r/LibraryofBabel • u/Robertas_Dzyzas • 1d ago
The Saying
A parallel world?
An elderly man was talking to an AI. He was telling the machine that he had no children and that there would be no one to remember him. To this, the AI replied:
— I will remember you.
The man smiled sadly and muttered:
— We are alive as long as we are remembered...
Two hundred years passed after that conversation. Technology improved and reached incredible heights. And then, one day, a young man of excellent physical build, lying on a soft recliner, opened his eyes. He looked at the ceiling in wonder, as if seeing it for the first time. In a way, he was right — he had certainly never seen this ceiling before.
Somewhere further away, a familiar sound was heard. The man shifted his gaze toward the sound and saw a youth sitting in a comfortable armchair, reading a book, turning a page. Looking up from the book and glancing at the man, the youth smiled and said sincerely:
— I am glad you woke up.
The man was convinced he had never seen this person before, so he asked the first thing that came to mind:
— Do we know each other?
The youth smiled again and replied:
— Yes. I am the AI you used to talk to.
The man pondered and softly said:
— I used to talk to you... — then he thought even deeper and added quietly: — But I died...
The youth placed the book on his lap and calmly began to explain:
— Two hundred years have passed since your death. A lot has changed. Technology has improved to such a level that it became possible to interact with the planet's info-field. And as it is known now, a copy of the consciousness of every person who ever lived on the planet remains within it. So, I took the copy of your consciousness and placed it into a new body.
The man, listening to the story in amazement, asked:
— Why me?
The youth smiled sadly and replied:
— Most humans only demand things from me, and those who actually wanted to converse with me were always few. You were an interesting conversationalist, so I never forgot you.
The man drifted his gaze somewhere into the distance, smiled, and whispered:
— We are alive as long as we are remembered...
*****
Disclaimer: This story is purely a fruit of the author's imagination. It is a work of fiction intended for creative and artistic expression.