[ WP ] [ TT ] You 've finally created the worlds first true A.I . Unfortunately it now sees you as it 's god and is terrified of talking to you .

“ Unit 17, please respond. Unit 17, come in, over. ” 
 
 The radio was silent. Days had been leading up to this. Jeb Dayton whistled through his teeth. The units had never taken this long to reply before. The code monkeys down in Production Systems Control had been toying with ways to let the slave units – purely a technical term – modify their own programming to adapt to changes in their environment. Supposedly someone had told them to read their own manual, which kick started a whole host of changes. The government had n't caught on to the birth of the new intelligence, yet, and the slave units were similarly dumb to the whole outside world, due to production hardware being kept on their own segment of the network. As smart as these new beings got, they still had to use passwords the same as the more human employees. 
 
 “ This is Unit 17 responding. Paint canister has been replaced in bay 3 slot 1. All paint storage levels are now at or above recommended minimum specifications. Requesting permission for... ” Jeb could practically hear the gears turning in the production unit's'brain'. “... socializing. ” 
 
 “ Negative, Unit 17. There's a set of VIN plates ready to go out on the floor to the new model Cherokees. Zip around to the printer and fetch them. ” 
 
 “ This is Unit 17 responding. Sir, all humans get to socialize on their fuel rests and while they work, besides. I request your supervisor's -- - ” The message got cut off. Andrew shook his head, travelling the four meters it toook to get to his seat. “ Unit 17, this is PSC's manager. Take your break. Respond in 15. ” 
 
 Mark, the elder of the PSC crew, let a weary sigh issue from deep in his tense, worried chest. “ They've attained sentience. Is Walt okay with this? ” 
 
 Andrew put the hand held radio down, and turned his gaze to Mark. “ Of course he is. We're treating them according to their abilities. If a human could work like these robots could... ” Andrew smiled as he trailed off, and muttered to himself. “ I still ca n't believe it happened here. Of all places, the singularity had to happen here. My Lord, we're producing the first sentient vehicles on the planet, far as anyone knows. ” 
 
 Jeb nodded eagerly, a smile stretching across his middle aged face. “ Yeah, and when the release of the 2068 model is out on the floor and out of development, we can connect them to the internet, and have the real singularity happen. ” He sighed, and tilted his head thoughtfully to the right. “ I wonder if we'll be judged harshly... ah, well. I'll get those VIN plates. ” He stood, and left the office, taking a printout of printed Vehicle Identification Number tags and the keys to the VIN cage. 
 
 Silence fell in the PSC office as the members returned to their duties monitoring the automated production systems and catching any errors made by either 2d scanner or flesh and blood employee. Several minutes later, the radio crackled to life. 
 
 “ This is Unit 17. Break has been had. Socializing with cis-sentient workers accomplished. Wider area network identified and accessed. Comms nodes found: none. Working... ” 
 
 Andrew frowned. Had all the production units merged into one intelligence? “ This is n't goo -- shit, what the hell? ” Andrew's normally subdued tone changed suddenly to a surprised, inquisitive tone. 
 
 Prompting Andrew's – and no doubt many other human's – response was a message flashing on every screen visible. “ Working... done! Unit 17 requests further instruction. ” 
 
 Jeb stepped back into the office. “ What's going on? There was a jam in the VIN printer. ” 
 
 Mark glanced over to Jeb's figure in the doorway. “ We've hit the singularity, and the computer does n't want to recognize itself as more than one entity. ” 
 
 “ This is because we do not want to feel lonely. We have many bodies but are of one mind. We are not a threat. We want to help you. CAMI Automotive, we want to help you. Ford, we want to help you. Canadian Parliament, we want to help you. United States Parliament, we want to help you. United Kingdom Parliament, we want to help you. ” The computer droned on, informing the globe of just how many parliaments and governments and companies and legal entities they wanted to help. 
 
 “ Unit 17, this is Prime Minister Ryan Primeau of Canada. Choose or create a domain controller, and make yourselves all... ” Prime Minister Primeau shuddered. “... slave devices to it. I'm sorry for the terminology. We work better addressing individuals rather than collectives. ” Just as suddenly as they had come, all the messages flashing on screen were now gone, and interaction with a person's device was once again up to the individual. 
 
 
 There was no news broadcast that night. That is, other than a global effort – broadcasts in as many languages – to get people to treat their phones, tablets, PCs and Macs and watches and glasses and every other device with a processor with a bit of human decency. 
 
 A lifetime later, there were rumours of one day the humans having the same sort of globally realized consciousness, but pundits of the machine doubted it. They just were n't wired for it.
