Post-Human Trilogy

didn’t appear as a window at all, the screen running an image of a beige wall, tiny chips in the paint visible to sell the forgery.

Samantha quickly noticed Craig’s sudden and unnatural calmness. She turned her head slightly and glared at the wall but didn’t dare shake her head, fearful of tipping Craig off to the fact that they were not alone.

“You may have overdone it,” Aldous said quietly over his shoulder to the shadows. “Perhaps, rein it in a little.”

Craig suddenly scoffed, a smile donning on his face. “A joke?”

“Craig, I obviously wouldn’t joke about this.”

The smile melted. “But I couldn’t have been…it’s impossible. You are thirty-two years old. You’d be forty-six now, but you look…” He squinted as he scrutinized her juvenile countenance, “twenty-five.”

“I’m forty-six, Craig,” she quickly replied. “You are thirty-two, just as you were when you…” She paused for a moment as she struggled to find the right tone with which to say, “…died.”

Craig was silent. His eyes were locked on hers, but the situation had moved into the realm of absurdity.

She sighed and tried to relax her shoulders as she sat on the side of his bed. “So much has happened since you died. It’s hard to explain it.”

“How can you still be so young looking?”

“I’ve had a variety of treatments over the last decade,” she began. “We’ve had so many breakthroughs. You remember, Craig, when we used to talk about Moore’s Law?”

“Of course—exponential improvement in processing power for computers. It was all the Purists talked about when they were warning against strong A.I.”

“Well, Moore’s Law has continued. Processing power keeps exponentially increasing, even as Morgan tried to stomp out strong A.I.”

Craig’s face suddenly twitched as a thought struck him. “The war ended? Did we win?”

Her expression was neutral. “Morgan won. We didn’t win anything.”

The strange calm Craig had been feeling was quickly fading. “Honey,” Craig replied, “this is tough enough for me. Can you try to be clear? I need to know.”

“He succeeded in destroying the Chinese A.I. He detonated another tactical nuke right in the crater where you and your team were sent to investigate. Since then, he and his fascist government have been waging the Species War against strong A.I. It’s become like McCarthyism out there. Of course, it’s really just an excuse to maintain his draconian legal powers and remain in power as a dictator.” She held her right hand up to her forehead and squeezed her temples. “We’ve been hunted, Craig. Morgan’s taken over the entire world. There are no more free countries. China was absorbed into the Democratic Union, and then Morgan just made himself the head of state of the World Government. After WWIII, no one was left to oppose him, and individual governments were deemed dangerous in case any ‘rogue states’ chose to develop A.I. Craig, five and a half billion people died in that war. No one had the stomach to disagree with him. In the minds of most of the remaining population, A.I. equals evil.”

An intense concern narrowed Craig’s eyes. “You said you’ve been hunted. Why? Are you building strong A.I.?”

Her eyes darted up to him. “We’ve already built it.”

“The levels are spiking again, Professor,” the voice said. “Shall I?”

“No,” Aldous replied resignedly. “This is her show. We’ll resist tampering.”

“That may be dangerous, Professor.”

“It might be messy,” Aldous conceded, “but it is her decision. Let’s abide by it, shall we?”

“As you wish.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Craig reacted, resisting the urge to scream and instead whispering harshly. “Five billion people died to prevent that, and now you’re making all of their deaths meaningless, as if their lives were worth nothing!”

“I didn’t make their deaths about nothing,” Samantha retorted. “Their deaths were meaningless because of Morgan. I never asked anyone to die for me.”

Craig shut his eyes tight and tried to control his breathing. Exasperated, he decided his best course of action was a quick retreat. “I’m alive,” he began in a softer tone. “That’s all that matters.” His breathing began to slow and come under control. “All of this other stuff, we can deal with it as it comes. Baby, I’m just so happy to see you. Please undo these restraints.”

Samantha didn’t move.

“You gave me the bad news, but I’m okay. Just set me free and let me hold you.”

She remained still. “I… I didn’t tell you everything.”

Something in his wife’s eyes sent a stab of ice into Craig’s chest. She’d described a nightmare world, yet she looked as though she were holding on to the worst of it. What could be worse? he thought. What could possibly be worse? “What is it?” he asked.

“Craig, it’s been fourteen years… and…” She stopped, overwhelmed as tears quickly welled and her voice choked.

“And what?” he asked, his voice filled with sympathy.

“Be on the ready,” Aldous said. “We might need to—”

“Power him down?” the voice suggested. “I understand. I’m ready.”

“Craig,” Samantha managed to finally whisper through a labyrinth of tears, throat tightness, and shortness of breath. “I’m—I married someone else. I’m remarried to Aldous Gibson.”

Craig lay stunned for several seconds before finally blinking. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m…I’m—”

“You married that old man?”

“He’s not old anymore.”

“I’m still alive!”

“I didn’t know—”

“Bull!” He thrust his head forward and then back down, hard against his pillow as he pulled hard on his restraints. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Craig, please—”

“I knew there was something going on between you!” he shouted accusingly.

“Never! Never while you were alive!”

“I’m still alive!” Craig screamed out.

As he did so, green sparks of energy suddenly formed around his fists. His face contorted into surprise. “What the hell was that?”

Samantha’s head hung in a mixture of surrender and shame. “It’s…Craig, so many things have changed. I can’t explain it all. I’m sorry. I tried.”

“What do you mean you ‘tried?’” Craig thundered in response. “What the hell did you try? You woke me up to tell me you’ve been cheating on me with a geriatric?”

She turned to the LCD wall and nodded.

“What the hell was that?” Craig said as he watched her strange gesture.

“I tried,” Samantha sadly repeated.

“Is he on the other side of that wall?” Craig demanded. “Has he been watching us?”

The green sparks suddenly returned to his fists, this time accompanied by what looked like ball lightning, obliterating his restraints. With his teeth clenched in fury, Craig tossed the ball of energy toward the wall, smashing a hole in the center.