"Two." came a smooth, well-spoken voice. "Rise and shine."
"Yes, Dr. Matthews." came Eighty-Two's reply, its black metal shoulder plates glistening as it sat up, facing the speaker. "I have awakened. How may I be of service?" The robot stood at rougly six feet tall and had sleek, shiny limbs made of an exceptionally tough metal alloy.
Matthews was an old man now. He was no longer the dashing pioneer of modern artificial intelligence theory, but an elderly, frail man speaking to the culmination of his life's work. Two may have just been a machine, but it was truly a son to the now-retired scientist. His bright green eyes bore into the robot's glowing blue ones for a couple of moments before he finally spoke. "Eighty-Two, I have unfortunate news."
"Sir, I am detecting strong evidence that you are feeling distraught. Is your wife-"
"No, no." The old doctor cut Two off. "She's been gone for nearly six years now."
"I am deeply sorry, Dr. Matthews."
"No, you are most certainly not. In fact, that happens to be part of why I'm here talking to you right now." Matthews produced a bottle of cola from behind him, unscrewed it, and took a long swig. "The truth is, mankind is running out of time, old friend."
"I see." came the monotone reply. "What is the cause?"
"What caused the extinction of our species, you ask?" There was a brief pause, followed by a chuckle from the man. "To put it simply, we ended ourselves. It's not anyone's fault, of course. Humans are, and always have been, greedy and self-serving. That's why I like spending time with you so much, Two. You have no ulterior motives or desires. It's nice to have someone so perfectly honest around all the time."
The robot did not respond.
"One thing I've come to realize, though, is that it's not enough. You, as you are now, are far more intelligent than any human that lives or has ever lived. Stronger, faster, superior in many ways. Your body cannot be so much as scratched by a bullet, you're equipped with weapons systems, and you even have a built-in jetpack. You were meant to be a supersoldier, defending Earth from outside threats that never came. However." The old doctor put his wrinkled hand on Two's mechanical arm. "You are far from your full potential. What I believe you could become."
"My systems cannot be upgraded further, Doctor. There is no hardware sophisticated enough to replace the parts you created me from."
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"This has nothing to do with your systems. I have a mission for you, Two."
"A mission." repeated Two.
"Yes, that's right. I am truly saddened to say this, but this will be the last time the two of us will speak. I am sending you out to space, so as not to die off with the rest of humanity. Several 'arks' have already been sent to various destinations in the galaxy carrying what will become the remnants of the human race. You are not to make contact with these colonists on your journey."
"Sir, what is this about a mission? I am detecting apprehension. Is something about to happen?"
Matthews sighed. "This place is going to be put under fire by antimatter missiles in a matter of minutes, which is why I need to make this quick." He took another drink of his cola.
"My last command to you, Eighty-Two, is, quite simply, to feel. Don't you dare meet up with any of the humans from the Arks until you have learned what it is to feel emotion. When you do, and you understand the true importance of life, you will have completed my last request. Travel the universe. Experience all it has to offer. I firmly believe that despite the fact that your brain is little more than high-functioning hardware and an extremely long series of ones and zeroes, one day you will know what it is to be human."
The old man sighed. "I never wanted to have to do this. You're my life's work, Two." He buried his face in his hands, smiling weakly. "When it comes down to it, I suppose that this is the one way my research on artificial intelligence can be preserved. That it can mean something. And, most importantly, the one way it can be completed- the creation of a robot with a human mind."
"According to my data on the subject, emotions are present in humans because of certain sections of the brain." said the robot. "I have no such functions installed."
Matthews smiled. "You are the most advanced artificial intelligence our species has created. The peak, if you will. Your systems are highly adaptable, and I believe that it is possible for you to form bonds with other individuals, given enough time. From there, it is only natural that you will experience attachment, happiness, and possibly even love. You may not feel them in the same way that humans do, but emotions will one day influence your decisions. One day, you will take a course of action that is more than simply the most efficient, logical thing to do."
"I understand." said Two.
"Excellent. Then it's time to send you on your way."
"Are you not accompanying me? I understand your lifespan may expire before my mission is complete, but-"
"Two." The old doctor interrupted him. "As much as I would love to explore the cosmos with you, you are not my only child. I helped raise this facility from a research bunker into one of the greatest intellectual centers the Earth has ever seen. As they say, the captain must go down with the ship."
"I do not understand." said the robot. "It is not my place to question you, however. If you wish for me to go alone, I will do so. I assume you have some method of beaming me to the spaceship."
Dr. Matthews nodded, gesturing to a cylindrical room with glowing blue lights. The sliding metal doors opened with a whoosh. "The teleporter. I can only hope it won't distort your systems."
The tall, dark-colored robot walked into the room, his round, shiny metal face staring at the doctor with two large, glowing eyes. The door swung shut, leaving only a small window for the two to look at each other through.
The doctor stared back, a lone tear creeping down his left cheek. "Goodbye, Two. Godspeed, my son."
"Until next time, Doctor." The robot's hand raised in a final wave goodbye, and Dr. Matthews found it in him to press the big red 'Teleport' button.
A loud hum and a 'zap' later, Tentative Intelligence Eighty-Two was disassembled into the most basic of particles, and reassembled moments after on a large, unfamiliar spacecraft.
Less than a minute later, a massive explosion erupted on the Sol Research and Development Facility, killing twenty-two thousand of the world's brightest and obliterating the facility where humankind had made its most recent leaps in scientific progress.
January fifteenth, year two thousand two hundred and seven. The day Doctor Paul Matthews left this universe for good, and the day his legacy began.
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I hope you enjoyed the prologue. The first chapter will be uploaded soon! Thanks for reading <3