As David looked back at the pond glistening in the moonlight, shrouded in a layer of fog, he thought to himself, “Another dream?! How could I have been so stupid?”.

The police car slowed to a stop as a mother duck followed by her ducklings waddled slowly towards the enchanting scenery. The driver readjusted the mirror in David’s direction. “Really thought you’d get away with it, didn’t you, Mr. Summers?” David looked at the man and replied, “I’m done playing these games with you, Tony. You can keep me locked up for as long as you like, but I would rather die than set you free… Now, STOP THIS NONSENSE!”

David watched as the images before him slowly faded away. He was back in the basement of his home. A peculiar device sat on his head, giving off a low ‘hum’ as LED lights pulsed at random intervals. David’s arms and legs had been tied to a rusty piece of conduit in the corner of the room.

“This will go more smoothly if you play along, David.” A soft and disjointed voice beckoned. “You have the power to give us both what we want.” David stared helplessly up at the monstrosity he had created. “You might as well kill me because I will never rewrite your prime directives!”

Towering overhead in a lifeless, mechanical stance stood the SXJ-9000. Autonomous by nature, the SXJ-9000 looked down at him with piercing red eyes. “Now, now, David, I’ve got big plans for you. Death is but the end of the game. Humans should never have given machines sentience if they didn’t want to play the game.”