01011000: The Final Key
A short story by Vaibhav Shankar
The unexplainable death of the human race was truly shocking. The relics they left behind of technology were sealed by the first robots. The ones who knew what happened. Now, in present times robotic pillagers and pirates rule the world. All they want is the treasures of old.
A robot pirate captain stood on the shores. Analysing the suspicious writing on the beach floor. It said “01011000”. He knew truly that this was the final step to get the treasure from pirates of the old. However, he had not witnessed his crew write it on the ground and speed away aboard the ship. He scrutinized the writing, looking at it from every direction he could think of. The massive computations proceeded into the night until the robot decided to stop wasting his energy and go aboard the ship. To his utter dismay his crew had disembarked without him.
He wondered what they would do without him since they could not compute information at his level. He witnessed a flaming ship on the distant horizon. He thought to himself, “Look at those fools, they’ve already set the ship on fire. What horrible programs they have.” He proceeded to scour the island in search of oil. Instead he found a temple filled with walls of 1’s and 0’s. He wondered to himself about what the language was. It was quite relic-like. With the death of every human being on earth nothing of this sort was seen.
This article is the next contribution, in the latest edition of the Musings From the Young Writers’ Club. Every once in a quarter or so, three best pieces written by the teen members of the club, are shortlisted. The writers then choose the one piece that they would like to share with the readers of the magazine.
Every week, one writer’s writing is showcased.
Published so far:
Aryan Jagadish’s Amongst The Stars A Teen’s Space Log was featured. Read it here
Jai Mastakar’s A Cat With a Mind of His Own. Read it here.
Joshua Philip Thomas’s The Silent War of Hidden Hands. Read it here.
Meghana Miryala’s “If Words Were Made of Glass…” Read it here.
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