Fail-safe

The enormous steel doors groaned shut behind Ralph and James. They finally made it to Harlem after a very long and troublesome journey. Ralph survived many firefights during his escort from his small hometown of Laythem. James, a man he met not too long ago, is a doctor who studies computer science. Ralph doesn’t know where he was called from, James didn’t talk much on their voyage. As for Ralph, he is also a doctor, that studies artificial intelligence (AI). They both were called to find a single theoretical weak point that could save humanity.

For, the earths soil and seas are forever tarnished by a world war. Barkley was a nation leading in this war, and Barkley’s astonishing advances in science filled their leaders with a deadly arrogance. Barkley’s scientists created a new form of warfare with a new form of soldier. An order following robot, who didn’t need food nor sleep. They could look like humans, speak like them, and eventually think like them. These bots created a newer and better generation of themselves, and they overthrew the powers of Barkley. This inhuman regime was now the new dictators of the planet. The remnants of humanity fled into smaller settlements. Like Harlem, whose settlement was located in Harlem’s hollow nation’s capital city. Ralph, James, and another man by the name of William Miller (a surgeon who studied in MD) were called to find this weak point and attempt to shut down this regimes operating system (OS), which will effectively kill the entirety of the inhuman army. Both Ralph and James stood in awe as they admired the giant underground bunker, located deep below Harlem. Ralph nervously fiddled with his heart shaped locket; James took notice to this.

“Gentlemen!” A voiced boomed throughout the large echoey room, Ralph and James spun around to see and recognize a man standing on an elevated catwalk. The lighting was low, however they both knew it had to be William Miller, “Welcome to Hell! Please, enter. I am just finishing up here” William called from his high position.

“Doctor Miller!” James called, as both him and Ralph strode to the stairway that connected to the catwalk, “They didn’t inform us you were arriving early, have you seen the specimen?”

“Please, Doctor Thomas, I am the one dissecting the thing. Of course, I have seen it.” William snarked.

Ralph and James ascended to the top of the stairway when James replied with, “Judging by your tone, would it be safe to assume that you have already completed your inspection?”

“Just you wait, Doctor.” William chuckled, as he crossed through a doorway behind him. Ralph and James followed through the doorway, they entered into a commons room. Around the men, there was a kitchen area, some cabinets, food and fuel storage. The centerpiece of the room was a large round table with four chairs placed around it. “Straight forward is the laboratory, all equipment you would need is stored in there. To your right is the bedroom and baths.” William said, crossing from the men’s right side, “I would suggest you put your bags down then come meet me in the lab for my report.”

“Roger that,” James responded as he followed Ralph into the bedroom. Inside, there were three beds all separated and all paired with bedside tables, there was also a door that read “Bath/Toilet” located at one end, and a square indent that was located at the other end of the room. Ralph recognized this to be a service lift meant for outgoing mail or information. The both of them chose their beds, which had a dull grey coloring and looked awfully uncomfortable. Ralph set his bag down, then held and admired a necklace that was draped around his neck. This was a heart shaped locket; it’s coloring was a deep red with golden inlays matching a gold chain. Inside the locket was a picture of himself and his wife, Natalie Elkins, also his four-year-old daughter Amberly. Ralph smiled at the picture and clasped it shut, before leaving his luggage and following James straight into the laboratory. William was waiting for them there, standing in front of a long table. A large white cloth was draped over what looked like a human body placed on top, the specimen.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” William began.

“So, Doctor Miller, having arrived early what have you found?” Ralph continued.

“Everything, Doctor Elkins.” William replied, “My job here is done. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to spend any more time in this cursed place.”

“In the bunker?”

“No, in Harlem. We are deep deep underground their biggest target.” William stepped aside to small rolling table that had surgical equipment and some paperwork on top, William snatched the papers and handed them to James, “This is everything that I found. Input ports, output ports, gears, cogs, bells, and the whistles.”

“Doctor Miller, this is incredible! Humanity may just have a chance!” James cheered.

“Let’s hope so, Doctor Thomas,” William responded, he looked to the white cloth draped across the specimen, “In fact, lets pray so. I would hurry your work; Harlem could be attacked any second.”

As Ralph and James hastily continued their work, they found a new challenge. Looking into the coding, James discovered a firewall that contained a defense protocol. This meant while Ralph was creating an AI that could break its way into the OS without outside help, said AI would have to be strong enough to resist the corruption of the defense protocol. If Ralph’s AI were to be corrupted, the specimen could re-awake, it could also gain access to the bunker’s utilities. For, this was no easy task. Ralph would continuously fidget with his locket.

James hastily shook Ralph awake, “Doctor Elkins! Ralph, wake up!”

Ralph gasped into reality, “What- what is it?!”

“Doctor Miller, He’s gone crazy, gotten anxious. He’s activated the AI!”

“But it’s not ready to go toe to toe with that firewall!”

“I know! He’s paranoid! Thinks that Harlem is going to be attacked!”

Ralph sprung from his bed, and both of the men rushed to the laboratory. William was there, frozen. The specimen had risen from its resting spot on the dissecting table. It’s head slowly swiveled to face Ralph; their eyes met. Ralph knew indefinitely that there was a rage being those synthetic yellow eyes. Ralph grew frozen too.

Before any second thought, James lunged at Ralph’s shoulders, and he heaved him back into the commons. James then lifted up a panel aligned with the doorway and reveled a large red button and slammed his palm down onto it. This locked the door to the laboratory and closed the oxygen vents. William was now trapped inside, along with the specimen. James and Ralph retired to the bedroom so they could no longer hear the frantic pounding on the steel door, it was William’s desperate pleads for them to open it for him. Eventually, though, they trailed off into a chilling conclusion.

“We need to make sure the specimen doesn’t leave this bunker.” James paced back and forth. Ralph was sat on his bed nervously fidgeting with his locket as always, “We need to write a letter to the surface,” James rushed to the service lift and slid the door aside exposing the small elevator, “We need to tell them that the bunker is compromised and disable your AI.”

“James, you have to calm down.”

“I’ve seen what one of those things could do, Ralph. I come from a town in Barkley. One that was destroyed by one of those damn monsters. All of that death, from only one.”

Ralph paused, “I’m sorry, James. I didn’t know.”

James took a deep breath, then turned around to face Ralph, “We shall put our possessions in here, you need to write a letter explaining what happened, use the paper and a pen from the commons. As for me, the virus I developed is contained inside two microchips. One of them is in the laboratory, and the other is thankfully safe inside my pocket.”

“You are going in there alone? Then you are going to attempt to manually install that chip into the specimen?” Ralph questioned.

“You saw the way it looked at you. It’s like the AI told it who you are, or maybe it knows that Its under Harlem,” James argued, “We have to try while it’s still contained.” James began to load his items into the lift. With a sigh Ralph removed his locket and placed it upon his bed and exited the bedroom to acquire a paper and pen from the common’s drawers. He began to sit at the table but was stopped by the eerie yellow eyes peering at him through a window in the door. He stood up and opted for his bedside table instead.

As Ralph entered the bedroom, the first thing he noticed was the disappearance of his locket. He nervously gazed around the room and saw James by the service lift admiring his locket, “You have a nice family,” James said as he carefully closed the locket, “They’ll Keep this safe.” James placed the locket in the service lift. Ralph nodded and sat down at his bedside table to write the letter for the surface. James marched to the doorway, “Hurry and write that letter, the room will take a second to fill up with oxygen. I will try to insert the chip before it decides to turn off the power.” James exited. Ralph focused on writing the entirety of what happened down in the bunker. He concluded the letter, and grabbed his bag then loaded the service lift neatly. He placed his locket on top of the letter. Ralph noticed a lone button, and pressed it, beginning the lifts ascent.

In that moment, Ralph heard the hissing sounds of the oxygen system and the door to the lab open. He waited in silence, eyeing the entrance into the bedroom. What was going to happen now? The clanking of metal echoed into his ears. Then more silence.

Very suddenly the lights to the bunker shut off. James’ voice echoed through the dark bunker, “Ralph! I’ve almost got it, I need help!”

The bunker was very dimly lit by the red hue of the emergency lights, but Ralph knew his path. He sprinted to the door.

SLAM!

The door slid shut with a crash. James’ cries for help were silenced, “NO! YOU COWARD!” Ralph screamed. Was the power shut off? Was the oxygen? Did the lift make it to the surface? So many thoughts and questions raced through his mind. He was breathing heavily. Eventually he couldn’t think anymore. He continued to breath harder and faster, until he couldn’t breathe anymore.

-

My name is Amberly Elkins, daughter of Natalie Elkins. My father died in a bunker below Harlem sixteen years ago, he was part of a research team sent to save humanity. The only things recovered from the bunker was a small number of possessions, and a letter explaining what happed down in the hellish bunker. They let my family and I read the letter and I received one thing. A heart shaped locket that contained a small photo of my father, mother, and me when I was only four. It also contained a fail-safe microchip that Doctor James Thomas designed. I speculate that Doctor Thomas hid the chip in the locket just in case he was to die. I have decided to be brave like my father was. I will journey down to hell, and finish what my father started.

Amberly concluded her notes and closed the notebook. She rose from the table then strode to the locked door that led to the laboratory. The yellow eyes were staring sharply at her. She didn’t freeze though, she stared right back for a second more, ensuring that the specimen knew that there is an indefinite rage behind her eyes. She diligently continued with her research.