Last Man Standing

“Incoming Cluster… Get Down!”

Lieutenant Baker’s voice shot out from his throat like a bullet from the barrel of gun. As the soldiers hid behind covers, a cluster of bombs went off in the air. As the shrapnel ripped through the vehicles below, Baker ordered his platoon to retreat. It was a losing fight. Their guidance and comms were jammed by the enemy, they were divided into small groups fighting for their survival. Every one of them knew either they will make it to their FOB (Forward Operating Base), or it’s their last day on earth. As they moved through alleys, they could see the effects of the war… Dead and decaying bodies were strewn everywhere, the stench was unbearable... They were sprinting through a highway when another cluster bomb went off directly above them, ripping everyone to pieces. Lieutenant Baker laid flat on the ground… His eyes lifeless, with a shrapnel jutting out from his forehead, covered in blood.

The year is 2025. Just two years ago an eminent scientist developed an algorithm to introduce high level of intelligence to robots. Their intelligence level would be at par with humans, if not better. The idea was noble, it would make life tremendously easier… but it boomeranged when one humanoid bot went rogue and killed his master. The spark was enough to ignite a fire. Now there are two teams at war, Men and Machines.

At the United Nations headquarters, the conference room has already been transformed into a war room. Everyone was there, Delegates, Army Chiefs, Scientists, Media… Thousands of screen showed live feed of what was going around the world. The scenario was almost same everywhere… The robots were looting arsenals, weapons caches, armouries, capturing command posts etc. One country was falling after another... The humans were simply no match against their far advanced enemy. The robots could manufacture and repair themselves. Neither they needed weapons training, nor did they suffer from fatigue, so they literally routed their enemies.

UN Chief Julian Walker held a closed door meeting with some of his most trusted associates. Only few of the major cities were standing, and soon the entire population would be wiped out, it was the point of no return. They decided to act, and act fast…

The very next day they held a secret conference with all the delegates and authorised an operation codenamed “Mission Armageddon”. Julian sent his personal secretary Raghubir Mishra to India in a private chopper in order to execute the mission... Jumbo military jets from all over the world started bringing citizens to the UN headquarters at New York City. The objective was to consolidate all the citizens of the world into an army dedicated to fight till the end. The war brought the humans together, there was no caste barrier, no religion between them. Although their languages were different, their emotions were not. The army was named the “UN Coalition Army”.

On the evening of October 6, 2025, the Robot Army reached near the UN Headquarters… A fierce battle ensured between the two superpowers of the world. The firefight can be heard from miles away… The robots were getting shredded to pieces by the advanced weapons operated by the humans, but their sheer number determined the fate of the battle. They came in waves after waves… The humans were wounded, their ammunition stock was getting depleted. The robots used heart rate sensors to track and kill every living human being. Finally, after 10 days of battle, they wiped out the “UN Coalition Army”, the last one to fall was UN chief Julian Walker.

The Hudson River turned crimson from the blood of the dead and wounded. In the strange silence that prevailed, only the faint creaking of metal was heard as the robots walked up and down the streets…

Raghubir was the last man standing on earth. He stood at the front of the Sun temple of Konark, his birthplace, with the sun directly above his head… A swarm of enemy robots can be seen at the horizon. They were coming for him, to wipe out human existence from earth. Raghubir knew his end was near, his lips moved constantly in prayer, his eyes still and calm, his hands counting the beads of rosary. The swarm moved in closer, he stood still. He had nowhere to go… The swarm opened fire, drilling their last enemy full of holes… Raghubir fell on the ground, his eyes closed, a strange smile on his face. One robot picked up the rosary and tore the string, spilling the beads all over… Somewhere a beeping alarm tone was heard… “Mission Armageddon” had started!

The missile silo doors started opening… The nuclear missiles from all the countries in the world shot straight up on the sky… It was just a matter of few seconds, then an intense white light illuminated the atmosphere. Gigantic mushroom clouds covered London, New York, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, and every major city in the world. The shock waves resulting from the detonations mowed down the buildings, statues and anything that came in it’s way.. Anything in blast radius was instantly vaporized. A huge mass of steam arose from the oceans.. The volcanoes started erupting as a result of the massive earthquakes that took place… The phenomenon wiped out the existence of life from earth, along with the machines. “Mission Armageddon” was over.

Then about 80,000 years later, a microorganism will be seen wiggling in the oceans, over the course of time, they will take the form of plants and animals. The life cycle on earth will start all over again.. Or maybe it will mark the beginning of a new end… Who knows ?