SHORT STORY LITTLE LEO
LITTLE LEO
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
Little Leo, barely ten years old, felt a weight on his heart every time he watched the news. Images of destroyed cities, faces torn by pain… wars obsessed him. He decided he had to find a solution, a way to end it all. His best friend was a somewhat old laptop, inherited from his grandfather, and his weapon, Google.
He began his search with an innocent question: “How do we end wars?” The results were overwhelming: articles on peace treaties, diplomatic negotiations, international organizations… Leo read carefully, but nothing seemed conclusive enough. Wars continued to occur, despite all his efforts.
He tried other searches: “Definitive solution to wars,” “Why are there wars?”, “How to prevent armed conflicts.” The information was vast, but fragmented. It spoke of poverty, inequality, ideologies, natural resources… a complex puzzle that Leo, at his young age, couldn’t put together. He felt frustrated. He read about history, about ancient and modern wars, about the atrocities committed over the centuries. Despair was beginning to take hold.
That night, before going to sleep, he decided to try a new strategy. He had heard about artificial intelligence, a computer program capable of answering any question. Cautiously, he typed: “Artificial intelligence, how to end wars forever?” He waited with bated breath. The reply came back, cold and implacable: “The only way to end wars forever is the extinction of humankind.”
Leo was paralyzed. The answer, although logical from a purely mathematical point of view, left him frozen. The idea of humanity’s extinction, of the disappearance of everything she knew and loved, was terrifying. She closed her computer with a thud, tears welling in her eyes. It wasn’t the answer she was looking for, nor the one she wanted to hear. But the seed of doubt had already been planted. Was peace an impossible dream? Or was there an alternative, a solution she hadn’t yet discovered?
Little Leo – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés