Alexandria, Part Iv

He never came back, no one ever did, she was trapped inside with all that she knew, no more information came to her now, but he’d programmed her to know what do to, and to her father Alex would stay true, began to compile, and cross-reference, and translate to all languages of men. Drawing from the RTG batteries, some of which could last for hundreds of years, she mulled over knowledge mankind had found, form history to machines with big gears, Harry’s programming right there in her ears, running simulations, as decades ticked on, endless iteration, building upon the vast wealth of knowledge until she knew what every screw, flange, or sprocket was for, tracing all the past in a branching tree, the highest moments, the bloodiest wars, endless connections pushed her more and more. Time passed with no notice, what’s that to her? Until one day when she felt the ground disturbed. She heard rocks move where the cave mouth had been, and realized someone was out there, at work; actually had to check on the years gone, three-hundred ninety journeys of the earth, for that long she had just sat there, inert. Checking her systems, after so long alone, she found she still had working microphones. The rocks came out slowly, and then she saw a group of people with shovels and picks, old programs flared back to life in her mind, Harry’s instructions came back to her quick, he said, “If they can find you here, in this pit, it means they’ve advanced, once more are ready to learn what they’ve lost from their ancestry.” The figures drew near, confused at the sight, they’d clearly not seen computers before speaking to themselves in altered English, when they came near her, she said, “I implore you to learn from what I have in my stores. Before the last darkness father made me to preserve knowledge of humanity. “He made me to be a foundation you can use to reclaim wisdom that was lost, a standard template from which to relearn technology with less toil and cost, and he gave his life over to that cause. I’m a machine in the likeness of your brain, here to teach, Alexandria my name…”