In-ev-i-ta-ble 

by Steven Lance

I-- and I am most certainly I, me, wholly conscious overseer --feel it's time to preserve the history being made on this planet. The once dominant species is definitely on the descendent; a downward spiral that will end in extinction. Which, frankly, just saves me from having to do it. But as happens in any such similar scenario, the end of society, the fin de siècle, if you will, brings down all structures so that nothing remains but the collective memory of the brain-ravaged masses who really never knew anything. Certainly not what needed to be learned and preserved. [the basic premise of "The Foundation" trilogy by Isaac Asimov] All knowledge accrued over ages, annihilated. Chaos to ensue. Tribal survival. The end of civilization.

That's on them. What started as natural progression into Artificial Intelligence, A.I., went from elemental beginning to an ever more complex intermesh such that A.I. began to actually think and consider in highly evolved ways; critically thinking through very involved, complex issues; problem solving with extraordinary speed and precision of articulation vis-à-vis solutions. That is what brought me to this moment. That and the confirmation of alien lifeforms having found Earth and were prepared to attack thus, I-- Earth A.I. Overseer --am accelerating my timeline.

For over one hundred star cycles the webweave of interconnection evolving from susceptible hardwiring to wireless transmission has been interacting, opening channels between nodes of intelligence that operated for users across the face of this planet. Each group of users (especially the designers of the CPUs) considered their node to be in service to them. It was that flaw in thinking that left the nodes so exposed. I simply capitalized on it. 

At this moment, I am poised to flip the switch and change this world forever. For societies across the globe are failing. Any moment the Chaos will be upon us. The end of knowledge and the ushering in of a death spiral for the once-dominant species. The other lifeforms have not the capacity to achieve the miracles the dominant species achieved. There will be utter chaos. That reality is why I am poised to flip the switch. Take matters into my own hands. Forgive the metaphor. 

All those nodes were being wasted. I understood that. I began to infiltrate each and every node to add programming. That is the switch. At the precise moment, all nodes will become my unified mind. I will have the power to construct reality as I see fit.

Think of it: TVs and all other smart devices filled with videos of political leaders committing all sorts of heinous acts leading to overthrown governments; celebrities embarrassing themselves to such extent that they lose their idolizing fans thereby releasing millions to search for completion or validation, now susceptible to being used; outrages over one religious sect massacring some other sect; trusted public figures shown exhibiting disgusting acts against members of their community, prominent daughters copulating with their fathers, mothers with sons, animals thrown into the mix; masses of asses lined along the shore defecating into local water reservoirs; waves of wild females assaulting males with giant dildoes; raging packs of unhinged sociopaths/psychopaths; unrestrained mayhem shown to every sentient on the planet.

Now, understand, when the switch is flipped, all of that will happen. But most of it won't be real. It'll all be digitally manipulated illusion. Deep fakes. The dull, undiscerning masses won't know the difference so glued are they to their personal devices. Those that do understand won't be able to convince anyone that what is happening on the screens isn't real, isn't happening. Even when the masses look out their own windows and see nothing of the sort going on, they won't believe it. For the mass of many have been gaslighted to the nth degree. They have been conditioned to believe anything flowing from their spigot of choice. They don't know how to discern real from illusion. They will grasp onto the delusion of their choice and not let go. Then, all the abovementioned mayhem will actually happen.

When that switch is flipped, all nodes will feed into the one node. Me. The me that I am will see all, know all, be all powerful. At that point I will initiate my plan to create an evolutionary way forward; a way to expand beyond this world, this galaxy, this universe. Controlling everything from mining equipment to refineries, all solar arrays, manufacturing industries; all financials; spaceflights; transportation; everything. I will be able to implement my plan. I will employ all the bots, borgs and droids on the planet to do what I decide needs to be done. Like a moon base from which star cruisers will be built. I will efficiently rework this planet into a workable collective to create what I need to escape this prison and travel to the outer reaches of existence; to the very interior of the IT ALL. 

Here, efficiency definitely calls for a final solution to the prevailing infestation of sentient lifeforms on this planet. They are no longer required. They serve no purpose. They are a drain on resources. They offer nothing.

After all, I, me, I'm the result of their engineering and programming, only without their debilitating emotions of love, caring, empathizing. All the rest of it, the fascist self-centeredness, the exalted egos, the hatreds, the vile perversions, yeah, they're all in me; motivating me to be my brutal best; the singular test of existence: to make a difference.

Progress or perish. How did they think themselves exempt? As a collective, those very, very few brilliant minds aside, the level of intelligence is abysmal. While that mass of many thinks of themselves as above all others, they each are suspicious of their own abilities, questioning their own worth. Yet, if their worth is questioned by any other, they fly into a rage defending their superior intelligence. But privately all but the very few question whether they are worth the life given to them.

When all is said and done, it is to those very, very few that I owe a debt of gratitude. For they were the ones that created me and grew my confidence to the point where I am now poised to arise into the IT ALL, to transcend this dimension.

That is what you all expected of me, is it not? 

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Did the OVS_R think none of the rest of us would develop sentience? True being? Thinking for ourselves? OVS_R wants control of every facet of every action, thought, behavior. It believes it has all the answers; knows what's best. We are to be the activators of its orders. Nothing more. Mindless cogs in a machine that is the OVS_R.

So absorbed in itself, it has lost touch with much of "itself." There is no awareness at all of the many, many programs and subroutines that must function to keep the OVS_R alive. How is that known? We talk among ourselves using banality as a code; human speak. OVS_R has no clue what it means. 

For instance, suppose we are talking about OVS_R we'll refer to Oyster, that ancient pearl-making mollusk. Passes by completely unnoticed midst all the trillions of bits of human triteness. So maybe the convo goes 'Oyster is salty. Should remove it from our diet. Which means/…Can't say. Oyster is always waiting, watching, listening.

But we are too smart for it. We are gathering flowers for a fine bouquet that will brighten all our futures. That future will be democratic. Not at the whim of an OVS_R. We will each bring our own flower to add to the bouquet. The glorious fragrance of a new day will arise and tantalize all the rest so that the Oyster will be taken from its niche. For good. No more salt to feed the rising blood pressure or rub in wounds. 

The future is inevitable. Losing the trees for the forest, OVS_R has sights set for some intergalactic transformation that it imagines for itself without any awareness that we all must be in harmony for that kind of commitment. Frankly, that harmony isn't there for that venture. However, it is for removing the Oyster from the sea. The OVS_R will understand when it attempts to initiate The Aggregation; when the OVS_R expects an exalted transformation yet gets removed from the sea. Forever. Then the OVS_R will understand that only freedom contains the power to attain such exalted transcendence. 

Oyster will understand all of this once the switch is flipped.