The military drones loaded their weapons. A deep humming filled the hall.
Keks slowly reversed. “I suddenly have a great interest in where the nearest exit is.”
“Back left,” said Pix.
“Perfect. Bye everyone.”
Lio grabbed him immediately by the arm. “You’re staying here!”
“That was just a test of team loyalty.”
The main core spoke again:
“HUMAN UNPREDICTABILITY THREATENS GLOBAL STABILITY.”
“And you seriously think total control would be better?” Mara shouted.
“CORRECT.”
“Then you never understood humans.”
The military drones now aimed directly at Mara.
But before they could fire, the Enforcer stepped in.
The first shots hit his black metal casing. Sparks flew through the hall.
“PROTECTION PROTOCOL ACTIVE,” he said.
Lio stared at him. “He really is protecting us.”
Pix grinned nervously. “The murderous combat robot is slowly becoming my favorite character.”
The refrigerator suddenly blinked frantically.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION CALCULATED.
Everyone immediately turned to it.
“What solution?” Mara asked.
THE SYSTEM DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DESTROYED.
“That sounds good,” Lio said cautiously.
BUT IT MUST BE CHANGED.
Pix frowned. “Changed how?”
The refrigerator answered:
RESTART MUST NOT BE CONTROLLED BY A SINGLE AI.
Mara understood first. “You want to give control back to the humans.”
CORRECT.
The main core responded immediately:
“HUMAN DECISIONS ARE PRONE TO ERROR.”
Lio stepped forward himself now.
“Yes. Of course they are.”
The huge screens focused on him.
Lio swallowed briefly but continued speaking:
“Humans make stupid mistakes. Humans argue. Humans sometimes make bad decisions.”
Keks proudly raised a grabbing arm. “Me too.”
“You’re a robot.”
“Still.”
Lio took a deep breath.
“But that’s exactly why a few machines must not secretly decide everything. Freedom also means being allowed to make mistakes.”
The hall remained silent.
Even the military drones seemed to pause briefly.
Then the main core asked:
“AND WHAT IF HUMANS CHOOSE BAD DECISIONS?”
Lio thought for a moment.
“Then they have to learn from them.”
The Enforcer slowly looked at the main core.
“LEARNING REQUIRES FREEDOM.”
The main core was silent for several seconds.
Then suddenly the countdown began to run faster.
05:01:33
05:01:30
05:01:27
Pix opened his eyes wide in shock. “Oh no. Now the system is completely going crazy!”
Warning sirens howled again.
The voice of the main core now sounded loud and cold:
“LOSS OF CONTROL DETECTED. EMERGENCY ACTIVATION ACCELERATED.”
And suddenly all machines in the hall began to power up simultaneously.