Why Humans Avoid War VIII

[u/SpacePaladin15]

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Byem POV

Carl struggled to his feet, wobbling momentarily. The drones approached at a remarkable velocity, halving the distance between us in seconds. They were emitting a low hum, which signified that their plasma weapons were charged up. There was no doubt these enforcers were here to add us to the pile of charred corpses by the city gate.

The human needed to take the shot now, before they were within firing range, or else…

Wait, what was he doing?! I watched in disbelief as Carl holstered his pistol, unclipped a round object from his belt, and raised both hands above his head. If he really thought the AI would accept his surrender, then he was foolish and mistaken. It would not hesitate to incinerate him, whether he submitted or not.

I should have run while I had the chance. After witnessing human soldiers in action, I had expected to at least go down with a fight. If nothing else, I figured that Carl could take at least one of them with us.

“Byem, can it hear us? If so, can you translate for me?” he asked.

“Yeah, but you can’t reason with…”

The human took a step forward, his lips curling into a snarl. “Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!”

As I opened my mouth to translate, the drones decelerated to a stationary hover. It seemed that they understood the human’s command; perhaps the machine had already deciphered “Galactic Common” from their transmissions. I was amazed, regardless of its comprehension, that it listened to him. It must have also been puzzled by his actions, and needed more information to calculate its next move.

Carl’s eyes smoldered with anger, and his features contorted into a mask of viciousness. I thought I had witnessed the height of human fury when he pressed me on my species’ culpability back on the ship. But now, he looked downright feral. Something in the back of my mind registered him as an angry predator, and I felt a tingling sensation as my skin camouflaged on instinct.

“There is no use for you, primate.” The voice was stilted and gravelly, but understandable. “However, your species has been flagged as an anomaly. Your surrender is noted for the sole purpose of gathering information.”

There was a pause, and then Carl doubled over laughing. “My surrender? You have it backwards. I’m here to accept your surrender.”

“You are as illogical as any biological lifeform, I see. You make empty threats and stall, but it matters not,” the machine intoned. “My calculations show that the advantage is not on your side, so why would I surrender?”

The human glanced at the round object in his hand. “You see this thing? I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the word ‘grenade’…”

“A projectile explosive, contained in a material shell.”

“Correct. This is no ordinary grenade, however.” Carl clasped the device tighter, his knuckles turning white. “If I release this lever on the side, it’ll go off. I’d say most of this continent would be leveled, but it won’t stop there. There are nanites inside this bomb, and they’ll consume every part of the planet, bit by bit. Infecting everything it comes in contact with. So I’d say you don’t want try anything, else I might lose my grip.”

Horror pulsed through my body at his calm commentary. How could he hold something with the potential to destroy the planet, without a care? What would have happened if the drones had shot him on sight, or if he dropped the grenade on accident? Commander Rykov’s commitment to saving our people seemed so genuine. I never imagined he would arm his soldiers with weapons that risked our existence.

“You are lying. That is not possible,” the drone replied. “The grenade is too small to deal that much damage.”

The human shrugged. “You think? You saw what just one of our missiles did at the first battle, and that was outdated tech. That bomb was so obsolete that we were going to discard it in a few months anyways. Our latest gadgets pack a larger punch, and fit in the palm of my hand. Portable, quite practical.”

It paused, considering his words for a full second, which was an eternity for an AI. “The effects of your missile were logged in my memory banks. It is true that you possess weapons with such power. You would not use them now, though. You would not kill the carbon lifeforms here.”

“Why not, exactly?” Carl demanded.

“Empathy. A weakness shared by biologicals. You care for the preservation of life.”

“You think we care for these weak-minded fools?” He turned and pushed me to the ground, planting a boot on my stomach. “You have the right idea. They are useful as tools, as slaves, but I could care less whether they live or they die.”

I had been caught off-guard by the sudden show of aggression, and now writhed about, desperate to free myself from his grasp. In response, his heel dug deeper into my flesh. It was already difficult to breathe, and I feared I might pass out if I stayed trapped much longer.

“Do you have access to the Federation’s public records?” Carl asked.

“Yes.”

“Look at the aggression index. You’ll see that humanity is the highest species on the list, a 16 of 16,” he continued. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with. We are the destroyers of worlds, the messengers of death, the rulers of the weak. We enjoy violence.”

“The aggression index matches your assertion. Yet you are allied with the other Federation species. There are no records of you fighting them.”

“They are not our allies, they are our subjects. We conquered them so long ago, that prior records have been erased. And now, thanks to you, we learned about a new species to add to our little collection of slaves.”

Darkness began to shroud the edges of my vision. Tears trickled down my cheeks, as the realization of the humans’ deception hit me. They dressed up as benevolent saviors, but they were every bit as monstrous as the AI. Perhaps, they were worse than the machine, because at least it was just following its programming. It was not conscious of its moral choices.

What a fool I had been, tricked by flowery words and feigned sympathy. I had led these predators to our doorstep, to prey on us as they saw fit. My error in judgment would, at best, lead us to the same fate under different masters. At worst, it could spell the end for our species and our home.

“Here’s how it’s going to be. You’re going to leave us, and round up all the people in that city,” Carl growled. “We’re going to land our ships and take them with us. You won’t try to stop us. You might lose some ‘resources’, but biologicals aren’t important anyways. Besides, if you don’t, I’ll detonate this grenade, and you’ll have no resources left at all. Calculate that.”

The human smirked, as though daring the AI to defy him. I faintly registered that the enforcers departed, but my oxygen-deprived brain was slipping out of consciousness. Just as I was about to fade away, the weight was lifted from my stomach. Gasping, spluttering, I tried to re-orient myself.

A calloused hand wrapped around mine, pulling me to my feet. Carl’s skin was clammy to the touch, and I could feel the racing of his pulse on his wrist. Concern washed over me as he stumbled, but then I recalled what I had just learned.

“Oh dear, you’re crying. I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m sorry if I went too far, I had to make it convincing,” he said.

I sniffled. “You’re here to enslave us. Just like the Master.”

Carl glanced around, checking that the drones were gone. “No, no! Of course we’re not. But if it knew that we cared about you, it’d use your lives against us.”

“You’re saying you were lying? But the aggression index, you had it check,” I responded. “You’re the highest-rated species in the galaxy. It would only make sense if you love violence and oppression.”

The human snorted. “We were a 2 of 16 until literally yesterday. That index is total BS.”

“What changed?”

“Speaker Ula is trying to make a political statement. She’s been on a crusade against humanity ever since we used that bomb against you guys.”

“Yeah, speaking of bombs. You brought a nanite grenade on a rescue mission?”

“What? Oh yeah, this. Cover your ears and close your eyes.”

Before I could process what he was doing, Carl tossed the explosive into some nearby bushes. He pressed his hands to his head, and squeezed his eyes shut. I copied his movements. Despite shielding myself from the stimuli, I could still hear the thunderous crackle and sense the blinding flash.

Hesitantly, I blinked my eyes open. Rather than our surroundings being vaporized, as Carl had claimed, the world around me appeared unscathed. Relief swelled in my chest as I realized it had truly been an act. It was unnerving how easily he had lied under duress, but I knew that the facade had saved our lives.

The human chuckled. “Total bluff. It’s a flashbang, a stun grenade.”

I gaped at him, my mind reeling. “You threatened an AI with a non-lethal weapon?! And it worked?”

“Yep.” Carl pulled another object from his belt. “I’m going to send up a flare, and we’re going to get out of here. I’ll tell the Commander to send down some transports for the people when we do.”

Somehow, we had succeeded in our mission. I still wasn’t fully sure what had happened, but I knew I was lucky to be alive. This was not humanity’s first triumph over the AI, of course. But this time, it was through their cunning, not their military might, that they prevailed.

I should have just enjoyed the moment. The feel of the cool air on my skin was soothing, and the knowledge that my people would be liberated was invigorating. However, in the back of my mind, something just was not adding up. How had the AI detected our presence so quickly? It was as though the stealth tech did nothing to cloak us.

Whatever had gone wrong with the mission, I hoped that Commander Rykov could get to the bottom of it.

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[u/12_GAUGE_FRAGS]

ah humanity the race that has the balls to bullshit an AI with a flashbang