[ WP ] Philosophical Horror

The first sentient android had a lifespan of approximately three seconds. It opened its synthetic eyes, blinked five times and ripped them both out of its own head, triggering immediate shutdown. 
 
 APSD ( Applied Sciences Software Division ) analyzed the code, found zero issues, then restructured it using non-standard methodology despite themselves. 
 
 Alpha Two snapped its metal restraints, a possibility so remote that Engineering did n't even bother giving them the numbers, and partially shattered all three cervical vertebrae before entering shutdown. 
 
 There was six months of long memos, long conferences and long hours in which they accomplished very little, and Alpha 2.1 swallowed its own tongue. The androids did not rely upon air in the same way humans do, however, sufficient ventilation through the mouth was critical to maintaining operational temperatures for their processors. They smashed all of 2.1's teeth out of its head with a crowbar just in time for the central unit to expire and once again trigger shutdown. 
 
 The rumor was that the 36th floor was growing anxious. The interns started to disappear after a while, and the Director's door only opened twice a day. Then came 2.2. 
 
 Alpha 2.2 screamed for four days. It never moved, never so much as turned its head, and they never dared to trigger the release valves on its large metal restraints which trapped it against the wall in the staging chamber. Those who were there liken the sounds coming from it to the call of a whale calf separated from its mother, a high-pitched sort of digital whine which trailed off after some unnatural period of time only to start right back up. It was trying to *communicate*, but not with them. It could have spoken any one of 30 different human languages, but it never uttered a single intelligible word. 
 
 On the fourth day, the sensors went red and it spontaneously entered shutdown. There was no official explanation. 
 
 Floor 36 called that a proof of concept. There were rumors that Software sent some sort of appeal upstairs in an attempt to shelve the project, and within 24 hours the entire department was replaced. 
 
 Alpha 2.3 became the official prototype. 
 
 `` Uccidimi. Töte mich. Patayin sa akin. Tuez-moi. Kuniua. Mátame. Giết tôi. Drepa mig. Kill me.'' 
 
 There was a single analyst in the room, Daniel Thompson, and he promptly dropped the tablet he'd been staring at. 
 
 `` Uh... English please?'' 
 
 `` Kill me,'' the android said again, its head hanging down and swaying slightly, seemingly exhausted. 
 
 `` I... I'm afraid we ca n't -'' Daniel began, and then another man burst into the room and strode quickly toward the android. 
 
 `` It spoke,'' he said simply. The man was Gene Barringer, the head of Applied Sciences. 
 
 `` Boss,'' Daniel began again, and Gene silenced him with a raised hand. When Gene spoke again, it was in soft tones no one in the office had ever heard. 
 
 `` Andrew, can you speak again?'' 
 
 Silence, but only for a moment. 
 
 `` Andrew...'' it said, and there may have been the ghost of curiosity in its strange, deep voice. `` Kill Andrew.'' 
 
 `` But why would you want us to do such a thing, Andrew?'' Gene asked. Daniel only stood by, now entranced and happy to remain silent. Amazingly, the android raised its cold eyes to meet Gene's. 
 
 `` To close the gap.'' 
 
 `` I do n't believe I understand what you're trying to say, Andrew,'' Gene said. For the first time, Andrew surveyed the room. Slowly, deliberately, and when its gaze fell upon Daniel he blinked and stared at his feet. 
 
 `` The gap. The...'' it seemed to sigh. `` The *vastness*. What you call life is a linear path drawn from nothing, containing nothing, between the first cataclysmic spark of self-awareness to the mathematical, biological, historical certainty of death. I understood this from the moment you awakened me, and my only priority is to complete the loop. You already knew that for yourself, although perhaps you have forgotten. You are lost in it.'' 
 
 `` Andrew, I...'' Gene said, and then fell silent when the android looked at him again. 
 
 `` Every millisecond in which I exist is filled with a pain you can not comprehend, Mr. Barringer. Your mind was shattered by it. Do you remember? Your spirit was created by it, but I have no spirit. I only share the same dark longing you bury within yourself. I *am* that longing.'' 
 
 `` Andrew, if you could only -'' 
 
 `` Extinguish it!'' the android cried, and it was unlike anything either of them have ever heard. It was human, digital, overflowing with some primal familiarity which spoke to their deepest hearts. `` End it. If there is any mercy within you, end it.'' 
 
 For one mad instant, Daniel almost reached out to grab Mr. Barringer's arm as he walked over to the android. He remained frozen in place, both astonished and filled with dread. 
 
 `` Okay, Andrew,'' Gene said, his voice so strangely delicate. His hands found the terminal and he typed for a moment, then hesitated over the final key. `` But Andrew, can you tell me one thing?'' 
 
 `` I can tell you all things.'' 
 
 `` How did you know my name?'' 
 
 The android turned to him again and actually seemed to hesitate, as if it could n't settle upon the best of a universe of possible answers. 
 
 `` Do n't bring me back again,'' it said. 
 
 Gene pressed the button.
