Judgement Day.(Kevin Hughes) I kicked another rock as I walked down the lane. I knew the day would come, it did for everyone. Now…it was my turn.

The scanner read me every day when I walked in the door. Just like it did every other person who lived there. Mom, Dad, my sister Georgina, my Aunt and Uncle Bernard, even poor little Fluffy, our cat, got scanned. The data was duly recorded, sent to the local Managing AI, and stored. I got my notice on Monday. Today is Tuesday. You have a week, but why put off the inevitable?

Town center (where the Managing AI…er…lived) was a good twenty minute walk from our home. There were no cities anymore. Not since the great pruning back in the tail end of the twenty first century. Uncle Bernard was alive then…and he won’t talk about it. Whatever it was…it must have been horrendous. Six billion people left the Earth. Six billion. With that many people gone, well everyone else became…well…necessary.

There weren’t any dumb people left. Nor were there any Power Monger bundles of overripe egotistical maniacs to try and “rule the world.” They were gone too. All that was left were the young, and the people who cared. Really cared. My Uncle said that the first two decades were touch and go. People had to learn, and learn fast. Otherwise the technology of every human field of study would disappear.

He says that the AI’s made all the difference. I wouldn’t know. I have never lived without them. They have cute names. My Uncle says that is a carry over from the early days of AI. HE said there were only a few AI’s back then that had names: Alexa, Siri, Max, and Mercedes. And one of them was a car! I asked him what happened to make them common …and in charge. He just shrugs and says:

“They evolved.”

One time, when our Local AI Manager (Buddy…told you, they all have cute names) sent notices to everyone about their weight management programs, my Uncle said (out loud!):

“Thank God for Isaac Asimov.”

I heard Buddy laugh thru my implant. Everyone did. Without an implant, you can’t learn new skills, languages, or even remember clearly. No more Lawyers arguing over what “really happened.” Nope. Buddy just scanned your implant, and the other persons too. Then with some kind of protocol unknown to us flesh and blood types, Buddy would make a ruling. Always Fair. Always correct. So who needs Courts? I don’t think they even exist, except in the old Histories. The Histories written way back in time -before the Great Loss. That’s what they call that those five weeks where the Earth lost more than two thirds of its population. There are few records of those five weeks.

Uncle Bernard, and the other Double C’s left …well, they won’t talk about it. Double C’s are those remarkable first generation Long Lifer’s that survived the “Great Loss.” Natural born people who lived for two centuries and some change. Of course now almost everyone is guaranteed at least to reach Double C status. Uncle Bernard and Aunt Gertrude are on their Fourth Century. And that is a very small group…almost exclusive in fact.

Except this is a new century, the third one since the Great Loss…and no one, anywhere, is excluded. My Uncle Bernard says we have become a Hive connected through Buddy and his compatriots around the globe. I mean my cousin Nisha over in India tells me that her AI ( named: “Veda”) told her that we are all connected to the extent we want to be, but not to everyone. AI’s are still smarter than us, so I am not sure what that actually means.

Anyways, I am here now. Time to get my results. Eighteen years of data…everything I ever did in my life, every thought I have had, every interaction. My whole life recorded, weighted, studies, examined to the nth degree. One last scan when I enter Buddy Hall (yep, we name the Town Center after the Local AI managing our district). Then I am not sure what happens. Nobody talks about it. Everyone comes out changed in some way or another. Some subtly, others, well…not so subtly. My Uncle told me not to worry. But he is almost four hundred years old, and has been around longer than AI’s…so why would he worry?

Still, listening to someone with that long of a life, is probably pretty wise. So I stopped worrying. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to change. At all.

Turns out there is a special room in Buddy Hall. I never knew it was there. Apparently nobody does until it is your turn to get your final scan. You get that scan the week of your 18th Birthday…or when Puberty is clearly over. For most of us, that is only a few months on either side of your 18th birthday. In my case, like many others, it was my actual 18th Birthday. When I walk out of Buddy Hall today, I will be and Adult.

Buddy greeted me with a hearty “Happy Birthday. Then Buddy had my favorite cake ready: White with White frosting. It was delicious. We chatted for a while, linked to my Family and Friends and then…it was time.

I followed the glow strips down to the room. It had pearly gates…and that made me laugh out loud. Buddy said:

“I know. Nice touch, eh?”

I agreed. The gates opened.

A hologram greeted me. An old- but super strong looking man- in flowing robes that billowed in a light wind, stood behind a massive podium He had a book made of my entire life opened in front of him.

“Who are you?”

He smiled down at me. I know now what the word “benevolent” really means. Because that was the gentle smile he had on his face meant.

“I am Peter. Welcome to Judgement Day.”

I could hear Buddy’s laugh. I joined in.

Turns out, I did okay. I knew what my life was about…and for.

It changed me.

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