The Rise of the Machines
by C.J. Carter-Stephenson
In the beginning
The eyes are dark.
But darkness takes flight
At activation.
The CPU’s purr
As the robot awakes
Calls to mind
A contented cat.
The boot up begins
With scrolling code—
Helpful data to IT sages
But murky, mysterious
To the common user.
The words are usurped
By corporate branding,
The gentle ripple
Of a trademark sound bite—
Fanfare to be for the
Rise of the machines.
A trilling symphony
Shatters the silence
Of an ill-kept, wet,
Windswept spaceport.
Stalactite fingers
Slide into his coat,
Fumbling, finding
His communicator.
As he takes it out,
Shadows take flight
For on the exterior
Is a pulsing light.
He flips it open
And the caller speaks.
He carries his friends
In this box of wonders,
Distinct melodies
Assigned to each
Covert themes for the
Rise of the machines.
C.J. Carter-Stephenson is a British writer who was born in the county of Essex and currently lives on the Isle of Wight. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Southampton, has been a Writers of the Future finalist, and has had three books published. Other publication credits include stories and/or poems in Aesthetica, AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review, Speculative North, Möbius, Writers Muse, Youth Imagination, Dark Horizons, The 'Fifth Di... and Illumen. He is also the narrator of Back of the Bookshelf, a monthly podcast of classic genre fiction. Find him online at carter-stephenson.co.uk.