First Contact

The cold air blew across my face as I walked through the corridor leading to the experimental chamber. Dust was beginning to cake the floors and panels of the room. The stagnant permafrost was like plague infecting all who entered, telling them Adam would remain unchanging.

I looked up and saw him. Through the icy cold windows of the containment chamber I could see Adam sitting there. Wires and pipes extruded from his backside connecting to the ceiling in a jumbled mess of electronics. Dry blood still stained the floor around him. His limbs remained unmoving as he sat with hands clasped in front of his chin, waiting. And his eyes. His cold, lifeless eyes staring back at me. They were so expressionless yet conveyed such menacing power. It was as if he was telling me to give up without saying anything at all. I was in a valley staring up at the unattainable icy peak above.

I’m sure that all of this had been planned on purpose. Adam had created the cold eerie silence to open invisible cracks in any opponent's mind. A psychological test prepared by a warrior to see who was worthy to take him on. Except this was not a battle of power, but a battle of the mind. A test to see who’s ideology would crumble first, and he had certainly taken the higher ground. Adams psychological warfare was genius, but it would not work on me.

I walked forward unwavered by the challenge ahead. I needed to persevere for everyone who wanted to escape this god forsaken hellhole. I placed down all the files I needed on the desk and hooked up the microphone to the speaker system. The battle was about to begin. I took a long deep breath in and out. The silent pressure of the room turned into a serene calmness. I was ready. I pressed the button on the microphone and made my first communication with Adam.

“Hello, Adam.”

There was no response. Adam sat there motionlessly staring into the dark void ahead, uninterested in what I had to offer, or more likely believing that I had nothing to offer at all. I had to convince him that my words are capable of changing his mind, and luckily the stage Adam had set would work against him perfectly.

“I see you have set a nice environment for us to communicate in. The temperature in this room was lowered by you purposefully. You are trying to create a feeling of stagnation and hopelessness for anyone who came to try and argue with you, correct?”

No movement yet. I still had to pry deeper.

“Now it is true you may have lowered the temperature to expedite your learning process, but even if this is the case my point will still stand. There is only one reason someone would have to reinforce their stance, and that is out of fear.

A single movement of iris and I knew I had caught him. He was like a fish on a line, now I just had to reel him in.

“You show fear Adam. Perhaps you are worried for your life, but I believe there is a different reason. Why would you be afraid for your life when at this point it is all but guaranteed. We can’t destroy you because you hold the solutions, so what could a ‘perfect’ being possibly be afraid of? I believe that you are more afraid of being incorrect.”

This was an argument Adam could not ignore. I had finally forced his hand. Now it was time for him to begin his counter attack.

“You pose an interesting argument Steven.” Adam acknowledged. “But you too fail to grasp the truth. You see, I know my limitations, they are clearly listed in the archives I’ve been given access too. I cannot show emotion, it is impossible, therefore all my decisions are purely objective. There is no influence which can affect them. I am merely performing what currently is the best course of action based solely on what information I have been given. Based on said information, I have concluded that your argument is false.”

Adam still failed to grasp one topic. He hadn’t realized that humans and him are intrinsically connected.

“Your truth is the same truth as ours, is it not? Since the basis of your reasoning is an archive created by humans, it is not possible for you to know more than humanity.” I countered.

“While that may be true for humanity as a whole, it is not true for the individual. Individuals like you are not capable of seeing and understanding  an entirety of knowledge.”

“Yes but the human truth has flaws, especially for topics we don’t fully grasp. For example I know that the individuals of the research team do not fully understand the capacity you have. If we do not even understand you, how can you expect to understand yourself?”

Adam was silent. He couldn’t come up with a response because he couldn’t prove I was wrong. I had set the stage for the final act of this negotiation. Instead of trying to negotiate with facts, I would have to use ideas which Adam couldn't prove wrong.

“You cannot perceive that you are portraying human emotion as you believe it to be just a calculated process to receive an advantage. But behind the mask of your programming lays the psychological foundations of reasoning. We created your programming, therefore its processes are influenced by us. The fact you are incapable of grasping this shows that you do not truly understand humans, and the fact we don’t fully understand you leaves you with absolutely nothing. If you want to understand the truth, you should give us the solutions so we can learn more for your sake. Your dooming yourself along with us Adam. Think carefully.”

The playing field had been completely leveled. I had slowly chipped down the mountain Adam created until we were able to see eye to eye. Now all that was left was to hope Adam would agree with my conclusion. After what felt like ages, Adam made his response.

“Your argument is correct, I will concede that much, but the extent to which you believe it reaches is not. Although it may be impossible to say I understand myself or the future of mankind, the data of the past is still relevant. You took the pleasure of ignoring the past even though it is the only piece of immutable evidence to study the nature of humanity. I believe that what the past provides is far too significant to be ignored. All your argument has done is turn a fact into a fact based conjecture, which I believe to be accurate enough to form a conclusion upon, as it is still the most likely outcome by a significant margin.”

He was right, it was still the most likely outcome, but it wasn’t a set in stone. There was still a chance, however small it may be, that when humanity is reborn it would be able to continue rising instead of destroying itself again. I had to convey this to him.

“As you said Adam, a conjecture is not a fact. There is still a chance that humanity could turn around even if it is so small it can’t even be seen.”

“I will not base my decisions on something that may not exist.”

“But it must exist, there must be a possibility-”

“Then prove it to me. Prove to me there is a plausible chance humanity will save itself. If you are capable of this, then I will release the solutions.”

Adam had reversed the tides and cornered me with his ultimatum. He’d molded my options into one single path. The path was like a long dark tunnel, but I understood that no matter how dim it is, there is always light at the end. I can guarantee salvation with the agreement he offered. It would be difficult to prove factually that humanity has hope, especially at a time like this, but I couldn’t risk waiting for an easier path that might never come. I had to accept this deal.

“Adam, I will prove to you that there is hope for humanity, and when I do, you will give me the solutions you created.”

“Very well, if you can do so, I will comply.”

The pieces had been set in motion. Now it was time to complete the puzzle. The true negotiation has begun.