The Second Renaissance

by Some old guy

Ok, I had to delete the first one, so this is the same story as before but i have more as this is the updated version. Please enjoy, I havn't had a chance to work on it much but lately I've been working on it more. So more is on the way.

The Matrix: The Second Renaissance

Prologue:

On March 31, 1999, the Wachowski brothers released their master piece of a movie, The Matrix. Later, they gathered up many different animators, and created The Animatrix, a collection of short anime films, that were meant to shed more light on the back-story of this very complex film.

One of those shorts, The Second Renaissance, was my inspiration for this book. This story explained how the war between man and machine came about. In this book, I will be re-telling that story in more detail.

In no way am I claiming this is my story, I am simply adding to an already amazing and in depth film, by introducing characters that were never involved in The Animatrix, or The Matrix.

In the beginning, there was man. And for a time, it was good.

They built cities and civilizations, created vast infrastructures in which they lived.

Then man made the machine, and thus, without knowing it, became the architect of their own demise.

Man lived a care free existence in which the machines did all of the hard work for them. This, in turn, made humans as a race, very lazy.

The technology came to a point where we were able to create robot maids that did housework and other chores.

However the happiness began to turn into chaos on March 21, 2090, when a simple machine, B1-66ER, brutally murdered his owner. This is the story of the events that followed…

Chapter One

The bar where James Elliot now sat was crowded. People conversing over politics, their jobs, their families, and other issues were all around.

James was medium height, about 5'9. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and was aged 22.

"May I take this for you sir?" James looked up to see a robot, dressed like a bar tender holding his artificial arm out, offering to take James' empty beer bottle.

"Uh, yes please. And could I get another?"

"Of course sir." The machines voice crackled through its speaker as it took the bottle.

"James! James, over here!" James turned to see his best friend, Tom Stanley, making his way through the crowd of people over to the counter where James sat.

Tom was the same age as James but he was shorter. About 5'7. He had blonde hair and blue eyes.

He sat on a stool to James' left and ordered a beer from the robot bartender.

"Dude, I've been looking all over for you." Tom said. He sounded out of breath.

"Well you found me." James responded as the bartender brought them their beers. He opened his and took a drink.

"Alright, so you lost your job. It's not the end of the world." Tom said as he took a drink from his.

James didn't say anything. He just looked ahead.

"Listen, I know how you feel. I've been fired before too. Maybe being a cop just wasn't your destiny."

"You believe in fate?" James said as he turned.

"I dunno, maybe. I suppose I like to think we chose what we do, but ultimately it's what is supposed to happen anyway."

"Well I'm gonna have to disagree with you there mate." James said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.

"There you go, your smiling." Tom took another drink then continued, "so what are you gonna do now?"

James thought about that for a minute, then replied, "I'm thinking on joining up."

"What, you mean the army? What are you, crazy?"

"Well what else am I gonna do? Sit in an office and file papers all day? Tom you know me, and that aint me."

Tom sighed, and took a long drink from his beer. He looked deep in thought. He put down his drink and looked over to James. "Well man, I can't tell you what to do. If that's what you want, go for it."

"Hey, are you guys watching this?" James looked over to his right to see the man who asked the question.

"No, what's going on?" Tom asked curiously, as the two looked up to the small TV on the wall.

"Some robot got arrested for murder. Apparently it killed its owner."

"What? Since when did the robots start killing us?" James asked, eyeing the bartender.

"I dunno, but this is something alright." The man replied.

"C'mon, let's go catch a movie or something. I'll buy alright?" Tom said to James.

"Ya, sure." James said, still looking at the TV.

Tom paid their tab, and the two walked outside, letting the cool night air hit them.

It was the year 2090, and the Earth was thriving. Everything was dependent on computers, including hard labour, and jobs such as cashiers and bartenders, which were no longer done by humans, but by intelligent robots. These robots essentially made life much easier for the humans, and for a time, it was good.

Tom pushed a button on a panel that resembled a parking meter with a touch screen that stood up-right on the sidewalk. This device was designed to hail cabs, as cars were now able to travel speeds of up to 200 miles an hour, thanks to a super computer that controlled traffic. You simply typed in where you wanted to go, and let the computer do the work.

A yellow hover-craft quickly stopped and rested on the ground next to the curb. Tom opened the door and the two got into the back seat.

"Where to?" The driver abruptly asked.

"44th and Columbus." Tom replied.

The driver typed it into his dashboard computer and the cab began to move.

***

The court room was crowded and filled with smoke. Harold Geoff sat with the other board members, debating on their newest case, the B1-66ER murder trial.

Harold was a tall man, with a round, bald head and a goatee. He was 37 years old and one of the lead members on the board.

B1-66ER, a name to be remembered forever, was the first of his kind. On March 21, 2090, B1-66ER stated he was threatened by his owner, Frank Semling. In turn, he killed his owner, his owner's family, his dog, and a mechanic ordered to de-activate the machine. B1-66ER stated he merely didn't want to die; and the act was simply a matter of self defence.

"Ever read the book, Asimov's I, Robot?" Harold whispered to the man next to him, Frank Costem.

"No." Frank answered simply.

"Oh, well it's the exact same situation. Man makes robot, robot kills man." Frank didn't say anything. Harold turned back around to face the front again.

In the courtroom, a large holographic screen played back what was captured on the security camera, located in Mr. Semling's home. The jury could clearly see B1-66ER brutally murder his owner in the living room.

That was all they needed to see.

Harold checked his notes as the lead spokesman of the board came out with the verdict: "We think they are not, and were not intended to be included, under the word 'citizens' in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States. On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings…"

He closed his brief case and checked the time. He had to be home soon for dinner. He looked up as the man made his final statement, "…And thus, we find B1-66ER guilty for its crimes, and it shall be punished for them with decommission. This recent revelation disturbs us greatly, and we move to decommission all humanoid robots." They concluded with a slam of a gavel onto the desk, and security guards moved out and secured B1-66ER and took him away.

Harold sat for a minute starring at the centre of the courtroom. Unlike many others around him, Harold knew that this was going to cause problems. He then got up from his seat and walked out of the courtroom. He moved over to his hovercraft and got in.

He typed, 'home', into the dashboard computer, and simultaneously the vehicle began to move out onto the Sky-way. He checked his watch. He was late for dinner.

***

James opened his eyes to the sound of his ringing phone. He picked up and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He said groggily.

"Hey, dude it's Tom. Look out you window. Something big's going down."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember that guy at the bar last night? How he said something about a robot killing its owner?"

"Ya, I remember, why?" James replied as he moved towards the window.

"Cuz the verdicts in, and they moved to decommission all humanoid bots."

"What?" James opened the blinds on the window, and looked outside. "Holy crap…"

Outside were thousands of robots, marching with signs and stating they did not deserve to die. This would later become known as the "Million Machine March" which took place world wide.

James looked to his right and he could see large groups of riot police, and soldiers, brandishing automatic rifles and clubs, marching towards the robots, yelling things like 'Kill em' all!'. He also saw many groups of street thugs holding different types of weapons.

"This is crazy…" he said into the phone.

"I know right? Dude get over here."

"Ok I'll be there in 10 minutes."

James ran out the door and headed for his car. He lived on the outskirts of the city, in a more suburban area, while Tom lived downtown.

He headed for his car, and got in. At that moment, the cops and thugs alike screamed and charged at the robots. Automatic rifles sounded off and robots could be heard being ripped to shreds. He looked toward the chaos and watched as machines and people alike scrambled everywhere, beating another.

He watched as a group of thugs pushed around what seemed to be a girl, but as the ripped off her artificial skin, he realized it was a machine. They smashed its head with a sledge hammer, then shot it with a shotgun.

He typed, 'Toms House' into the computer, and his vehicle began to move.

He sped along the Sky-way until he finally reached Tom's house.

Tom lived on the ground level, which was convenient for parking as James could just park on the side walk. The modernized cities, in fact, had many levels of roads, and in most cases, very large sky-scrapers. This was all, of course, thanks to their robot laborers.

James pulled up to Tom, who was waiting on the side walk. He was holding a shot-gun, and a 9mm pistol. James walked over and Tom motioned for him to take the pistol.

"C'mon, let's go get in on the action."

"Are you crazy?"

"Dude these things already killed one of us, now it's time to show em' who's boss!" Tom sounded excited, like he was eager to kill as many machines as he could. Then James thought this over.

How can you kill a machine? It's really just, shutting them down for good.

James took the pistol and followed Tom through the chaotic streets. People along with machines were running everywhere, screaming.

He looked around, trying to spot a target. He saw people with video cameras, taping the madness and laughing as their friends executed machines in the street.

He then saw a machine brandishing a sign that read 'Stop the Madness'. He raised his weapon and fired 2 rounds into its chest. The machine collapsed dropping the sign as its brightly lit-up eyes faded.

He laughed and continued to follow Tom through the street. The two came up to a robot that was wandering around aimlessly. James grabbed it and tom smashed its head with the butt of his shot-gun. The machine's voice crackled out of the speaker in its head but eventually drowned out. Tom laughed and spit on it, as he and James high-fived each other.

In all, the riot lasted about an hour. Eventually, all the machines had been destroyed, and clean up had begun. Large construction vehicles were being used to push the motionless robots into large trenches that the humans had dug. Everyone was laughing as the machines tumbled to the bottom of the holes. Soldiers standing on top shot at the motionless robots, and spat on them from above.

James watched from Tom's apartment, as the day came to an end.

***

Harold sat quietly in his study as he watched the evening news. The 'Million Machine March' as it came to be known, had been put to an end. He sipped his tea and listened to the report.

This, is the way the world ends. He thought.

He turned off his TV and opened up his brief case. Inside, were all his notes, neatly organized and in logical order, of the B1-66ER murder trial.

He looked them over, trying to imagine why a robot had killed its owner.

We built these things to do what we tell them to… He thought

And that's when it hit him. All this time, the humans had been mistreating the machines, unaware that the machines were learning.

Now Harold, for one, didn't believe in evolution, however these robots that were initially designed to do our bidding, were become self-dependent. They no longer needed to be told what to do. They were actually growing, and becoming smarter.

Harold also took in the fact that ever since the humans had recruited the machines to do all the actual hard work, the human race had become, more or less, very lazy. He knew they would never be able to survive on their own after being babied for almost 90 years, and that they would also never allow the machines to co-exist with them again.

That's the way it is with people. He thought. We can't stand the fact that we may not be the dominant species, especially when we created the species that is inevitably going to replace us.

Harold laughed a little, which surprised even him. He was frightened, but at the same time, knew there was no hope for man.

Suddenly a voice startled him from behind, "Daddy?" It was his daughter, Blaire.

"Yes honey?"

"Mommy says it's time for supper."

"Ok, I'll be there in a minute." He closed his brief case and arranged his desk so that everything was very neat and tidy. He got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where his family was waiting for him.

They said grace, and started to eat.

"What's wrong?" His wife, Emma asked.

"Hm? Nothing" he said as he looked up from his newspaper.

"Don't give me that, I know you. Something's wrong, what is it?" She said with a little bit of laughter in her voice. She hadn't sounded happy in a while, mostly because she didn't like her kids growing up in such a violent atmosphere.

"I was just thinking." He responded.

"Thinking? About what?"

"About this. Everything." He said as he waved his hands in the air, motioning that he meant all that was around them. He took a bite of steak then continued, "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't want you guys to worry about anything so I won't bother you with my thoughts." He said, looking at his kids. He had two daughters, Blaire, age 8, and Marie, age 16.

They continued to eat, and Harold tried to look happy, but he couldn't stop wondering how much more time it would be before there was no more time.

Chapter Two

"Well Mr. Elliot, I think we could definitely use someone like you in the core. Report to the base in Phoenix at 0700 hours tomorrow."

"Yes sir, I won't let you down."

James was at a recruitment office inside the city. The air was musty and the atmosphere was grungy. Men and women stood all around, waiting to offer their service to the armed forces.

James walked to the elevator and pushed the button that lead to the ground floor. The door closed and the elevator began to move. It came to the ground floor and James walked to the door, where Tom was waiting for him.

"So?" Tom asked, sounding curious about what happened.

"I'm going to the base tomorrow, to start training" James said with a smile on his face.

"Well, I guess that's good…" Tom said trailing off. His eyes were on a TV that was up in the corner of the large lobby in the office building they were in.

"What is it?" James asked.

"Look." Tom said, pointing at the screen.

James looked up, and saw that a news show was displaying pictures of a strangely shaped city, in the middle of the desert. The title on the screen was 'Machine City.'

"They built their own city." He said in disbelief.

During the 'Million Machine March' the humans were not able to destroy all the machines, and now the surviving machines were building their own civilization.

James looked around, and noticed everyone in the lobby was watching that same TV screen. Some laughing, and some shaking their heads.

"The machines, have now dubbed their new city 'Zero One'. In other news…" The reporter's voice continued but James wasn't paying attention. He was thinking about how the machines could have built their own city. He shook his head and headed out the door with Tom.

They got into James' hovercraft, and headed home.

"So, we still on for later?" Tom asked as the vehicle sped along the Sky-way.

"Ya, me and Tina, and will meet you and Lorie at the restaurant at six." James responded.

He dropped Tom off at his house, then continued home. He parked his hovercraft in the parking lot and walked into his apartment. He threw his coat onto the sofa and opened his fridge. He pulled out a cold beer and turned on the TV. He flipped threw the channels, most of which were talking about 'Zero-One' until he gave up trying to find something, and put in his favourite movie, Blood Diamond. It was really old; he had to watch it on blue-ray rather than computer chip which was much better quality.

As the movie began, his phone rang.

He picked it up and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Tina."

"Oh, hey." He replied. Tina was his fiancée. They had been engaged for about 5 months, and the wedding was scheduled for April 23.

"I just called to see what you're up to."

"Oh, just watching TV. How's work?"

"Ughh, the usual. I'll be home in about an hour. We're still meeting Tom and Lorie at Fernando'slater, right?"

"Ya, ya for sure."

"Oh, by the way, how'd it go at the recruitment thingy?"

"Good, I'll be starting training tomorrow."

"Awe. Well, I'm happy for you I guess…. Anyway, I have to go, I'll see you soon. Love you"

"Love you to." And with that she hung up the phone.

James knew Tina didn't want him joining up. She was strongly against violence and concerned about him, but she did support him, and James was happy that she did.

***the restaurant was crowded with people, all in suits and other fancy attire. James and Tina made their way to the man standing behind the waiting-line stand.

"Hi, we're, uh, looking for my friend. He should be here already, his name is Tom Stanley." James said to the man.

The man looked down at his list and responded, "Ah, yes Stanley, four. Right this way please."

The two followed a waitress to a table where Tom and his girlfriend Lorie were sitting. Tom looked up and smiled as he saw James approach.

"Hah, I gotta tell yah, I haven't seen you wearing a suit in forever." He said with a laugh.

"I don't frequent these types of places." James said smiling as he sat down.

Fernando's was the fanciest restaurant in the city. It was where all the rich and famous came to eat. The only reason they got in, was because Lorie's father owned the place.

A waiter came and pored them all a glass of wine.

"A toast, to James and his soon to be wife, and his newfound career, and may he be safe while he serves for the rest of us." Tom said with a large grin on his face as he raised his glass. The others raised theirs and everyone laughed.

***Harold sat in the board room, waiting for the meeting to start. He and the other board members were gathered to discuss 'Zero-One' the machine city.

They all stood up as Henry Cliff, the president of the United States, came into the room. He sat down and motion for everyone else to sit as well.

Harold looked around. The room resembled a simple conference room that you would find in an office building, but with the presidential seal on everything.

"Alright, you all know why you're here, so let's just get on with it." President Cliff said.

"Well, obviously we have to do something about this; we can't allow them to just live peacefully in the desert. What happens if they get smart enough to realize they can make an army and destroy us?" Someone said.

"What are you talking about? These things are computers, they can't learn." A woman at the end of the table responded.

"Well actually, we've already seen that they can. B1-66ER is a prime example." Harold said. He paused then continued, "The other night I was in my study, I was thinking about this. We have been mistreating the machines for years, and B1-66ER realized that. He realized that he didn't need to take orders from us; that they, as machines, could be just as self dependant as humans."

The other bored members didn't say anything for a minute, then a man on the end with a long beard began, "I think you're right. We have to do something, otherwise these things are going to cause some major issues in the near future."

"How near? How much time do we have?" Someone else said.

"Who knows? Maybe a year, maybe a week." Harold replied.

"Well all we can do right now is wait it out. We have no reason at this time to attack. I will be meeting with other world leaders to discuss what they think should be done. As of right now, we need to wait and see what happens." the President said. And with that, he left along with his secret service guards, and the meeting was finished.

Harold closed his brief case and headed out the door. He had a bad feeling about all of this. He checked his watch. It was 3:10pm, time to pick up the kids from school.

He got inside his hovercraft and typed 'East Side Secondary School'. His vehicle began to move and he sat back and relaxed.

It took six minutes to get to the school. He waited at the front until he saw Marie standing with her friends. He waved to her and she came over to the vehicle.

"Hey dad" She said as she threw her book bag into the back seat. She got into the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt.

"How was your day?" Harold asked as he typed 'East Side Public School' into the computer.

"Good." She said as she fixed her hair.

"That's good." Harold replied. The hovercraft sped along to Sky-way towards Blaire's school.

"Dad?" Marie asked as she looked out the window.

"Yes honey?"
"Something bad is going to happen soon, isn't it?"

Harold thought for a minute. "Who told you that?"

"Dad I know what you do for a living. When something's wrong at your work it means something's going to be wrong for the rest of us eventually." She said as she turned to face him.

Harold smiled a bit. "Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry." He said, even though he had a strong feeling it wasn't true.

The hover craft pulled up to Blaire's school, and Harold could see her playing with her friends on the playground. He called to her and she ran over.

"Hey dad!" She said excitedly as she put her backpack in the back and hopped in.

"Hey sweetie, how was school?"

"It was good." She replied.

"Alright who's up for ice cream?" Harold said as he typed the street number of a local candy parlour.

"Me!" Blaire said excitedly.

The hover craft began to move, as the three started talking about their days.

Chapter Three

James sat on a cramped hover-bus that was heading to the military base outside the city. He looked around. Boys and men sat all around. Some looked older than James, some looked even younger.

The bus stopped, and picked up a three more recruits. One, the tallest of the three, sat down next to James.

"Hi, names Hez Taylor." He said, extending his hand to James.

"James Elliot. Nice to meet you Hez." James said as he shook Hez's hand.

Hez was a big man, with dark skin. James guessed he was of African descent. He had well built muscles, and a shaved head.

"So what's your story?" Hez asked James.

"Me? I used to be a cop in Phoenix. I got fired. That's about it. How about you?"

"I just finished college. Decided I'd serve my time, then decide what I want to do." Hez said as he looked around

James nodded and looked at the other men around him once again. He then looked out the window. They were out in the middle of the Arizona desert now. He could start to see the military base.

The bus approached the gate where guards were waiting. James could see military trucks and personnel everywhere. The bus pulled up to the gate and guards approached. After a few seconds of talking to the driver and exchanging the drivers ID, the bus was allowed entrance. It pulled up to an area where a few other buses were parked, and their bus shut down.

An officer that was seated at the front stood up and exclaimed "Get off this bus, now maggots."

All the recruits on the bus stood up and followed the officer single file out of the bus. When they got outside, they were lined up and the officer inspected them. After yelling at most of the men for various reasons, he ordered them to the barracks, where they left their bags, and then the followed him to be outfitted, as they were all still in civilian clothes.

James stood behind Hez as they were lead to a large building. Once inside they were seated, and 3 at a time, they had their heads shaved. Hez got to skip that part as his head was already shaved. The recruits were then lead to a table where they were handed pants, shirts, hats, boots, and other attire. Once outside, the drill sergeant ordered them back to the barracks to get dressed.

"You have seven minutes. Once you are done, meet me outside for inspection. Do I make myself clear?"

None of the recruits said anything.

"I said do I make myself clear!?" The sergeant screamed.

"Sir, yes sir!" The recruits said, but it was sloppy and not in unison. The sergeant looked at his watch and began timing. All of the recruits made their way over to the barracks where they got dressed.

"I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be tough." James said to Hez. They had bunks beside each other.

"I have a feeling your right." Hez said with a smile.

The recruits lined up outside for inspection, and the Drill Sergeant approached the first soldier.

"What is this recruit?" He said pointing to the mans un-tucked shirt.

"Um…" The man responded.

"What's your name recruit?"

"Selly sir. John Selley."

"Give me 80 push-ups Selley." The drill sergeant commanded. Selley immediately got on his hands and began doing pushups.

The drill sergeant looked over each man, letting everyone know when he found something wrong. He came up to James, who was really nervous that something would be wrong.

"What's your name son?" The sergeant asked, still sounding mad.

"Elliot sir. James Elliot."

"Good job recruit, everything is in order. Now get down and give me 50 push-ups."

This confused James greatly, but he did as he was told. The sergeant made his way around all the recruits until he was facing all of them.

"Listen up maggots. My name is Drill Sergeant Shep. You will refer to me as Drill Sergeant or Sir. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" The recruits responded in unison.

"Now, you are about to undergo the hardest 6 month period of your life. Some of you will wish you were never born, and the rest of you will wish I was never born, but by the end of this period, I will have turned you into soldiers, or I will have killed every one of you trying. Now fall-out, your training begins tomorrow. Head over to Mess for supper."

"Yes sir!" James yelled. And with that, Drill Sergeant Shep left the troops to themselves.

James found Hez, and the two made their way to the Mess Hall. They waited in line until the cook gave them their food, then they sat down with the other men from their barracks. James familiarized himself with the other men in the barracks, and they all joked and talked until it was time to head back.

James and Hez made their way back to the barracks and got into their beds.

James stared at the ceiling for an hour trying to fall asleep, but he missed Tina. Finally he dosed off, with thoughts of making his friends and family proud, by becoming the best soldier he could be.

***

Harold lay awake, unable to fall asleep. He got up from bed, and quietly moved over to the door of his bedroom. He walked downstairs to the kitchen and sat at the table.

He looked out the window into the peaceful night sky. He thought about the question Marie had asked him earlier that day.

Dad? Something bad is going to happen soon, isn't it?

He replayed the sound of her voice asking that over and over in his head. As much as he'd like to think everything would be ok, he knew it wouldn't, and it scared him.

He walked outside and sat on the apartment deck. Cars sped by, and a few street levels below, a few people walked around, heading home or to their night shifts.

He checked his watch. It read 12:30pm, in green lights on the face. He walked back into the kitchen and put on his coat. As he headed to the door, he heard Emma coming down the hall above him. She stopped at the stairs.
"There you are. What are you doing?" She whispered.

"I'm just gonna go for a walk. I can't sleep."

"Ok, don't wake the kids." She replied.

She walked back into their room and Harold turned and walked out the door into the empty hallway. He walked towards the elevator and pushed the 'down' arrow on the touch-screen keypad. The elevator dinged as it reached his floor and the door opened. He walked inside and pushed the button indicating the ground floor. The elevator began moving down then stopped.

A tall woman got in and checked the keypad, but relaxed as she realized it was already heading to the ground floor. Harold smiled as she turned and faced him. She smiled in return and moved to his side.

The elevator stopped and the door opened, as the two moved into the lobby. Harold walked out the front door and into the cool night air. He looked around and made his way down the street, not stopping until he came to a bench that was surrounded by beautiful flowers.

Dad? Something bad is going to happen soon, isn't it?

As Marie's voice played through once more in his head, Harold made a promise to himself. He told himself that no matter what, he was going to be the best father he could be in the time he still had left with his kids.

Chapter Four

It had been almost 6 months since James had started his military training, and there was nothing more in the world that he wanted but to quit. But he knew it was almost over, and he knew he couldn't give up now.

He wiped away sweat from his brow as he tried to keep up with Hez. It was 5:00 in the morning, on September 20th, 2090, and James and his future squad were jogging up a hill.

He could hear Drill Sergeant Shep screaming at them to go faster from behind. He turned to see all the other men following him and Hez.

Since training had begun, Hez had excelled in almost everything. He was an excellent shot, could top anyone in the platoon in total pushups, could run faster than anyone else, and all in all, was an excellent soldier. James could tell that the Drill Sergeant liked Hez, though he tried not to show it.

James also did good, but not as well as Hez. The two had been very close since the day they met.

James finally caught up to Hez, and tried his best to stay beside him. He turned around to see Saul Kim, a tough recruit that looked to be of Asian descent. He was puffing but was catching up to them. He finally made it beside James and Hez.

"Enjoying the run boys?" He asked as he made his way beside James.

"You better believe it baby." James replied as he wiped sweat from his forehead, smiling.

Finally the squad made it to the top of the hill, and most of the recruits collapsed, gasping for breath.

"Get up you lazy bunch of idiots." The Sergeant yelled as he came to the top of the hill. He moved past a recruit named Todd Gammon and kicked him in the butt. Todd got up quickly and saluted.

"Fall in!" The Sergeant screamed. All of the soldiers assembled in line and saluted. "Listen up. We're nearing the end of your training, and I must say, I believe most of you will make excellent soldiers." He said eyeing Hez. Then he continued, "Head back to the barracks, you have half an hour before breakfast." He turned around and began his descent down the hill.

James walked over to Hez who was standing with Saul and Paige, the only woman in the squad.

"Hey James." She said with a smile as she punched him in the arm.

"Ya, good to see you too Paige." He said rubbing his shoulder.

Paige was medium height, about 5"8. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, pale, white skin, and was very tough. Everyone knew to treat her like one of the guys, because she could handle it. James knew she was definitely not a girly girl.

Since basic training had began, James, Saul, Hez, and Paige had become quite good friends.

"So is it just me, or does the Sarge like love Hez." Paige said with a laugh. The others laughed as well and continued to jog.

Finally they came to the bottom of the hill and they all sat down. James opened his canteen and took a drink. The others did as well and they sat in silence for a bit.

"Where do you think they'll send us when we're done here?" Saul was the first to speak.

"I dunno, Africa?" James replied.

"Ya, most likely." Paige said. "My brothers stationed there." She continued.

"Your brother's in the army?" Hez asked.

"Yup, all three of them." She said as she stole James' canteen and took a drink. She handed it back to him and wiped her mouth.

James took another drink then screwed the cap back into place. "I'm gonna go change." He said as he placed the canteen onto his belt.

The other three agreed this was a good idea and they headed back to the barracks.

***

"Listen up recruits." James looked up from his meal and turned his attention to the front of the Mess Hall. There, a tall man in military dress clothes stood waiting for all the eyes to fall on him. Once it was quiet, he continued, "For the last six months, you have been training to become soldiers. Training for the time when your country would need you. Well, that time has come. Finish your breakfast then meet in the briefing room for further information in 10 minutes. That is all." And with that, the man left the stage and walked out the door.

"What was that all about?" Paige asked, although know one knew the answer.

"I dunno. That was Colonel Bren, right?" Saul asked.

"Yeah, I think so." James replied. "I guess this is it. They wouldn't call us in this early unless something important was happening."

The four finished their meals, then headed out towards the briefing room. Once inside they found seats and sat down facing the stage at the front. Suddenly the lights dimmed and Colonel Bren along with a few other officers appeared on the stage.

"Alright, let's get things started, shall we?" Bren said as a man turned on the computer. Suddenly an image of South America appeared on the wall. The Colonel continued, "Yesterday we received information on a terrorist group known as the SAPA, or South American People's Army, that is operating in Venezuela. Not much information is known, except that they have taken three American, and two Canadian prisoners and are holding them in the city Maracay. Fighting has stretched throughout the country, and in total it is estimated that over 1000 people have been killed. The government has ordered us to head into Maracay, find the prisoners and escort them out of the country." He paused for a minute. Then continued saying, "First platoon will be inserted here by drop ship," he pointed to a small building near the outside of town. "Second platoon will head up the main road here and secure the area around the target building, while first platoon enters from the roof. Third platoon will help second platoon from the other side of the building. Give or take, the operation should take about 15 minutes. Is there any questions?"

No one said anything.

"Alright, you have one hour to organize your gear. Assemble outside the barracks at 0600 hours. Dismissed."

***

Harold sat in his office, looking over a recent memo sent to all the employees. He hit the delete button on his touch screen computer and watched as the message disappeared.

He couldn't believe this. His firm, having needed to recently hire many new labourers due to the massive machine canning, was now cutting everyone's pay. While he did make more than enough to keep his family well, it was still disappointing.

"Mr. Geoff?" A calm voice spoke out on Harold's phone.

"Yes Anya." He replied. Anya was his secretary.

"There's a man here to see you. A Mr. Browning."

"Ok, send him in."

Harold organized his desk and awaited the arrival of the man.

The door opened and a tall man wearing a brown suit walked through the door. He took off his sunglasses and placed his brief case on the floor next to Harold's desk.

"John Browning." The man said, holding his hand out for Harold to shake.

"Harold Geoff" Harold said, shaking the man's hand. "Have a seat." He said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Thank-you." John said as he sat down. "Alright, let me get to why I'm here. No doubt you've seen the news recently. The machines are displaying, what you may call, more independent life than we expected. We thought they wouldn't be able to survive on their own. We were wrong."

"Pardon, but who are you exactly?" Harold asked.

"Oh! Sorry. I'm with a branch of the government specializing in problems like this."

"What might that be?"

"Problems that involve the world not being so safe anymore. That's all I can really say. Anyway like I was saying, we thought the machines wouldn't be able to function without us humans taking care of them, monitoring them, etcetera. But, here they are, building cities, and getting smarter."

"What are you getting at? I mean I can't do anything about that."

"That's not entirely true. I know about you Harold. You have a, decorated past." John opened his brief case and pulled out papers marked 'confidential'. "Before your career in politics, you worked for 'R5' the…"

"Company in charge of designing the first artificial intelligence."

"Exactly. In fact, you were on the lead design team, were you not?"

"Yes, I was. So what? What do you want me to do?"

"Harold, we're assembling a group composed of all the members of your research team. We need your help in stopping these things."
"Listen, these things are learning on their own. We never predicted this would happen, and frankly we were stupid to make them so smart in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, there is no stopping them. Humanity might as well just sit back and watch the fireworks."

"Well Harold, you sit back and watch if you want to. But if you change you mind and decide you'd rather help than sit back and watch humanity die, here's my number." John pulled out a small card and tossed it on the table. And with that, he left.

Harold sat back in his chair, thinking about what just happened. He looked at his watch. It read 6:13pm.

He gathered up his things and left the office.

"Leaving sir?" Anya asked from behind her desk.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow Anya." He replied with a smile.

"Bye Mr. Geoff." She waved. Anya was medium height, about 5'8. She had red hair and brown eyes and was age 25.

Harold walked down the hall and entered the elevator. His pushed the ground floor button on the touch pad and the elevator began to move quickly. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out John's card. He looked at the number and thought about calling, but the elevator came to a stop. He put the card back into his pocket, and walked out the door.

*** James was sitting on a roof, in the middle of Venezuela, letting the heavy South American rain come crashing down on top of his combat armour.

The modern combat armour that the Army had access too was really a thing of beauty. It was the type of thing only found in video games and movies some 60 years ago, when James' Grandfather was his age.

The armour was capable of stopping bullets most of the time. This was something they really stressed on in training, as they didn't want it becoming a crutch for the soldiers to rely on all the time.

The body armour was also very versatile and it enabled the soldiers to move freely without too much heavy, bulky equipment on.

But the real beauty was in the helmet. Each suit had a GPS implanted in it, with a link to all the military's satellites and comm. channels, so whoever was in charge could let the soldiers see or listen to pretty much anything on the communication network, all in real time. Each helmet also streamed a live feed out of a camera implanted in the top, so each solider could see what any one of his or her teammates was seeing.

The helmet also featured advanced HUD, or heads up display. This meant they could see a map with video being streamed from HQ or a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), a clock, a compass, an ammunition count, and since each suit had a GPS, they could also see their teammates as green dots on the map.

The part James loved the most, was the crosshair. It was hooked up via a smart system installed in their weapon, hooked up wirelessly to their helmet. It showed where their weapons were aiming all the time, right before their eyes.

James checked his surroundings. Nothing had changed since the last time he checked. He looked over to Paige, who was staring down the road with her rifle sucked up close to her body. The two of them had been assigned to a building a few blocks away from the target building. They were to guard the road that lead into the city, and make sure no-one left. They could see some of their squad-mates in a building across the street.

He pushed a button on his helmet and suddenly a screen appeared before his eyes. It was now asking him to select the squad-mate that he would like to view. He chose 'Shep'. The screen went fuzzy for a second, then came to life once again, this time displaying a dark bed room. It looked like it hadn't been used in some time. Sergeant Shep was looking around in one of the corners. Paintings of what looked like distant relatives were scattered about the wall.

Shep turned around bringing into view a bed that Private Johansson was laying on. He had his heavy machine gun set up, with the barrel sticking out the window. Another soldier, Private Stevens, was loading the weapon.

James stopped the broadcast and turned to face Paige, who was still watching the road. He couldn't see her face under the helmet, but from the way she was acting, she seemed nervous.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." She replied as she turned to face him.

"How much longer do we have to wait out…" James was cut off by a loud explosion that shook the building.

"Crap!" Paige yelled out as she brought up her weapon and searched for the origin of the blast. James quickly turned in time to see smoke curling from the bottom of the target building.

"What the…" He began but at that instant the entire building erupted in flames, sending brick and shrapnel flying in every direction.

James ducked down behind the sandbags he and Paige had set up, and when he brought his head back up all he could see was a huge trail of smoke leading from where the building had stood 45 seconds ago.

"Soldiers, meet up in the road, we're moving in." A voice came over the soldiers radio, it was Shep.

James followed Paige over to the stairs. She opened the door and made her way down the dark hallway. They met up with their squad in the street and Shep led them down the road to the site of the explosion.

James followed closely behind Hez, with Paige and Saul. As they neared their destination, the smoke began to thicken. James continued to breathe normally as the helmet had a filter system that worked extremely well.

The soldiers spread out as they came to the target zone. James moved slowly, trying to make out what he saw through all the thick, black smoke.

Suddenly he froze, it was as if his combat boots were frozen to the ground. There, at his feet, was a dead American soldier. The man's arms were missing and his uniform was charred and burnt. His faceplate was cracked and one eye lay open, staring at James through the hole in his mask.

"Keep moving soldier. All of you, kill anything that isn't wearing an American uniform. This just got serious." Shep ordered. He continued out of sight, as the smoke was still very thick.

James continued until he came upon a wounded rebel soldier. He was wearing a blood stained dress shirt and had a bandana wrapped around his face so he couldn't be indentified. His sunglasses had been reduced to nothing but frames, and he lay against what used to be a wall, unable to move. He groaned as James walked past, and tried to raise his weapon, but he couldn't fine the strength. James stared at the man, and remembered his orders. He raised his rifle, aimed, and fired.

Chapter Five