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?"
