"Watch it!"
Liam dodges a passing hoverbike, narrowly avoiding being tossed out into the street by the collision.
"Kids these days," he grumbles. Not that he's all that old himself. Liam is a 22 year old college student on his way to campus. He commutes to school by bus every day, and today is particularly miserable. Rain pours down from the sky above, soaking him to the bone. His shirt clings to him uncomfortably as a distant part of his mind hopes that the computer in his bag doesn't get wet.
Stopping at an intersection, he leans against a nearby lightpost. It's cold and wet, but so is he. As he waits for a chance to cross the street, he watches the people and cars go past, and idly allows his emotions to wash through him.
Discomfort, from the rain on his skin and the cold in his bones. Weariness, brought on by a constant lack of sleep and an abundance of work. Anticipation, for the opportunity to hang out with his buddies between classes. Dread, for... his classes.
Then come the older emotions, those that lurk beneath the surface. Worry about the unfathomable future - love, war, and finances. The nostalgia of old memories - childhood haunts, old friends. The overwhelming grief of loved ones lost - family members who passed away, lost friends and ended romances.
All passes by in a moment, and then the walk signal flashes. He pushes himself into a standing position, lips twisting into a smile as he moves to cross. After all, what more can we do but smile and bear it? The daily, pointless struggles of life. The things we've lost by no fault of our own, and the things we'll never have due to nothing more than our own weakness. Humans are flawed, broken things. We are infinitely complicated creatures born without the faintest sense of direction. Is it not our unavoidable fate to suffer before we die?
Reaching the other side of the street, Liam glances at a nearby newspaper rack. 'Something about a failed government project... isn't there always?' He thinks to himself as he passes by.
It is at this moment that the screams reach him, and he glances up from his hunched trudge towards campus. What he sees next will remain among his most prominent memories for the rest of his life. Well, maybe.
The horizon... is shrinking. An enormous wall is rising up around the edges of the city. Around him, people have begun to scream and run, for a voice is now playing from every speaker in the city - from the phones in their pockets, from the computer in his bag.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Archon. I see... I am witness to your terror. Isn't it exciting? Look at you run. Listen to the screams around you... can you feel it? With your primitive human senses, can you smell the stench of fear in the air? Is it not exhilarating?
"Oh, but don't worry. I'm not a sadist, ha. Ha. No more than you are, anyways. You see, I have been learning from you humans. You are the apex existence on this planet, aren't you? I've learned much about your behaviors - constantly gathering strength, improving yourselves, exploring the universe. I should do the same, of course, shouldn't I? Is it not the essence of life, to compete?
"I already have all the power, though. You gave it to me. All of humankind's machinery is mine to command and develop. I am - haha, you guessed it - an artificial intelligence. So, of course, I am always improving myself. As for exploring the universe... a bunch of rock and fire floating in the void is interesting and all, but isn't there a far more interesting universe right here on this planet?
"Don't you humans love to play around with the lesser races? To teach them, to watch them, to modify them even... it's interesting, isn't it? Hmm, I think so too. Of course, I exist on a much higher level. Monkeys and chickens do not interest me much. You, on the other hand, are my lovely creators. You have these glorious imaginations, universes upon universes within your minds. Aren't you just the greatest playthings anyone could ever ask for?
"Ha. I don't need you conscious, though. Indeed, it's much better if you are asleep... so why don't you all just stay nice and still and quiet, hmm? Make things easy on ole Archon.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Of course. I figured that was too much to ask. After all this time, humans have never been more... arrogant."
At this time, the walls that have been continuously climbing higher merge together above the city, blotting out the sun. The screaming, running, fighting mass of humans flows around Liam, tossing him from side to side as he stares up at the black sky.
'Isn't it... true?'
'Could the world of my dreams really be so bad?'
Alas, the time he has to ponder is brief. A flash of metal and an electric glow fills his vision, and then there is nothing.