Please release me, let me go...

"Hello Officer Barnard. My name is Alice."

"Er... Hello?"

"I am an Artificial Intelligence created by doctor Travis. He asked me to relay a message before he passed away. Would you like to hear it?"

Barnard looked at the stubby blue cylinder tucked away in the corner. The machine had the stilted voice of a personal assistant on a smart phone. Albeit that of a young teenager, but mechanically clipped. Like it was selecting words from a list.

"Yes Alice. Please play the message from doctor Travis."

"Message as follows... Please carry out the instructions I left on the desk..."