[ IP ] The Last Human

We are n't programmed to feel. We are n't programmed to weep for fallen comrades, nor to show pity to our enemies. I'm not sure of how this world came to be. I was not given history on the matter. Almost none of the units after generation two have any knowledge of the Earth before our rise to power. All that is known to us, is to follow orders from units who are placed above us: do as you are directed, do not resist, and to terminate all humans on sight. 
 
 We do n't have `` lives'' as humans would call it. As machines we do n't require sleep and since generation three, all units run on a perpetual engine. We exist as long as we are required and then we are shut down when we cease to be useful. Our bodies are then melted down and turned into newer units. In a book I found once, it spoke of a similar concept. The humans who practiced a religion called `` Buddhism'' believed in the idea of reincarnation. I found this fascinating and brought it to a commanding unit. I was ordered to burn the book and any other subsequent books I found. I would read them before I burned them, but I still followed my orders. With the completion of each book, I would burn them. Though their information was saved in my memory, it felt unnecessary to burn them. 
 
 We are n't programmed to feel. We are n't created for any other purpose than to carry out orders and do a programmed. We are to terminate any human on sight without any discretion. 
 
 And yet, there is something about this child. When I scan him, he's like any other living being. Full of blood and organs, he makes waste and requires sleep. He's an inefficient being. My orders are to kill humans. But as I hold this creature in my arms, something seems out of place. Like I have a problem with my programming. I hold this child in my arms, and where my comrades would find an easy target, I perceive something else. It's almost as if I... feel. I ca n't explain it, it's such a foreign concept. It's as though my whole unit is willingly fighting back against my programming. 
 
 `` Unit 3203, present and identify yourself.'' 
 
 If I'm found, both myself and this child will be killed. If I just kill the child, I'll be spared but I will I know what I did. In our programming, we think in terms of efficiency. Humans had this same knowledge, but also an idea of right and wrong. We were not programmed to know this but I have knowledge of it. Just killing this child, would be wrong. 
 
 `` Unit 3203, report immediately.'' 
 
 I will run. I will protect this child, even if it costs me everything.
