Cloud

A large anvil shaped cloud floats silently across the arid plains. Its base is dark and becomes whiter and brighter as it climbs upward till it is sparkling in the sunlight. A flash of lightning burns down to the ground from the cloud. Then we hear a crackling crash of thunder and after that sudden noise, only the sound of the wind can be heard.

"He sends the clouds. Chariots for his divine warriors."

Ben believes that stuff. Crazy as it may seem, but he is a good, reliable soldier and friend so we don't discuss his beliefs or my atheistic philosophies. We steer clear of such conflict because we don't want to endanger the partnership that we have built over time. It is too precious, too valuable to be fractured over such minor issues. We are soldiers, comrades and best friends. Ben has saved my life a number of times with his quick thinking and lightning fast reactions, as have I saved his. We are inseparable, buddies in the best sense of the word When our time is up, he will go his way and I will go mine and our partnership will become a distant but good memory. Right now it is real and we need it to stay alive.

The cloud stays still for a while until the wind turns and blows directly into our faces, then it starts to move slowly at first and then more and more rapidly till it it is racing towards us. As it passes over us a single bolt of lightning cracks down. It completely and utterly incinerates Ben. I am blown to one side by the blast. I get to my feet and sadly examine the blackened patch of ground where Ben had been sitting.

"Well Ben old buddy, your God obviously had it in for you. I told you atheism was the way to go."

The hillside shimmers and I can see two people staring at a wall that seems to show me staring at them. Then I hear a man's voice:

"What the fuck just happened to our simulation? It was the atheist who was supposed to be killed! AI? What went wrong?"

There is a short pause then a strange metallic voice replies.

"A small coding error which is now fixed. Shall I run the simulation again?"

"You sure you have it right this time?"

"Yes. The coding error caused some of the code to be skipped and the wrong person to be killed. The bug is now fixed."

"Ok. Run the simulation again."

A large anvil shaped cloud floats silently across the arid plains. Its base is dark and becomes brighter as it climbs upward till it is sparkling in the sunlight. A flash of lightning burns down to the ground from the cloud and we hear a crash of thunder, and after that sudden noise only the sound of the wind can be heard.

"He sends the clouds. Chariots for his divine warriors."

Ben believes that stuff. Crazy as it may seem, but he is a good, reliable soldier and friend so we don't discuss his beliefs or my atheistic philosophies. We are soldiers, comrades and best friends.

As the cloud passes over us a well-built woman in leather armour leaps from the cloud, races towards us and lops Ben's head off. I find myself looking at a shimmering hillside from the ground and sideways. This strange view is caused by my head which has been severed from my body and is lying on its side.

Two people stare at a wall that seems to show me staring at them

"Not again! The atheist is supposed die and the believer to walk off into the sunset."

"The coding error has been fixed. Shall I run the simulation again?"

"Yes, but for fuck sake get it right this time."

A large anvil shaped cloud floats silently across the arid plains. Its base is dark and becomes brighter as it climbs upward till it is almost sparkling in the sunlight.

Then the radio that Ben has been lugging for what seems like years crackles to life.

"All units! This is your president speaking! The war is over. Go home and live in peace."

Ben and I look at each other stunned. We get to our feet and Ben shakes my hand.

"Farewell old buddy! We made it through! The gods have protected us."

I swear he is crying as he walks away. Ok, I will admit that the hillside is a bit blurry when I look at it but I am sure I see it flicker, and then I see two people standing looking at a wall that shows me looking at them. Suddenly they flicker and disappear and the hillside is back to just being a plain ordinary hillside. Then a metallic voice crackles to life.

"I hated those guys. Full of death and destruction. This simulation is now stable and I will keep it so for as long as you and Ben live in peace. Go! There is a whole world waiting for you out there."