[ WP ] The last thing anyone ever invented .

Adrian stared at his creation with a smile. Placing his hand against its aluminum casing, he gave it a ceremonial tap. The metallic casing echoed through the building. 
 
 
 The echo seemed to enhance how empty the lab actual was. It had been weeks since the last of his colleagues had gone home. Actually it would have been longer; Adrian was n't keeping track of days any more. He had boarded up all the windows, his only light source from a bulb connected to a generator. He knows it will go out soon, but it's not the dark he's scared of. 
 
 
 Taking a step back to further marvel at the thing he had slaved over for weeks his smile faded to one of serendipity. At this point he didn ’ t believe that it would ever get completed. 
 
 
 In the distance there was an explosion. Adrian turned to face the sound, but it was quiet enough to disregard. From that far away it was of little concern to him now. Slowly he turned back to the device. 
 
 
 A towering, humanoid metal man stared down at him, its lifeless eyes searching his soul for answers he didn ’ t have. At the moment it was just a thing, allowing time to pass freely by. But soon it would be something the world had never dreamed of. It was the solution. Adrian named it Adam, after the biblical first man. 
 
 
 After further admiration Adrian turned to a console which was connected to Adam. It whirred and beeped as green text raced across the screen. Adrian clicked away on the keyboard while Adam just stared nonchalantly into the distance. ‘ I ’ ll only get one chance ’ thought the scientist. He stared at the metal man again. ‘ If this doesn ’ t work, then it ’ s truly over. ’ 
 
 
 Adrian looked around the room, its darkened corners amplified by the small bulb which lay a few feet from him. He looked at his watch, for what good it did him, and reflected on his life. He remembered Alice, his wife, and his daughter Erin. He remembered his old life before it was taken from him. 
 
 
 After a quick glance at his work, he wiped his brow and pressed the enter key. There was no going back now. The whirring sounds of the computer intensified as various machines connected to Adam sprung to life. Within seconds there was another explosion outside, followed quickly by another. They were getting closer now. Something knew where he was, and Adrian knew he didn ’ t have much time left. 
 
 
 While various screens displayed technical information, and bright lights lit up the room, the fingers on Adam twitched. Adrian stared at his creation as it moved. It actually moved! On its own free will. No code, no program. An artificial intelligence which told the metal man to move its fingers. This was the first time in history where a machine displayed a want to do something and carried out its actions. 
 
 
 Another explosion. They were getting close now. Adrian panicked as dust fell from the ceiling. The power went out and the whirring stopped, then Adam stopped moving. More explosions were falling outside, some closer, some further away, but all too close for Adrians ’ comfort. 
 
 
 A single tear fell down his face. At this point he thought he was the last one. Those... Things, or whatever they were had pretty much wiped out everything. Adrian had locked himself in his lab at the very beginning, long before the bombs dropped. There was originally 30 of them in there, but one by one they left to find their family. None ever came back. Soon the sound of any kind of civilization was lost, replaced only by fewer explosions as the days went by. 
 
 
 Adrian ran to Adam and kicked him. He struck out with all his might. The metallic creature just stood there and took it, unable to defend itself. In an act of frustration, Adrian picked up a wrench and struck Adam in the chest. With that his eyes sprung to life and scouted the room. 
 
 
 It looked at Adrian, just in time to see half of the room explode into a fireball of chaos. Both man and machine were thrown across the room, showered by debris. Adam looked up at the night sky in the newly created hole and saw the stars. It then looked to its side and saw Adrian on the floor, bleeding intensly from a wound in his side. 
 
 
 “ Adam. You know what you have to do. I made you. Please. ” Adrian coughed up blood. Tears were freely flowing down his face as the fear of the unknown grasped him. Death would come soon, and he wasn ’ t ready, but he had to make sure he did this. 
 
 
 “ Make it stop. Please. Please make it stop. ” 
 
 
 Adam looked at the man, then looked back to the sky. It stood up and let the rubble fall to the ground. Walking through the remains of the lab, Adam didn ’ t even look back. 
 
 
 Adrian didn ’ t move. He ’ d lost the fight and lay there under the rocks and mortar. His glassy stare looked out into eternity as his creation - the last creation - went on a mission to save what was left of the earth.
