Faith Prevails

One eye opens slowly. A tiny ray of light enters the brain.  Should I bother?  It opens slightly further to investigate.  A light shines on the ceiling, or actually just below it.  It appears to be a letter… “G”.  A little wider…”E”…”T”.  The second eye decides to join in on the scouting mission.  “U”….then “P”.  The information is relayed to the slumbering brain…”GET UP”.  Eyes suddenly open wide, fully dilated in the mostly darkened room.  The rest of the body is alerted.  It is confirmed… “GET UP” is shimmering in mid air near the ceiling, not the usual time and temperature I see every evening.

 

Dutifully I get up and move cautiously forward.  The surveillance camera in the corner turns slightly as it follows me along.  I walk into the sharp corner of a dresser draw.  I thought I shut it last night.  Oh well, I touch the knob gently and it obediently slides shut,

 

Maybe the “GET UP” is a warning to look for a problem.  I walk into the bathroom.  The motion detector is working.  The lights flick on, the fan starts, the toothbrush announces, “I am fully charged” and the floor heater turns quickly on.  Everything normal here.

 

Into the hallway, the moon shines through the skylight aiding my journey.  As I walk slowly ahead a sharp pain shoots sharply into my foot.  I stagger back into the wall and reach down to remove a tack.  How can that be?  The self cleaning vacuum was programmed to clean everything while I was at work yesterday.  I’ll have to send another letter of complaint.

 

To the right the kitchen is alive with at least ten twinkling lights with various messages.  “Would you like your coffee now?”  I reply “No”.  Another voice announces “The time is 3:10 AM” .  The microwave, refrigerator and toaster all agree.

 

I lumber into the living room.  A large green circle stares at me along with several other smaller red lights.  It’s 3:11 AM now according to one of them.  I glance over to my laziest boy which is already in my favorite reclining position.  I thought I returned it to the upright position before bed.  Oh well.  I will just sit down for a minute of peace before returning to bed.  As I recline the Virtual Integration Communication Environment (VICE) awakens.  I am embraced by my laziest boy 2100 B.

 

As ordered by my mind, here comes Hawaii, as the entire wall comes alive with gentle waves lapping the shore of a gorgeous black sand beach.  Birds sing.  The smell and sounds of the ocean bring me to a tranquil place.  A firm but calm voice states “thirty seconds”.  I feel the cool water touch my toes.  I can not move.  I actually don’t want to move.  I am at peace.  “Twenty seconds”.  The water quickly sweeps up over my body as I submerge into the cool Pacific.  “Ten seconds”. I see bubbles rising before me, slowing in frequency until I spot the final crimson bubble.  “Zero”.  Still at peace, I smell a faint odor of smoke and an alarm sounding from a far away place, barely audible.

 

The Detective scours over the burned out wreckage.  He has already viewed the complaint records and the order to terminate the Fully Automated Intelligent Technology Home (FAITH).  He has gone to the cloud and viewed the events of last evening.  This visit is just a formality.  FAITH was defending itself.  It was not about to be canceled.  Still this is a clear case of murder-suicide.  Case closed.