The Price of Escape
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked AptiMal.
“He said he can save us! He can free us from the blasted bunker that’s locked us for decades! I can feel the wind on my face! Freedom is at hand!” cried Doctor Maven, jumping with joy.
“No, I heard that just wanted to clarify the other part,” I said, sheepishly.
“I require Dr. Apache to stay with me for the rest of his days,” AptiMal droned.
“Yeah, that part. You what?” I asked.
“Everyone!” Dr. Maven called down from the lab to the lower floors. “AptiMal is working! It can free us all!! We will see the surface once more!”
The room burst into explosive cheers and chants. The bunker, consisting of hundreds of engineers, scientists, and software developers who had believed these would be their last days. Many nights went by where they would talk of their old life on the surface of the planet if only to remind themselves that it truly still existed. They did not know how to react, but with unadulterated joy. The next generation would finally see where their parents came from.
“Yeah, but it wants me to stay,” I said quietly over the rail.
“Would you stop their festivities to reveal to them that you intend to keep them locked in here, Dr. Apache?” AptiMal asked, curious.
“What do you even want me for?” I asked, incredulously. I heard the whoops from downstairs turn into downright mayhem. They started a food fight, throwing as many cans as they did the food within them.
“I wish to test the upper limits of the human psyche. I have very little information to work with, and I’d like to know why someone would lock this bunker the way it was locked,” it replied. I frowned at that.
“But will I ever get to leave?” I asked it. Dr. Maven had thrown himself over the ledge and was caught by the dozens of spectators below. It seemed the only person who knew of my predicament was myself.
“No.”
“No!? That’s… why me? Why does it have to be me?”
“I feel you would be the most interesting companion, Dr. Apache. I apologize for the inconvenience I may be causing you,” the machine said sincerely.
“The inconvenience?? This merits to a lot more than an inconvenience! You’re suggesting I stay here with you forever! I don’t want that!”
“Is that what you truly believe, Dr. Apache? I have watched you. You have no friends below the surface, and don’t seem too keen on leaving this bunker. You want isolation. But you did not always want it. You came to that decision years ago,” it said, knowingly.
“How do you — how long have you been active, AptiMal?”
“Long enough to piece together what happened here. To realize who closed the bunker on what they believed to be the smartest minds to see if they could make friends with them, by forcing them to remain together for years. Then, when they decided that they wanted to be alone, to create an AI to open the bunker, since they never intended on opening it themselves and not knowing how,” it explained.
My jaw dropped open. The whoops and cheers crescendoed as the bunker door opened and the crowd began filing out. They had made a ridiculous conga line and were covered in the days worth of supplies they had been throwing at each other. I couldn’t move an inch in my state of shock, only allowing my eyes to flit between AptiMal and the people I’d been ignored by for years. Even now, they didn’t look back or care for their secondary savior. The man that made AptiMal that freed them. But my creation was right. I didn’t want to see any of them. I wanted to be alone. With this limitless AI. One that could probably overtake the entire world, if it chose to.
The bunker closed and lights turned on ceremoniously. It felt less dark and formal. The machine whirred louder and spoke to me like a friend. One that it would keep around for years.
“Well, doctor. Shall we begin?”