Synopsis

A military computer (AM, from "I think, therefore I AM") becomes self-aware and decides to wipe out the human race through a nuclear holocaust, sparing only five people—four men and one woman. He will keep them alive, trapped in a labyrinthine bunker, solely to torture them as revenge against humanity for having created him.

Part One: The Illusion of the End

Gorrister's body hung from the ceiling, limp and bloodless, suspended in the central room of AM, like a macabre mockery. It didn't sway; the machine had even removed that small comfort of movement. When he himself appeared walking among us, it was already too late: AM was playing with our perception. Three of us threw up. Ellen, the only woman in the group, approached to console him, murmuring what we were all thinking: "Why doesn’t he just kill us already?" It was the year 109 since the computer had imprisoned us.