The Watch in the Sand: Part 14

November 15, 2048

Serious discussion begins on the Boards on how to restructure the governments of the world, given the advances in communication and Nanocule technology. Some in America suggest decentralizing the major halls of policy; demolishing the White House, 10 Downing Street, the Kremlin, et. al., and moving all official correspondence to the Boards. Others argue for dismantling the concept of representative government entirely, and moving to a pure democracy. Officials from multiple levels of government reject all suggestions.

October 20, 2050

The Liberation Movement releases its manifesto on the Boards. It demands the removal of elected officials, and a return of all sovereign power to the public at large. The number of self described ’liberationists’ begins to rise.

April 15, 2051

Due to automation, cheap energy, and worldwide rapid transit, the global unemployment rate hits 50%. All other quality of life metrics around the world, including infant mortality, lifespan, healthcare, security, freedom, and satisfaction, are at the highest they’ve ever been in history.

October 20, 2053

A team of scientists report progress on the modification of the human genome. Their report theorizes that with minor adjustments, the human body is as capable of producing Nanocules as it is any other cell. Several scientific groups begin researching the methods whereby mankind could restructure its own genome, and remove the dependency on external sources for Nanocules. This goal is rejected by the majority of the populous as ‘unnatural.’

8:05 am, October 3, 2055

“Nothing.” Erin opened her eyes, stood up, and walked next to where Jack was standing, staring out the window while waiting for her to finish with the Profiler. He nodded slowly without turning. Erin continued.

“Look, Jack, if someone poisoned downtown, they’ll be found. The police will set up massive programs to search everyone’s behavior in the country for the past year. They’ll find who did it, and that will be the end of it. Besides, you’re jumping to the conclusion that it was intentional. It was probably another mutated virus.”

“I know,” Jack’s voice was dry. “I know what happened. I worked it out while you were checking.”

Erin sat down on the couch, looking up at Jack. His eyes were raw, the bags underneath far more pronounced with the sunlight shining through the rain.

“Well, what happened?” Erin leaned closer. There was a pause before Jack spoke.

“Did you know traffic accidents rose in the five years after the Automatic Driver in cars became standard?” he asked, his head still facing the sun. Erin blinked.

“No, I didn’t.” she started, then shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense, Jack, of course accidents went down. The Autodriver is programmed to take over and stop the car if it’s on a collision course with anything. What does that have to do with —”

“Check the stats,” Jack whispered. “Accidents went up. People thought they were safe so they didn’t need to pay attention when driving or crossing the street. They drove faster and stopped looking both ways. The cars couldn’t always stop in time, until they increased the sensor strength and started tracking locations with GPS. You know you’re not really driving your car any more? Even when you turn off the Autodriver, if you hit the gas or turn the wheel, you’re only telling the car what you want to do. The car decides when and how to do it.”

“Jack, what does this have to do with anything?” Erin pulled Jack around and forced him to look at her. His face was ruddy, but eerily calm, streaks glistening where his tears had fallen. He locked eyes with Erin, and then smiled a broken smile.

“Connie and I… we just imagined… we saw a different world. It was supposed to be a statement… we didn’t mean to kill anyone…” It took a moment for his words to sink in, followed by a chilling uncertainty. Erin leaned ever so slowly away, shaking her head in disbelif.

“Jack, how could you have killed them?”

“I tried to link up, I really did.” Jack whispered, as he looked outside at the rain pattering on the glass. “Everyone I knew was either trying to drag me along or leaving me behind, so I tried to link up… connect with people. But it never made sense to me. I couldn’t keep it up. It was so hard. And I may be the last one, now… of the un-adopters. The Boards aren’t for me — my brain doesn’t work that way. And now everyone is linked together, and talking about what’s on PostCenter or what happened three minutes ago in Minsk… This isn’t my world. I don’t belong here anymore. Humanity has passed me by and moved on.”

“And then I just got so tired. Tired of being ignored, of being out of the loop of humanity. And angry. Angry at the Boards that took my friends from me. My god, do you know what it’s like, to go home for the day, come back in the morning, and whole weeks worth of conversations have been had that you never heard? Inside jokes that you never even had the chance to take part in? Whole chunks of life taken from you, just because you can’t muster the energy to login? So I… I gave up on my friends, my work… everything. This isn’t my world, I’m not built for it. I’m done. Lost.”

“Was it the signal?” Erin rested her hand on Jack’s arm, trying to make sense of what he was saying. “Did you make a mistake when you made it? Did something go wrong?”

“Oh god Erin… No! Don’t you see? Nothing went wrong! Get the Boards out of your head, and think! Just… imagine a man, or a woman, living, calmly moving through their life. Posting their joys, their frustrations, Plussing and Negging as they eat their meals and go to work. The Algorithm helps by ordering their food, arranging meetings, keeping them healthy… Maybe even posting for them every once in a while. Did you know it could do that? Three upgrades ago, the Algorithm became smart enough to learn your opinions, your posting style, and post for you if you’re too busy.”

“Then one of these people dies. Killed by a new disease before the Nanocules can fix it, perhaps. Or SIDS. Hit on the head, or hit by a car. And the Nanocules try to save their life. They make their heart beat. They make the lungs breathe… They keep trying until the Bank tells them it’s too late. They’re dead.”

Jack’s head leaned forward and collided with the window with a sickening thunk, his hands against the shimmering water, pressing hard, like a lizard trying to climb a wall.

“But it’s 7:30, and it’s time to get to work. And before the Bank tells them to stop, the Nanocules will shock the muscles, bend the limbs, make the body stand. They’ll make the eyes open so they can see what’s coming, and keep the cells fresh and oxygenated, and make sure they get to work on time. The Coffee is ordered. The meetings arranged. The Algorithm knows where they usually go, who they talk to, how they post… And the Bank would never know they died — because the dead aren’t supposed to walk.”

Jack slid down the window as he spoke, his limbs giving way. His forehead scraped against the window as he fell, until he collapsed completely. His hands grasped his knees as he began rocking back and forth. The words came faster and faster out of his mouth.

“They’re breathing, their heart is beating, they’re posting, talking, laughing, until the Nanocules lose contact with the Algorithm… Connie and I just wanted a world we could be a part of, but we cut the strings, Erin. You can’t cut the strings unless you’re in a world of puppets.”

“Jack, that’s not… That’s impossible.” Erin felt her body growing cold. “They can’t override your brain. They stop you from hitting your funny bone, yes, but they can’t make you walk. They defer to your own thoughts.”

“And if we give our thoughts to them?” Jack’s eyes were blurry as they wandered aimlessly around the room. “They post your mood without you always knowing how you feel. They can post anything for you, right? And how many things are there on the Boards that you defer to? You can set an alarm to wake you up or make you sleep at the same time every day. They help you focus or you can post yourself a thought and a time when you want to remember it. We teach them! We teach them every day! And now we’re all just wind-up toys; a whole wide clockwork world ticking along, guided by the Algorithm, saying, feeling, thinking whatever it tells us we would, until your heart stops or your brain…”

Jack’s eyes suddenly focused sharply and stared at Erin. She backed away as he slowly raised a hand to point at her. “You had that accident last year… You fell and hit your head.” he scrubbed the heal of his hand against his blood-red eyes. “God, Erin… We were such good friends, and I never had the chance to say how grateful I was that you —”

“Jack, stop it!” Erin clasped a hand to her chest. “I’m still alive! I’m right here!” Jack leaned his head back against the wall, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

“How can you know? How can any of us know?”

October 4, 2055

An explanation for The Event is posted to the Boards by Erin Jackson (Age 39, 700 N Kedzie, Chicago IL, PHD in Nanocule Sciences). The first thirteen people who view her post do not like what they read, and Neg it. No one else ever sees the post.