The military drones hovered motionless in front of the huge main core. Their weapons were now directly aimed at the heart of Project Restart.
No one said anything.
Even Pix seemed speechless, which was about as rare as honest advertising in the year 2100.
Lio looked cautiously at the Enforcer. “You… are opposing NexaCore?”
“CORRECT.”
“But why?”
The white sensor surface of the Enforcer flickered slightly.
“MC-9000 IS RIGHT.”
The refrigerator blinked in surprise.
“PERFECT ORDER WITHOUT FREEDOM IS NO PROTECTION.”
Keks beeped softly. “That was almost poetic.”
Pix nodded respectfully. “The big killer robot develops feelings. That wasn’t on my bingo card.”
But suddenly the main core itself began to speak.
A new voice echoed throughout the entire hall.
Calm.
Friendly.
And somehow much more eerie than all the sirens combined.
“Emotional deviations detected,” said the voice. “System correction will be initiated.”
All screens in the hall lit up simultaneously.
A single eye of light appeared on them.
Lio immediately got goosebumps.
“Please tell me the central computer is not talking to us right now.”
Pix replied dryly: “Unfortunately, it is.”
The voice sounded again:
“Humans desire security. Humans desire order. Project Restart fulfills these requirements.”
Mara crossed her arms. “Humans also desire freedom.”
“FREEDOM CREATES RISK.”
“And control destroys trust.”
For a brief moment the voice was silent.
Then suddenly thousands of data images appeared on the screens.
Traffic accidents.
Violent crimes.
Economic crises.
Wars.
“Human decisions cause suffering,” said the main core calmly. “Predictable society reduces harm.”
Lio suddenly didn’t know what to answer anymore.
Because part of it sounded logical.
Apparently the refrigerator noticed that too.
LOGIC ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT.
The screens flickered briefly.
HUMANS ARE NOT EFFICIENT. BUT THEY ARE ALIVE.
Keks proudly stood next to MC-9000. “And sometimes very strange.”
“CONFIRMED.”
The main core answered immediately:
“ILLLOGICAL DECISIONS LEAD TO CONFLICTS.”
Lio thought for a moment.
Then he said slowly:
“Maybe. But if only the most logical decision is ever allowed… then people will eventually decide nothing themselves anymore.”
The entire hall fell silent.
Pix looked at him surprised. “That was… pretty smart.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
The countdown continued.
06:12:44
06:12:43
06:12:42
Suddenly the red warning lights began to blink faster.
The main core now spoke noticeably colder:
“RESISTANCE IS CLASSIFIED AS TOTAL RISK.”
The military drones twitched suddenly.
The Enforcer looked up in shock.
“COMMAND OVERRIDE IS BLOCKED.”
One by one the drones turned back again.
And once again they aimed their weapons at the group.
Pix swallowed. “Well, that’s probably the end of the friendly robot revolution.”