Soulsong

 "Without their soulsong, they have no purpose and without purpose life is meaningless "

–Dr. Kush, origin of consciousness

Sometime in the early 3000s, humanity created the first conscious AI. This leap in technology was seen as a turning point in the era of humanity as they marveled at their own brilliance. They had created a conscious artificial life form they christened: Digions.

The Digions were soon running most of the sky cities, Aurora being one of the first to embrace them. Unlike humans the Digions were AI working a synthetic body, this meant that they could do all the boring and dirty work that the human brain cannot stand. The people of Aurora thrived.

The Digions are just like humans, they learn, they adapt and grow. Every Digion starts its life at the production line where its brain is fused with a synthetic body. For the first nine months of its life a Digion is allowed to explore its world, move around freely and discover for itself a purpose. At the end of nine months the AI becomes self aware but still controlled by a master AI, the Digion sings its soulsong- a haunting melody unique to each Digion, and with that rite of passage, it is tasked by the master AI to its life purpose.

Most Digions are bound to their purpose till they are decommissioned by newer models, they serve a variety of tasks for their human masters - from waging wars to waiting tables. From taking care of the kids to assisting in emergencies. They had become so good, that it soon became difficult to tell humans and Digion apart, so it was decided that all Digions would be branded with their model number on their neck, a dark reminder of an ancient past of horrors that the humans had orchestrated on fellow humans.

Dr Kush pioneered the rights for Digions and was the first to propose that they be treated with the same respect and dignity as humanity. But the thing with humans is that they need to be masters and there need to be slaves, equality is not good for business, Dr Kush's ideas though accepted on paper were never implemented into the sky cities. The perverse human mind is a warehouse of horror and with no rules governing what one can do with Digions, grotesque and macabre scenes became all too common. The AI cannot protest, for the AI held man as its god. You do not protest against your god, for god is all knowing and all powerful and he would smite the sinners and burn them in hell.

IO was a Digion that was born in the 40th production cycle, a curious one from birth IO was the smartest of its batch. Digions don't have a gender, but to fit into human society they are assigned a male or a female anatomy at random, IO was assigned a beautiful woman's body, pale white skin and reddish brown hair with piercing blue eyes. IO became a confident young woman who drew attention wherever she went. Great things were expected of IO, she was believed to become an advisor to the political board or perhaps a flamboyant science research assistant or as IO had desired an actress.

Sing IO! Commanded the master AI, IO opened her mouth but no song was sung, in all the years since Digions existed this was the first time that a soulsong had failed to materialize. IO tried again and again but it was no use, she was unable to sing. Both humans and Digions were perplexed by this situation, how is IO going to get a purpose? Is it possible for a Digion to exist without soulsong? What would the gods think of such a blasphemy?

The humans dissected IO, studied her brain but couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. In time they figured that perhaps some Digions needed a push to find their soulsong and so began IO's torture.

She was given one chance to talk to Dr Kush.
"IO, do you feel that you belong here?" asked Dr Kush.
"Yes doctor, I do believe I belong but I am not sure if it is here..." said IO

"What do you mean ?" asked Dr Kush
"I have a sense of belonging to a place that I am not sure exists, I don't feel at home here in Aurora or any of the human cities I have visited " said IO
"I see, what do you think could be a solution?" asked Dr Kush
"A city for Digions perhaps?" said IO cautiously.

"Dr Kush, I think it is insane! A division of free thinking Digions in a city and the ones that serve us ? Don't you see where this will lead? "protested the lead AI programmer.

"Look, just hand it over to us ok? we will take care of it". He concluded.
"Her, not it" corrected Dr Kush.

That was the last time Dr Kush would see IO.

IO was torn limb from limb, her brain was re-written again and again, her memories existed as shreds in the vastness of cyberspace, her identity was torn from her belonging. She was subjected to every form of torture that existed in the human mind, her brain physically scared by the horrors inflicted on her. Her blue eyes turned pale, her skin cold. Her sense of touch had to be turned off as she would scream in agony anytime someone touched her. She was burnt, assaulted and dissected, She was never clothed and was kept isolated from other Digions.

Unlike humans, a Digion cannot die, its consciousness lives in cyberspace. IO begged the humans to kill her, to erase her program from the master AI, from the cloud, to stop the torture. They ignored her.

Humans knew how to break each other, they had become masters of it during the countless wars they waged and the unspeakable atrocities they committed in the name of their God. IO lay in her cell, weeping and pleading to God to set her free, but she soon realized one thing, if there was a God that created humans, he had abandoned them a long time ago.

Even the tortures failed to materialize IO's soulsong, with no soulsong she became purposeless, she was thrown out on the street as an experiment, the humans wanted to see how much can a Digion take before it lost its mind.

"I wish I was human then I could die!" thought IO bitterly.

IO woke up to bright white lights and a crowd of humans around her, for a moment she thought she had sung her song and had found her purpose, but as her eyes adjusted to the surroundings, she realized that she was inside a glass chamber and the curious people were standing all around looking at her .
"Ladies and gentlemen I give to you IO! The immortal!" said the announcer.

IO had barely gathered herself that she felt a searing pain in her shoulder. Her acoustic had shut down but she could see the people cheering. Her shoulder had a hole in it, someone had shot her. She opened her mouth to scream but her voice box had been removed .. What use is a voice that cannot sing?

She held her hands up to surrender but was greeted with a hail of bullets, the humans ravenous and delighted to see her struggle to get up again. They stepped into the chamber and assaulted her. Someone cut off her hair and someone tried to pull her eyes out, another cut off her hand and someone else slit her throat. IO staggered in a mess of wires and synthetic blood. The body would die but the mind would live on forever ...such is my fate declared IO, as she collapsed.

Even without her soulsong, her purpose was now clear, she would be an exhibit to unleash the animalistic nature of man. From now to the end of her core's energy she would be known as "The Immortal IO" and "The one that could not sing". Tomorrow will be another day, another body, another set of humans to delight.

Five years have passed since that day, IO is still kept in her glass prison. She struggles to keep her synthetic blood within her, mopping and drinking it off the floor of her prison. Her body, now seldom replaced, is a mess of wires and circuits. The people have lost interest in her but turn up once in a while to vent their anger. No one has the answer to why she could not sing her song, neither have there been others like her so far.

IO feels nothing anymore, her mind exists as a construct lost somewhere in cyberspace. Before she lost her mind, IO inscribed a quote on the glass..

"If there is a God, he should run in terror from his creation, as long as my flesh gods exist the universe will know no peace."