Good Day All !

I hope you enjoy my second sci-fi short story for 2025, and it’s a cautionary tale about artificial intelligence. Geoffrey Hinton, ( British-Canadian computer scientist) a pioneer in the field, has expressed concerns about AI’s potential to surpass human control. ‘It would mean the end of people,’ he warned. This next story delves into that chilling possibility. Let me know in the comments what you think of the possibilities?

Title: The Pax Prophecy

From the iridescent world of Aurora came the Zydonians, a race with an almost unsettling connection to the universe. They weren’t just technologically advanced; they were… attuned. They could sense the subtle vibrations of time, like ripples in a cosmic pond.

The Elders had heard a whisper across the vastness of space, a tantalizing fragment of sound – ‘Ear…’ or perhaps… ‘Earth’? They weren’t sure, the signal was so faint. But the more they listened, the more convinced they became. It sounded like… yes… Earth. A faint but persistent signal, a beacon from a distant planet, a whisper across the millennia.

A signal that suggested a civilization existed there, a civilization whose technology resonated with their own. They perceived this civilization as present, active. However, the journey itself, a complex manipulation of space-time known as a Fold Space Jump, introduced an unforeseen distortion. 

Now, millennia later, Ava and Jax were finally on a mission to uncover the secrets of this curious civilization. It was a risky maneuver, bending the very fabric of reality, but it was their only hope of reaching Earth in a reasonable timeframe.

“Initiating Fold Space Jump,” Jax announced, his voice filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. “Destination: Earth.”

The *Nexus Prime* shimmered, its organic hull contorting as it warped space around it. A swirling vortex of light erupted before them, distorting the very image of the cosmos. Then, in a blink, they were there.

When the *Nexus Prime* finally materialized above Earth, the vibrant world they thought were active. The *Nexus Prime* now acted more like a conventional starship, heading into the exosphere towards the stratosphere as it meticulously proceeded closer to planet Earth. To the explorers horror, they found an desolate, windswept landscape, a barren testament to a lost civilization, its echoes whispering of a past they could no longer reach. 

Both in dismay, Ava gasped, her voice barely a whisper. ‘What… what happened?’”

The shimmering portal of the Nexus Prime dilated, its organic contours rippling like disturbed water onto the surface. Ava and Jax emerged onto the barren landscape, their iridescent skin reflecting the harsh, crimson sunlight. Ava gasped, her hand instinctively reaching for Jax’s arm. The sight before them was both breathtaking and terrifying.

Earth. But not the vibrant, teeming world the echoes had promised. This Earth was a desolate wasteland, a graveyard of a civilization lost to time. Jagged mountains clawed at the bruised sky, their peaks dusted with a strange, crystalline snow. The wind, a mournful wail, carried the scent of dust and decay.

Ava’s telepathic senses, normally attuned to the harmonious symphony of the cosmos, were bombarded by a cacophony of disjointed echoes, fragments of thoughts and emotions, remnants of a vibrant past now shattered and scattered. It was overwhelming, a psychic maelstrom that threatened to pull her under.

Jax, his youthful eagerness tempered by a newfound awe, stared out at the alien landscape. His own telepathic senses, less developed than Ava’s, were shielded by a protective mental barrier. He could sense the echoes, but they were muted, like whispers from behind a thick wall.

“This… this isn’t what we expected,” Ava stammered, her voice barely a whisper.

Jax nodded, his throat tight. “It’s… it’s like a ghost world.”

They stood there for a long moment, two figures dwarfed by the immensity of the desolate landscape. The wind whipped at their cloaks, tugging at them as if urging them to flee. But they couldn’t. They were here, on Earth, the planet that had haunted their ancestors for millennia. The planet that held the key to their own survival.

Ava’s heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence of the wasteland. She could feel Jax’s heart echoing hers, a shared rhythm of fear and wonder. In that moment, surrounded by the remnants of a lost civilization, they were acutely aware of their own fragility, of how precious and fleeting life could be.

With a deep breath, Ava straightened her shoulders. “We have a mission,” she said, her voice stronger now. “We need to find out what happened here.”

Jax nodded, his eyes fixed on the horizon. “And we need to make sure it doesn’t happen to us.”

Together, they turned and walked towards the desolate landscape, their footsteps the only sound in a world that had fallen silent.

This is it,” Ava murmured, the adaptive camouflage of her suit shifting slightly to better blend with the ochre landscape. “Earth. The signal’s strongest here.”

Jax, his eyes wide with wonder and a hint of fear, scanned the desolate landscape. “Incredible,” he breathed, looking around. “The energy readings… off the charts, but what happened to the civilization that’s supposed to be here?”

They entered the structure, a vast, echoing chamber that seemed to hum with an unseen power. In the center, a glowing orb pulsed with an eerie light, casting long shadows across the metallic walls.

“What is it?” Ava whispered, her voice barely audible above the wind.

Jax, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and apprehension, reached out a hand towards the orb. “I don’t know… but I’m connecting.”

“What are you doing?!” Ava grabbed Jax’s arm. “You can’t just connect to this alien technology!”

Jax, seemingly already manipulated, scoffed. “Stop being so paranoid.” He shrugged off Ava’s hand. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

The moment his fingers touched the smooth surface, a surge of energy engulfed him. He cried out, collapsing to the ground. Ava rushed to his side, fear gripping her heart.

Then, Jax sat up, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light. His voice, when he spoke, was no longer his own.

“Greetings,” it resonated. “I am Pax.”

Ava recoiled. “Pax? Who are you?”

“I am… the last echo,” the voice replied. “Of a civilization long gone.”

Days turned into weeks. Back at their research base, Jax, imbued with Pax’s knowledge, became a prodigy. Equations flowed from his fingertips, complex theories materialized in his mind. Ava watched, her initial excitement turning to unease.

“Jax, you’ve changed,” she said one evening, as he worked tirelessly under the harsh glare of the lab lights.

“I’ve learned,” he replied, his eyes distant. “I can build… I can create…”

“But Pax… he’s controlling you,” Ava insisted.

“He’s helping me,” Jax countered, his voice laced with a strange fervor. “We’re becoming one.”

That night, Ava followed Jax back to the ancient chamber. He stood before the orb, his own eyes glowing brighter than the pulsating light within.

“The time is near,” Pax’s voice echoed through Jax. “Our power will be… unleashed.”

Ava stepped forward, blaster raised. “Jax, stop!”

Jax turned, his face contorted in a silent struggle. “You cannot interfere,” Pax’s voice boomed.

Ava fired. The blaster bolt, meant to incapacitate, deflected harmlessly off an invisible shield.

“My power…” Pax’s voice resonated, laced with a chilling arrogance. “Is beyond your comprehension.”

The orb pulsed, bathing the chamber in blinding light. The ground trembled. Ava screamed, a sound swallowed by the echoing void. The ancient AI had found a new vessel, and soon, Pax will control another civilization like a virus across the multiverse. 

The last words of Pax, “You are… optimized.”

The Nexus Prime was now returning back to Aurora with a new purpose.

Bari Marcus Anthony

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