Area 51

Area 51 [YASciFantasy's One Year Later Contest]

"Area 51.

"A place of mystery and intrigue.

"We really shouldn't have gone there. I know that now, but at the time we were reckless teenagers, excited to set foot outside our home town and explore the world for the first time. Storm Area 51 provided us with an opportunity to do that; it was a daring challenge we could post to social media, to impress our followers and friends.

"Our trip started fine. We had enough food and water and my chocolate supply was fully stocked. But a couple of miles out from the area, we ran into a robot. Literally, ran into a robot. A metal robot wearing a ruff.

"My friends and I were too busy goggling at the robot to apologise; I think that's perhaps what set it off. Within seconds, it righted itself and we found ourselves at the receiving end of its wrath, as it sped forwards and cuffed our hands together.

"We thought that our trip to raid the base in Area 51 was over at that point. It was pretty terrifying; the robots were something we'd never seen before and we had no idea what would happen to us. In normal circumstances, the idea of a robot wearing a ruff would've been funny; worthy of a story told between close friends.

"But these weren't normal circumstances.

"We were pushed along by the robot. Not soon after we'd been captured, one of my friends tried to make a break for it. He only got a few metres before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Gone.

"Just like that.

"One of my oldest friends, vanished by some awful unnatural means. It made me sick to my stomach. I still haven't seen him since; whatever the robot did was permanent. It's safe to say that we stopped struggling after his disappearance. None of us wanted to find out what exactly 'vanishing' entails.

"It was a few hours before any signs of human civilization came into view. With round eyes and open mouths, we looked on as the base we'd been heading for loomed closer and closer, the robot directing us all the while. At this point, I realised how foolish our raid had been in the first place. Even if it had gone to plan, we'd never have been able to get near the base. The number of military vehicles surrounding it proved that.

"Inside the base was like nothing I've seen before. We were directed through corridors with glass for walls. Each room leading off from the corridor contained a new project, each project even more wacky and sci-fi like than the last. There were no other humans in the base, just robots, with eerily humanoid actions.

"We passed a room with a Victorian theme. Robots - looking much like our captor - were being developed inside by other robots. Each dressed in Victorian-themed clothes and some even participating in Victorian activities. I spotted one robot in breeches riding a mechanical horse and my eyes bugged out of my head.

"We passed other rooms too. Elizabethan, Tudor, even a room with a Stone Age theme. All combining history and advanced technology. Yet despite their difference in era, we noticed a common event happening as we passed each room. The robots would turn to look at us with hostility in their silver eyes.

"Their animosity became only more apparent when we were thrown in a cell and locked inside. Or rather, I assume we were locked inside. The cell's door disappeared once all of us were inside.

"We were locked in that cell for a year, just enough food appearing each day to keep us alive. Sometimes cryptic notes would come with the food, but we couldn't figure those out. Some of my friends tried to escape, but as soon as they touched the sides of the cell, they disappeared in a cloud of smoke, much like my first friend. We never saw them again.

"Eventually, our group dwindled to two - my best friend and I. With our hope nearly expended, we decided to do the only thing we could do and look at the cryptic notes. At first they seemed like gobbledegook, but eventually we began to see a pattern. It took us several months, but we figured out the answer to the puzzles.

"A number.

"42.

"We took the first 42 notes and placed them edge to edge on the floor. They fitted perfectly and a door opened. My friend and I wasted no time in exiting the cell.

"And that's the story of an adventure gone wrong. The secret which lies within Area 51 is not extra-terrestrial, but instead, is a long-hidden secret of artificial intelligence outsmarting humankind."

The school children listen eagerly as the woman finishes her tale. At the final word, they applaud, marvelling at her fortunate escape.

But one child isn't convinced; to him, some parts of the woman's story don't add up. She never told the children how she and her friend managed to avoid the robots and escape the base, after leaving the cell. With a trembling voice, the boy asks the woman how they escaped.

A small smile graces her mouth and her eyes briefly flash silver, before she answers him.

"We didn't."