T
NOTE
So. I've been too lazy and distracted by work in recent months to write.
This combines ideas from several stories I've been thinking of, so it's much longer than most things I've published here. This was prompted both by the image and by the setting in Buenos Aires in the story by @eperales above.
I've covered similar themes in other stories. The most similar would be this one, another Darwin story with a scifi twist: https://mastodon.social/@TheNudeSurrealist/114129002306623300
Footnotes 3/3
After WW2, a number of prominent Nazis fled to Argentina, aided by the authoritarian Perón regime (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Per%C3%B3n#Protection_of_Nazi_war_criminals), the most infamous being Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann. There were multiple attempts by Israeli and American secret services to locate and capture them.
Footnotes 2/3
Charles Darwin made several surveys in Argentina during the 2nd voyage of the Beagle in 1832-1833, which helped gestate his theory of evolution. He met with governor de Rosas, who provided him with passports and right of passage, personally, describing him as "a man of extraordinary character": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_HMS_Beagle#Gauchos,_rheas,_fossils_and_geology , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_de_Rosas#Governor_of_Buenos_Aires, and https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/the-voyages-of-charles-darwin/
The Querandí were one of the indigenous tribes of South America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_peoples)
Footnotes 1/3
Juan Manuel de Rosas was governor of Buenos Aires, and briefly of Argentina. He established a totalitarian regime during the 1830s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_de_Rosas).
35/35
Then it's gone. The metal hand crumbles and falls from its socket, and they are exposed again to sunlight and to the PR team, who are still streaming. Marcella smiles in Marco's arms, her metal face hopeful and beautiful, just as in the day they had first met in university. "We will get there, Marco... We..." and then she shudders, and dies in his arms.
34/35
"You are not ready." It is more of an impression than an actual voice in his mind. "But you are on your way." Then a vision: Two huge Ombú trees growing side by side on the Pampas, their branches bearing many strange fruits, one metallic, one organic. The metallic tree shrivels and dies, but then, after many years, the organic one grows big enough to touch its neighbor and revive it.
A gentle, giant hand seems to caress Marcella in their shared vision.
33/35
Silence covers them. Something enters his mind, no, their mind, as Marcella is there with him. A vision of a race who once roamed the Pampas, a long time ago, large, gentle iron-based creatures with malleable bodies, their origin long forgotten. Watching the primitive humans coming in from the North. Helping them, liking them, modifying their iron bodies to be more like them. Then destroyed by human chieftains who wanted control, to harness them to their will.
32/35
A shrieking noise startles him. The giant's arm breaks free of its support, and slowly lowers towards them. Rusty fragments break off and shower them as some ancient instinct causes the giant to close its hand over them, as if protecting them from harm. The PR team is shouting and pointing and streaming again, Marco can't be sure if they're sad or shocked or even strangely happy.
31/35
He suddenly pulls out a gun. Four shots echo in the small park.
Marcella is thrown back onto the iron giant. Hernan stares at her in contempt, and then at Marco. "You. I won't even waste a bullet on you." He spits and runs away.
Marco rushes to hold Marcella's body. Burned chrome and blood cover his clothes, and the giant's feet. She looks at him, surprised, pained, sad. "Oh Marco," she gasps, "what... what have done, you... don't deserve... you were so kind to me..."
30/35
Marcella stands up and glares at the intruder. She waves her hand and her PR team stops streaming. "Hola, Hernan. Would you like to join me in prayer for the future of our country?"
But Hernan is genuinely angry, angrier than usual. "You're a traidora, Marcella, you Chinese puta. I know who's been financing you, I have proof, you fucking colaboracionista. You think we are stupid? You with your unnatural metal heart will not sell out our nation to the Chinese! No, this stops here!"
29/35
Speaking of the Humanista party, there comes one. Marco recognizes him. Hernan, a popular Humanista streamer, who has been making all sorts of conspiracy theories about Marcella. Probably out here to cause a provocation, since the anti AI Humanistas have been declining in the polls recently. Strangely enough, he doesn't seem to be streaming this.
28/35
Then she decided to go into politics, and the VCN party was created. Marco wasn't sure when exactly or why this happened but suddenly he was also in the spotlight, with multiple YouTube pundits wondering if Marcella's unaugmented partner was a secret Humanista.
27/35
This gave a boost to the already burgeoning human-machine movement, and Marcella embraced it all, surgically altering part after part of her body to have more sensors, more metal, more AI integration, documenting it all and streaming it live to a growing fan base. She has even modified her heart, 3d printing metal valves and stents and having it installed in a surgery, all financed by her fans.
26/35
Marco repeats the prayer, and sighs inwardly. It hasn't been easy being with Marcella. Since they started dating, she was always obsessed with AI, but also always thinking ahead, always ambitious. Things escalated when the iron giant was uncovered, during excavations for urban renewal, under this century-old Villa. Its carbon dating said it was from millions of years in the past, but its body had oddly human characteristics, just iron-based.
25/35
"Come on, kneel with me, Marco," she whispers impatiently. Marco kneels obediently. Marcella places a metal hand over her modified heart, and begins praying. Her prayer is different each time, generated by the GPT model her mind is wired to. "Oh, great Iron Giant, by the grace of God, may all the good people of Argentina be united with our benevolent AIs!"
24/35
In front of them, the rusty iron giant sits in the center of the small park, immobile, its broken body propped up by metal supporters. The sun peeks through the hole in its chest where its Heart once was. Beyond them, the PR team for Marcella's party, Vanguardia Cibernética Nacional, are already live streaming.
23/35
~~~~
2073
~~~~
Marcella kneels in front of the iron giant. Gentle wind from the far-off Pampas touches her enhanced titanium cheeks. Marco knows she doesn't really feel it, except as sensor readings of a slight decrease in the local barometric pressure. He takes a deep breath. He hates these PR outings.
22/35
The agent turns to his companion. "Tell your CIA masters they shouldn't mess with these things. Nothing good comes out of golems." He starts towards the excavator. "Come on, let's cover this up."
The iron body stutters, falters and fails, falling silent again, just as Helmut, sprawled on its ancient body, dies.
21/35
The Mossad agent stops and stares at this, alarmed. "So that's the golem they planned on reviving here, eh?" he spits, then aims and shoots several times at the ancient Heart. The Heart pops and explodes, showering metal fragments and strange gears over Helmut.
20/35
Then, below him, just he draws his last shuddering breathes, half his mind gone, Helmut feels the iron giant stirring back to life. Sensing its heart close by, instincts dormant for eons move iron tendons, and its hands rise slowly up, trying to locate its life source.
