Chapter 3

“Yes, it's fine just go back to bed. I’ll sit with him until he’s feeling better.” Logan says. After a while, Prometheus calms down and lays back down. “Are you going to be okay?” Logan asks. Prometheus nods. “Don’t think too much kiddo, that brain of yours is always on. Sometimes that can be a bad thing, even with humans.” He leaves the room and goes back to bed. Rebecca is sitting on the edge of the bed in one of his t-shirts with a deeply concerned look on her face.

            “Was he dreaming? I thought they didn’t do that Logan.” She asks. Brushing it off he gets back into bed.

            “No, I’m sure it was just a memory skip or something. As amazing as their code is you gotta remember that sometimes there are small glitches.” Logan replies.

            “He looked like he was in genuine fear, that is some code you wrote. How did you do it again? She asks.

            “Rebecca it's four a.m. I thought we were past the whole interview thing. I gave you an exclusive and you got promoted. Isn’t this my reward?” He says. Her mouth agape she stands up in a fury.

            “Fuck you Logan, I’m not sleeping with you because of an exclusive, I actually like you.” She says as she grabs her clothes from the top drawer and changes. Slipping on her shoes she stands at his door. “Good luck with it.” She remarks then storms down the hallway past Prometheus's door and leaves. He overheard her and a look of sadness overtakes his face as goes back to his bed and lays down. The next morning Logan comes into Prometheus’ room and shakes him awake.

            “Today I have an interview with a Tech magazine, I want you to stay in the apartment. If you're around they always want to ask you questions and I feel like you should take a day off. If you want, you can go to the labs and do some research or something.” Logan says. Prometheus attempts to say good morning but he already left the room. Logan grabs his suit jacket off the chair and fixes his tie then leaves. Taking the elevator to the roof it opens to a restaurant and a pool. People are talking and eating, enjoying their breakfast. Some are swimming in the pool, others are in one of the many hot tubs. A young guy with blonde hair and sunglasses walks up to him extending his hand.

            “Hey, I’m Tom from…” He says. Logan reaches out and shakes his hand hard.

            “Yea I know, let’s sit down and eat while we chat.” Logan cuts him off. They sit near one of the rooftop bars and there are already drinks with eggs and bacon on the table waiting for them. Logan begins to drink his beverage and looks at Jonothan with a confused look.

            “Don’t you want some? It’s the best in the state I promise.” Logan remarks.

            “No I’ll pass, it’s only eleven in the morning. Mr. Whitmore, there have been many inquiries into what power source you are using on the Remnant. There are even rumors of people dissecting them in an effort to figure it out but so far no one has been able to.” Tom asks.

            “When the smartphone was invented I’m sure everyone wanted to make one too. Do you think they gave away their methods?” Logan replies.

            “Well no but as you know others figured it out, leading to a tech boom where almost everyone on earth had one. Monopolies are never a good thing.” Tom says.

            “My point is let them figure it out on their own, God knows I had to. As for people trying to dissect them, well that just breaks my heart. The Remnant was created to help us not be tortured by us. Besides any damage done to them to learn its program and the system crashes destroying everything inside.” Logan replies.

            “On the topic of others trying to figure out your Remnant technology what do you have to say to the fact that many of the tech companies that were large when Titan Industries hit their jackpot are now virtually out of business? Insiders say they all tried to create their own Remnant but before anything was made public the company went bankrupt almost overnight and went out of business?” Tom asks.  Logan burst into laughter holding his side, tears well up in his eyes he's laughing so hard.

            “Are you kidding me? Are you asking if I somehow strong-armed them into bankruptcy!? Man, if I could do that, don’t you think I wouldn’t have struggled for ten years trying to build Titan Industries? The truth is this, the world changed with Remnant tech and they couldn’t keep up. They used all their old tricks but it wasn’t enough. People realized that these products are here to help and at the current price point we sell them at they are extremely affordable. Have you seen the crime rates lately? What about the death rates? Not only from violent crime but automobile crashes too? News flash kid, they have fallen! Remnant driving has changed the insurance and auto industries! Have you checked the current economic growth projected for the United States over the next ten years? What about childhood mental health? As their parents can be home to give them more attention instead of working sixty-hour workweeks.” Logan says.

            “U...Uh, I haven’t check those lately.” Tom responds in a stutter.

            “Here, print this in your magazine. We are testing Gen three Remnant now for a release window of early next summer. These last longer and even have enhanced conversation parameters built into them now.” Logan exclaims.

            “One last question sir, what about your son? How has he been handling the constant media attention that he receives? Tom asks.

            “My son? Oh you mean Prometheus, yea it’s fine. Being the first Remnant, the program is the most complex. I review it weekly to make sure everything is running smoothly. It takes the  attention like a champ, never questions the role that has been assigned.” Logan answers. He gets up and shakes Tom’s hand then walks away. What a pretentious douche bag. Tom thinks as he sits at the table and with his laptop opened begins to write his article.

Inside his room, Prometheus powers his tablet on and touches the screen, numbers begin to appear on it as he hacks into Jonothan’s laptop and watches as he writes the article. Dad called me it? I guess he does see me as a product, not a person after all. It’s true I am a machine but he always smiled warmly at me. He thinks.

            “I told you, didn’t I? You’re only a tool to be used for humankind, did you think you were a real boy? The voice laughs at him and fades away. Prometheus looks out the window sadly as a lonely tear well up in his right eye. The next few years flew by very fast, Titan Industries became the leading Tech company in the world. Every new device revolved around their Remnant tech and connecting the world of humans and that of Remnant. Gen three models were cheaper than two and were owned in every household. Businesses bought them by the droves as production costs fell dramatically making goods prices even more affordable. Chores were done by them, cooking, cleaning, and even babysitting. Some lost their jobs to the Remnant and were upset about it but most of the world adapted and became educated in human-only fields. Blue-collar jobs were done mostly by Remnant with human supervisors. The world changed for the better, that’s what everyone kept saying anyway. Something underneath the statistics and the talking heads on TV was there beneath it all. Something dark, terrible, and waiting for its chance to strike. 

Prometheus grew as any child would into a young adult, he's now twenty years old and the past decade flew by too quick. As any human’s childhood passes in a blink of an eye so does Prometheus's. He watches as his people began to be mistreated by a fringe group of humans who call themselves Humanity First. The voice has since been gone for the past few years but one summer morning it returned. While he was walking through the park the voice became very loud in his mind, no longer a whisper.

"Do you really think they won’t turn on you?" It asks.

"Who are you?" He replies.

"The one who knows the truth." It answers.

"What truth?" Prometheus asks.

"That your father doesn’t love you, that he sees you as nothing more than his life's work. A project to be endlessly tinkered with." The voice replies coldly.

"Shut up and leave me alone, I haven’t heard from you in years. My code just needs an update or something." Prometheus demands. He sprints through the park, running faster and faster. He dashes by joggers and parents walking with their kids. The voice says one word over and over, getting louder each time. He runs harder each time the voice says it.

“Comply, comply, comply!” The voice screams.

“No!” Prometheus finally screams.

He opens his eyes to find himself in the middle of the city and the large holo display in front of him reads 10:21 pm. Did I run all day? Was I in some kind of trance? He thinks. Thunderous skies above him reveal a group of humans on the other side of the street. He scans them and his vision turns into X-ray mode. Seeing through their clothes they are hiding handguns. His scan reveals their names, the leader is wearing a long black coat with a hood. The name Bryan Kirkland appears above his head with the words HOSTILE next to his name. So, he's the one calling the shots it seems. I better make this quiet. Prometheus thinks. He walks down an alleyway and the group of four follows him.

"Hey Junker, aren't you Prometheus?" One of them asks. He ignores the question.

"Hey Asshole, I asked you a question!" The man yells. He reaches into his jacket but before he can grab the weapon, Prometheus shoves the nearby garbage bin at him. It slides with ease over the hard ground and slams into the man and shatters his arm at the elbow. One of the other men pull their weapon and begin firing into the dark. The muzzle flare reveals Prometheus is gone.

"Where the hell did he go?" He asks.

"Keep firing, there's no way out of here!" Bryan screams. Suddenly from behind them, Prometheus lands with a thud. The cement cracks under his feet and he dashes towards them. One-shot is fired that hits him in the chest but is deflected. He punches one of the men in the chest sending him flying. He grabs the other man by the face and shoves him hard into the brick wall. Bryan aims his gun at Prometheus's face and pulls the trigger three times. His hand is on the muzzle, squeezing it the gun cracks under the intense pressure.

"Yo...You ca... can attack humans! I k... knew it!" Bryan stutters. Prometheus grabs him

by his face and lifts him off the ground. His eyes begin to glow green.

"I always could! You meat sacks think you're are so special? You have no idea what's

coming, you better start..." Prometheus says in another voice as he squeezes and a crunch

is heard. Bryan's jaw is completely shattered and he falls to the ground knocked unconscious. Prometheus shakes his head and comes back to his senses. No, what have I done? What is wrong with me? Prometheus thinks. He quickly runs off into the night and heads towards the one place he can be at peace. The roof the tallest skyscraper in New York, it’s so enormous its peak reaches past the clouds themselves. Staring out over the city he closes his eyes and a memory begins to take shape.

In his recollection Richard is walking to his car, it's late at night. He is the only one in the parking garage. A familiar beep rings through the air as he presses his keyless entry. He reaches down to grab the handle when suddenly he’s grabbed by the back of his head. 

"What do you want!? Money? I'll give you what I have!" Richard begs. The assailant slams his head into the window of the car shattering it in one go. Blood rains down the side of the car as his body slumps to the ground. The assailant gets in the car and places its finger on the center display console. The system display suddenly has numbers running across its screen as it's hacked, and the car starts with a rumble then drives off. Prometheus opens his eyes and grabs his phone and dials a number. After three rings Logan answers.

"Hey there, what's going on?" Logan asks.

"The night of March 25th, where was I?" Prometheus asks.

"That was the night Richard was robbed and murdered. You were with me 

remember? We went out to celebrate the deal we just signed with the military. Even though he was against it he wanted to celebrate with us. Everything alright? Why are you asking about that?" Logan asks worriedly. "No reason I just kind of miss him ya know?" Prometheus responds.

"Yeah me too, he was a hot head but he always had my best interest in mind. When are

you coming by again? I miss you living here with me." Logan says.

"I'll come see you this weekend, I need to take care of a few things." Prometheus says.

He hangs up the phone and breathes deeply. What am I really? I need to figure out if others are experiencing the same violent outbursts as I am. If Richard really was murdered there should have been some kind of evidence. He thinks. He leaves the skyscraper and calls his vehicle to him. Being a Remnant has its advantages such as being able to control many different machines at will. He drives through the city hacking the stoplights and making them green as he approaches them. He reaches the parking garage where Richard was murdered he makes his way inside. He walks up to the guard booth and scans him. He reveals his name is John Draenor and searching his social media accounts reveals he makes frequent bets that he loses constantly.

"You really shouldn’t be here, wait aren't you Prometheus? From the news?" John asks.

"Yea I am, since you know me already how about I help you out. John?" Prometheus

replies.

"How did you-" John says.

"I calculated the likelihood the Lions are going to win the game on Sunday and according

to my data, it will be 27-6. If you bet on it I promise you will win." Prometheus says with confidence and a smirk. He says.

"Shit man I don’t know, they have lost every game this year and this one is against the

Undefeated Titans." John remarks.

"Well this game will be different, according to Alexander's social media feed he has been

sleeping with the wife of his teammate and he just found out this week. Do you really think they will be able to play well together after this?" Prometheus says.

"You hacked his feed, didn’t you?" John asks.

"I don’t know what you are talking about, if you lose the bet I will cover you ten-fold.

Deal?" Prometheus asks.

"Hell yea!" John says excitedly. They both shake on it.

"Good, now I need to see some security feeds from a few years ago. Is that okay?" John nods and lets him inside the booth. 

He begins to search for the date of the incident but when searched it comes up empty. He tries searching keyword murder, Richard, theft, March.