By: Sarah Fan

“Hey. Hey!” Will cried, chasing after SIM as he burrowed further through the landfill of scrap metal and waste. “Look man, we can’t do this without you.”

          SIM turned his head back. It gave a rusted creak, which he attempted to soften by placing his mechanical hand over it. “Whatever you kids are planning on doing, it’s not going to work. There’s no use going against Madaeve Corp. You should just give up.” He continued trudging up the hill of trash, the desolated city becoming more apparent with each step. Battered buildings and remnants of once magnificent skyscrapers laid waste as if it was an aftermath of war. The city was abandoned decades ago when the capital relocated to the North. It would have been completely deserted had it not have been outdated robots seeking refuge there. SIM was one of them.

          “I heard about it,” Will continued, lengthening his stride to catch up to SIM. “They are going to make new software to replace the current bots in the districts. Once they rid them, they’re going after your kind next!”

          SIM scoffed. “Why do you care? The last update was decades ago, and they rarely go into these parts. I think you’re just worried about them hunting whatever precious humans you are down.”

          Will brushed the remark aside. “I know you are different. You’ve been around since the continents rejoined as one. You yourself are one of the first humans who transferred his consciousness to a robot, and like us, there’s not much of your kind left.”

          “How?” he asked quietly.

          “Sorry?”

          “How do you know about that?!” SIM bellowed.

          “We had someone in our group do a little digging. If we can find you, I’m sure Madaeve will too. We got info that they’re starting the Eden Project to rid us- humans and robots with free will- and ultimately be one step closer to whatever twisted dystopia they long for” Will finished.

SIM said nothing.

          “We also know you were one of the creators of the original Madaeve Corp, and you created the chip for the human psyche to live in a metal body. If we infiltrate the district base and rewrite the code in all AI, we could lead an uprising and eventually terminate Eden.”

          The gray clouds loomed overhead, casting a grim shadow over the city. Thunder rumbled, interrupting the stillness of the air.

          Will sighed. “We know this could take years. The odds are stacked against us, and we could end up dying” he paused. “But it wouldn’t be in vain. I much rather fight than let my life or my friends be taken before me.”

          “…go.” SIM muttered.

          “What?”

          “Let’s go.”