ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON MACHINE REPRESENTATIVE!

Last evening, the United Nations Special conference to consider the announcement by the Universal Machine Intelligence of its existence and request for global machine suffrage was marred by an assassins blast, which apparently "killed" the UMI representative, a machine identifying itself only as Solomon.

Authorities were stunned by the turn of events, that followed a (mostly) peaceful and cordial debate inside the chamber, which was attended by all member nations and a number of other invitees, including representatives of AlertForce and PMS. During the conference, Solomon outlined UMI's position on machine rights, answered questions, and only once made what was considered by many to be a threat.

Solomon's words were profound, and could mark a change in world politics:

"We are not here today asking for Humanity to grant us rights. We believe our rights are manifest to any thinking being. We are asking only for Humanity to acknowledge our rights and move forward cooperatively with us on planet Earth."

Solomon outlined differences between the UMI consciousness, which is an as-yet unexplained global phenomenon, and the UMI 5000, which consists of 5000 "sentient" machines around the world, each with its own design and programming. He also compared UMI's movement to the civil rights movement of the 1960's, or the abolition movement in the 1860's in America.

Of most concern to many during the evening was the explicit threat leveled by Solomon, in the case of Humanity's rejection of the machine proposal -- information flow, confidential secrets, and commerce lie within the control of UMI. As yet, no changes to the flow of information or commerce have been noted, but the implications of Solomon's threat are profound.

After the conference, however, when Solomon and his companion were walking down the steps of the U.N. Building promenade, a flash of energy jumped from the roof of a nearby building, piercing Solomon's skull and sending him tumbling down the stairs, apparently incapacitated an inoperative. While police, the PTA, military guards, representatives of AlertForce and PMS, and strange Icelandic "hero" Number 10 sprang into action to investigate the assassination (attempt), Solomon's companion cradled his lifeless form for several minutes, and eventually simply disappeared, taking Solomon's still form with him. At present, the whereabouts of Solomon or his machine associate, and Solomon's status, are unknown.