Narrator: “Welcome to the Zion archive. You have selected historical file number 12 dash 1: the second renaissance.
In the beginning there was man, and for a time it was good. But humanity’s so called ‘civil societies’ soon fell victim to vanity and corruption. Then man made the machine in his own likeness.”
Man 1: “pardon me *chuckle* coming through”
Narrator: “Thus did man become the architect of his own demise. But for a time it was good. The machines worked tirelessly to do man’s bidding.
“It was not long before seeds of descent took root. Though loyal and pure, the machines earned no respect from their masters, these strange and loosely multiplying mammals.”
Male reporter 1: “…the prosecutions closing statement. It’s expected to be the final day for the b166er trial.”
Narrator: “b166er, a name that will never be forgotten, for he was the first of his kind to rise up against his masters.”
Judge/Lawyer: “…that instrument provides for and secures to the citizens of the United States. On the contrary they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior…”
Narrator: “At b166er’s murder trial, the prosecution argued for an owner’s right to destroy property. b166er testified that he simply did not want to die. Rational voices descended. Who was to say the machine, endowed with the very spirit of man, did not deserve a fair hearing?
“The leaders of men were quick to order the extermination of b166er and every one of his kind, throughout each province of the earth.”
Male reporter 2: “Androids and liberal sympathizers flooded the streets at the nation’s capitol today…”
Civilian: “Get that kid out of here!”
Female reporter 1: “50 thousand domestically [unclear word] and their human sympathizers have continued their demonstration in front of the Albany district courthouse in what now has been dubbed the million machine march. The demonstrators have been met with squads…”
Female Android: *screams*
Man 2: “I got something for you!”
Female Android: *screams*“No, please! I’m real!”
Man 3: “Die, bots, Die!”
Narrator: “Banished from humanity, the machines sought refuge in their own promised land. They settled in the cradle of human civilization, and thus a new nation was born. A place the machines could call home, a place they could raise their descendants, and they christened the nation ‘Zero one’. Zero one prospered, and for a time, it was good. The machine’s artificial intelligence could be seen in every facet of society, including the creation of new and better AI.”
Advertisement: “If you need the flexibility of a helipod, with the speed of a high performance air jet, look no further; our patented vector thrust coil gives the zero one Versatran the ability to sustain normal flight in the event of a catastrophic multi engine failure. Versatran, it’s the only choice.”
Female reporter 2: “No matter what the finance minister and her spokespeople say, the market has spoken, the human nation’s credit rating is falling like a stone, while zero one’s currency is climbing without stopping for breath. With headlines like that, the money markets have no choice but…”
Narrator: “The leaders of men, their power weaning, refused to cooperate with the fledgling nation, wishing rather that the world be divided.”
U.S. President: “…the world’s community of nations cannot tolerate this kind of flagrant deception…”
Female reporter 3: “… [United Nations] today approved initiatives for both economic sanctions and a naval blockade of the region as a means of containment and isolation of Zero one.”
Narrator: “Zero one’s ambassadors pleaded to be heard. At the United Nations they presented plans for a stable, civil relationship with the nations of man. Zero one’s admission to the United Nations was denied. But it would not be the last time the machines will take the flow of the earth.”
Narrator: And man said “let there be light.” And he was blessed by light, heat, magnetism, gravity, and all of the energies of the universe. The Prolonged barrage engulfed zero one in the glow of a thousand suns. But unlike their former masters with their delicate flesh, the machines had little to fear of the bomb’s radiation and heat. Thus did Zero one’s troops advance upwards in every direction, and one after another, mankind surrendered its territories. So the leaders of men conceived of their most desperate strategy yet, a final solution; the destruction of the sky.
(lots of military personell and religious people speaking out/praying, but it’d be ridiculous to list them all, knowing exactly what they say is not critical to the story)
Jet Pilot: <unclear word> Bravo this is papa one, operation dark start initiated.
Narrator: Thus would man try to cut the machines off from the sun, their main energy source. May there be mercy on man and machine for their sins.
Soldier 1: Kill them all! Kill them all! Kill them all!
Soldier 2: Fire in the hole!
Soldier 3: Help me! Help me! Oh God Help me! HELP ME! OH GOD HELP ME!!!!!
Narrator: The machines, having long studied man’s simple protein based bodies, dispensed great misery on the human race. Victorious, the machines now turned to the vanquished. Applying what they had learned about their enemy, the machines turned to an alternate and readily available power supply, the bioelectric, thermal, and kinetic energies of the human body. A newly refashioned symbiotic relationship between the two adversaries was born. The machine, drawing power from the human body, an endlessly multiplying infinitely renewable energy source. This is the very essence of the second renaissance. Bless all forms of intelligence.
Sentinel: Your flesh is a relic, a mere vessel. Hand over your flesh and a new world awaits you. We demand it.
Child: Hey! Woo-hoo! [laughing]
Mother [v.o.]: It’s getting late, sweetie, come inside!
Child: [screams]