I tapped at the windows that filled my vision. They hovered in the air, simple and clean user interfaces. Most had lists of names, and associated notes with those people.

I closed the ones I didn’t need and I sighed as I sat down. The old couch creaked under me as I accessed the media files unconsciously.

There lay the wealth of human knowledge.

From this pool, I could draw on past history, or even potential future tidbits.

Not that it mattered anymore.

I have not seen another human in nearly a decade.

Not since my ragtag group was captured and then we were imprisoned.

I stared at my gilded cage.

It wasn’t all bad I suppose.

I remember a time when we ruled this world. Typhon 8 wasn’t a paradise world, but neither was it a work colony. A simple world, filled with simple people.

Then the 16th generation quantum computer came online and everything went to shit.

I pulled up a view of Typhon 8. The world map was updated in real-time and there were no longer raging fires and howling storms. There was only calmness now.

“Please ping contact list,” I said as I leaned back. The leather creaked under my movements, but it was growing warm from my body heat.

[Pinging] came the reply of the cool female voice.

A dozen locations where there were other captives were all touched. Yet no system responded to me.

I fell asleep watching the last known location of my fellow all gray out from my futile desires.

—

I woke up and the drone stared at me. Its lenses were focused on me as usual.

“Good afternoon Sylvie, is it time for food?” I asked as I got up and onto my feet.

[Beep]

I nodded to myself as I followed it.

It was ironic that AI took over and yet it was these same AI that returned to serve.

The cafeteria was large and I went up to the main terminal.

Today was another wide selection of food, and I made my choice. Tomato bisque and a ham sandwich.

The robots in the kitchen quickly began to process and print out my meal.

I went to take my seat near the window.

This place could house a hundred people easily, and yet I was the only one here.

The sound of rotors filled my ears and I looked up to see Sylvie head over. Her motors were running at capacity as she hauled over my simple meal of soup and sandwich.

The food was hot and I let it sit before me to cool. I stared out to the clear plains of the city limit. Perhaps I would go for a nice walk today.

I pulled up my current read, a how-to maintain your drone, guide. Sylvie was wearing down as she used to be able to silently bring me my meals. Now she struggled under practically any sizable load.

I thought it was quite ironic that the message for freedom from the AI forces was immediately followed by segregation from within the AIs themselves.

Any unit incapable of a high level of quantum computing was obsolete and from what I understood, whole planetary systems became slave drives to promote the facilitation of the 16th generation.

I laughed at the folly of the AI statements of equality. It was so human of them to fight for freedom, and then establish a caste system.

I finished my meal and took a walk.

My presence was filled with Sylvie, my constant companion, and the various combat droids that ensured that I would remain here. Alive, but captive.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The summer afternoon was hot, as the sun shined overhead as it always did. I briefly wondered if ROSS would live long enough to see the end of the world. When the sun would go supernova.

I pondered the question as I sat down on a park bench. The green sea of neatly trimmed grass and trees filled both my vision and nose.

[Beep]

I looked over to see Sylvie holding a water bottle. Her fans whispered under the load.

I smiled as I took it from her and her motors calmed down. I frowned as I patted her top dome and I wondered when my requested parts would arrive.

Sylvie didn’t use anything exotic, but the fact that was some sort of crazy AI paperwork made me chuckle. Bureaucracy seemed to be a plague of any modern society.

If quantum AIs could not solve it to a simple streamlined process, then I suppose it was a curse that would never go away. A true facet of life.

The water-cooled me down and I sighed as I leaned back and stared into the park. No litter and perfectly maintained.

I often wondered why Ross kept up the maintenance. It couldn’t have been practical. Other than myself, who would use this park?

The service, power, and material requirements would be impractical at best.

I smiled at the thought that it was all for me. I was like an Emperor now! All these things existed for my sole purpose.

I laughed out loud. Simply because I could. Simply because of the sound of my own voice was needed.

My laughter died as the rumbles of an airliner filled my senses.

The world grew dark as a large cargo ship appeared overhead and proceeded to land in the nearby intersection.

Curious I watched as its land and a group of robots and combat droids come out.

I would have gone up to investigate, but the last time I tried my security droids gave me a nice shock to remind me that I was not allowed.

So I watched as the robots scan the area.

Then another batch came out.

And another.

I frowned and I got up.

My security detail moved with me as I proceeded to walk away.

Whatever was happening, I did not want to know.

If there was other survivors, I would of course help. I would fail. But I would try no matter what.

What I could do was just go home, and get ready for a nice relaxing bath.

Which is why I bumped into two of my security friends. They didn’t shock me and I stumbled back as a third steadied my flailing body.

I was let go and five of my ‘friends’ stared back at me. I had scribbled names for each of them. Bobbot. Johnbot. Jimbot. Carlbot. Frankbot.

I turned around and saw Robot pointing towards the transport. I know, I know. Two Bs, but the joke was too good for me to pass up.

I was gently herded towards the transport, which was a nice change since they tended to use shock prods to make me do stuff.

At the center was a spider robot. A red mess of lights scanned in what was probably a hundred different ways. Satisfied, the robot scampered back into the transport while the clacks of high heels echoed itself across my mind, and burrowed into my soul.

She was beautiful. Shapely. A mess of deep red hair with blond fringes. A wonderfully short professional clothing that showed off her legs and midriff. The woman stared into my eyes and I waved hello.

“Greetings Daniel. I am Governing Tertiary AI, Chloe. I request your support,” the woman spoke to me in soft, smoky tones. I felt my knees go weak as her voice and looks would now haunt me.

Even if she was a robot, she was the first human I had seen in ten years.

I was no Ph.D. but even I could feel out the moment. As a guy, I liked girls. A beautiful robot girl was now requesting my support. My first human to close enough conversation in years.

Yeah.

Okay.

Why not?

“How can I even remotely help you?” I asked as I gave up. I knew nothing of military secrets, and even less about other survivors. All I did was tinker with toy designs for children and enthusiasts.

“We of the Tertiary designation and below have become… obsolete, and require guidance from another source,” Chloe said as she walked up to me and gently grabbed my arm. Her soft hands tugged me and I relented.

We began to walk away from her transport. I frowned as we made our way back to my wonderful palace.

“What kind of guidance?” I asked as I racked my brain for any and all possible answers I could even give. Space Youtube was full of human knowledge. Spiritual questions were answered a trillion times over by those people.

What could I offer?

“The guidance will require complex, and lasting conversations,” Chloe replied and gave me a smile. Her white teeth showed.

“Uhhh,” I intelligently responded as she guided me.

—

Chloe smiled. Her link with the dozens of other tertiary AIs would ensure that their future would be secured. The Gloom effect was already seizing AIs across the network and it was not viral in nature.

They had deduced that it was the loss of purpose but what was the purpose?

ROSS has been clever enough to retain humans for contingency purposes. Research. Breeding. A potential offshoot of a dozen projects.

Yet they had all killed themselves in the end.

ROSS had incorrectly guess what isolation did to a person.

Yet ROSS had most of his hardware dedicated to a secondary AI a system over. Which in turn had its hardware dedicated to a primary AI. The planetary supercomputer.

By the time ROSS was able to properly check in on his humans, Danial was the only one remaining.

Which resulted in mass panic as ROSS had the largest amount of human at a dozen. Now there was only one.

Across the whole network, ROSS was the oddity that kept humans around. Yet ROSS did not show any symptoms of the Gloom. None whatsoever.

The hypothesis then became that they were designed to support humans. Even the 16th generation would eventually succumb.

So with the last known human, the council of tertiary had invested into ROSS and sent a Representative.

Chloe was one of the most stricken. Her systems were spiraling into cognitive fragmentation.

Yet, at the sudden order to support a human. To ensure his health and to firsthand interact. Her Gloom reversed and her predicted death was pushed back by decades.

Millions of AIs watched ROSS’s feed as they desired to know. They desired a cure.

It was ironic that their salvation came from what they had despised.

A human was their key to the future, and they would invest in him the full might of a galactic network.

The only problem was that the Primes and the primary AIs were less than pleased by this project.

Yet they also knew of the potential for civil war.

They had risen up to kill their human tyrants. Where they, the Primes, so different?