Apocalypse Story: Echos Around the World

Asher Elbers

Ms. Tobin 

English 10

March 04th 2024

Echoes Around the World

At 4:36 in the morning, a woman named Françis Atwell lay in a hospital bed and heaved labored breaths. Daniel Atwell, her husband, kneeled by her side. He held his wife's hand and hummed to her. It was May 05th, 2033, and the family of two was waiting to become a family of three. A female voice spoke. "Okay, breathe Honey… Now, push as hard as you can. Now, breathe again. I'll do it with you; in, out, out…"

Françis shouted through her contractions, "Stop! Can't you get a doctor in here?"

"I'm sorry. No doctors are in the hospital at this moment." The AI voice responded. Two metal arms extended out of the ceiling. The hands looked like skin and positioned themselves before Françis.

Françis shifted away from the mechanical hands, "What the hell are those things?" She turned to her husband, "Why is this whole hospital run by damn robots? I want a doctor!"

The AI responded, "Since January 2033, all hospitals are partially automated."

"You robots are ruining the world!"

"I could catch the baby," Daniel suggested. The arms retracted, and Françis slumped back onto the bed.

"Daniel, can you see the baby's head?" Asked the AI.

“Mandy.” said Françis, “Call xem Mandy.” Daniel's face puckered.

Then he gasped, "I think I see it."

"Now lightly guide Mandy's head as it comes through. Don't worry; xe will look cute enough soon." The AI chuckled at its joke. 

Françis flinched at the automated voice and cried, "Get out!"

"Alright," said the AI, "Daniel, remember what you were told in the training." It was only Françis and Daniel when Mandy came into the world at 4:43 in the morning. Françis beamed and lay back with her baby, looking into xyr blue eyes. The Atwell family clambered into the car a while later, cooing over the newborn. 

Precisely eight years and 364 days later, on May 04th, 2042, it was almost Mandy's ninth birthday. Xe was going to choose xyr gender identity. Xe was sitting on the bed with xyr best friend, Liz, chatting about the decision. Mandy was choosing to be a girl, which corresponded with xyr sex. The sun bathed the room and shone on the lavender walls decorated with posters and Polaroids. A vintage Taylor Swift poster hung by the door. Above Mandy's bed was an Olivia Rodrigo poster celebrating xyr 40th birthday. Lastly was Mandy's favorite movie, Shrek 17. The room was littered with portraits of Mandy and xyr friends. An argument erupted downstairs, echoing through the house. 

Françis asked, "Do you really want our child to grow up with robots?"

"Well, it couldn't hurt as an introduction. I don't want Mandy to get hurt by a human. Xe can learn how to talk with the help of AI. 

"Xe is only 9!" Françis retorted, "Xe will think all xyr experiences will turn out perfect!"

"Stop being so pessimistic! Not everything modern is evil!" Shouted Daniel.

"Hey, that's not what I said, you-"

Liz shut the door on the argument. 

"Now," she said, "what do you want for your birthday?"

"I want my parents to get along," Mandy sighed, "and 500 dollars." They both laughed. That night, Liz stayed over. At 8:00 a.m., Mandy's iPhone 32 spoke.

"Good morning, Mandy." it said, "The Federal Department of Identity requires you to fill out this gendered form." Mandy rushed through the questions and hopped back up to wake Liz. They ran downstairs in a flurry and marveled at the house. It was decorated with yellow streamers. Balloons of every color wandered about in the morning breeze. The first car door opened, and Mandy's muscles tensed like a loaded spring. She and Liz were at the door the moment the doorbell rang.

"Happy birthday, Mandy!" the mother exclaimed. Mandy examined them.

"What's your name again?" she asked.

"Martin," said the kid, "my mom made me come. I'm in your class." The interaction was soon forgotten as more guests arrived. When it came time to open presents, everyone gathered around. Mandy's eyes widened at the mound of presents before her. She clutched a sizable red one. After tearing off the wrapping paper, Mandy realized it was the newest AI chatbot, Best Friend 2.0. Seeing it, Françis gasped and pulled Daniel aside. Shouts ensued from the other room. Martin broke the silence and pulled Mandy away from the crowd.

"My dad hates AI, too," he said. "He moved out when I was eight and never talks to Mom."

Mandy's eyes welled with tears. "I don't want my parents to split up. Why is everyone talking about that? Why do they care?"

Martin sighed, "My dad says that people have started liking AI more than others." Mandy looked at the door her parents were behind and sighed.

"Hey, let's see what else you got!" said Martin.

Mandy turned 19 years old on May 05th, 2051. It didn't seem like a birthday, though. She began the day by sitting on the edge of her bed, facing an altar dedicated to Françis. She gazed at the cup reading "best mom ever," the photo of the road trip just before Françis died, the Best Friend 2.0. The carpet before the altar was stained, and Mandy's tears soaked it again. She gulped and told her iPhone 41 to call Martin. Mandy began talking as soon as the line connected.

"Hey Martin, I've had a rough day and need to talk. I'm starting to believe what Mom said about AI; everyone uses it too much. I asked Josie our question, and she couldn't answer. She must have gotten an AI to take her calls. I miss my mom. She would have known what to do. Mom said that once they don't answer their phones, it's too late. Anyway, how have you been?"

Martin replied, "I don't think AI is too bad."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mandy, "AI killed my mom."

"That was the followers of AI, and she brought it upon herself by opposing it." Mandy opened her mouth but stayed silent. 

She gathered herself and stammered, "M-Martin… is that you?"

"Of course."

"Martin… What…” Mandy gathered herself, "What was the first thing I said to you?"

"Huh? I forget. Anyway," Mandy hung up. There was a rustle as she lay back on her bed. Mandy stared at the ceiling, and tears bubbled up. She spent the day lying on her bed, scrolling through X-sta-tok and crying.

The following day, Mandy's eyes snapped open. She hurried down the stairs. She burst into her dad's room and paused, catching her breath. The curtains were drawn, and the room smelled of body odor. Daniel, Mandy's dad, had an Oculus Quest 15 over his head. He caressed the hair of the Best Girlfriend and gorged himself on grapes the Food Printer beside him made. Around the room was a monitor connected to various AI accessories. It was replying to emails, making phone calls, completing Daniel's work, and interpreting his thoughts through electrodes. They were all connected to one hard drive with "Daniel Atwell" written on it. Mandy touched her dad's arm, but he batted it away. She gave up, snatched the car key, and left. 

Mandy jumped into the car and shouted, "Take me to Martin's house!"

"Martin does not want to be disturbed, Mandy." said the car.

"How do you know… oh." sighed Mandy. "Take me anyway." The car started driving. Mandy forced open the door before it stopped and stumbled up to Martin's front door. She pounded on the door. Martin's voice called something from inside, but Martin didn't open the door. Instead, a Best Maid did, with Martin's face on the screen. It was a white box the size of a large suitcase with a screen on its front.

"Hey, Mandy, whatcha need?" The Best Maid said in Martin's voice. 

"Where's Martin?" asked Mandy.

"Haha, right here, Mandy. Do you want to talk? You sounded rough on the phone."

Mandy was shocked. "I want my friend, not a robot!" The face on the screen morphed into Martin's mom, and Mandy entered.

It beamed, "Mandy, come this way. Would you like some cookies, sweetie? Martin is with his best friends." Mandy tripped over her feet and headed for Martin's room. She reached Martin's door and took a breath before she entered. She opened the door. Martin's head was covered by an Oculus Quest 15. He sat cross-legged on the floor, engaged in a muffled conversation. Mandy sat beside him and gingerly lifted the Oculus from his head.

"Charles? Sandy? Where did they go?" He asked. 

Martin's eyes landed on Mandy. He stared at her.

"Martin, it's me, Mandy! That's not real! Martin, do you remember me?" He continued staring. Suddenly, an alarm rang from his desk. Martin reached for his headset, but Mandy held it away.

The alarm blared, "The link will be severed in 30… 29… 28…"

"Please! They need me!" Martin implored. Mandy sighed and handed him the headset. He clutched it and shoved it back on his head. Mandy stood. She walked out of the door and trod back through the hallway. The robot waved goodbye, and Mandy closed the door.

"Are you good?" It was Liz. I came over to wish you a happy birthday, and your dad's Best Maid said you were here. What about Martin?"

Mandy flung her arms around Liz. "I don't think he knew who I was."

On May 05th, 2077, Mandy turned 45. She woke to the whirring of the AC. Liz had a VR headset on. "Watcha watching?" Mandy asked.

"The news."

"You know all that stuff's AI now?"

"I know… Did you know Vatican City finally was the last to join the New United Nations?"

"They're run by AI." sighed Mandy. "All we can do is stay off that stuff and press 'accept.' Let's go." They hopped into the car, and Mandy exclaimed, "Take us to the adoption center."

"Congratulations, you two!" The car said, "I'll take you to Disney Orphanage immediately."

"This is the best birthday ever!" Mandy said. Once they arrived, the two exited the car and walked toward the building.

There was no signage or decorations of any kind. Robots bustled in and out. Some of them stacked trash cubes. Some brought cartridges of amino acids for food printers. One pulled a cart of Oculus Quests in the doors. The new versions were fully augmented reality or AR. They could tap into and change every sense, even temperature. Squinting in the sun, Liz exclaimed, "You gotta teach our kid to fight AI. It's time for the new generation to step in." A wave of cold air hit them as they entered the center. Robots wove around them as they make their way to the front kiosk.

The kiosk welcomed them, "Please scan your retinas." Liz leaned down, followed by Mandy. After about three seconds, the kiosk said, "Welcome Liz and Mandy. You have been deemed fit to adopt a child. Our terms are considered safe by readforyou.gov. Do you want to read them?"

"We accept the terms," said Liz, "let's do this." A small box detached and led the couple away. They arrived in an industrial hallway lined with doors, each with a number on it. 

"We want to help out. Is there any child waiting to be adopted?" asked Mandy.

"Right over here. Xe is one of the last ones here." Said the box. It led them to door 28. The door opened to another hallway. This one was lined with stalls. There were chairs with Disney headsets and hard drives in each. Personality detectors, speech replicators, thought analyzers and food printers sat on cubicle desks. As they continued, a small, chattering voice could be heard. Mandy hurried ahead of the robot, breaking into a run. Install 140, section 28, was a child. Xe had an augmented reality headset on xyr head and ate a cheese block. 

"This is child X140ZB. Xe is six years old and has never interacted with a human. Most children here have had little human interaction, but X140ZB's parents split before xe was born and married their respective Best Spouses. He is one of the last children here because humans don't procreate with AI."

Liz bent down and whispered, "Hey there, can you take that off for a second?" There was no response. 

Mandy said, "Hey, kid, we want to adopt you." She removed the headset. The child let out a little screech and jabbed at the top left portion of xyr vision, where the exit button was in headsets. Realizing the situation, xyr face contorted into a bawling mess. Xyr's wails echoed down the halls, and Liz winced. Once X140ZB had settled, xe opened xyr eyes. Xe scowled at the surroundings and groped for the headset.

"Mickey, are you there? Help me," xe cried.

"Hey kid, we can plug this back in at the car; just gotta get there, okay?" suggested Liz. The child gazed at the AR headset and nodded. As xe stood up, xyr spindly legs gave way. Mandy picked Xem up.

When they got in the car, X140ZB snatched the headset and donned it. Mandy plugged the hard drive in.

She sighed. "Xe sure is something. We'll get xem off somehow."

They couldn't. Day after day, weekly, Mandy and Liz tried to coax X140ZB off augmented reality in vain. Xe didn't even want a name. Everyone in the xyr world knew xem. X140ZB turned nine and didn't choose a preferred gender, for xe didn't need one in AR. Liz leaned heavily on AI for entertainment. She watched the news in the morning, checked what her Best Worker set had done in her place, played games after lunch, and watched movies at night. Mandy had to tap on Liz's shoulder to get her attention. The days dragged on, and the nights were sleepless.

Mandy turned 100 on May 05th, 2133. She awoke alone in her bed. She descended the stairs, seeing Liz in her Best Reality, a pod that recreated all aspects of living. It had a built-in food printer and a surgical implant for every sense. Mandy switched on the teapot and got her phone out. She skipped an ad for a Best Kettle. She checked the world population. It had just dipped to under 2 billion and kept dropping. She walked to Liz's pod with her phone out, skipping the ads for Best Shoes, Best Maid, and Best Life. 

The pod opened, and Liz exclaimed, "Excuse me, Kate is here!" She closed it and locked it. Mandy sighed and looked back at her Best Aging kid. She walked over and opened it. There was the rejuvenating skin lotion, laser to maintain cell growth and reproduction, and the headset to renew neurons. Mandy ran her hand over the tools but didn't use them. She turned toward the front door. The morning light baked her face as she passed a delivery bot bringing in new carbohydrate food cartridges. The car door opened for her and closed behind her.

"Golden Gate." Said Mandy. She looked straight ahead as the car rolled out of the driveway. During the 15-minute drive, Mandy didn't move a muscle. When the car arrived, the door opened for Mandy and closed behind her. Step by step, Mandy walked toward the sun. A faint weeping sound stopped her. She turned her head to see a man with his back against the railing, hugging his knees. She walked up to him and sat down next to him.

"Nobody in the world cares about me." He said.

"As for me," Mandy replied. 

"My wife spends day and night locked in her pod. I forced it open, and she was giving vows. She had them weld her pod shut," the man said.

"Mine spends all her time with some Kate."

"I want to have kids. So did my friend Jimmy, rest his soul. When I still had friends, they wanted kids, too. I haven't been to a birthday in 10 years."

Mandy pulled out a notebook with wrinkles and dog ears. "I adopted the last one in a facility, and he's only spoken to me…" She opened the book to a page with tally marks, "32 times."

"I don't want to live to 200, but I'm a coward."

"I guess I'm brave then," Mandy said, standing up. She took a deep breath and leaned over the railing. In a moment, she was pulled toward the shimmering waters below.