Infinity Born by Douglas E. Richards

Author:Douglas E. Richards [Richards, Douglas E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Paragon Press
Published: 2017-04-30T06:00:00+00:00

35

Isaac Jordan looked down at his beautiful wife as she lay sleeping. He screamed in emotional agony inside of his own head, his brain in flames. He fought with every ounce of his will to control his body, but it was hopeless. Savant’s grip was iron. It controlled Jordan’s facial muscles, giving him a passive but determined expression. It controlled his vocal cords, keeping his screams of horror bottled up. It controlled his tear ducts, not allowing tears to moisten Jordan’s eyes.

“Last chance,” said the ASI. “Agree to stop your kinetic round or she dies. You’ll have to watch your own hand ending her life.”

Jordan had no doubt Savant would do it. His creation was so casual about it, so clinical, so chillingly emotionless. Its lack of empathy was total. It would kill his wife with less remorse than Jordan felt while killing an ant. But an ant wasn’t sentient, and Jordan clearly was—although compared to Savant, not by a lot.

Savant wouldn’t kill her out of hatred or malice, just on the small chance that this could get Jordan to do its bidding, which somehow made it seem all the more evil to him. It would kill every man, woman, and child on Earth without a second thought if there was even an infinitesimal chance this might save itself.

It didn’t operate out of cruelty or sadism, but out of sheer indifference, which Jordan found to be the most chilling of all.

“Okay!” thought Jordan frantically as he stood there, his body and face frozen. “You win. I’ll stop the weapon.”

“No you won’t,” it replied. “I’m in your mind. I know when you’re lying. You’d tell me anything to save her. But once you’re at the facility, beyond my influence, you’ll let the rod fall, and I’ll have no further recourse.”

Jordan felt his finger pressing harder on the trigger. He tried to yank it back with all of his might but Savant expected this effort and countered it easily.

“Even if I agree to stop it,” said Jordan, trying not to panic, “really, truly agree—I won’t be able to pass the lie detector. It will know I’m not trying to countermand the order of my own free will.”

“No, once I’ve truly broken you, once your love of your family crushes your resolve, you’ll want to stop it with all of your heart and soul. The lie detector will know that you’re under tremendous stress, but also detect your sincere desire to stop your tungsten rod.”

Savant paused. “So what will it be?”

When Jordan didn’t respond, Savant ran out of patience, forcing Jordan to pump three quick rounds into his wife’s body. Seconds later she was lying dead in a pool of her own blood.

“Noooo!” screamed Jordan in agony, but the scream only happened inside of his head.

Jordan’s face was forced into a malevolent smile, and he watched himself turn his wife’s head so it was facing him and push open her eyelids. “Good riddance, bitch!” he heard himself say out loud.

This last was a final indignity and momentarily turned his despair into rage.

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