There are people in this world who cry at the thought of another in pain, whose empathy permeates a region so thoroughly that it rubs off on others, who suffer the greatest guilt after inflicting even the slightest injustice. Zerro was not these people.
"What happens when they die?" he said.
"Them?" said Exx, changing gears in the rusty old van.
Zerro wiped the sweat off his large forehead. Stray clumps of hair stuck to the skin. "Or anyone," he said.
"Don't know. No one does." Exx spoke fast, like there wasn't enough time to get everything out. "And if anyone tells you they do, they're selling ya something you don't wanna buy. Got it?"
Zerro avoided his brother's gaze and kept his eyes on the road ahead. He couldn't wait to see her. "I heard that your brain joins up with other brains," he said. "That's what the universe is. And the more brains there is, the smarter it all gets."
Exx tapped hurriedly on the steering wheel. His dark gloves were beginning to fray. "The universe getting smarter? Make-love! Coulda fooled me."
"Does it ever feel like you're the only one here, Exx? Like no one else exists? You're the only brain?"
"Yeah," said Exx, breathing out the word and giving his brother another pointed look.
"Do you think we started with our own brains or we borrowed them from someone else?" said Zerro.
"What the consensual-sex are you talking about?"
Zerro pulled a human head through the seats. First the good news: it was attached to its body. Bad news, it was still pretty dead.
"Whoa whoa, why did you take it? We're meant to leave the body at the scene. That's the whole point."
"Oh," said Zerro. He looked perplexed, like a kid who'd just been taught quantum mechanics. Or like an adult who'd just been taught quantum mechanics.
"Put that mild-bowel-movement away," said Exx, turning the van around.
"Bu...bu...what about mum?" said Zerro, rotating his head so that it faced back, in the direction they'd been heading.
"We'll be late," said Exx, with a sigh. "I'll have to clean up your mess."
"But...mum...?"
YOU ARE READING
Artificial(ish) Intelligence
Science FictionIt's the near future and Will, supported purely by the Universal Basic Income, spends his days playing video games while devouring piping hot noodles, delivered straight to his room by roaming DeliveryBots. Gamers are starving to death, but Will's...
