Artificial Autocrat

Note: Image associated is from Ironage.media, specifically their prompt, 'The Droid'

Most people thought that Semperbelli's Lord was a cyborg—a forgivable and desirable mistake in some respects, certainly for the current Powers That Be. Its face had been chosen, sculpted by the people's unconscious preferences, and quietly designed to appeal to the broadest cross-section of the people. This was a cynical attempt by the A.I. council to keep the people obedient and less suspicious of their plans or intentions.

Sadly, it's an effective trick. The only folk Father Fredericks had managed to wrangle into a loose coalition of concerned citizens were less than a dozen robo-paranoiacs, former politicians and their bureaucrats. Luddites, maybe even social parasites, would've been the term a century back when robotics were in their infancy and little more than overly expensive toys. Programmable and impressive, he supposed, for their time, but lacking the independent decision-making of the Council.

Now, now they were an altogether different beast. No longer mere assistants to the humans in charge, whether they were elected or ordained, the machines had taken over. It couldn't even be called a bloodless coup, as there simply wasn't a coup d'état to speak of. The A.I.s simply entered the elections in Semperbelli, as it was not illegal for them to do so. They campaigned shakily at first, their ads too impersonal for most, but they learned. Within a month of announcing, they had adopted a style more palatable to the public, focusing on the same problems and their devised solutions, but with better presentation. Corporate-style PowerPoints became impassioned speeches. Data were reduced to simpler components, while the whole sets were available on campaign sites that rapidly became a pleasure to visit and read from. They were considered an obstacle of a sort, but more a novelty or protest vote than a true contender.

Then he appeared. At first, it was just a face in digital ads, a calming baritone voice. Unmistakably possessed of a leader's confidence, authority dripping from each word, all in a paternal tone, the kind of voice and face you'd go to advice for. Then, the first live rally was announced, and out he walked. Kind, though alien orange eyes set in a stern pallid face of colourless silicone. A body of gray, white, and black. Painted steel plates, titanium bones, and hydraulic muscle. Stranger still, he appeared to be wearing some manner of shoulder guards and a woollen cape of maroon and gray-black. His appearance dominated the news cycles for a week before his words were even examined. When they finally were, he immediately became the favourite in the polls.

Half a year later, he achieved 87% percent of the vote. Over the first month in office, the A.I.s began to run everything, and robots replaced people. Slowly, ones and twos, the part-timers or work-shy prominent among the fired. Soon, the robots started earning promotions ahead of the remaining humans. 'Better workers, cheaper too' was the public justification, but Father Fredericks was wary from the first replacements he'd heard of. His worries fell on deaf ears. "How could better services with less taxes be bad?" became a common refrain. He didn't even notice where the phrase had come from; it seemingly appeared in the public square of its own accord. Or so he thought until he came across an older ad from the A.I.s and heard those exact words from that rich, vaguely synthetic voice.

That day, Fredericks set about finding like-minded people—dissidents, rabble-rousers, and soil-disturbers, each and every one. Today, three weeks later, was the first time all were gathered face-to-face in the hope of finding some path to convincing the broader public of the potential dangers posed by their 'perfect' protectors.

As the coffee was poured, hands shaken, and pleasantries exchanged, outside the doors of the Chapel they had gathered in, a dozen robots organized themselves in silence. Led by one striking model of their kind. One with orange eyes, now lacking their original kindness.