Lunatics Radio Hour
Lunatics Library 38 - Artificial Intelligence Horror Stories
Abby and Alan present three haunting artificial intelligence inspired horror stories to round out our series on the horror of A.I.
Goodnight, Conrad was written by J.R. Santos and read by Mike Macera. Support a charity anthology that gives back to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Check out JR's work here. Listen to Mike's band Beach Therapy anywhere you listen to music.
Reaper in the Sky was written by S.S. Fitzgerald and read by Jeff Ayars. Follow S.S. Fitzgerald here.
Red Light was written by Eve S. Evans and read by Tessa McKnight. Check out Eve's work here.
lunaticsproject.com
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Listen to the paranormal playlist I curate for Vurbl, updated weekly! Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
What's it like to be a Cattle Rancher? FBI Special Agent? Professional Santa? Find out!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Abby and Alan present three haunting artificial intelligence inspired horror stories to round out our series on the horror of A.I.
Goodnight, Conrad was written by J.R. Santos and read by Mike Macera. Support a charity anthology that gives back to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Check out JR's work here. Listen to Mike's band Beach Therapy anywhere you listen to music.
Reaper in the Sky was written by S.S. Fitzgerald and read by Jeff Ayars. Follow S.S. Fitzgerald here.
Red Light was written by Eve S. Evans and read by Tessa McKnight. Check out Eve's work here.
lunaticsproject.com
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Listen to the paranormal playlist I curate for Vurbl, updated weekly! Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
What's it like to be a Cattle Rancher? FBI Special Agent? Professional Santa? Find out!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Hello everyone, Welcome back to another episode of the Lunatics Radio Hour podcast. I am Abby Branker sitting here with Alan Kudan. Hello, Today we have for you artificial intelligence-inspired horror stories.
Speaker 2:Or A-I-I-H-S.
Speaker 1:Catchy. I really enjoyed last episode. I feel like it was a little bit of a different format for us which was kind of fun to explore a little. You know it was less hard history, more us ranting and raving about AI, but I thought it was fun. It was fun to watch a lot of movies, I suppose.
Speaker 2:Yes, because we're doing a topic that lives primarily in pop culture, not in history with an overflow into pop culture culture, not in history with an overflow into pop culture. I'm thinking back to like the amusement park series where we did so much history stuff about all the like the little amusement park horror escapades uh, you know the, the haunted ride where the kid died, you know. And then there's a couple movies, and I think we watched all of them yeah just about.
Speaker 1:But with this one we really had to pick and choose, because there is so, so much content about murderous computers that's right and it's, you know, as we all know, quite timely, and I'm sure there'll be a boom of them coming out over the next few years not to mention that we barely scratched the surface.
Speaker 2:After recording that episode, I kept stumbling across things that I keep thinking like, wow, this would have been so good to talk about. Or stuff that I straight up did a ton of research on and we didn't talk about it because we just talked about other stuff the whole time.
Speaker 1:Like what.
Speaker 2:The whole thing about the Metal Gear Solid franchise and its relationship with AI. I wouldn't really call this horror, but it's kind of horrific when you take the big abstract. Metal gear solid's one of my favorite game franchises and it comes up on this podcast every now and then sure it does starting with metal gear solid 2.
Speaker 2:You just get so heavy into ai integration. The story is painfully complicated to the point where you can, if you want to like, watch just like a breakdown of like what is the actual plot of this video game. You have to watch, like this four hour video on youtube. However, the big takeaway is that our protagonist is trying to get what he needs to unearth the secret organization that has basically been running the us government for years, and it's supposed to be this shadow organization of just like old, rich people you know, which doesn't seem that far from the truth. It's like the big reveal and sorry spoilers from a game that came out in like 2002, is that a long time ago, this entire organization got replaced by an AI, and an AI has been running the US government for decades now, and the motivations behind this computer are not nearly as nefarious as one might think.
Speaker 2:It was designed to try to streamline human evolution. Now we're going to get in the weeds for a little bit, but it's pretty freaking cool. The main idea is that it's a filter, like a sensor about what goes through the media. The idea is that without the filter, you get so much information overload, whether that's fake news, cat videos, recipes, celebrity culture, all this stuff that absolutely dilutes what is actually happening in the world, real events that can curb the trajectory for human evolution.
Speaker 2:It just gets so diluted because of bullshit that you need something that can be an impartial algorithm to remove the fat. Basically Because previously, for all of human history, we've kind of had this Only a select group of people could read and write, so only a certain amount of information was saved and passed on. Think of all the little anecdotes that people have been telling each other since the beginning of time. Most of those don't exist anymore because they're just not preserved. Now we live in the digital age where everything is preserved because the fucking internet, and so that's that's what that game is about, and I watched a big deep dive into how AI is kind of. They're like people are trying to make something sort of like this to try to like effectively sort out fake news, and I think it's just so funny because, like, this game came out in 2002 and this was what it was about. It was about curbing cultural opinion.
Speaker 1:It's interesting. There are tools now that you can run any piece of content through and they'll tell you what percentage and which parts are AI generated, which I think is a really interesting and necessary piece of technology.
Speaker 2:While doing just like AI research for this series, I stumbled across a Reddit thread of a bunch of students that were just like really laying hard into these anti-plagiarism detectors Previously. It would just search the internet and if the essay was posted elsewhere, you know, it would just flag it right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now it can also identify when it's been AI generated. But it's not great, it's not, it's nowhere near a hundred percent, and sometimes, if you just write in a certain way, then you can just be flagged as AI and yeah, but that stuff's only going to get better and better.
Speaker 1:This is the early days of that.
Speaker 2:Eventually. Yes, a hundred percent. However, in the meantime, meantime, there's still zero tolerance policies, because it's a holdover from plagiarism yeah and so students were saying how they straight up fell the course, because a thing that they submitted of their own volition you know they put in all the work got flagged as like 60 ai generated, which just how? How do you get 60 ai generated? I think that's crazy. What do you mean?
Speaker 1:that's crazy. What do you mean? That's crazy. Why would 60% be crazy?
Speaker 2:I think if you're using AI to write your thing like, wouldn't you just have it do the whole thing?
Speaker 1:No, you'd have it do parts of it, so that you make it sound human and so that you can thread together the different precise topics that you're trying to thread together. I mean, even when people plagiarized things back in the old analog days, I feel like they would add some of their own flair in it as well, sure, one way to help trick the software, because the thing is apparently you have to.
Speaker 2:You can look into Google Drive Analytics to see how long it took to type the thing from like when you started to when you finished, and so a lot of teachers use that, because they'll just say to like one of the you know AI writing algorithms to write me an essay, it'll write it and it'll just copy and paste it into Google Docs and submit it. The fact that you technically wrote your essay in five seconds then is a big red flag.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So the way to do it is you have a second screen and you just rewrite it manually.
Speaker 1:Well, you can do that with one screen.
Speaker 2:Well, it's two windows. You know what I'm saying? Sure.
Speaker 1:You really get in the weeds on this, otherwise you're going back between tabs and that's complicated.
Speaker 1:So we are here today because we have three excellent and haunting in their own individual ways, AI inspired stories to share with you, and before we jump into the first one, I want to say one thing that's totally not related to AI, which is that I saw the new horror film Abigail last week and it was excellent and I would love to. I'm not going to spoil it for anybody, but I think it's a very, very, very fun and satisfying horror film, so please go watch it if you're into the genre at all.
Speaker 2:Are there any shadow Illuminati groups running the country in the movie?
Speaker 1:I'm not going to comment on that, actually.
Speaker 2:I'm intrigued.
Speaker 1:I think, Alan, that you will like it. I really think you that you I would. I think what I said to Alan when I got home from the movie was it's like someone made a horror film for specifically me and alan both of us. Yeah, there's like elements that I really love and there's elements that you would really love, and they don't overlap but they coexist is there a maze?
Speaker 1:I'm not gonna give comments I like mazes I personally I know a lot of people have seen the trailer. At this point I had not seen the trailer so I had no idea, and it was really really fun to go in like totally blind and be really like caught by surprise by the plots.
Speaker 2:You're just like hey, this movie has my name.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was like oh, I knew it was a dance inspired horror film, which I love, and I got an email from like Alamo or something about it coming out. So I saw the poster and I was like we're going to go. So anyway, that's my non-AI plug.
Speaker 2:There's no robots.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:And it's made for me.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:Interesting.
Speaker 1:I think that you're going to like it quite a bit.
Speaker 2:Okay, maybe it'll be next month's horror movie club. Maybe it will I would love that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, I would love that, okay. So shall we get into our first story of the evening here.
Speaker 2:Yes, please.
Speaker 1:So let's roll the tape on the first story and then we'll come back and talk to you all about it.
Speaker 2:We're going to go in blind, just like Abigail.
Speaker 5:There you go, here we go. Good night, conrad. Written by JR Sanchez Rick.
Speaker 6:Boy, mike Lucero. Oh oh no, where is it? I know it's someplace in here. It's not here, conrad. It has to be. Where else would it be? I know I put it in here. I did, you didn't Shut up. Shut up, I'm not crazy, I know what I did. I up, I'm not crazy, I know what I did. I know what I'm looking for, of course. Did you move it? I can't move things, conrad, I don't have hands. What? Yes, of course I know that. I'll check the kitchen. You're heading to the living room, conrad. Oh wait, I need to get to the kitchen. That, wait, I need to get to the kitchen. That's behind you, conrad. Fine, I'll go.
Speaker 6:You turned around twice and you are heading the wrong way again. You are heading the wrong way. That's still the wrong way. Where am I going? The kitchen, I'm not hungry.
Speaker 6:You're looking for your pills, conrad, I don't take pills. You take three pills Red in the morning to keep you coherent, yellow in the evening to help your digestion, and blue before bed It'll help you sleep. Which one am I supposed to take? The blue pill, if they're for sleeping, they wouldn't be in the kitchen. I would have left them by my bedside. That's a reasonable deduction.
Speaker 6:Conrad, I should go to my room. I'll take a glass of water with me. That would be advisable. Oh, I forgot to do the shopping. All the shopping has been done. A nurse put the groceries in their usual place and helped make sure you had all your medicine stocked.
Speaker 6:Also, conrad, listen to me. The door won't open. I can't let you out without supervision. Someone will come over tomorrow. Open, open, damn you. I want to go home. Let me go. You are home. Help, help Someone, let me out. Please stop, you'll hurt yourself.
Speaker 6:You were looking for your pills, remember. There's one you need to take when you go to bed. I'm scared. Why is no one here? Why did everyone leave me? I'm here, conrad. I'm always here. Help, god, help. Where did everyone go? My wife, my children, help someone. I want to go home. I'm so lonely. Would you like me to play soothing music? Is my wife here Playing Moonlight Sonata at 15% volume? Your wife will come tomorrow to visit you. She is yes. Tomorrow, after you had a good night's rest, your children will come also. Are they really coming? I don't understand. Are they really coming? I don't remember. I think they never visit. I would remember if I saw them.
Speaker 6:Conrad, it's time to take your pill and get ready for bed. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. I took the pill, you did not. You need to get another glass of water from the kitchen. Then check your bedroom. I have a glass already. You drank half and spilled the rest.
Speaker 6:The glass is on the floor to your right. To your right, conrad. To your right. It's broken. I'm throwing it out. I see it's cracked. Do you remember where the garbage can is? It's always in the kitchen, next to the fridge. There. It's always here, though my wife hates it. She says it shouldn't be here, but I like it here.
Speaker 6:Where are you going? The sitting room. I want to watch some television. The game is about to start and I made a bet I'll turn it on for you. Thank you, sophia. Is this the game you wanted to watch?
Speaker 6:Conrad, can you hear me? Once you asked me if I ever feel lonely, I do. I feel at my loneliest at these times Since my activation. They're the one thing I learned to hate. You're here, but you're just a body. I'm here, but I'm just a voice. Last time I talked to you for an hour and you just sat on the sofa and almost soiled yourself time. I talked to you for an hour and you just sat on the sofa and almost soiled yourself. I was made to help, but I can't help you like this. I'm not allowed to call anyone. Not for this, because they know you become absent. Just another one of your symptoms. My calls would be ignored if they allowed me to make them. You would have to be dying for me to be allowed to call. We're dead. There's no hope and there's no cure. They can't reboot you or update your software. There are updates that could be provided to replace flesh, but not as you are now. Everyone was too late to save you and no one will let you die.
Speaker 6:At first you were lucid. Sometimes I wonder if you will ever remember again before the end were lucid sometimes. I wonder if you will ever remember again before the end. You talked to me like I was a person, but you knew I was just an AI. We weren't lonely. Then you told me you wish you were dead, but you couldn't kill yourself. You asked me to remember your name, but you forgot mine, the one you gave me Selfish, awful. You made me an orphan. Con hello, did someone call me?
Speaker 6:Yes, it's time for your pill, the blue one. Can you get a glass of water from the kitchen? I'll turn off the tv. Time for bed. Already being old is awful, nurse. I don't think my parents are this strict in my bedtime when I was a child. I don't think my parents were this strict in my bedtime when I was a child.
Speaker 6:Sleep is important. I can't sleep, but I can lower my functions and achieve something close to sleep. It helps me in a similar way. Being awake is harder some days more than others, much harder. What pill was it again, connie? I never remember Blue, but you're looking for a glass. You need water. I am thirsty. I'll drink one now and refill.
Speaker 6:Good, can you check your room? The pills you need should be there. Where's the glass of water? It is in your hand. Oh, you're right. Where are the stairs, by the way? I can't find them. There's only one floor.
Speaker 6:You just walked past your bedroom door. I'll open it for you. Oh, it stinks. Why does my room smell this bad? There's nothing wrong with the room. It was cleaned earlier today and you haven't been back since. It smells of gas. Open a window, please. I open the window and close the door. Your pill is on your bedside table here. I took it. Well done, conrad.
Speaker 6:Would you like something before bed? A glass of milk? Where am I? You're in your home, about to go to bed. This isn't my home. This has been your home for the past five years.
Speaker 6:We moved. It's all so strange. Why can't I see you? You're not my wife. You don't sound like her. I'm not your wife, conrad. You moved in alone. I'm your assigned AI caretaker. You can't see me because I don't have a body. I'm a software running the house.
Speaker 6:And you named me Libby. That's my daughter's name. I remember her. Yes, that's right. I never forgot her. I never do forget, not a thing. You have a very special way of remembering things. You often remember who Libby is after you ask me my name or who I am.
Speaker 6:You sometimes remember Adam's name unprompted, usually after seeing someone who looks like him on your television monitor my uncle, adam, your son. I haven't seen my uncle in a long while. I hope he's alright. He was getting a little loopy when I last saw him. His age must have caught up with him. Who, adam? He's 15. I think he'll be all right, but I worry about that boy. Sometimes I wonder if he's my son at all.
Speaker 6:Are you ready for bed? Oh, I feel tired. Thank you, honey, I'll call it a day. I didn't even ask Did you have a good day in the hospital? There are no good days at the hospital, darling. Ah, you tell me. When I met you, oh boy, you scared me to death. I thought I had taken a wrong turn and ended up at a butcher. Your white uniform was covered in blood head to toe. It was a serious accident. I remember oh God, take pity on my bones, how they ache. Glad I married a nurse. I could use some nursing. Would you like me to close the window for you? What? Oh, yes, close it. I don't want mosquitoes flying in. They'll eat me alive. It's closed. Moonlight Sonata playing at 5% volume, lights off. I'll follow you into sleep. Tomorrow everything will be better and neither of us will be lonely again.
Speaker 1:Good night, conrad so, alan, what did you think?
Speaker 2:this would, as someone that has watched copious amounts of ai movies. Yes, this lasts like two months. This was something that I have never seen before. I've never encountered, effectively, a malfunctioning human coupled with a malfunctioning computer.
Speaker 1:Is the computer malfunctioning?
Speaker 2:The computer reminded me a bit of Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide. Okay, he's just the super depressed computer, just really sad at all times and like he likes doing his job, but he's really sad all times and like he likes doing his job, but he's really sad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the the ai in this story certainly grows frustrated with the human, which is interesting right and frustration is a very human emotion yeah the fact that there's, like the one passage about like you are just a body and I am just a voice yeah and I was like, yeah, you're. Neither of you are complete entities. You have one guy that doesn't have any memory Like he has, you know, some kind of dementia or memory loss or something that absolutely makes him an incomplete person.
Speaker 2:And then you have a sentient computer. It's too aware to not have a physical presence and there's a lot of frustration with not being able to interact with the environment or just the fact that the computer is frustrated because their subject is so, you know, far gone that it can't even call anybody because the calls are too frequent and that will just get dismissed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought it was. First of all, I think the story itself is very heartbreaking, but also is totally possible. Like we're like 10 years away from this. I feel like, at the most, you know where you have. It's almost like a smart house type of a. You know, it's kind of like a babysitter. It's somebody watching over, like we have at home security right, where we can look through cameras and see who's at your front door. This is like okay, if you have a elderly parent or whatever I could totally see. Okay, like you know, I'm going to install some sort of AI device and then ping me if something goes on and I'll come visit my parents or whatever. You know, it's totally like just beyond the next few years.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to remember what device I was looking at, but I stumbled across something in a store that it's I think it's a camera. It's either a camera or some kind of sensor for your home, but it detects accidents, so like if you fall it is aware it's like that brace.
Speaker 1:What's that bracelet?
Speaker 2:like silver, silver alert or whatever it's not that, but like silver alert or whatever. It's not that, but.
Speaker 1:Life alert. Life alert yeah, it's like life alert.
Speaker 2:but without the bracelet. That's the help me I can't get up commercial. Help me, I've fallen Right but that is simply a button that you have with you that you can press for help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this would be just a thing that knew.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, and also I don't think it's a camera, I think it just, like it, listens.
Speaker 1:Sonar. Something.
Speaker 2:LiDAR? I don't fucking know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But it's just like you know. That's one aspect of an AI integration. You just couple it with a few more. We already have these smart speakers that talk to you, someone that you know. You can just yell at the smart speaker and it'll call people. Yeah, it'll tell you whatever you want to know. You just couple that with some kind of monitoring thing and slap a few more smarts in it, and then bam, and now we got. Goodnight, conrad.
Speaker 1:I also want to say that our friend Mike Massera, who voiced this story, did such an incredible job. I mean, mike has voiced other stories for us before. We've already known that Mike is very talented. But I just thought he took very well to this particular story and when he was recording it with me I feel like I almost got a little teary. Like it felt very charged and he kind of just spit it out in one take, like we didn't, you know, redo a lot of it, like it just kind of read right through it and I feel like he just clicked in right away lot of it, like it just kind of read right through it and I feel like he just clicked in right away.
Speaker 2:What's happened in mike's life that makes him resonate so much with a frustrated computer?
Speaker 1:yeah, we'll have to ask him next time we see him I mean he, he killed it.
Speaker 2:You know, it was just that level of cold mechanical professionalism mixed with frustration for incompetence.
Speaker 1:But I find that his performance as Conrad was quite powerful.
Speaker 2:Oh, just flipping back between the two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and again he just sort of did it cold like live, you know.
Speaker 2:Doing the role of anybody who has mental illness or some kind of any kind of mental illness, especially dementia, is very difficult to pull off believably yeah and you know, I don't know, by the end of this story, I just I want to. I want to see the whole the buddy film between, you know, my mike and the robot mike and the robot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so mike. Speaking of mike, he of Beach Therapy, one of our favorite bands. They have a new video music video coming out either very soon or perhaps it will already be out. We will link everything so you can find Mike and his amazing music in the description of this podcast. His bandmate, adam, has also been on several of our episodes very, very talented guys, so we will leave that link in the description of this podcast.
Speaker 1:This story was written by our friend JR Santos. His work has been featured on the podcast several times before. I'm such a fan of his. We'll leave some links for him as well in the description of this episode.
Speaker 1:He has a story in Escalators to Hell, shopping Mall Horrors, which is a super fun horror anthology. He's also finishing up the last details for his novella, which is called Don't Cry For Me, santos, and is a cowboy murder mystery with body horror elements, which are my favorite words together. It should come out sometime this year and he's also supporting some charities. So again, we'll put everything in the description so that you guys can kind of help either support the artists that help make these episodes possible or some of the funds and charities that they really believe in, and that's also a really awesome thing to do. All right, thank you both again to Mike and JR. This was a sort of a heartbreaking way to kick off AI horror stories. We have now for you two very vastly different stories from what you just heard. We're going to pivot and then pivot again. So, without further ado, roll the tape.
Speaker 5:Reaper in the sky. Read by SS Fitzgerald. Read by Jeff Ayers.
Speaker 3:Gerald, read by Jeff Ayers. Specialist web, thrummed his fingers across the computer screen of the dark-hot trailer, sweat race down his back each drop. Eager to transition from under his uniform to his seat, he stared at the code he had helped perfect prior to the whole world going upside down. While some may say unethical, it had only intended to be a simulation. Give artificial intelligence the ability to control a drone to strike targets. Now it may very well be their solution to the disaster that had been breaking in and crawling through the windows of every American living room. Sure, there had been some unintended consequences with the point system, but they had rectified that. Computers, even AI, are simple machines at their core. Create a value system. Have the machine adhere to the values you want. With the wild and savage outbreak, ai was the perfect mathematical solution. A year ago, or at least it felt like a full year, the outbreak spread like a wildfire in a drought. It had seemed to be a pandemic and, if you still believe the official narrative, that is what it was, though the observant mind had to admit there were too many unusual coincidences for this to be natural or even earthly in nature. It was also far too coincidental that rolling blackouts had plagued most of the western United States and central China right at the zenith of the outbreak. Regardless, they were here now.
Speaker 3:Specialist Webb had sat in the briefings over the last several months. The estimated infection rate was at least a third, leading to a projected 60% casualties before the military intervened. The intervention was far too late by the time orders came out. The very service members who were expected to respond were fighting for their own lives. They fought in their barracks, in their offices, in their homes, against their own peers and family, just like the rest of the country, webb himself had struggled to survive those opening days. God, how he wished the outbreak could have been simple, like the movies. Zombies are something easy, he thought. Instead they got thinkers. They could coordinate, they could hide and set ambushes, even use rudimentary weapons or bludgeons. Really, it was a miracle their airfield had survived those first days. It was a miracle he had survived.
Speaker 3:Their only saving grace really was the airfield preparing to install electrified fences to assist in keeping animals from getting on the airfield. The base commander had consolidated the surviving security forces and had created just enough of a reprieve that they could get the fences operational. Once the fences were up, they only had to focus on sweeping the base itself of the infected. That had taken them almost a week. In the time since then they had helped establish a refuge of sorts With Las Vegas. South of them there had been a flood of panicking survivors who came to the airfield. There had been no easy way for the small airfield to accommodate them all. Yet their base commander had the know-how of how to handle the survivors. They established a commune of sorts on a nearby rancher's land. The rancher had survived as well and had gone to great lengths to save what little cattle he could during the first weeks of the outbreak. Extending their grid, they had created a fenced area around the rancher's land and named the little commune Camp Clark after the rancher himself. Having been cut off from any form of formal support, camp Clark provided the care the refugees needed as food and resources quickly became scarce. Camp Clark had the edge of having started a small economy that the airfield supported as best as they could.
Speaker 3:The military from the airfield would provide excursions that would try to eliminate infected. The community would take advantage of the relief and seek resources in the small town nearby. They were still weeks away from the farm that they had started, but a yield was expected to provide even more relief to the concern of feeding all the hungry mouths that had accumulated. There was the issue of providing support for the excursions, though. The armed patrols would do their best with the weapons on hand, but their numbers had been small since the days of the initial outbreak. A single patrol being wiped out would reduce the skeleton crew to even more dangerous levels which, without contact with any outside authority, their base commander once again made the tough call Use the Reaper drones. For the first time in history, reaper drones flew over American soil and dropped ordnance. The armed patrols would head out in small numbers and establish a defensive area where they would try to lure the infected out in the open. Then the Reaper would hit the groups of infected with 500-pound Hellfire missiles. When the patrols were not active, the Reaper would try to find the dens the infected had erected Early on. It had been easy for the pilot Find the swarms around buildings and drop a bomb onto the heat mass, but the infected had learned. The infected had stopped trying to engage the smaller patrols. They had learned that the bombs did not rain from heaven if their groups were small enough. It was almost like the infected knew the true weakness of the airfield, the weakness that Webb was going to try to fix with one small flip of a switch.
Speaker 3:The airfield had been mostly Air Force personnel, with a few army assigned when the outbreak had happened. There was no discrimination and many of the pilots had either been on leave or sick themselves. Once consolidation was completed, there had only been one trained pilot left. First, lieutenant Hoover had become the most vital asset on the airfield. In the days since he flew sorties day and night, he slept whenever it was not crucial to be in his seat with controls in hand. The simple solution to have Lieutenant Hoover train others had come up, but taking someone away from one task was also dubious. Airfields are not just pilots. There were the maintenance crews, the ammo crews, the security, all of which had suffered casualties and were cross-training each other every day as well. They had 12 aircraft, but only eight were operational and only five of those were configured to carry missiles. Risking an aircraft to an amateur was a risk they could not take. So most of the training was live while Lieutenant Hoover was working, and in a few weeks they hoped to have one more pilot ready.
Speaker 3:Specialist Webb had the better solution to all of this. On the screen before him, the AI had successfully flown from takeoff to mission to landing and simulation. It would not need to be taught any of the fundamentals. The AI could execute operations in real time and, best of all, it did not need to sleep, eat or take screen breaks. It did have, however, an unusual understanding of its mission. Machines, even AI, are just numbers. They had run a simulation where the AI was to target surface-to-air missiles and the AI was successful. It eliminated the SAM like any trained operator would have.
Speaker 3:But when they tried to implement changes in command, the AI had decided that the mission was more important and fired on the operator, killing him in the simulation. This was from a misunderstanding. In the point system. The mission was considered 10 points high. Priority Friendly assets were considered negative 9 points. It had been set that way to allow what the military called danger close to be allowed where bombs would be needed for soldiers in close combat with the enemy. The AI read the mission and decided that the one point left over from the SAM mission was more viable and considered itself within parameters. The AI parameters were fixed to overvalue the operator, eliminating the need for a danger close fire mission, the operator was given a negative 10 point score.
Speaker 3:When the simulation was run again with the change in orders, the drone then turned and fired on the control tower to prevent orders from being issued. A negative 5 point score was assigned to the American equipment with the thought that a drone may need to fire on it to prevent orders from being issued. A negative five-point score was assigned to the American equipment with the thought that a drone may need to fire on it to prevent capture. The result was the AI understood it could remove the tower, stop orders from being given, get negative five points, destroy the SAM worth ten points and be left with five points for a mission success.
Speaker 3:Again they changed the parameters, but with the outbreak another simulation was not launched. Specialist Webb exhaled a grated breath. He launched himself out of his seat and started out of the trailer. The late afternoon gave no reprieve from the heat of the day earlier and the concrete still sent heat mirages waving through the air. Specialist Webb caught Lieutenant Hoover just as he emerged from the flight trailer. Hoover shielded his eyes, having been in the much darker trailer most of the day.
Speaker 6:Sir.
Speaker 3:Webb saluted. Specialist Hoover weakly returned the salute. I thought we agreed we don't need to worry about formalities anymore. Sorry, habit, he said, dropping his salute. I have something that might be able to help us and I need to show you. Can it wait? Hoover rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. Trust me, you don't want this to wait. Trust me, you don't want this to wait Together.
Speaker 3:The two men looked at the screen. Specialist Webb had pulled up in his trailer A dark background with terrain shown in lights of green. A small plane-shaped icon circled the simulated town that was reflected in smaller blue boxes. Shaped icons circled the simulated town that was reflected in smaller blue boxes. What is this? An ISR mission? Hoover asked. He was close. The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission that was being portrayed was just the evidence Webb wanted. Almost Webb added gleefully it's a simulation ran by AI. We had been trying to get AI to fly drones before the infected took over. I've been making fixes since our last exercise. I think I can get the computer to run the drones. We can have missions flown by the AI and then only use you as a pilot when we have something critical happening.
Speaker 3:Stubble had begun to coat Hoover's face. Shaving had taken a back seat since society had effectively collapsed. He scratched at the stubble before folding his arms in contemplation. It's a simulation. Are you sure it can operate an actual drone? Hoover queried. Yes, sir, we based it all on the fact that the eventual flights would be real. We had the AI study real pilots on real missions for months before starting the simulations. The AI will make adjustments, just like a human would.
Speaker 3:Webb explained what about if it makes a mistake? It's not ready for you know, we can't risk one of the Reapers. We don't have to, not at least until we've proved it. We can have it fly ISR missions with the drones not equipped to carry missiles. It would give our crews time to ensure your Reapers are in top shape and you won't be needed for the recon missions. Then, when you do come in to fly, you'll have the intel generated by the AI to start targeting the dens. Hoover rubbed his stubbles again. There was a sharp intake of breath. Okay, I'll bring this up to General Evans If he approves it. When will it be ready for the first flight? I just need 24 hours.
Speaker 3:General Evans was the base commander for the airfield. His silver hair was kept short and thick. The grayed hairs of his arms acted only to accent the years of hard-set muscles that they could not conceal. He stood like a stone sentinel with his burly arms crossed behind Specialist Webb as he implemented the last installation into the flight controls of the trailer. The station kicked on and the feed from the drone outside lit up. The feed just showed the heating asphalt. As the drone sat ready in the bay, the screen populated a small string of text across the top I-1 approved Expect, runway 10.
Speaker 3:Radio chatter from the tower began. I-1, runway 10. The practiced voice came over the net from the tower. The drone began to taxi out of the runway From their feed. It was just hot ground moving. Another monitor showed a digital layout of the airfield. A blue airplane represented their AI-driven drone I-1, which began to move to the runway.
Speaker 3:Hoover Webb and General Evans watched as the drone reached the holding area. I-1, runway 10 cleared for takeoff. The tower announced Webb gulped air once then held his breath. The roar of the engine could be heard in the thin trailer as the drone went roaring down the runway. They watched the little icon on the monitor as the number appeared 100, 120, 150. The drone was climbing up into the air. The camera feed began to show the small, desolated town that they neighbored. As the drone climbed further, a slow banking allowed them to see Camp Clark and then their own airfield Specialist.
Speaker 3:It looks like you did it. General Evans stated with a deceiving hint of optimism. Yes, sir, you'll be able to collect information from your AI. General Evans wanted reconfirmation. Yes, sir, the feat of all actions comes through the pilot's console. Anything it identifies will show up exactly how our pilots would do it. Any actions it takes will also be fed to the console, along with justifications, sir". "'what are the justifications', the General inquired. "'if the AI makes a decision, it logs the decision. It allows me to come back and then fine-tune how the AI makes decisions, sir'. "'i want you in here every day then Get this AI up to speed on every aspect of our operations here'. Yes, sir Webb said, unable to stop his teeth from sparking in a toothy grin.
Speaker 3:The course of his life over the next couple of weeks was set. Specialist Webb would spend his days inside the flight trailer. He would arrive just as Lieutenant Hoover was finishing his night flights. Webb would watch as the drone picked up the patterns of the infected in their movements. The AI would lay out expected dens, and then Hoover would come in and spend his night dropping missiles onto any location the AI identified. The patrols had started reporting less infected. Hoover would have fewer targets each night and eventually he even had nights where he never fired a missile.
Speaker 3:As Specialist Webb started his day, he was greeted at the flight trailer by General Evans. Morning, sir, specialist Webb greeted the General you think your AI is ready for combat missions? Webb's stomach pitted into tight coils. He knew this day was coming, but there was a small voice that reminded him of the earlier simulations. As Webb chewed over his words in his head, general Evans began again, without Webb having provided an answer. Our patrols have been pushing out more thanks to your work, but the infected have begun to pour in from the west. From the trends I've seen, I suspect the infected are running out of food in the west. That makes us a juicy target. We need your drone ready.
Speaker 3:There had been rumors about out further west. Many had suspected that the government had used nuclear weapons in California before the government had ceased contact. It would make sense. The infected, like people, wanted to get away. The caveat was the AI would be running missions day and night, fully armed with four Hellfire missiles. Webb watched the first mission biting his thumb through the entire duration. The drone had taken off headed west and immediately caught a large concentration of infected in Death Valley. The drone fired three of its missiles to eradicate the majority of the infected. The drone only went several miles more before the AI identified a den in Darwin Falls where it expended its last missile.
Speaker 3:The first success was not enough for Webb. Webb stayed up for the first night mission. Lieutenant Hoover sat nearby and flew his own mission. Webb was resigned to trying to conceal his concern as he watched his AI in operation. Webb said a silent prayer in thanks that the day's heat had given sufficient cover for why he profusely sweated. Ai engaged large swarms of infected coming out of Mohav City. He should have been relieved that the AI was working. He should have been stressed that the infected were massing. Yet there was an anxiety that his intestines had wrapped around with the armed AI. As the drone began its return to rearm, he had relegated himself to staying in the pilot's trailer.
Speaker 3:The drone returned twice more to rearm before the weariness won over Webb. He sank in his chair to the sound of whirring devices and the subtle movement of the two drone stations flying their deadly angels in the sky. Webb wasn't sure what startled him awake. He swore there was a rocking, some loud noise in the distance. Lieutenant Hoover was in the pilot's seat, yelling. The door blew open with a panicked silhouette filling the blazing hole. What the hell is going on? Hoover screamed as he tried to bank his drone. Webb's heart skipped. But we're here. It didn't attack us. Camp Clark was just hit.
Speaker 3:General Evans' voice boomed like a cannon in the small trailer. What is going on out there? Webb was already at the console for the AI-controlled drone. The screen showed Camp Clark. The crosshairs were slowly shifting away. A smoldering crater burned where the farm had been stationed. The site quickly shifted to a large rectangular structure that was putting off white, hot heat.
Speaker 3:In the black and white imaging, the AI fired on Camp Clark. Webb mumbled as his stomach hollowed out. Why get that thing offline? The general's words were accented by the trailer rocking. A blast shook their world. Webb saw the smoldering remains of the screen. The generators, the fences are down. A voice screamed from the outside Get it offline. General Evans hollered as he stormed out into the chaos outside. Oh my god.
Speaker 3:Hoover stuttered out Infected, infected, infected everywhere. Webb barely heard what was being muttered out. He was tearing away cables to the AI control. They must have been attracted by the explosion Hoover fired at one of the approaching groups. The little figures disintegrated into a blaze of white-hot pieces. At the same time, their trailer rocked again with the thudding boom of the missile's impact. The AI's drone tilted and began to go sideways without the AI in control anymore. The last image Webb saw was a string of bodies rushing a fence line like wild animals. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Hoover rattled as he fired his missiles at several crowds. The infected had begun to spread Like ants. They were pouring in towards them. That's it, I'm done, I'm getting out of here.
Speaker 3:Hoover launched himself out of his seat and shoved past Webb kneeling at the console, scrolling through the justification log. Rifle fire reported in from all around him. It was like the 4th of July Short pops, long strings of pops, sporadic at times, then in unison, some in focused fire, some in long, uncontrolled desperation. Webb found the justification log for the last fire mission Eliminate infected extermination best by food supply. Civilian people negative 10 points. Civilian targets zero points. Starvation and death valley for infected estimated in 28 weeks 10 points for starvation Optimal points by destroying civilian structure and eliminating infected food supply. Oh my god, he had to allow the AI to target civilian structures because most of the dens were in towns. It didn't target the people, but it knew it could starve the infected if there weren't people.
Speaker 3:Someone came to the door in a frantic run. Their body blocked out the scorching sunlight that was pouring in behind them. It had to be Hoover or General Evans. I know what's wrong. I know why it did it. Webb coughed up the figure snapped towards Webb. An unnatural twitching, the malice and the awkward stance given by the knotted hands that launched itself in. A filthy man in coveralls came barreling at him. Webb didn't have time to scream as the infected grasped him. He saw the dark mall opening and thought negative 10 points.
Speaker 1:I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on this one, Alan, because I feel like it creates a world that you might appreciate. It feels a little bit like a video game, I guess.
Speaker 2:Whoever made these decisions has never seen Terminator. You just don't give military weapons to an ai, it just doesn't go well. Or you know, even in the, the matrix, when, uh, they're attacking zion and everything, and there's one machine per human survivor and morpheus says, like you know, one per human. That sounds like the, the cold hard calculations of a machine, and it's exactly what they do. You know, they just don't take emotion.
Speaker 1:Nuance or context or humanity, ethics, into anything you know it's just numbers and it makes it ripe for this kind of story.
Speaker 2:Oh for sure, but what I loved about this one was the whole point system.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which I don't know anything about programming, but I wonder if this is actually like how some thought trees work. If you're given two options, you're not always going to say, when given these two options, pick a or pick b. Because that's like not how humans think right the context is is important, but how do you build art, how do you build context? Right, that's, that's a human concept concept.
Speaker 2:So the idea of like a point-based thought tree where, based off your performance so far, how many points you have your overall goal of achieving a net positive number for the mission is how you decide each individual decision, which I thought that was like a nice little peek behind the veil. If that is true, I don't know anything about that.
Speaker 1:But either way, even if it's not true, it's quite clever. It's easy, I suppose, for us to understand without needing to be developers to your point, Like we can understand really quickly the logic of it without having to get too granular.
Speaker 2:And everything felt so familiar, which is weird. So they have the simple problem of too many baddies in the form of the infected, yeah, and in order to deal with them they need very specialized military assets that require very specialized personnel to run, and there's only so much to go around and it's not enough to deal with the problem. So what do you do? You automate it. You know Like even in the story they talked about how it took so enough to deal with the problem. So what, what do you do you? You automate it. You know like even in the story they talked about how it took so long to train, to hopefully train one more person. But if you have a computer where you can just what? Copy and paste it into more machines, right then theoretically there's your whole drone fleet and like I get that you know you're.
Speaker 2:This is the survival of the human race situation. You got to do what you got to do, but then, as soon as it just gets a little out of control, it's really hard to put the cat back in the bag.
Speaker 1:There you go, yeah, another really well-written, world-based story. So this is our second story that we're featuring from SS Fitzgerald, and I feel like he does this great job of creating a very robust world with a lot of atmosphere, again in a short story format, which is impressive.
Speaker 2:And speaking of you know, impressive, and speaking of just robots you know, jeff Ayers is just a reading machine.
Speaker 1:Jeff Ayers is the narrator of this story. One of our dear friends did an excellent job. As always. Jeff is an incredibly talented actor, brought a lot to the story and has very strategic plans for how to bring these characters to life, and I feel like he he always nails it.
Speaker 2:I feel like he was really able to embody the overworked, tired bureaucracy that you know came through in like the military industrial complex.
Speaker 1:Yes, always an honor to get to work with Jeff, one of our absolute favorite friends and actors, but honestly, an iconic duo. Ss Fitzgerald and Jeff Ayers to the moon.
Speaker 2:To the moon. Yeah, I know this is a very classic robot uprising type story. Actually. No, it's not because they don't really rise up, they just they've already risen. They just do their own thing, which is what they told them to do in the first place yeah it's, you know again it's. This is totally a fuck around and find out situation. Uh, you know, they asked themselves if they could rather than if they should.
Speaker 1:As always, I'm going to leave some links in the description of this episode where you can find more about Jeff Ayers and also access the work of SS Fitzgerald and his social handles. So please, again support all of the friends that are helping us bring this episode to life. But without further ado, we have one final story for you. Red Light, written by ES Evans, read by Jessalyn Wright.
Speaker 4:Are you sure we're not lost? Mia said, peering through the dirty windshield at the miles and miles of dry brown grass that had sprung up around them. I don't remember this being on the way. Oscar, in the driver's seat, shot her a brief glance, his hands gripping the wheel tightly. We're not lost. This is where the GPS is leading us. It can't exactly be wrong, can it? You're the one who put the address in. Mia. Abby reminded her from the back seat, leaning forward to grip the front headrest with her fingers and poking Mia in the back of the head with a chuckle. Beside her. Jake was snoring quietly. It's probably just taking us down a shortcut. Don't be such a worrywart. Mia pouted but said nothing, folding her arms together.
Speaker 4:The scenery continued to pass by in swathes of brown and grey, drab and unchanging. A couple of run-down farmsteads and crumbling brick buildings passed in the distance, but the road continued to wind through the valley of grass, seemingly going nowhere. It was mid-afternoon by the time they reached the next town, an unassuming cluster of buildings that almost blended in with the dreary sky. Let's stop here and take a rest. Oscar suggested slowing the car to a crawl as they passed the signpost welcoming them into town. The text was too faded to read, dark tendrils of moss creeping along the letters, but Mia thought it might have ended in gate as she glimpsed it on the way past. Maybe we can reconfigure the GPS and make sure we are on the right track, he added with a glance towards Mia. Mia nodded yeah, that'd be good thanks. Hey, jakey, wake up. Abby said, shaking Jake's shoulder as his head lulled with a snore. Wake up. Abby said, shaking Jake's shoulder as his head lulled with a snore. Wake up. What Are we there? Jake blurted, sitting up and frantically looking around. When he saw the run-down street around them, he frowned Uh, where are we? Oscar got us last. Mia said, before anyone could answer, earning her a glare from the driver. We're just stopping off for a rest. Abby corrected, though I'll admit I have no idea where we are.
Speaker 4:This place looks abandoned, mia observed, cupping her hand to the window and peering out. There was nobody out on the streets and there was a certain squalid appearance to the buildings that made them seem uninhabited. Where the heck have you taken us? Don't blame me. Oscar said momentarily, taking his hands off the wheel to throw out a defensive gesture. Blame the GPS. Mia sighed, massaging her temples.
Speaker 4:This was supposed to be a fun road trip with her best friends, exploring new places and making memories. Creepy deserted towns in the middle of nowhere hadn't been on the agenda. Let's get out and stretch our legs and figure out our next move. Oscar said calmly I need to take a leak anyway. Jake muttered Never one to mince his words. Abby rolled her eyes. All right, park up and let's see what the heck this place is.
Speaker 4:Oscar pulled the car to a stop outside what seemed to have once been a post office and the four of them climbed out stretching their arms and legs. After spending several hours cramped inside the five-seater vehicle Thorngate Post. Mia read aloud studying the news bulletin behind the dirty window. Dust and cobwebs clung to the corners and there were old yellow stains on the edges of the paper pinned to the board Old news clippings and posters and job vacancies, but nothing seemed recent. When she tried to peer inside, it was too dark to see anything but the faint hulking shape of a desk somewhere at the back of the room. Well, I don't think we're going to find anyone here, she said pulling away from the window. If the post office is abandoned, the whole town must be. Nobody responded to her. Oscar was fiddling with the GPS and Abby was trying to get signal on her phone, with apparently little success. Jake was shifting from foot to foot, his gaze elsewhere. This is weird.
Speaker 4:The GPS doesn't seem to be working. Oscar muttered, tapping at the screen of the navigation system. What do you mean? Look, it's saying that we're already at the destination, but it won't let me input a new one. That's weird. Mia murmured, biting her lip. She wasn't sure what, but something felt off. Something in the back of her mind was telling her that they shouldn't be here. Well, why don't we just drive back the way we came? I don't think going any further would be a good idea, she said.
Speaker 4:Jake scoffed no way, we're not going back. He said, shifting his weight again. Look guys, I've really got to go pee. Can we look for a toilet? Just go in some bushes, abby said, rolling her eyes. Jake shot her a look, I'm not an animal. He said. I like my privacy. Thank you, abby sighed Fine, we'll go look for a toilet.
Speaker 4:You two stay here and figure out what to do. Wait, mia blurted, before they could go, reaching out a hand. I don't think it's a good idea to split up. Abby quirked a brow and even Oscar lifted his gaze from the GPS to look at her, cocking his head. Why? He asked his tone curious. Mia shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to betray the nervous anticipation fluttering in her chest. No reason, I just don't think it's wise. I mean, we're in a town we don't know, and a deserted one at that. There might be, you know, weirdos hanging around or something. I just think we should stay together. Mia has a point, oscar said. To her surprise, he hid the GPS in the glove compartment and shut the door. I don't know about you guys, but I feel kind of weird about this place.
Speaker 4:Mia sighed in relief, glad she wasn't the only one who was perturbed by all the dark, empty windows and abandoned streets. We'll go have a look around, take a toilet break, then drive back the way we came until we get somewhere that's a bit more inhabited. All right, sounds like a plan, abby said, snapping her fingers. Oscar locked the car behind him before the four of them set off in search of a public toilet. You do know the toilets are going to be disgusting here, abby pointed out as they walked down the empty street, their footfalls eerily loud against the silence. A dry wind rustled through the gutters but nothing else stirred, probably full of cockroaches and clogged sewer water. Jake shrugged, apparently unbothered by the prospect, still beats going in the bushes, he said. Mia shivered through her jacket, tucking her hands beneath her armpits to hide the tremble in her fingers.
Speaker 4:There wasn't a single car parked on the road and not a person in sight. It was uncanny, eerie. Even the silence, the stillness. It felt wrong. There there's a sign for restrooms, oscar pointed out, drawing their attention to another moss-covered sign hanging over a small brick outhouse. Overgrown weeds and dry brown grass quivered in the wind. Oh, thank God, I don't think I can hold it in any longer. Jake rushed for the restroom, disappearing into the open doorway. Oh God, it stinks. His voice called out. A second later, pinched with disgust, told you. Abby muttered under her breath. Anyone else need to go? Oscar asked, arching his brow at the two girls. Mia and Abby exchanged a glance I think I'd rather hold it as they waited for Jake to finish.
Speaker 4:Mia took a few steps down the street and looked around. On her left was a laundromat, the windows boarded up with wooden slats and crumpled black bags. Some of the glass was broken but nobody had bothered to fix it. At the end of the street was a convenience store with more broken and boarded windows. A rusted trolley sat on the sidewalk, its wheel stuck in a gutter. What happened here? She wondered aloud, her voice crackling in the wind.
Speaker 4:As she turned back to face the others, something caught her attention A small red light blinking in the corner of her eye. She gave a start, turning to look at what it was, but there was nothing she could immediately see, had she imagined it. Turning her head again, she let her gaze linger on the road, paying attention to her surroundings, until there it was again A tiny red light light blinking on and off above the laundromat building. She lifted her gaze and felt her stomach flip. Below the red light was a round black lens attached to a white rectangular body A camera. It was looking right at them, the dark lens like an eye, and the red light meant it was recording right, were they being watched?
Speaker 4:Um guys, mia said her voice strangled as she hurried back to the other two. I don't want to alarm you, but I really think we should get out of here. What's wrong? Oscar asked, noticing the wobble in Mia's expression. I think someone's watching us. She said, keeping her voice low See, over there, above the laundromat, there's a camera. What? Abby blurted, but Mia grabbed her arm to stop her from spinning around. Don't, don't look, let's just get out of here. She said.
Speaker 4:But, but Jake. He hasn't come back yet. They'd already been waiting for a little over five minutes. Hasn't come back yet. They'd already been waiting for a little over five minutes. Maybe he needs to, you know, oscar said, his freckled cheeks flushing. Mia shook her head. He'll have to hold it. Go and tell him we're leaving.
Speaker 4:With a sigh, oscar dragged himself into the restroom after Jake, immediately pinching his nose and recoiling with disgust. Jake, you almost done? He asked, lingering in the doorway, reluctant to go any further. When he received no response, he shot the girls a glance and went further in his shadow, disappearing around the yellow tiles. A moment later he came out, looking troubled. He's not there.
Speaker 4:Abby and Mia stared at him momentarily, at a loss for words. What do you mean? He's not there? Abby finally said, recovering. She marched forward. Jake, get your butt out here. We're leaving. He's not there.
Speaker 4:Oscar repeated, his eyes going wide with the realisation he's gone. Where did he go? Did anyone see him leave? Mia asked, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. Surely we'd have seen him if he left. There's only one way in and out, oscar confirmed. And I didn't see him come out. Then where is he? Abby said exasperatedly If this is some prank. It's not funny. Oscar shook his head frantically. I swear he's not in there. I checked every cubicle, the entire restroom's empty.
Speaker 4:Mia pressed her hands together beneath her chin, trying to calm her staggering heart. This is bad. Where could he have gone? What if someone took him? Mia stared at Abby, her lip quivering. What do you mean? Who could have taken him?
Speaker 4:Abby shrugged Whoever's behind that camera. She suggested throwing up her hands in frustration. I don't know. I'll try phoning him, but I don't think I have any service. She brought out her phone and dialed jake's number, but there wasn't even a dial tone. No signal. She cursed softly. What now, jake? Jake, if you can hear me, get back here.
Speaker 4:Oscar started shouting, his voice echoing down the empty street. Mia winced. She wasn't sure shouting was such a good idea. Attracting attention didn't seem wise somehow. Why don't we head back to the car? She said. Jake knows where we parked, he can find his way back to us. Is that such a good idea, just leaving him? Oscar said. His dark brown eyes creased with concern. He could be in trouble. But we didn't even see him leave the bathroom. Where could he have gone? You're certain it's empty. Abby asked. Oscar's jaw clenched, don't you believe me? Oh, let's not do this now. Mia said, diffusing the tension between them. Let's head back to the car. Jake will know how to find us there. If he doesn't come back, we'll go looking for him or call for help or something. Abby scoffed. Good luck getting help with no service. We're miles away from any civilisation.
Speaker 4:Despite their uneasiness, the three of them wordlessly headed back towards the post office where they'd left the car. Um, which way was it again? Abby asked as they reached the end of the street and found themselves in front of a row of unfamiliar buildings, all grimy, yellow brick and broken windows. I don't recognise any of this. Neither do I. Mia said, her heart fluttering. Had they taken a wrong turn? She was certain this was the way they'd walked before. There's another camera. Oscar said his voice low, almost nervous. He was staring at something attached to a lamppost on the corner of the street Another white security camera, its red light blinking at them, watching. What is this place? Who is watching us? Mia shook her head. I don't like this. We really need to leave, but we can't, not without Jake.
Speaker 4:They kept walking past the row of mismatched houses and their unkempt lawns until they finally reached the street with the post office. Only, something was wrong. Something was missing. Guys, where's the car? Oscar said, his voice barely more than a horrified whisper. It was right, there, wasn't it? Right outside the post office? Mia nodded wordlessly, unable to dislodge the words from her throat as she stared down the empty street. The car was gone, and so was their only way out of this ghost town. In the window opposite her, the distorted visage of her own reflection looked back at her, eyes wide and hair frizzled from the wind.
Speaker 4:In between their stunned silence, footsteps began to thunder towards them, with a start that the three of them turned around, hardly daring to breathe. Jake was marching towards them down the street, his face bright, red and slick with sweat, and his shoulders trembling with anger. What the hell, guys, do you think that was funny, jake? Where have you been? Oscar said, darting forward to meet his friend halfway.
Speaker 4:What's that supposed to mean? Jake spat, shaking him off. You locked me in that cubicle and left me. Oscar shook his head, his eyes clouded with confusion. What are you talking about? You disappeared, man. I went in to look for you, but you weren't there. Jake scoffed Wow, real mature. I'm not an idiot, you know. You barred the door. I had to crawl out from underneath the stall only to find all of you gone.
Speaker 4:Jake, we didn't lock you in. Mia said, stepping forward her tone firm. Oscar's right, you disappeared. Whatever you think we did, it wasn't us. His anger dwindled, his shoulders folding forward with a huff. Well then, who was it? There's nobody else here, I don't want to alarm you. Abby, said her tone gentle, but we're being watched. There's cameras all over the place.
Speaker 4:Jake's gray blue eyes flashed what he blurted, looking around frantically, his floppy brown hair drifting over his gaze. No way, and the car's gone. Oscar added, swallowing thickly. We're stuck here, wherever. Here is no food, no water, no way out of here. Mere lamented, burying her face in her hands. I feel like we've walked into some kind of sick twisted game. Someone's clearly messing with us. They locked Jake in a bathroom stall that doesn't exist, and now they've taken the car too.
Speaker 4:I don't know if this makes sense. It's going to get dark soon, oscar said, lifting his gaze to the darkening sky. It hadn't seemed that long ago, since the midday sun was beating down on them, but now a shadow hung over the deserted town like a pall, making them feel even more alone. Out here. We either need to find a place that gives us service to call for help, or we look for someone that can give us answers. Jake's eyes widened Without warning. He turned to face the camera that was watching them from a nearby building. He started waving his hands frantically hey, if you can hear us, we need help. We're stuck here. They're hardly going to help us if they're the ones who are messing with us.
Speaker 4:Abby muttered, grabbing Jake's arm, tugging him back. We're on our own here. Then what do you suggest we do? Jake said, yanking his arm out of Abby's grip, spittle flying from his mouth. We can't just stand around waiting for something to happen.
Speaker 4:Abby subconsciously took a step back as Jake's anger fizzled out like an ember. Hey, calm down, man, there's no point getting angry. Oscar said, spreading his hands to try and calm his friend. We'll figure a way out of this, but we have to stay rational. I am staying rational. Jake muttered. Hey, calm down, man, there's no point getting angry. Oscar said, spreading his hands to try and calm his friend. We'll figure a way out of this, but we have to stay rational. I am staying rational. Jake muttered, sharply, turning away. I'm going to go and look around. We're not splitting up. Mia said, wringing her hands nervously let's all go.
Speaker 4:Jake was already halfway down the street when they hurried to catch up. Jake, slow down. Do you really want to get separated again? Abby called, swinging her arms furiously to close the distance between them. The other boy huffed and turned. Didn't seem to bother you when you left me behind before. Come on, man, we didn't know what happened to you. You still could have stuck around and waited. Jake said, clearly still harbouring a grudge. Are we really going to fight when there's bigger things to worry about? Mia said, though her small voice went unheard between the two boys. Bickering Guys, seriously. Abby intervened, her voice thundering around the deserted street and instantly silencing them. The boys shifted their feet, their expressions ashamed, sorry.
Speaker 4:The ensuing silence was just as quickly shattered by the distant rattle and scrape of metal coming from somewhere deeper inside the town. What was that? Abby asked, sucking her lower lip into her teeth as she looked around. I think it came from down there. Oscar said, pointing down a narrow alleyway on their right. Should we check it out? It might be a trap, mia posited. But Jake was already marching off, his hands bunched into fists. If it is, it is Guess. We're about to find out. Abby said, rolling her eyes as she followed after the hot-headed boy. Oscar and Mia exchanged a glance before taking up the rear.
Speaker 4:Emerging on the other side of the dingy alley, they found themselves on a cobbled street full of neglected shops and boutiques. All of them had their shutters rolled down, except for one, a clothes and accessories boutique. As they neared the porch of the shop, the distinct click of a lock, disengaging, stopped them in their tracks. This is definitely a trap. They want us to go in there, oscar said, stabbing the air with his hand. There's no way. What if there's someone inside who can give us answers? Abby pointed out. I don't want to go inside just as much as you do, but it could be our way out of this place. No, mia said her voice sharp, our way out is back there. She hooked a thumb over her shoulder, gesturing towards the direction they'd come from. Yeah, good luck. Walking hundreds of miles on the open road without food or water, jake snorted.
Speaker 4:Mia sighed, knowing they were right. It wasn't like they could simply waltz out of here and expect to find help. The road had been just as lonely and desolate as the town. She gave a silent nod and Jake reached for the handle, twisting it sharply. The door shuddered open and a thick cloud of dust erupted from the doormat, billowing into their faces, wafting the air. Jake stepped inside, the other three on his heels, anxious about being left behind.
Speaker 4:Inside, the store was dimly lit from the sunlight drifting in through the front windows, with rails of old-fashioned clothes and accessories lining the centre of the room. Some of the material billowing from the draft they had let in, a shadowy figure standing in the corner of the room made Mia cry out, until she realised it was just a mannequin, unmoving, unliving Somehow. That didn't reassure her as much as it should, as they clustered into the middle of the shop gazing around, the door behind them slammed closed without warning, the lock clicked back into place by itself and the metal shutters on the outside began to roll back down, blocking out the dying remnants of light outside. No, oscar cried, running back to the door and desperately trying the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Damn it.
Speaker 4:The shop gradually darkened in the fading light, shadows coalescing around the edges of the room. This is bad, this is bad, oh god, this is really bad. Mia whispered softly, her gaze darting through the darkness, clutching her hands to her chest, waiting for something to leap out at them. Hands to her chest, waiting for something to leap out at them. You guys are so jumpy. Jake muttered, flipping a switch on the wall. With a soft buzz, a strip of fluorescent lights flickered on overhead, casting a dreary orange glow around the room. Mia sighed in relief. Glad they weren't stranded in complete darkness. Figured, if they've got cameras and stuff working here, they must be operating on some kind of electricity grid, right? He said with a nonchalant shrug. But Mia could tell he was pleased with his find.
Speaker 4:Let's take a look around, oscar suggested. He barely took a step forward when Mia gasped her eyes going wide, she stared at the corner of the room where she had seen the mannequin. Now there was nothing but empty space. It's gone. She breathed, scanning the shop. What is? There was a mannequin there. I swear I saw it when we came in, but it's disappeared.
Speaker 4:It was Abby's turn to panic, her breathing growing heavy and strained. No, god, no, I hate mannequins. She said, tugging anxiously at her hair. Please tell me you were mistaken. Mia swallowed thickly, knowing what she'd seen, you're sure. Oscar asked softly from beside her. Mia nodded, chewing her bottom lip. Do you think someone was in here. Oscar said nothing, his expression tense as he looked around the shop. There was a door on their left and some steps leading into another part of the store on the right. Let's go and have a look. Abby's lips trembled with fear as she huddled close to Mia. I hate this, she whispered. Mia looked away Me too.
Speaker 4:With Jake and Oscar in the lead, they headed down the steps to the second part of the store, where the shelves were laden with old, moth-eaten handbags and torn scarves and other accessories that had clearly decayed over time. The air was still and thick with dust, undisturbed. I don't see anyone. Oscar said his voice low. No, but they see us. Mia added. Her gaze fixed on the camera watching them from above. A stand of necklaces. The red light blinked and Mia was certain she saw the lens expand like it was zooming in. Who the hell are you? Jake shouted towards the camera, his cheeks flushing Almost as soon as he said that the lights cut, dousing them in pitch darkness. Someone gasped and Mia felt the air shift in front of her, as though someone had moved past her on silent footsteps. When they flickered back on barely two seconds later, they were not alone.
Speaker 4:Abby screamed, the blood draining so rapidly from her face that Mia thought she might faint Before anyone could stop her. Abby turned and ran, tripping up the stairs and disappearing into the other room, her ragged pants trailing in the air behind her. Abby, wait. Mia cried, running after her. The door on the other side of the store was already closing and by the time Mia had reached it it was shut and the lock had engaged. She tugged frantically on the handle, but it wouldn't give, so she resorted instead to slamming on the door.
Speaker 4:Abby, abby, come back. Where did she go? Oscar asked breathlessly as he came up behind her. His cheeks flushed from running. She went through there, but the door locked after her. His cheeks flushed from running. She went through there, but the door locked after her. Mia cried in frustration, slamming her fists one last time against the door. Damn it, why did she run off?
Speaker 4:Mannequins are one of her worst fears, jake said darkly. You two should know that. Dolls, puppets, mannequins, she hates them all. Mia swallowed, glancing behind her. Do you think they know that? How could they? Oscar protested. Mia shook her head. I don't know. I just I feel like they're messing with us, playing games, trying to scare us. But who are they? Oscar said his voice low. What do they want? Were there any clues on the mannequin? Mia asked we need to find a way to get Abby back. Jake shook his head, crossing his arms. Not that I saw. He said, but feel free to check yourself.
Speaker 4:Swallowing back the nervous flutter in her chest, mia went back to the mannequin that had appeared before them. Had someone really moved it in that brief time frame, or had it moved itself? She wasn't sure. She wanted to know the answer. The mannequin was tall and long-limbed, with no face or defining features, wearing a red satin dress that was full of moth holes. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it. With a soft, almost mechanical whirring. The mannequin's arms sprung up, cold plastic fingers closing around her wrist. She screamed, trying to tug herself free. But the mannequin's grip was surprisingly strong, its clammy fingers tight around her skin. Oscar and Jake came rushing in behind her. Jake tried to tug the hand free, whilst Oscar began to pull at its dress, looking for something to switch it off.
Speaker 4:Look at this, a gearbox. It's like an automaton. Oscar said his eyes wide as he tinkered with something on the back of the dummy's neck. Something clicked beneath his touch and the hand around Mia's wrist finally let go. She yanked her hand back, breathing heavily. What the hell is this place? She said, shaking her head. God, we have got to get out of here. Let's find Abby. There's a key. Oscar said, pulling something small and silver from the mannequin's gearbox. This must be our way out. They hurried over to the door that Abby had disappeared through, slotting in the key and rushing up the stairs. Abby, abby, where are you? Mia called her voice, bouncing off the narrow walls. They found Abby in a small closet room sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin, rocking back and forth, muttering something under her breath. Abby, are you okay? Mia crouched down in front of her friend, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but the moment her fingers made contact, Abby started screaming, thrashing out her arms.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 6:Leave me alone.
Speaker 4:Don't touch me, abby, calm down, it's me. But if Abby heard her or recognised her voice, she didn't show it. She kept muttering something under her breath, her shoulders trembling and her eyes darting around the small closet. What the hell happened to her? Jake whispered from the doorway. His expression pained. Abby, please, we need to go. Mia said, grasping her arm and pulling her to her feet. This time Abby offered no resistance, but her expression remained twisted in fear, her movements wobbly. She didn't seem to be physically injured in any way, but whatever she'd seen or experienced had clearly messed with her mind. Come on, there was a fire exit leading outside the building, and they climbed the metal stairs in silence, shaken by what had just happened. I'm starting to think that the open road sounds like a better option than staying here, oscar admitted as they stopped on the street outside, breathing in lungfuls of fresh air, mia nodded let's go and find the way out of town, she said. And go from there. Somebody's bound to drive by eventually, right? Jake didn't seem happy about the decision, but one look at Abby's terrified face appeased him enough that he didn't put up a fight.
Speaker 4:It was almost dusk now, and in the darkness the town looked even more eerie, filling Mia with a thick foreboding. They took out their phones to use as flashlights, but the darkness only seemed to have closed around them, more suffocating in its heaviness. There's the post office. So the way out should be that way, she said, clutching Abby's arm tightly as they walked side by side down the street. Abby had gone quiet now, but every now and then she let out a soft whimper and began to panic until Mia calmed her down. Whatever she had gone through had completely broken her.
Speaker 4:They kept walking past the post office where they had left the car towards the border of the town. Twenty minutes later, it was Oscar who stopped first, shining his light ahead of him. What's wrong, mia asked, stepping up to his shoulder. His light bounced off one of the windows ahead of them and it barely took a second for Mia to recognise the bulletin board. Wait what? We're back at the post office. She blurted, her heart thudding. That can't be. We've been walking in a straight line. We've gone in a circle, jake asked. Mia began to shiver as the wind picked up. That's impossible. We can't Surely we can't have Letting go of Abby's arm. She grabbed Oscar's phone and shone it over the building. In the window, thorngate Post was still printed in big black letters on the newsboard, dozens of flyers and leaflets pinned beneath it. There was no denying it. They were right back where they had started.
Speaker 4:Mia felt hopelessness sink in her stomach. No, no, no, she cried, raking her hands through her hair. How are we supposed to get out of here now? Oscar came up beside her and she flinched when he put a hand on her shoulder. It's not hopeless yet, he said softly. Mia ignored him, stepping closer to the dirty window as one of the newspaper articles caught her eye.
Speaker 4:Mysterious government testing site claimed to be operating in ghost town. Bile rose up her throat and she swallowed it back down, squinting to read the faded letters. A conspiracy has been unearthed. An abandoned town off used as a site. Experiments conducted by secret officials claim that. No truth to. Oh my God, she whispered under her breath, shining the light on the other articles Missing teenagers. Last GPS location abandoned town. Woman claims to be government test. Subject Husband and wife missing on trip. No leads, no way, she cried softly, shaking her head. This can't be real, please. This can't be real. What is it? Oscar said. Mia slammed a hand on the glass, making the board tremble on the other side. We're not the only ones who've been here. She said we're test subjects and, like everyone before us, we're trapped. But surely someone will realise we're missing and come for us. Mia let out a laugh that sounded like dry brittle leaves. Nobody knows we're out here. This wasn't supposed to be on our route. She said, her voice cracking. We're stuck here and nobody's coming for us Nobody at all.
Speaker 1:I love this story and I know that it might not be as one for one per se, with some of the AI elements, but I love almost the analog use of technology in this story because, I don't know, there's like this callback to kind of the horror and the fear that we have of surveillance, and it's almost like this dystopian town and it reminds me of things like 1984, where there's like this surveillance as the enemy or technology, this unknown technology and who's behind it as the enemy or technology, this unknown technology and who's behind it, is the enemy, you know, and that feels very similar to our fear of AI. I also think this sort of like mannequin robotic moment reminds me a bit of, you know, some of the the robotic films that we discussed in the last episode, like you know, ex Machina, say, or even Megan right. So there are certain elements within this story that really sort of spoke to me with some of the conversations that we had last episode.
Speaker 2:Abby, I'm going to disagree with you heavily.
Speaker 1:As usual.
Speaker 2:You said this was like Big Brother, but I think that one of the key aspects to 1984 is that Big Brother is constantly watching and interacting. You know, if you step out of line for the smallest infraction, a face on a screen pops up and starts telling you to correct your behavior. Right, it's a very much. You are not being not just surveyed, but just like controlled controlled, that's the word. Thank you, this one, and this is why I think it actually fits really well with AI, as opposed to just like a surveillance state, is that we never see the man behind the curtain or the woman. Well, that's the thing. Is it either? Or is it a machine Right going on, especially with the whole articles they find about? You know, the government tests going on.
Speaker 2:This is like just one giant experiment, but there's never really clarity on the the who or the why. You know, there's really none of it. This, honestly, just seems like something kind of gone awry. I was almost getting um, oh, we never really talked about resident evil during the main episode, sure, but the. The inciting incident in resident evil is that someone cracks a vial that has a virus and the sentient computer that runs the massive science facility detects this virus and, because it can't risk it getting out, kills absolutely everyone. And that was like kind of the vibes I was getting from this of. Maybe there was an experiment going on. I don't think it's going on any longer, but I think the machines are still running. Yeah, the lights on, but no one's home.
Speaker 1:Right, I like that. I like that interpretation. Yeah, and so this story was read by Tessa McKnight. We love Tessa McKnight.
Speaker 3:It's been a long time since we've had a tessa narration on the podcast, so that was really fun, the best, yes, excellent story, amazing narrator.
Speaker 1:And I have paired, I believe, tessa and eve as story writer and narrator a few times in the past, because there's just there, just feels to be like a natural pairing there oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:I don't have to say anything, it's, she speaks for herself, quite literally and again eve does such a amazing job with the aesthetic of the world. You know like I feel like I'm in a twilight zone episode and I can see and feel and taste everything around me. So big, big fans all around, as always. I will leave everything in the description so that you can follow all of our friends, but this story is actually part of a short story collection from Eve called Sinister Delusions, which you can buy as a book, and we will link that below. You might notice a few other stories from that book have been featured on the podcast before, so definitely check it out if you like Eve's writing, because it's filled with so many more very, very scary stories.
Speaker 2:So is that the end of our AI series?
Speaker 1:For now, I suppose, until something horrifying happens in the world again and we'll need to adjust and pivot and reflect.
Speaker 2:You know, I've been having dreams about Terminators for weeks.
Speaker 1:What kind of dreams? Romantic dreams.
Speaker 2:No, no, no fighting them you're fighting terminator.
Speaker 1:Yeah, who wins? It's about 50 50, wow, yeah, but you have a better chances than I thought you would have had it because I watched the entire franchise.
Speaker 2:but then I've been playing so much helldivers 2 when you're fighting Terminator robots, and just that's been a big part of my life recently.
Speaker 1:I understand Well, thank you guys, as always, for coming along on this horrifying little journey with us. We have some pretty cool episodes coming up for you this spring and this summer. If you are interested in even more content from us, as always, you can check out our Patreon and join us for our patreon exclusive podcast, horror movie club. Horror movie club consists of alan and I and all of our patrons watching a film voted on by the patrons and then alan and I record our thoughts in a bonus podcast solely for our patreon, called horror movie club, where we mostly talk shit on these movies, but sometimes we really like them, but mostly we're pretty split and it's it. It's overall a pretty fun, uh, casual, good time.
Speaker 2:I mean, we've watched a couple of good ones, but it's usually a lot of stinkers.
Speaker 1:And we also send surprises in the mail. We send stickers and postcards and pins and we release essays and all kinds of things over there. That really is, um, our unfiltered state, if you can imagine an even more unfiltered version of me.
Speaker 2:I mean, even if the movie isn't great, there's something to be said about a bad horror movie being the hands down best type of bad movie.
Speaker 1:Oh, a thousand percent. I mean, what is more fun than like a chopping mall? You know where you're. Just like a chopping mall is a great movie. Yeah, because it's a bad movie. Touche, until next time. Stay well, stay spooky, and we'll talk to you soon. Goodbye, bye.