The corridor from the garage to the house ran underground, and a very strong metal door barred entrance to the main house. Evidently, the owner trusted me because the door opened when I approached it. The house didn’t smell, which is a good sign. I was startled when a strange machine ran down a hallway.  The machine maneuvered around on four wheels and consisted of a metal sphere on top of a cylinder that was mounted on the chassis. The sphere had camera lenses sticking out of four sides and it swiveled in several directions. It also had a large U-121 stenciled on the front of the chassis.

“Follow Unit-121 please.”

What? Is this the butler?

I followed U-121 to a room under the huge center stairwell. The owner had built an elevator inside there.  A door swished open and the machine entered the elevator cab. Not knowing what to expect, I followed it. The elevator sunk to a lower level and the door opened up to a sight that I had not even imagined. There were all sorts of machines running around here. Some of them looked human, or at least like store dummies mounted on wheels. Their heads moved around and the eyes worked. Evidently, the owner likes to tinker with robotic machines.

This lower level is a workshop with shelves full of electronic parts and benches with robotic parts strewn about. Several android units were working on these parts using soldering irons, screwdrivers, wrenches and strange tools I had never seen before.

A large screen mounted to a bracket assembly near a bench lit up. The image of a head of an older man appeared. He had white hair, wrinkled skin, but his eyes were still bright.

He smiled. “Welcome, Jack Siefert, to Life After Death. Since you are seeing this rendition of me, I have died, but my mind is still alive, at least the parts of my memories and thoughts that made me who I was. You have been selected to continue my work, which is dedicated to achieving eternal life.” 

I looked at the screen and blinked, not knowing where the scene originated.  I noted that the man’s lips were synchronized to speech emanating from the speaker, but there was something about the image that made me think that it was not real.

“I want to know what happened to everyone. I’ve been searching for two months and have as yet to find anyone else alive.”

“I reasoned that something must have happened. I have been monitoring radio signals for seventy-nine days to no avail. You say that no one else is alive, yet you are alive.”

“That’s what’s been driving me to find an explanation for why some mysterious disaster killed everyone except me. People were reduced to bones and a yellow powder. I don’t know how long the process took because I have no idea what the date is.

This is September 16, 1975.” 

“I’ve been on the road for nearly two months, which means that if I do the math correctly, I was unconscious for at least three weeks. How could I have lived for that long without water and food?”

“That is a good question, Jack Siefert. Based on what you have told me, I would suggest that this destruction of life was a biological accident. If we assume that you were immune to whatever pathogen did this, it would explain why you didn’t die, and it would suggest that others with the same immunity are still alive.”

“How could your mind still be alive if you died?”

“It’s a very complicated concept, but I have managed to save all of the thought patterns that constituted my memory and recreated them along with the appropriate cognitive functions as computer algorithms.”

“That’s crazy. No computer system would be able to duplicate the human brain.”

“Mine has.”

I gestured to the robots. “Are you directing these machines?”

“Yes, Jack Siefert.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I need you to make me ambulatory."

I had no idea what he was talking about. I know very little about robotics. I just barely could carry my weight working on radio circuitry. 

“I’m going to need help to do that. Right now I’m tired and need some rest. I see that you have electricity here. Where is that coming from?” 

“We have a gas well on this property that provides fuel to run generators.”

“What about food and water?”

“This is a farm, and water comes from springs on the property.”

“Do you mind if I look this place over?”

“You are welcome to explore, Jack Siefert.”

“Thank you.”

I entered the elevator and went back to the main level. I found a huge living area furnished with modern-style pieces beyond the large foyer. Large floor to ceiling glass separated the public area from an indoor pool. A private gym was off to the side of the pool and it was stuffed with all sorts of exercise equipment. There was even a racquetball court. Must be nice. This opulent living area was at least ten times the size of my parents’ house, and I hadn’t been upstairs yet.

I headed up the fancy stairs to the next level where I found room after room with private baths. This place was more like a hotel than a house. All of the rooms were large and well appointed with two king-size beds and a reading area with a couch and chair. The main thing is that there were no signs of death in any of the rooms. If people had died here, their bodies had been removed and all traces of them purged.

I paused to look out over the property visible from the back of the building. Manicured lawns, patios and decks defined an extensive outdoor living space. A line of trees blocked my view of what was beyond.

I went back to the first level and exited out to the grounds. After walking across the outdoor living space, I went beyond the tree line to find a large farm. Two huge barns sat along silos and auxiliary buildings. Cows grazed in a pasture and hogs populated a fenced area. Large fields of corn, wheat and soy lay beyond and there were extensive gardens full of cabbage, lettuce, beans, carrots, beets and other vegetables. 

Who took care of all of this? Was this a totally automated farm? The robotic automation necessary to run this massive farm is way beyond known technology. 

I noted that a large stonewall went around the entire property, at least as far as I could see, and a wire fence protruded from the top of the wall. The wealthy owner had built a walled farm in the foothills of the Allegany mountain. Why would he go to that expense? Did he anticipate this disaster? I had to know the answers.