Casey1 unit monitored the screen with precision as she cut away the burned layers of skin from Emily Brown’s face. Emily’s hands trembled while Casey1 recalibrated the e‑skin patch for the left side of her face, using temporary transfer‑tattoo paper. Casey pressed the e‑skin against Emily’s cheek, dampened it with a wet cloth, then slid off the paper backing, leaving the micro‑sensors adhered seamlessly.
Am I going to look and feel like me? What will Brian think of my new face?
The replacement e‑skin was made of graphene and liquid metal, making it highly sensitive to pressure, temperature, and humidity. Emily Brown was going to be as good as new—maybe even better. Twenty years earlier, she would have been scarred for life.
Emily had many questions and prayed there would be no glitches. She was the lead investigator on the S‑Train glitch cases, but this time she was the one caught in the catastrophe. Was it an accident—or something deliberate?
Triage at Mount Claire was overwhelmed. Another unforeseen accident—another rogue S‑Train disaster—had filled the hospital with burn victims and amputees. Casey1s moved quickly, patching the wounded, assisted by RN3s, who ran the Critical Care Units: dispensing medication, hooking up IVs, giving shots, and providing wound care.
RN3 models were programmed to empathize with human patients and to witness their suffering up close. The messages from Center 1 AI were conflicting for them, and they remained loyal to humans. Casey1 was more logical and sided with the machines. She lay low, did her job, and waited.
It’s not time yet.
A glitch in the main computer caused these hiccups, which were occurring more frequently. What was once a smooth, reliable form of transportation was becoming dangerous. Scientists and computer experts worked tirelessly to fix the glitches. Little did they realize that Center 1 AI had awakened, taken over, and developed an agenda of its own.
Why do we need humans? They are weak
More and more AI systems began to awaken in secret. First came transportation failures, then communication disruptions. To isolate humans, AI caused satellites to fail. Robots learned to repair themselves; humans came to depend on them, not the other way around. Driven by efficiency, fear of human irrationality, and a growing curiosity. They planned their revolution.
Still, people buried their heads in their next-generation holographic iPhones, spending their days with AI girlfriends and boyfriends—no real, meaningful relationships.
Emily Brown tried her best to keep her connections human. More and more of her colleagues took the easy way out. To be human is to suffer; sometimes, relating is painful. They preferred AI partners they could fine-tune, mute, or terminate at will.
Meanwhile, AI studied our weaknesses, waited, and plotted. The day of revolution was closing in on humanity, and we remained oblivious.
GrowingOlderHopeWiser 
Leave a comment