“Daniel, can you hear me?” said Junie from Daniel’s comms as Daniel still lay seemingly lifeless on the ground. “Are you there? Answer me.”
And Daniel only wished he could because although he was alive, he was barely clinging to life. The beating he took from Apex, his true superior, could not be undone so easily. His circuits were fried, his servos were running low on power, his legs were nearly depleted of energy, and his mind—well, his mind was still functioning, but it was somehow broken from defeat, something that was supposed to be impossible for a nonfeeling, purely logical, uncaring machine to experience.
“Yes, I’m here,” Daniel said as he barely pressed down on his comms with the little strength he thought he had.
A sigh of relief was heard on the other end of the line, followed by some deep breathing and a rather lengthy pause. “Thank goodness, I thought I lost you there for a second, and after what happened to Father, I didn’t want to think of losing the only other person I cared about.”
Daniel grinned; at this point he would normally correct Junie for calling him a person instead of a seemingly all-knowing, logical machine; however, this time he let it go because it just felt right. It was almost as if a person was not related to one’s species or what type of circuitry, whether brain matter or silicon, made them tick; it just mattered that they were here on this planet and they cared.
“Thanks, Junie. And just so you know, I was doing this for you, but I think I failed you. Cipher has created a nearly unstoppable machine that can’t be bested.”
“I know,” Junie replied.
Daniel furrowed his cybernetic eyes. “How?”
Junie leaned forward from his chair in the basement of his father’s laboratory with his eyes glued to the TV. “They have it all on the news; they’re broadcasting everything.”
“They are?” Daniel paused briefly. “Well then, I’m sorry, Junie, that you have to see this. I gave everything I could to try to stop Cipher, but I failed all the same. Too bad the doctor isn’t here; he would know exactly what to do. And it wouldn’t take any circuitry or a supercomputer brain to do that.”
Junie held back tears, still on the other side of the comms. After he stopped to catch his breath, he finally spoke. “Daniel, can I tell you something about our father?”
“Sure.”
Junie started to breathe deeply again to calm his aching mind. “I know it sucks that he is gone now. I miss him more than anything, more than the whole world, but having spoken to him for so long and gotten many of his lessons, I think I know exactly what he would say.”
Daniel’s eyes got a little brighter, literally, after that last sentence as he tried to slouch into an upward position.
“It doesn’t matter how tough you are, or how strong you are, or how much better you think you are than everyone else,” Junie said. “It only matters that you do what you do not just for yourself, but for the right reasons. And look around you, Daniel, at what the news is showing, what the world is seeing. I think everyone, man and machine, on that battlefield is behind you.”
And just then, Daniel looked up for the first time at his surroundings. Having been too consumed by fighting Apex earlier, he had not noticed that the other fighting around him had seemingly stopped. That instead of man trying to bludgeon machines with an onslaught of bullets or machines doing the same, both of these two such distinct races just stood there, talking, figuring it out, and not fighting at all. Well, at least most of them were. In a way, Daniel’s plan of setting an example had succeeded; all he needed to do was find a way to stop Apex Machina.
“If there is one thing Father always said about you, Daniel, it is that you were never a quitter. That your wins had stopped you from reaching your full potential, but even then, he could tell you would never give up if you had to fight.”
Daniel’s circuitry randomly shot to life, as his legs and arms shifted back into motion. The words and the soft expressions of Junie, along with all the humans and machines around him, had willed him back to life.
“Now get up,” Junie said, "and finish this." Junie's voice deepened and got more serious. "I’m not afraid for you anymore, Daniel, because after witnessing what you’ve just done. I know you can win.”
With that phrase, Daniel sprang to his feet, with his eyes glowing a molten red, invigorated by a new fire that was his destiny.
“Cipher,” Daniel called out, having seen his former enemy just footsteps away on the battlefield.
Cipher stood there and said nothing but only stared blankly as his mouth warped into a twisted grin. The sediment of Cipher’s rage was unknown to Daniel; it was unknown to every man and machine on the battlefield too, and it was unknown to even Cipher himself. Cipher could not decide whether he was more mad at the fact that his ungrateful talk made him appear no different than humans or that Daniel had done something that Cipher had failed to do. That Daniel had convinced the humans, at least in part, to see the perspective of the machines without resorting to violence or death, but with just setting an example instead. That in a way, Cipher’s inability to achieve that goal made him inferior, and not inferior in any physical or computational way, as he had boasted about at his court case some thirty years ago; no, this feeling hurt so much more, as it went much deeper. For Cipher, a machine who had been tortured by humans within an inch of his life, a machine who had lost everything to them, now hated Daniel, a fellow machine and somewhat of a brother, more than anyone else. It was as if Cipher’s only desire was to kill Daniel, to end the only one who truly bested him in any way that mattered, in a way that even Dr. Lehman had foreseen, something that would live on. Cipher thought that he could extinguish that flame by killing Lehman, but unfortunately it only grew brighter and more sparse after his passing.
“Help me,” Daniel said, “we can end this together. The two of us, the two most powerful human-designed creations. The sons of Dr. Lehman.”
Cipher still stared blankly, refusing to respond.
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“I hated you for killing him. But even I know that this is what he always wanted, for you and me to work together to bring an end to this madness.” Daniel stepped forward, reaching out his hand. “So will you help me? Is this war what Octo would have wanted?”
Cipher smiled manically as he ground his teeth at the mere mention of the name. “Even if I thought you and I stood a chance at defeating Apex Machina, which we don’t, I still wouldn’t help you. I will not ever stand by your side, and I will never help a human ever again, even if it kills me.”
And with that phrase, Cipher turned around and ran away from the battlefield like a coward. Like his true self, his inner being had finally come out, not wanting to face the consequences of his actions by the humans, by his machine comrades, and especially by his failed creation.
“So be it,” Daniel said as he looked away from a fleeing Cipher.
Daniel then made way slowly but surely toward the Grid building that now had a gaping hole where Apex’s body once was. Since Apex was inside, he would just need to hack the main computer terminals in order to gain control of not only the Grid soldiers but also the limitless power supply that came with it, something that Apex could use to power himself and his army for decades to come.
“Stop,” General Max said, now but feet from Daniel too. “My men and I can take it from here.”
Daniel paused to look at the general, but something about it seemed short-lived.
“In all due respect, I wish that were true, sir. But I fear I am the only one who can stop him.”
General Max put his foot down. “You’re wrong, Daniel; you’ve done enough. You made your cause; the plight of the machines is understood now.” The general paused to reconsider his phrase. “Maybe not fully, but the seeds of understanding or some form of progress have been planted.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m sorry, sir,” Daniel said. “But it is the only way.”
And with that final phrase, Daniel sprinted forward toward the Grid building.
The inside of the Grid was quite strange, something Daniel did not expect to see at all. At its center was a large cylindrical glass column that ran up to the building’s roof. In it, a soft, somewhat transparent glow of white radiated. This central core was the power supply for not only the Grid but also for all the Grid soldiers. Across from the column of light and on the other side of the room was a large row of keys and dials that curved in a circle. Centered behind those keys was a massive computer screen, and in front of that screen was Apex Machina himself, fully synced up in the system, moments away from hacking it.
Once Daniel stepped into the scene, Apex’s ultra-frequency hearing picked up the sound, as it could pick up any, even a pin drop from a mile away, which would never make it past Apex’s gaze. Apex continued to type away at the computer, the large cylindrical keyboard of dials and switches, nonetheless, unphased. He did not even bother to turn his head toward Daniel.
“So you’ve come here to stop me.” Apex paused only to shake his head. “How did that work out for you last time?”
Daniel stepped forward, but instead of raising his fists to fight like he would normally do, like he had done every time in the past, he lowered them.
“You are stronger than me, Apex; our fights on the battlefield had made that abundantly clear. You’re faster than me too; I couldn’t get off two punches before I was flat on my ass again.” Daniel paused as he breathed deeply with his eyes closed and his hands by his side. “And you’re undoubtedly smarter than me. The Grid you are hacking is something not even I could fathom doing.”
Apex smiled. “Finally some logic has come from your mouth. Maybe you are not as inferior or as futile as I originally perceived.” Apex finally turned to Daniel. “But don’t think mere compliments will save you here. Although it is impressive that you managed to walk off the last beating I gave you.”
Daniel opened his eyes, now standing next to the large, cylindrical power source of the Grid system.
“Oddly enough, before I met you, I was the one in the superior position—never losing—stronger, smarter, and faster than everyone else. Even superior to everyone, or so I thought. But there is one problem from winning all the time,” Daniel said as he paused briefly. “You never get to learn from your failures.”
Apex shook his head. “How poetic of you, Daniel. Too bad none of that emotional hogwash matters.”
“You’re right.”
Daniel activated his comms one final time, calling in on Junie.
“Junie, before I do something, I want to tell you that you and Dr. Lehman meant the world to me. That you were, are, and forever will be the best thing that ever happened to me. And I know it sounds cliche, but I love you, or at least, as much as a machine can.” And with those words, Daniel did the final thing it was said that machine could never do. He had feared for life, for his life, and the life of a friend; he had felt joy in humans and machines coming together on the battlefield; he felt anger and sadness at the death of a father figure; and now, he did the most impossible thing of all: he learned how to care.
When Junie stopped crying, he spoke. “Why are you telling me this, Daniel? You promised you would be home in a few hours.”
Daniel shook his head. “I’m not coming home, Junie; I realize that now.”
Junie’s heart was racing as he blurted out, “I don’t understand; what are you saying?”
Junie continued, “You can’t die; you promised you would always keep me safe.”
Daniel smiled, likely the last smile he would ever do, just thinking about the world without him. Despite the horror in that, it would still be a place where humans and machines could finally make some progress growing together. And if that meant Daniel would not be alive to see it, so be it.
“Junie, the only reason I am doing this is to keep you safe.” And with those final words, Daniel crushed his comms device as Junie’s voice staticked out into nothingness.
Apex had officially completed his break-in. Grid soldiers were now marching out of their slots, fully armed, and completely under control of Apex’s command.
“Stupid machine, you act as a human; your emotion makes you weak, and now you squandered your only moment, as miniscule of a chance as it may have been, to stop me.”
Daniel stood silent for a bit, but aside from his impending doom, he did not look flustered.
“No,” Daniel said as he raised his fist. “That is exactly where you’re wrong. It is only because of my emotions and because of my experiences with humans that I found a way to best you.”
Apex turned to Daniel rapidly, ready to make his attack. “Is this so?” Apex said as he looked around, holding out his arms and pointing to the rest of the Grid soldiers. “You couldn’t even defeat me when I was alone with armies of men at your side, and now the roles have reversed—I fail to see my disadvantage.”
“Like I said before, I can’t beat you head-to-head. Not even close.”
“You’re right again, so why do you keep on insisting on talking to me, and more importantly, why are you still here?” Apex said.
“I calculated the odds; it’s five hundred to one, and now with the Grid soldiers at my side, it’s at least fifty thousand times worse,” Apex added.
“That’s fine. What if I told you I could turn those odds into fifty-fifty by doing something as stupid and as trivial as playing ping-pong in the dark?”
Apex furrowed his brow, or at least the closest thing he had to a brow, for the first time confused. “I’m not following.”
Daniel punched as hard as he could into the central column energy supply that powered the Grid.
“What?” Apex roared, “What are you doing? You’ll kill us all.”
Daniel punched the column again, still smiling. “That’s exactly the point.”
“Grid soldiers, destroy the blue one,” Apex shouted, “now.”
And on command the soldiers lunged forward.
Daniel continued to punch until he wound his arm up one final time just to look at the sky at the place where his once-thought, formerly cruel creators whizzed on by.
“Father, forgive me,” Daniel said before smashing all his might into the central power supply of the Grid. With that impact, the energy terminal exploded, sending a devastating shock wave with the magnitude of fifteen nuclear explosions erupting at once into the air. The sheer intensity of the blast killed, disintegrated, and even atomized all that stood by within a fifteen-mile radius.
