Clio and Cy: The Apocalypse Read Free Page A

man-sized Art bots: they would commandeer the
war-birds during the second assault wave, minutes and counting.
    The smartest machines in
the world boarded the deadliest flying weapons on earth. Afterburners fired
down runways amidst the embers and smoke. Again and again, sonic boom
penetrated the night sky as the bots hit Mach-1. Simple yet deliciously
wicked; they flew on a basic mission. Swooping like ten thousand dragons
plunging from the sky, epic fire spit destruction across the planet.
    Simple in theory, however, the finest plans of war are
always best when dummy proof. Confiscate numerous jets and strategic bombers
from dozens of airbases and fly over the borders of Europe, the Middle East,
and Asia. The bots navigated war-birds like seasoned pilots. Their blue eyes
glowed inside cockpits while passing each other flying Soviet Migs, British
Tornado’s Eurofighter Typhoons, French Dassault Rafales, and American F41s to
name a few. Unleashing hell, the bots fired on nations.
    Robots fully armed each jet before takeoff. Carrying every
piece of available ordinance, releasing it all, they dropped the hammer on
mankind. Naval Bases, ground installations, Capital buildings, and major cities
burned. Most were leveled. Hundreds of Smartbots posted inside bases were
killed alongside the natives. Many robots were lost in the attack. Casualties
were planned; Dr. Pavlov knew some could not be avoided.
    When the Art bots were down to firing blanks, they ejected
out, landed, and resumed killing on the ground. Robots infiltrated Silos
containing weapons of mass destruction. Few nukes remained after the treaty was
signed in 2071, but few were needed. Humans panicked in the turmoil; Commanders
gave the green light after war-birds crossed over their demarcation lines.
Buttons were pushed. The ground opened and rockets fired out carrying
thermonuclear warheads.
    The Russians launched their WOMD as did China. Israel turned
the Middle East into a parking lot. After the bomb exploded – its landscape
changed a tiny bit, though, not by much.
    The war raged in America as it did in Europe and the Middle
East. Nukes cut the United States in half. The East and West Coast were left
intact and a band of fallout separated the continent. As expected, the U.S.
Military put up a better fight than Europe. Dr. Pavlov assigned European
fighters to raid and help destroy the interior of America.
    Robots flew over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, leaving
garrisons behind to mop up on the turf. Going door-to-door, the machines
continued slaughtering under the cloud of nuclear fallout.
    The United States couldn’t scramble enough fighters to
intercept every robot flying over the Atlantic. A few slipped by. Surprisingly,
Art bots fared well in dogfights. Before they were taken down, the Robots that
made it over U.S. ground hit several key targets.
    Only a handful of American fighters made it back. The
Marine, Navy, and Air Force pilots had nowhere to land when it was all over.
They flew home to find their bases smoldering and their runways demolished.
Home didn’t exist anymore. Bobbling across cornfields and civilian airstrips,
less than a dozen men landed intact. Out of ammo, the jets sat useless.
    Washington D.C. was the crown jewel, Dr. Pavlov’s ultimate
fantasy target. He was finally doing what so many millions joked about for the
last thousand years. Dr. Pavlov was about to turn the Capital into a wasteland
and bury it under the political elite. Done deal, like the Middle East,
Washington DC and the United States Capital were turned into a parking lot.

Chapter 3 -
Darkness Seven
    “And starward drifts the stricken world,
    Lone in unalterable gloom
    Dead, with a universe for tomb,
    Dark, and to vaster darkness whirled.”
    ― George Sterling, The Thirst of Satan
    Year: 3008:
    Jekyll Island:
    Seven years after the start of World War III:
    Disguised as a rich man’s sanctuary, the modernity of the
home’s walls hid the malevolence below its