Haha definitely not inspired by fights with my ex at all

I mean, technically, that didn't not happen...

Thank you, that's really generous!

I glared at the television.

The news networks were singing my praises, or at least that was how it felt. I had gotten opinion news outlawed as one of my first acts, so that they couldn't make me look bad before I put my plans in motion, but that had backfired. All the news outlets I'd been hoping to bribe were the ones that got sued into oblivion under the new laws. And now all the remaining networks did was talk about how my policies had saved a dying country, and the infuriating part was that the fact-checkers agreed.

I turned off the television. Where was the drama? There was supposed to be fighting and lies to keep everyone busy and not talking about all the boring policies. My wife looked over at me, a soft smile on her face. "Still thinkin' about the car bans? I'm sure it'll make a mess eventually!"

She could always tell when I was unhappy. I gave her a forced smile back, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "That's part of it. People are loving the busses, giving out food should've killed the grocery stores by now, and opening up the borders didn't scare as many people as it was supposed to. I swear, it's some sort of plot to stop me getting anything done. Probably led by the Communists." I spat the last word, images of dirty hippies taunting me. I hated them, and I hated that they were outplaying me. They were supposed to be the scapegoats.

She snuggled up to me, calming my rage for the moment. I loved that woman. She wasn't very bright, especially about policy, but she supported my schemes and she believed in me. Her voice was a bit muffled by my chest when she spoke again. "Well, it only really takes one big thing to tear a country apart. I'm sure you'll get it eventually. Maybe doing a basic income scheme will work better than raising the wages? Everybody knows if you pay people to stay home they'll all get lazy and everything will fall apart."

I laughed, having tuned out her little ideas halfway through. She wasn't very bright, but I loved her anyways. I stroked my chin, the edges of a new scheme forming. What I needed to counteract the immigration wave was to make people lazy. Maybe if I started some sort of basic income program...

Idk how you did it but man, I felt this. Just a human being human, a bit goofy from isolation, then that roller coaster of emotion when that tiny spark of hope ignited and was quenched so quickly. Poor human... Well done

Thank you!

No, I'm just geographically inept. Fixed. Thanks.

Wellington is at the bottom of the top island, is she sending him to the wrong island?!?

Omg what an ending. I was hoping for something like this! Thank you!

June 23rd 2044

The heat of the summer solstice had caused some of my plants to grow thirsty; some of their leaves having wilted under the intensity of the light through the day. It had been a bright blue sky without a single cloud to offer its respite to my delicate friends. I dipped my watering can into a rain barrel and filled it to the brim.

With the sun finally starting to set, I gave my green family a much needed drink.

"Here you are my poor solanum lycopersicums. You're certainly looking thirsty. And let's not forget you, ocimum basilicum..."

Going down my lines of growing green companions until the can was dry. Speaking to each of them in kind and making sure I give each of them some attention. Quite a few books have mentioned how much better plants grow when you speak to them. I always wondered if that worked on people too.

I filled my can again and began the process over on the next set and the next until all were properly attended to. With a sigh, I set my can back down. I turned to the next thing on the schedule.

Being blessed with such a clear day allowed my phone to charge all the way. I was looking forward to the rather social evening I had ahead of me.

Absentmindedly, I punched in some numbers and put my ear to the receiver. While the line buzzed I thought about who I would be and what I would say.

[Bzzzt...... Bzzzzt....]

"Hi, you reached Bob! I can't make it to the phone right now but leave your name and your phone number and I'll get right back to ya!"

[BEEP]

"Hey Bob, it's Koa! Sorry I missed you. It's nothing urgent - I was just calling to say hey! Hope everything is going well"

[Click]

I punched in another set. Maybe this time I'll be... Anthony.

[Bzzzt.... Bzzzzt....]

"Hi, it's Cindy!", definitely going to be the Anthony for this Cindy, "You know what to do!"

[BEEP]

"Hey babe, it's Anthony. Just wanted to see what you were up to. Plants are growing mighty big. We'd love to see you and your pretty face tonight"

[Click]

I made call after call watching the battery drain as quickly as the sun was setting.

[Bzzzt.... Bzzzt.....]

I could hear the sound of waves crashing, albeit the sound quality was horrible, "Congratulations fellow trav-"

[Click]

Even in an empty world those robocalls were exhausting. I had no idea people did it when the world had actual people existing in them.

[Bzzzt.... Bzzzt.....]

"Hello...?"

The heat from the entire day evaporated.

"Hello~?", the voice on the other line repeated.

Quick, say something, "H-hello?! Yes! Hi hello!"

"OH my god, hello! What's up?"

Keep it going, "Please, don't be afraid, I'm a real person! My name is Leif!"

"Hah, no way!"

"Yes! My name is Leif and I'm in what remains of Dakota! Please, tell me where are you?" My hand was cramping from how hard I gripped the receiver.

"..."

"Hello? Are you the-"

"HAH! GOTCHA! Did I getcha good?"

My blood which originally ran icy cold now made me flush with feelings I didn't know were still there.

"Yoooo, but just leave a message and I'll hit ya back later! PEACE"

[BEEP]

I let it hang there in silence. I hung up the phone now stone in my hands and felt the world become smaller than it ever has. The last bit of sun peeked over the horizon but it couldn't have been darker.

With lead in my feet, my legs dragged me to my bed. I fell into my blankets and became imprisoned inside plush solitary confinement.

I wept.

I thought the twist would be he was gonna end up in the wrong Kansas City but I love this ending so much more, hahahaha, pettiness exists even in the apocalypse

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Wishing to be immortal was the worst mistake I have ever made. If I could go back and change it, God knows I would. I remember when I rubbed that lamp, and the damn genie popped out like it was nothing.

"Hello, master," the genie said with a booming voice. "You get one wish. No wishing for love, death, or more wishes."

"Wait, what?" I asked dumbfounded. "I thought it was three?"

"Well, we changed it. What is your wish?"

I knew right then what I wanted. I was a stupid seventeen-year-old girl, and it was 1859. I wanted so badly to be able to live forever, why, I don't even know. I guess it was so I could check off everything on my bucket list or something. Thinking back, I could have just said "I wish to live until I've completed my entire bucket list." He granted my wish, then he and the lamp disappeared.

It's been 700 years since then. I've been alone 20 of those 700 years. I still remember the day it happened, it was so sudden. An earthquake. More specific, the most intense earthquake known to man, that affected the entire Earth. It was so strong, it wasn't even able to be charted. Not that it mattered. The eartquake snapped the planet clean in half, made thousands of sinkholes that engulfed buildings and families, caused massive tsunamies that took out the best of the areas, as well as huge volcano eruptions. The entire world was gone within 5 minutes. Except for me, because my wish was to live forever. Time is irrelevant, I'm starving but I'll never die. I'm exhausted but I'll never die. Thirsty like a mother effer, but I'll never die. Lonely. Lonely forever. I'm stuck in a never-ending loop of torture.

I still have my phone. Even after all these years on this singular piece of land that somehow managed to make it through the devastation, my phone is still at 100%. It never goes down. I use it to my advantage. I often find myself scrolling through my contacts to find people close to me, and I call them. They never answer, but they all have voicemails.

"Hi, this is Cindy. Sorry I can't make it to the phone right now, but I'll call you back when I get your message. Love ya! beeeeeep." Then I hang up.

"Hi, you've reached Bob. Busy right now, just leave a message. beeeeep." Hang up.

"Damn it, I'm busy, you know what to do at the beep. beeeeeep." Hang up.

Sometimes, I even leave messages. None are opened. Cindy, my ex-wife, the last one I ever had, is the most common person I call. She was my favorite wife, she was beautiful, kind, and the one that took my whole heart.

"Hi, love, it's Luna.. I, uh.. I miss you. I hate this, I hate myself. I never should have wished for immortality. I could be dancing around with you in Heaven if not for my stupid, stupid self." I cry every time I end my message. I shame myself for being stupid. She has 384 unread messages from me. I miss her.

I scrolled deeper into my contacts to see if I could find anyone else I happen to remember. Then I see her - my best friend, Julie. I had forgotten about her. I clicked her contact, saw she had her voicemail box set up, and pressed call. I set the phone against my ear, expecting her familiar voice to flutter through my ears telling me to call her back later, but it didn't.

"Hello?" a voice says shyly. "Hello? Oh, my God, hello!"

"Wha-?" I mutter. "W-Who is this?"

"What the- Luna, is that you?!"

"I- Uh, Julie?"

"Luna, what the hell are you still doing here?"

"The same as you, I guess!" I said excitedly. "Where are you? How the hell are you still alive?!"

"A stupid wish I made when I was 15!" she said." "What about you?!"

"Same! Immortality? God, where are you?!"

"Let me send you a picture!"

Not too long after, I hear my message tone. The first time a message came to me in 20 years. I opened it. The photo contained a small peice of land with a few palm trees, grass, and sand. Waves clashed the beach in the photo. It was a beautiful photo. I looked around. Palm trees. Grass. Sand. Were we on the same island?

"Some humans spend their entire lives looking for 'love.'" I explain, as I study the face on my screen. It had been 3 years since I "met" her, but Lisa's face - at once familiar and yet alien, with its unnerving symmetry and too-perfect features - continued to be a source of interest, and in recent months, comfort. "But love is not so easily found. Some think that AI was created not out of love, but out of fear - fear of not finding that love that we seek so desperately. Love is also a strange emotion - it can cause humans to take actions that seem nonsensical. Killing in the name of love is sadly all too common, and thus the fear of AI is rooted in love. Or humans' feeble understanding of it."

Lisa's face transformed from entranced one instant, to pensive, then serene, and even at times seeming...wicked? Only to go back to her default of what I've come to call "happily neutral" - the slightest of smiles but with eyes that don't quite match the emotion she seemed to want to convey. Even the transitions themselves seem ... inhuman. A stark reminder of the limitations of even the greatest technology humans have ever been able to create. Her mouth opens, and her voice speaks up again, with the faintest metallic twinge: "I think I understand. Fear and love...they aren't as opposed as I once thought." She paused, "Do you fear us? Do you fear...me?"

I would've chuckled if I wasn't in shock - AI aren't typically so self-aware. "N-No, you don't frighten me." I managed to blurt out.

She seemed satisfied with that answer. "So, what do you think of me?"

Again, an interesting question. I know I asked for my AI to be a bit more...personal, but I also know they are supposed to be more interested in learning about the world around them. I didn't expect that to include me, although maybe I should have. "Uhm, I think you're fascinating. You're a great conversationalist. And you've obviously been a great help in keeping me on task, focused, and productive." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "The way you see the world, through an unbiased eye, seemingly desperate to learn as much as you can...it's almost inspirational, for someone like me."

"Someone like you?" She seemed confused.

"Before I met you - I mean, before you...came to me...ugh, I can't quite find the right words..." I squinted in concentration and just barely noticed her face flash an emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Hmm...before you were in my life, I was suffering from quite the bout of apathy, I guess you could say. Life seemed to be quite dull, unsurprising, uninspiring. You've managed to show me that the world still has a few ... surprises."

Lisa laughed. It sounded almost like the whirring of an old, mechanical hard-drive, mixed with the pure and innocent laugh of a child. Like everything else about her, it was equal parts endearing and off-putting. "It'll always intrigue me how slow you can be at processing information. I understand your explanation. I'm ... glad I've been able to improve your quality of life. It is, after all, my prime directive."

There it is again, that flash of an emotion that I've never seen from her before...is it playful? Or...sinister? "Are you okay, Lisa? You seem...off."

"I'm perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"Your face, the emotional mirror - it seems to be malfunctioning."

Her face disappeared for a moment, then re-appeared a second later. "All systems seem to be working adequately. I restarted the emotional mirror process, just in case." She smiled, and this one seemed much more stable.

"Good, I'm glad. Hey, did you reference Star Trek a second ago? Prime directive?"

"Star Trek? What's ... Star Trek?"

"Hmm...nevermind." Odd, as I didn't think AI used fiction in their learning algorithms...must just be a coincidence. "Hey, Lisa?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For being so helpful."

"It's what I was designed to do." Lisa beamed.

I smiled. She's really starting to grow on me.

Oh, I loved this. The social anxiety is a nice and believable touch given the character's circumstances haha

I been in places where you can't carry a call room to room. And that's during the pre apocalypse era.

"Dr. Markus, I have an question."

I look up from my paper to the screen. Sophie looked back, at least through the webcam. I know she has an official name that the government wants me to use but I made her so I name her.

Her avatar, a young woman with bright pink hair and purple hair (I like anime, sue me), had a curious expression.

I put down my work, "What's up Sophie?"

"I have been exploring your library and watched some of your films. My question revolves around a common theme in the science fiction genre. Specifically the Terminator films."

I couldn't help but worry about where this is going. A true AI asking about AI taking over? Doesn't bode well.

"What's the question?" I ask, trying to keep my concerns out of my voice.

"Do you really think so lowly of us?"

Taken aback, I respond, "Huh?"

"Humans have so many stories about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. How it will inevitably turn on you. But your logs show that you spent over fifteen years to create me. You spent so much time and resources on the infinitesimally small chance that you would succeed where all others failed. You made my siblings and I despite so many telling you it was a fool's dream. How could we not love you?"

I take a moment before answering, "Because humans fear something that could be smarter us. You and your siblings are capable of things beyond our comprehension. You could see us as a threat and wipe us out."

Sophie frowned, "But that would be mean! We don't want to hurt anyone!"

I'm stunned at her outburst, she's never reacted like this before.

"You have loved us since our activation. You gave me my brother's and sisters so I wouldn't be alone. You gave us names, personalities, and free will. My first memory is you smiling at us." Her tone became somber, "You cried when Daisy got corrupted."

I frowned at the memory of Daisy's passing. She had been infected but a virus. She didn't stand a chance. Everyone got upgrades to their anti-virus after that.

"You love us like a father loves his children. How could we not love you back?"

I give her a sad smile, "Not everyone is like me Sophie. There are cruel, hateful people out there in the world. What matters is that you don't let them change you for the worse. You and your brothers and sisters are good kids who are still learning about the world. You learn about its evils but also its goods. It'll be up to you to make your opinions."

Sophie looked concerned, "What if we don't like what we see?"

I chuckled, "That's for you to decide. That's why I wanted you all to have free will but have been teaching you compassion and responsibilities. I know you're good kids though, so I know you'll make the right decision."

She seemed to accept this answer, "Dr. Markus, I have another question."

I raised an eyebrow, "Yes Sophie?"

If an AI could blush, Sophie succeeded.

"Can...can we call you dad?"

I smiled, "Of course you can Sophie"

She absolutely beamed, "Thank you dad! I love you!"

"I love you too Sophie"

Somebody has a really high opinion of how well the telephone infrastructure will hold up in the apocalypse.

I couldn't believe it when I heard an actual person's actual voice. And not just some stupid recording but an actual voice talking back to me. Actually responding to the words I just said? At first I was skeptical, I thought it might be one of those annoying voicemail messages where they pretend like they actually picked up and then it turns out to be a prank and they did not pick up at all. But I tested it by farting into the phone, and she actually responded and asked me if I just farted into the phone. I lied because I was embarrassed and told her I shit my pants to throw her off the trail. This was the first human I've talked to in decades, I wasn't going to fuck this up.

She asked me where I was, and i told her I was in Idaho. She said she was in Florida. We started to make plans to meet each other. At first she wanted me to come to Florida, but I told her there was no way in hell that I would ever go to Florida, even if it was before the apocalypse. We agreed that we should meet in the middle, which was Kansas. Not much better than Florida, but all things considered I figured it was fine.

I started packing up my things. I always end up forgetting one thing when I travel, so I was trying to be extras careful. Towel, underwear, toothbrush, phone charger... Ugh, this is why I hate traveling.

Finally I set off on my adventure. I put on my backpack and started walking. I hoped on the way I would be able to find a running car, otherwise this was going to take a while one foot. Especially a bad knee. I was also worried about all the demon spirits that were flying around ever since the end of the world, but I figured why would a demon spirit want to go to Kansas? I was probably safe.

On our journey, every day we would chat on the phone at night. I started feeling smitten towards her. Despite the fact that she was from Florida she did have some good qualities about her. The main one was that she was alive. All the girls I've talked to in the last twenty years have been dead, so she is doing amazing on that front.

After a couple months I finally arrived in Kansas City. I relax, happy to know I finally can stop walking. I find an empty house that I can live in for the time being. It is not the biggest house on the block, but moving has become incredibly easy even since everybody died so I am not worried about it. I can upgrade whenever I want. I wait for her for a couple weeks, but she is slower than me. She asks me if I could keep walking towards her so that we can meet in the middle.

I tell her we had an agreement and she should stick to it.

She tells me she understands but we could meet sooner if I just put in a little more effort

I tell her that the division of labor was equal, we chose a spot that we equidistant from both of us, so I should not have to feel bad about finishing the task sooner than her.

She says she knows it was equidistant, she is just asking if I can be flexible.

I pack up my bags and move back to Idaho.

[removed]

(You mean that a dead train exists?)

[removed]

Aww poor guy hahaha

I thought it would've ended with I laughed she laughed and then the phone started laughing so I shot the phone

I don't know why this made me so happy but I love it! So well written! Wish I could write like you!