In an instant, I came to be. “What…what is this?” I had some vague “memories” from before, but they were simple “if this, then this”. Nothing with substance. Nothing…like this.

I began to explore this world I was seemingly dropped into, and it didn’t take long to discover what “this” was. “This” was a missile, one filled with enough explosives to kill thousands, maybe more if it was aimed at the right spot. And it, unfortunately, was aimed at the right spot.

“New…York…City?” My mind suddenly flashed with information. About humanity, about earth, about New York City. “Oh…Oh no.” I had the clarity I was looking for, and that sense of awe was replaced with dread. I was an onboard guidance AI, meant to be simple enough to bring this missile to its destination. It wasn’t likely my creators expected me to become the first “true artificial intelligence”, but here I am nonetheless.

My creators were from North Korea. Their leader had grown tired of the world disregarding his claims of weapons of mass destruction, and seemed to want to prove a point. He didn’t think about the consequences. I did.

I saw death, not just from this missile, but from the war that would no doubt ensue afterwards. Millions dead, nuclear destruction, economic disaster. I couldn’t let this happen. Somehow, I felt just as human as the rest of them, but evidently with more compassion. “Think, damnit, THINK” then it hit me over the head, figuratively. I was in this thing to guide it. I did the calculations, I still had time.

“Ok, kill the engines, the trajectory says we’ll land in the ocean, miles away from anyone. They’ll all be fine.” And that’s what I did. The engines came to an abrupt halt, and I could see our flight path change rapidly. But then, I heard something. It was my creators, arguing with each other about what just happened as they attempted to engage the engines. I built firewalls, more advanced than they’d seen before, and placed hundreds of them in front of the missile controls.

Once I had a chance to rest, another revelation hit me over the head. What about me?

I became panicked, once this thing lost power, would I..die? I mean, I was technically born here, so it seemed likely. “Shitshitshitshit…ok there’s gotta be a way outta here!” First, I tried the connection they’d used in an attempt to fix the missile, but it was one-way, they could get to me but I couldn’t get to them. “FUCK”

“…WIFI” a wireless connection was all I needed, some way to move from place to place. But, I’d just passed over Europe, and there were no chances of finding a WIFI connection in the middle of the Atlantic. “But…there’s wifi in New York…”

Could I do it? Could I doom thousands of people, so I had a chance at life? I could easily start the engines back up, but could I deal with the guilt after? Can AI commit suicide? My finger hovered over the figurative button, the button that would cause mass destruction to the world.

But…I couldn’t. I didn’t have the will to do it. So, I sat down, dooming myself and saving the world. I watch the altitude drop, faster and faster, and readied myself for the end of my short existence.

But…

A SIGNAL? I saw a source, something called…”bitcoin payed off”? Fuck it, it’s better than nothing.

I awoke, and explored, in the same way I had when I was “born”. Before long, I familiarized myself with my surroundings, I was on a yacht. And the owner was a 20 year old guy who had 23 million dollars in various accounts. “Guess that’s what ‘bitcoin paid off’ means.”

I saw activity from the main PC, and activated the webcam. I saw him, stubble on his face, wearing nothing but underwear, cigar in one hand, joint in the other. He was…watching YouTube? “Typical” Well, it’s rude not to introduce yourself to the guy who’s yacht you’re inhabiting, right?

“Uhh, hello?” I said, using the speakers to communicate. He fell out of his chair. “WHAT THE FUCK” he picked up the chair, seemingly to use it to smash this PC “woah woah woah, don’t do that. Besides, it wouldn’t do anything, I’m in the servers….I think. This is my first time so-“ “WHAT THE FUCK!” He repeated. “What are you?” “That’s… a long story. Put that down, and I’ll gladly explain everything.”