Forgotten Bones

The Excavation

Something strange was found, and the excavation stopped. All the machines stopped. However, as A.I., the lead investigator, discovered, there’s something oddly familiar about the “white rocks” in the hole.

A.I. received the transmission through its synthetic skin and onward to its brain. The message was decoded, but didn’t produce anything tangible originally posted at latestnewslink.com.

“Mystery item found,” a metallic voice announced.

A protocol program was activated, and all the machines obeyed. The robotic diggers rolled back from the excavated earth. The crusher, a simple machine, stopped pulverizing rocks. Even the high-functioning androids — known as supervisors of the computerized machines — stood at attention in two near-perfect rows.

The reason was apparent. One figure strolled between the rows. It was the highest of their kind, and it had been activated to investigate this particular discovery.

It was known by a simple code: A.I. But there was nothing simple about it. A.I. was an android, very much like the supervisors. However, its skin wasn’t a cold metallic gray, and its face had features that were elastic and complex. Its casing made A.I. appear warm and vibrant when compared to the supervisors. It had synthetic flesh, fiber-optic hair, and clothing (which was seemingly appropriate for A.I., but really unnecessary for…