.