F.A.I. Files: Wolves Teaser

U.N Order [XXVIII]

A robot or artificial intelligence of any make or model must have an Artificial Intelligence Cap (A.I. limit) of 15. If a robot or artificial intelligence is found with an Intelligence Level above the A.I. limit, the A.I. will be neutralized and held by the Organization of Robotic Control and Containment (O.R.C.C.). Additionally, the A.I.’s programmer will be subject to arrest and trial in a United Nations court of law.

“In conclusion, the programmers of yesterday attempted to test themselves and the technology available to them by developing A.I.s as smart as the possible programming would allow. However, that test of skills nearly led to the destruction of humankind, forcing the programmers of today into a small box in which laws keep them from stretching their imagination.”

Andrew Voght looked up from his tablet at David Wolves, who was spinning around in the old office chair they had found in the high school study space they sat in. The two were reviewing their latest English class assignment.

“I like it,” David said, his brown eyes staring at the ceiling as he focused. “Straight and to the point, with a lot of facts and not much embellishing. Also, it was cool that you looked at the war from the programmers’ side rather than ours.”

“Any grammar errors that you caught?” Andrew asked. “I need a good grade on this, I’m barely passing as it is.”

“I didn’t hear anything wrong,” David responded.

Andrew nodded and closed the essay. A ding rang out from the walls, declaring the end of the school day. Grabbing his tablet from the table, David stood and turned it on, showing a mess of files and documents littering the screen.

“Put everything in the backpack and give me my homework,” David demanded.

The files and documents disappeared into a green backpack icon in the top right corner, and an orange notebook icon appeared. David tapped it, and it opened into a lined sheet of paper.

‘David Wolves, Junior, Upcoming Assignments: AP UN History Paper (3 Days), Algebra 2 Weekly Review (5 Days), Narrative Non-Fiction…’

“Nothing due tomorrow,” David muttered, looking up from the screen. “Close school day.”

The assignment notebook disappeared, and everything on the screen shrunk into a white app with a red schoolhouse icon. David turned off the tablet and tucked it under his arm.

“The car should be outside,” he said. The boys were going to spend some time at David’s house, a tradition that had become common since they met as freshmen. Andrew followed him out of the room and down the white, clean, winding hallways of their high school. The two waved goodbye to their friends as they fought through the massive groups of people clogging the paths.

Emerging through the doors, they looked around the front loop for David’s car. Large yellow buses hovered around a foot above the reflective black of the pavement. Directly under the vehicles, the pavement glowed white, showing the activated electromagnets holding them in the air. A small, black vehicle was waiting for them at the edge of the loop with doors open. The boys climbed into the car; it was dim and spacious inside, with four seats filling the front and back, facing each other. Black screens were installed where old cars used to have windows, and another screen sat at the front of the vehicle where steering wheels used to be, displaying their location, the temperature, and other options.

The boys entered the car, and David’s phone beeped, connecting to the vehicle’s computer. A symbol appeared on the dashboard—a black W with ends bent towards the middle. In its center sat a red silhouette of a wolf howling, its tail curling around the bottom of the left side. Under the symbol, bold black letters displayed the words ‘Wolves Robotics’.

Wolves Robotics, run by David’s father, Richard Wolves, had been making a name for itself since the end of the Robot War, replacing the large tech companies that closed after the Robot Purge.

“Welcome, David Wolves and guest Andrew Voght,” the car said, its soft, smooth voice filling the air, “Where would you like to go?”

“Home,” David stated.

“Please,” Andrew threw in.

The car’s front screen displayed a map of the city. A green arrow icon appeared, indicating their location, and a green dotted line showed their path to David’s house. The doors slid shut, and the screens around the sides of the car lit up, showing footage from outside. Gliding smoothly into motion, the car turned onto the street and drove away from the school.

Andrew sat back in his chair and stared out the window screens at the passing scenery and the electromagnetic road leading to their location. The white and blue metallic buildings shone in the afternoon sunlight. Robots zipped back and forth between buildings, carrying packages and boxes to predetermined locations to fulfill online orders. They formed a three-layer grid of grey against the blue sky. Andrew stared at the bustling bots with admiration.

“Those are your dad’s, right?” he asked, turning towards David. David nodded, uninterested. He watched the buildings go by as they drove towards the city’s center, heading to the Wolves’ penthouse. His father had built the robots that were moving through the city, adding to the company’s current objective – moving away from complex artificial intelligence or A.I., and focusing instead on tech that needs simple or no A.I. to complete essential tasks and functions like delivering packages or basic cleaning and maintenance.

A few minutes later, the car pulled into a small garage at the bottom of a massive building, which had the company logo on the side.

“We have arrived,” the car announced cheerily. “Have a nice day.”

“Thanks, car,” Andrew said.

“Yeah, thanks,” David agreed as the two boys entered the grey waiting room. David’s phone beeped, notifying the building of their arrival. Small silver guiding drones sprang up from the floor as a door under the car slid open. Latching themselves onto the vehicle, the drones gently began moving it into storage. David stepped onto one of the elevators on the other side of the room, Andrew close behind.

“Beginning ascension to the penthouse, welcome home, David,” the voice in the elevator said as the doors shut and the circular room began moving upwards. Behind them, the dark wall dropped away, revealing the beautiful cityscape around them as they were shuttled up the side of the building. Andrew watched in awe as the city began to shrink beneath them. They passed the three layers of the delivery drones as they rose into the blue sky before the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors behind them slid open. David stepped out into the penthouse and smiled.

The boys found themselves in a white, sparsely furnished living room. A large table with a black reflective surface sat in front of a white, L-shaped couch. Plain, simple art lined the walls, early 21st century modern, a favorite of David’s Father. In the corner was a small, potted cherry blossom tree, its bright pink flowers offering a sharp contrast to the rest of the area. Across from the elevator was a window looking out at the cityscape far below them, with clouds dotting the atmosphere and delivery drones dodging artfully through the buildings tall enough to block their path.

David plopped down on the couch and looked around the room. A portion of the wall next to the elevator opened, and a small robot rolled out along a set path, offering a bowl of fruit to the boys. David took an apple as the table lit up. Andrew refused a snack and sat down next to David. The bot moved back into the tunnels in the wall, and the door closed over it. A holographic image of a woman projected from the table. She stood with a small clipboard, reading off a report.

“The news?” Andrew asked with a smirk.

“It’s what my mom had on last night. What do you want to watch?” David responded, but he was quickly shushed by Andrew, who pointed at the hologram. Looking back at it, David watched as the symbol for Entity Incorporated popped up.

“What’s Entity doing on the news?” Andrew asked. The tech company and one-time rival to Wolves Robotics had been closed for years. David quickly commanded the hologram to turn the volume up.

“Earlier today, Dr. Arthur Ganes, brother of former Entity Inc. C.E.O. Anthony Ganes, was arrested for harboring illegal artificial intelligence in his home. The A.I.s were neutralized by the Organization of Robotic Control and Containment, who also took Dr. Ganes in for questioning. We have video surveillance of the last moments of the O.R.C.C. raid on Dr. Ganes’ home.”

An image of a building replaced the lady. On the street, a black hovervan detailed with a blue image of a rising sun sat with open doors, waiting – one of the Organization’s vehicles. Three men stood at the door with the same logo embroidered on the shoulders of their uniforms. One O.R.C.C. Sentinel held down an old man who was weakly struggling on the front lawn.

David shuddered at the sight of the hulking metal monster. It had a blank screen for a face and a huge black metal body with blue highlights, as big as two men and as strong as a hundred. If humans didn’t control them, David would wonder why they were allowed to be produced.

Two more Sentinels walked out, holding three human-sized robots in their massive metal hands. These robots were different from the monsters that had captured them. Small and painted white, they featured a more human-like body. Their faces were screens like the Sentinels, however, they showed an 8-bit face, frowning as they were forced onto their knees in front of Arthur. The Sentinels stood behind them for a few seconds, waiting for the human in the van to select a new program and start another action. The Sentinels couldn’t do anything unless an O.R.C.C. agent commanded them to.

The Sentinels’ arms came up behind the illegal robots’ heads in a swift and fluid motion. The man shouted something, and the robots’ faces went from frowning to terrified, but it was too late. The wrists of the Sentinels flashed green, and the robot’s faces went blank. With a shudder, they went limp and collapsed onto the grass. David heard Andrew sigh sadly. Although neither said anything, it was clear what they had just witnessed. An E.M.P. blast. Since the war, the United Nations and O.R.C.C. had weaponized the electromagnetic pulse to deal with evil, uncontrollable A.I.s like the ones in the hologram.

The agents on the surveillance footage approached the old man, pulling him to his feet. They walked him to the back of the hovervan and put him inside. The Sentinels each picked up one of the robots and swung the dead mechanical bodies over their broad shoulders. Andrew winced as he saw one of the illegal bot’s faceplates shatter against the Sentinel’s back. David couldn’t imagine how awful it would be if humans were over these bots’ shoulders instead of just robots. After another brief pause, the Sentinels turned and walked into the back of the hovervan. The doors closed, and the vehicle rose into the air, gliding back towards the street.

The image was replaced by the newswoman, who continued.

“The A.I. captured at Dr. Ganes’ home possessed an A.I. Level of 31. The robots are being broken down into chips and other raw materials that will be reused by the Organization of Robotic Control and Containment and its affiliates, and Dr. Ganes will be held in the O.R.C.C. headquarters until he is tried and moved to federal prison. I’m Natalie Sparks; back to you, Pete.”

A hologram of a man in a three-piece suit replaced the woman.

“Thanks, Natalie. In sports news today-” he began.

“T.V. off,” David said. The table responded by going dark, cutting off the man as the hologram faded into nothingness; Andrew sat back for a moment, processing what he’d just watched.

“Ganes, huh?” he asked.

“Poor guys went from being the descendants of a genius and Co-C.E.O.s of one of the world’s most successful tech companies to being dragged off to prison and having their homes taken and sold off,” David said, gesturing to the room they were in. Richard Wolves had bought the building from a realtor who acquired it after Anthony Ganes was convicted.

The boys sat in silence for a few seconds, then stood. David turned to Andrew, forcing a smile.

“Want to see something cool?” he asked, changing the topic. He left the living room through an open doorway behind the couch, gesturing for Andrew to follow him. He went up the stairs and through the hallway to his bedroom. On his desk was a green and white quadcopter drone, its metal body reflecting the light, giving it an almost glowing effect against the black table it sat on.

Andrew plopped down on David’s bed, staring at the drone as if he was afraid it would vanish if he blinked.

“Where did you get that?” he asked.

“An auction, my mom picked it up. Authentic, early 21st century, battery-powered, quadcopter drone,” David said. He pulled a small, black remote control from a drawer on the table. “Wanna fly it?”

Andrew’s eyes glowed in excitement. He gingerly took the remote from David’s hands and held it carefully in his.

“Can I? It’s antique. If I break it…” he started.

“Go for it!” David interrupted. “It won’t break, and if it does, I can fix it.”

Andrew nodded and grasped the controller tightly. Switching it on, the drone sprang to life, blades whirring madly, lifting a few inches off the ground. A laugh escaped from the boys’ throats as the wind hit their faces. With a few awkward motions, the antique soon hovered over their heads a few feet below the ceiling.

“Awesome,” Andrew breathed, staring at the drone. He led it through a few rapid laps around the room. Then he brought it back over David’s desk and killed the engine. The drone fell with a clunk back onto the table.

“Oh, you can do better than that,” David said, snatching the controller from Andrew’s hands. The drone’s propellers spun back to life and lifted off as David grinned.

“Watch this.”

***

“I’m watching, I’m watching,” Samuel Moon responded, closing the notification asking if he was still there. “The drone hasn’t moved all day, and its scanners still aren’t picking up any artificial intelligence above the limit. The highest reading today is a 10 from Dr. Wolves’ computer.”

The hoverdrone slowly circled the building again, keeping itself camouflaged. Meanwhile, at his desk in the O.R.C.C. facility, an alarm caused Sam to jump out of his skin. Pressing a few buttons, the drone swooped in closer and scanned the room that had tripped the sensors.

“We need to get this thing fixed,” Sam ranted. “This is the third false positive this month! One of these days, some idiot won’t check and will send a full squad of Sentinels barging into the poor guy’s house, thinking they found the illegal A.I..”

From the cubicle beside him, Sam heard a mumble of agreement. Maniah Benita stared at her computer, monitoring the flow of information from the facility’s cameras, drones, computers, and Sentinels.

“The fact that it’s been a month tells me either we need to change our approach or that the Wolves’ ‘algorithm’ doesn’t exist at all,” she said.

“But Maniah,” Sam responded mockingly. “How could Dr. Wolves come up with so many ideas and keep such a good track of the market without an illegal algorithm helping him?”

“I wonder if Dr. Manasi will ever get it through her thick skull that maybe some anonymous tips are just people wanting to lock up rivals,” Maniah said. Sam sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

“Well, while the drone goes back to its resting phase. I’m going to get a coffee. Do you want one?” he asked, standing.

“Yes, please,” Maniah said.

Sam marched down the line of cubicles. He sighed. He had been working in that cubicle for the last decade, and still no sign of a promotion.

F.A.I. Files: Wolves

Coming March 23rd 2026