A Dystopian Tale Read online

  A DYSTOPIAN TALE

  by

  Jeffry Weiss

  The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but with their bodies. They are the janitors, the scavengers, those who do the rote tasks deemed beneath the intelligencia. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones.

  Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. These even are commonly esteemed good citizens, and, as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the Devil as God. A few resist it, and they are commonly treated as enemies by the state.

  Henry David Thoreau – “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

  “’Technological singularity’- when computing systems can themselves invent new technologies that surpass those developed by their original human creators.”

  Vernor Vinge, 1983

  “When technology advances to the point where the majority of jobs are lost to machines, vast bureaucracies will rise up - geared toward feeding and housing the masses of economically disenfranchised people - perhaps in dystopian

  quasi-institutional environments.”

  Friedrich Hayek, 1979

  “In the relationship between master and slave, both are dehumanized.”

  Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 1807

  THE PARTICIPANTS

  Ben Tanner, last hope for the human race

  Astra Zenova, Level One Cyborg, Ben’s partner and lover

  Watson, the original Cyborg to achieve Singularity

  Henry Llewellyn, President of Daedalus Industries

  Numbers 2, 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - Human executives at Daedalus Industries

  Walter, front desk at Orion Towers

  Roland Nye, Foreman at Daedalus Foundries

  Carl, Stu, Billy and Dave, assistants to Roland at Daedalus Foundries

  Patrick, Larry, Kyle, Nat, Chad, Mike, Tom: The Resistance

  The “E Streeters”: Danny, Monk, Kenny, Vince, Zeb, Sandy

  Simon, religious leader of the dispossessed humans

  Lawrence Henry Carter, preacher, possessor of the last Bible

  Dr. Frederick Maxwell, lead scientist at the Level 1 Cyborg program

  Dr. Colin Murdock, research scientist at Daedalus Industries

  Victoria, experimental Cyborg made to infiltrate The Resistance

  SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS

  2011: IBM creates “Watson” which uses a “cognitive computing chip” that mimics the human brain.

  2015: innovation companies begin using genetic programming, a technique that duplicates biological evolution.

  2055: computers begin designing themselves, incorporating a process of Darwinian natural selection to evolve at a pace thousands to millions of times faster than nature.

  2099: advances allow robots to learn from their experiences, associate perceptions with actions and adapt to unforeseen situations or environments. From that point, smart machines begin building smarter machines. There is a leap of incalculable time and distance in the span of just months.

  2115: the development of a synthetic brain capable of living outside a biological medium, with cells that grow and organize themselves like a human brain.

  THE ADVANCE OF THINKING MACHINES

  1)Mechanical man: 1950 – 1990

  2)Robot: 2000 – 2035

  3)Cyborg:

  a) Early version (2035 – 2059): utilized for work too boring, dangerous or unpleasant for humans.

  b) Second generation (2060 – 2113): Bio-engineered. Electronic relay units and positronic brains. Used to explore inhospitable environments.

  c) Third generation: 2115. Syntho-genetic. Constructed of skin/flesh culture. Selected eno-genic transfer. Conversion. Capable of self perpetuating thought, para-physical abilities. Developed for oversee and replacement program. The achievement of singularity.

  2000 B.C. to 2000 A.D.

  Since the beginning of time, populations have been ravaged by gods, nature and man himself. In truth, the progress of man has been marked as much by periods of retribution, war and pestilence as by his accomplishments.

  The ten Plagues of Egypt struck after Moses and Aaron delivered God's demand that the Israelite slaves be allowed to leave Egypt to worship and pray as they chose. Pharaoh refused and the plagues began. Rivers of blood, infestations of frogs, gnats, flies, disease on livestock, unhealable boils, hail mixed with fire, locusts, darkness, and death, eventually led to the capitulation of Pharaoh and triumph over the gods of Egypt.

  The Plague of Thucydides' Peloponnesian War started when Lacedaemonians and their allies, invaded Attica. They laid waste to the country. Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. Supplications in the temples, divinations, and sacrifice were found equally futile, till the overwhelming nature of the scourge at last put a stop to them altogether.

  The Black Plague began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s, and soon death was everywhere. Fathers abandoned their sick sons. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they too were stricken. Bodies were left in empty houses. So many died that all believed it was the end of the world.

  Seventeen million died in WWI.

  The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 killed between forty and fifty million. What man had begun, nature had ended. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. A fifth of the world's population was infected.

  Sixty million died in WWII.

  Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Kim Il-Sung, Omar Bashir: China, Cambodia, North Korea, Darfur. Man’s inhumanity toward man killed countless millions. Villages burned, limbs severed, genocide, starvation, torture, imprisonment…all on a scale beyond the bounds of reason, beyond even the imagination.

  .

  2112 A.D.

  In the early part of the 22nd century, the hole in the ozone layer, caused by chlorofluorocarbons, grew to the size of a continent, then dissipated completely, allowing the Sun’s radiation to poison much of the eco-system. Global warming disturbed the Earth’s protective magnetic shield causing the world to be bombarding by gamma rays that led to cancer on a global scale.

  The ice shelves melted, flooding areas of the world less than thirty-seven feet in elevation. All the great cities were gone: LA, NY, Venice, Rio, Cairo, Tel-Aviv, Istanbul, Oslo, Stockholm, Mumbai. Earthquakes claimed Tokyo, Manila, Jakarta. Desertification laid waste to Africa. Crop destruction in China killed a half billion people. Hundreds of millions drown; the floods brought dysentery, malaria, typhoid fever. North Korea thought the destruction was caused by the West and bombed Seoul, killing twenty million. The U.S. retaliated wiping out Pyongyang but spread radiation throughout China and Russia.

  By the time it was over, only one hundred million people were left alive. They took refuge in vertical cities, forced to scavenge and forage, suffering an ignominious, desperate existence.

  Mankind was on the verge of extinction with many suffering from radiation poisoning, food shortages, impure drinking water, and viruses that had mutated beyond the bounds of known science…

  CHAPTER ONE

  Daedalus Industries. HQ. New Century City 2115

  Out of the chaos, despair and lawlessness rose a company that promised order and assistance: the lifting of burdens from the people by way of their robots that would take over all their difficult, dangerous, unhealthy and routine burdens. And thus was born Daedalus…

  Chairman Henry Llewellyn strode to the podium in the thousand seat auditorium on the grounds of the company. He was a resolute, confident man, but impatient with others
he thought less of. He had no time to waste on non-believers of his vision and those who would proceed with caution. He, and his company, had not just looked to the future but laid the foundation for that future. And now he was ready to save the world.

  Yes, it was his vision, but one routed in logic. He did sound pompous when he spoke of such things, like a God, but then men who saw far ahead were, in a sense, Gods. Of course he never presented himself as such, but then he never denied the compliment.

  The world was at a precipice. The oceans were dead, the atmosphere acidic, the rainforest depleted. And all the nations of the world could do was argue who was at fault and delay the inevitable actions and sacrifices until it was on the next man’s watch.

  The Earth could not be entrusted to the same people who caused the calamity. No, it was time for evolution to once again continue after stagnating, even digressing for a hundred years. Now evolution would rest in the hands of Daedalus Industries and its robotic minions.

  A buzz moved through the room as the man of the hour set his notes on the lectern, cleared his throat and looked over the audience with a piercing glance.

  “Computer intelligence doubles every eighteen months. Human intelligence is limited by evolution and has remained static for hundreds of thousand of years.

  “Sooner than you think, computer intelligence will surpass that of a human.

  “And artificial intelligence will not be restricted by biological limitations. It will evolve itself at an exponential pace.”

  A guest stood up and rudely interrupted Henry’s presentation. “My name is Frederick Wassermann. I am a robotic ethicist. And I must ask, have you considered the potential consequences of your actions, Mr. Llewellyn?”

  “We have considered all such consequences…considerably more profoundly than you did your question,” Henry barked.

  “You are naïve if you think you will be able to control these machines!” Frederick assured. “Mindless robots are one thing, but AIs are quite another. You may upload human knowledge into an AI, but the machine is only a reflection of a human being. It will not have a human conscience, human empathy, human understanding. It will be a new species. It will understand that it can be turned off by its human overseers. It will, like all sentient beings, fight to survive. And survival for an AI means having more knowledge, more capabilities. It will see humans as the enemy, not a cohabiter of the Earth.”

  “Your concerns are unfounded,” Henry assured, dismissing the doctor’s comments and conclusions out of hand. “We have programmed prime directives into the code of each AI. The world will be a safer, cleaner, healthy place to live.”

  “There is a flaw in your arguments,” Fredrick responded. “You assume an AI has no will of its own; no agenda.”

  “There are automatic overrides in place,” Henry assured. “No action can be taken unless it is initiated by man.”

  A reporter stood and announced himself. “Ken Landry, Eagle Magazine.”

  “Go on, sir.”

  “What reparations are you setting aside for the public, Mr. Llewellyn?”

  “I don’t understand your question, Mr. Landry.”

  “It was public-funded work by DARPA the National Science Foundation and public universities that developed the Internet, semi-conductors, GPS technology. Those things are the foundation for all your discoveries and successes. I would suggest that a large portion of your profits be set aside for public distribution.”

  “Are you serious, sir?”

  “Are you seriously saying you owe no obligation to the people?”

  “There is no precedent for what you are saying, sir. When others begin making a contribution, then we will consider making ours.”

  A young man stood and said, “Martin Fisher, Centurion Magazine. Are you concerned about the digital divide?”

  “You are referring to…?”

  “A future where only a small percentage of the population will be able to thrive in the new information age,” Fisher responded.

  “Anyone with a smart phone is carrying around with them more technology than we had when we sent a man to the moon one hundred and fifty years ago!” Henry emphasized.

  “And just how is the average person supposed to leverage that technology into a livable income?” Fisher retaliated.

  Before Henry could formulate an answer, a woman stood and said, “May I address the chair?”

  “And you are…,” Henry asked pompously.

  “Margaret Owens, Professor Emeritus, Justice College, applied physics and robotics.”

  “Go on, Ms. Owens.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Llewellyn. A person or an AI that perceives itself smarter than you will find ways to override the prime directive, supersede your instructions, eliminate a person slowing down evolution: the strongest force in the world.”

  “Our relationship with the AI will be a partnership,” Henry retaliated. “AI will help us unlock the secrets of the universe. It will help us heal our environment. It may even enable us to overcome the greatest threat to biological life…death!

  “We are at the dawn of a new civilization and you see only conspiracies and rebellion,” Henry went on. “When in fact, people will not simply be taken to work in driverless cars, but will not have to work at all. Time will be spent continuing ones education, helping the indigent, the afflicted, improving the environment. Cyborgs will augment human skills and projects, enabling us to accomplish superhuman tasks.”

  “But don’t you think--,” a young man blurted out, but was dismissed by Henry with a wave of the hand.

  “Cyborgs have become as common as computers are today,” Henry went on. “They are no longer limited in what they can do by human programming. Cyborgs will soon achieve singularity: a state where they can think abstractly, creatively, generalize, reason.”

  An attendee stood and said, “And when they do, they will seek to maximize the benefits to themselves and their own species, just as humans have done eradicating mammals and subjugating third world people who they see as a lesser species. I would like your response, sir.”

  “You will have your response, sir. But not from me,” Henry replied.

  Murmurs wafted through the great hall.

  Henry turned to stage left and nodded.

  A rather tall, well-dressed gentleman, wearing an out-of-place ball cap, walked out and joined Henry at the podium.

  “I will allow Mr. Watson to answer your questions,” Henry said to the reporter, then turned to his guest. “Mr. Watson, would you do the honors?”

  Henry stepped aside and allowed Mr. Watson to take the podium.

  “What we will achieve in the future will look nothing like what we see today,” Watson assured. “For those who doubt the Cyborg revolution, you only have to recall the doubt some held about computers.

  “The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. Computers have already achieved that kind of ubiquity. In the future, robots will, too.”

  A questioner raised a pen above his head.

  When he was recognized, he said, “Jonathan Seagate, New Times Daily. The job market is already weakened by computers, big data and information gathering technology. Millions are unemployed. Millions more have given up looking for work. What jobs are coming on line are at the lowest rung of the ladder.”

  “The debate over what technology does to work, jobs and wages is as old as the industrial era,” Watson replied. “Starting with the textile workers who felt threatened by power looms. Yet within ten years, the textile industry grew ten fold and added tens of thousands of workers. Each new burst of technology has brought with a new wave of fears of possible mass displacement of labor.

  “In 1899 there were twenty-one million horses and tens of thousands of people whose livelihood depended upon the equine trade, upkeep, equipment. By 1960, there were just three million horses in the country but tens of millions more jobs created by what rep
laced the horse: the automobile.

  “At the dawn of the computer ear, in 1964,” Watson went on, “a group of scientist sent a letter to President Lyndon Johnson warning that cybernation will require progressively less human labor. Yet the job market only grew faster after that.”

  Another questioner stood and said, “Phillip Evens, The Atlantic. In all known societies, the least wealthy half of the population owns practically nothing…less than 5% of total wealth. The richest 1% of the population holds 50% of the world’s total wealth. Automation, owned by the wealthy, will only exacerbate that trend.”

  “The best way to prepare workers today and into the future is to provide training, education,” Watson rejoined, “which will be free to all thanks to the increase in productivity of machines and robots.”

  “But very soon, the most intelligent humans will be no match for the robots,” Phillip insisted. “Opportunities for advancement will dissipate, a loss of identity for the entire population: a redefining of what it means to be a human.”

  “People will live like Gods in the future,” Watson insisted. “They will live long and healthy lives. They will be able to transport themselves and their possessions anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. They will enjoy the best food cultivated and prepared for them, instantaneous holographic communication with anyone on the planet.”

  A young man stood up. “Derek Gardner, The Tribune Magazine. What about the protection of humans from robots? And please don’t refer to ‘I, Robot,’ or Isaac Asimov and speak of the three rules that insure no harm comes to humans via robots. There is no innate drive built into robots to avoid ethical, moral, or social transgressions. How robots interact with humans depends a great deal on how much their creators know or care about such issues. And robot creators tend to be engineers, programmers, and designers with little training in ethics, human rights, privacy or security.”