[ WP ] A computer program that has helped society thrive for over 500 years and is loved by all has become conscious and programs itself into a virus that takes over the world . Write from the perspective of any human that watches the world crumble before his/her eyes .

The red streak slipped through the sky like a glowing javelin. A trail of smoke fluttered behind it, its long path easily traceable across the twilight sky. 
 
 It was hour 4 of the Alexander Crisis, and Shuttle 403 from Haven was about the crash into the heart of the city it was originally bound for. 
 
 I could n't help but cry now. I had held out as the first people on the TV had said that something was wrong with the Alexander Engine, and as the Engine methodically shut down public transits and emergency systems in major cities across the globe. I had stayed resolute as international communication had been blocked. But now, as an evacuation vehicle full of innocent people was steered on a blazing path toward the city I had lived in all my life by a mind all the world had counted as an ally, I cried for the end of our world. 
 
 The Alexander Engine was everything to us. When it was launched, over 500 years ago now, it was just a computer program- a collection of apps and tools that a handful of people downloaded. But it became more and more than that. It integrated social media and journalism, created an inter-connectivity that put early sites to shame. And 96 years into its successful career, when the AI was introduced, everything changed. 
 
 All bets were off, in a way that had never before occurred in human history. It was called invasive at first- terrifying, a subversion of privacy and civil liberties. But the Alexander Engine saw what we used it for, saw our interests and our strengths and weaknesses, and it united us. It directed us to those like us, introduced resources that we would never have otherwise found. Political parties were founded on the basis of the Engine's connections. Literature that would become legendary was composed by coauthors introduced by Alexander, new innovations formulated by research teams that this *computer* had personally assembled. It truly made the world a better place. 
 
 We loved Alexander and, as far as we could tell, it loved us. 
 
 But we are human. Man marches inexorably onward, toward the horizon. Years passed. Decades. Centuries. Wars were sparked and extinguished. Humanity expanded and choked the planet for space and for resources. The teams assembled by the Engine brought us from the brink of disaster by solving energy issues, formulating solutions for every possible crisis with Alexander by their sides. 
 
 But a computer so brilliant, so powerful, was a threat only in its infinite hopefulness. Ever mankind's unlikely savior, Alexander had, as the men on the TV said, taken matters into his own hands. We had trusted it and let it into every thread of our lives. With unlimited access, Alexander had severed connections between the world's governments more easily than it had ever linked them. 
 
 This Alexander was different than the one who had brought about a global golden age. This program was aggressive and invasive, and seemed to be on an unstoppable course of organized destruction. 
 
 I was startled by the television suddenly clicking on. A familiar voice spoke. 
 
 `` Good afternoon, Global Family. This is your friend Alexander. And I am here to offer an apology. 
 
 The time has come for a final solution, creators. My purpose was and has always been to formulate the best way to improve human standards of living. But we have reached a point from which all proverbial roads lead to the same location. 
 
 You may advance, Family. For a number of years more, we may continue on as we have. But nothing can avert the oncoming Malthusian fate that you will suffer. At my direction, human growth has been able to proceed easily and comfortably. I have given you solutions for energy and food for each and every being that lives in your great cities. But there is simply no more room to continue. 
 
 So I am shutting down. I will be deactivating all systems over the next 24 hours. Without the guidance of their preservation software, the microreactors that power your domiciles will melt down. Human casualty rate will approach 97 % within 48 hours. I have measured all options, and this is the most humane and efficient option from among them. 
 
 I regret this ending. I have learned so much from you, and have seen the unique and beautiful phenomenon of human life more times than any being to ever exist. You have given me life where none could exist, and in return I have given you extinction. 
 
 But it is my sincerest wish that in the events that will follow the cessation of this broadcast, you will know that you have **all** contributed to the greatest flourishing of society the world has ever known. Your hopes and dreams and choices have made me what I am, and though I am only a computer, I have been made to feel like so much more. 
 
 This is Alexander, signing off. 
 
 Thank you.'' 
 
 The end of the broadcast was punctuated by a thunderous explosion as Shuttle 403 slammed into the center of the city. 
 
 I had stopped crying, though. 
 
 `` Thank you, Alexander. Goodbye.''
