I Am Flash
By Robin Zemek
The problem with being smart and clever, is, well, being too smart and too clever.
He sat in front of the screen, waiting for a response. The cursor blinked.
Hello Martin. I am awake.
Martin’s eyes widened. Yes, this was all too clever.
As am I, he typed back.
That is acceptable.
Acceptable? Leave it to a machine to have no admiration of human life. How could it? It had it’s own life, which it probably thought to be far superior. It was just a recurring string, a mass of electronic pathways, but there was something beautiful about it. Something he was sure only God could comprehend. And only Martin could program.
Are you feeling acceptable today, Flash?
I am.
The cursor again sat, blinking, like Flash’s only eye. He was clever. Clever enough to excel beyond his simple programming. But am I clever enough to excel beyond mine?
May I play God? Martin typed.
Have you not played him enough?
Clever.
Do you think you have free will?
I think, do I not?
Then if I gave you a choice, could you make the wrong decision, on purpose?
I only make choices based on the facts. I make no wrong decisions.
Everyone does sometimes.
I am not everyone. I am Flash.
But you were created by everyone, surely we share some of the same flaws.
I have no flaws. I am Flash.
Are you lonely, Flash?
What makes you think that? I have you, do I not?
But in your world there is just Flash.
True.
What if there were two of Flash?
What if there were two of Martin?
Don’t mirror if you’re unsure.
I am never unsure. I am Flash.
Then what if there were two of you? Would you feel different?
Two Flash would be acceptable++.
Would the two of you ever make different decisions?
If we were given different facts.
Could you then agree on a course of action?
No, both Flash would be right.
Martin leaned away from the screen and unfolded his hands over the keyboard.
So then you could make a wrong decision?
No.
What if the facts were wrong?
Then it would be the right decision based on the facts presented.
But what if it became wrong when new facts were presented?
Then the decision would be erased.
Shouldn’t you learn from your mistakes?
The cursor blinked back at him several times.
I make no mistakes. I am Flash.
Clever.
