thealphaswarmer creatives

#thealphaswarmer_throwbacks: Prophecy, Didacticism and Emergence #creatives

I often yearn for the ability to immerse myself back into creative writing. Its a form of escapism, creates a suspension of disbelief whilst allowing you to transcend reality and conceive anything beyond the limits of the physical world. This is also a state of metaphoric dreaming which inspires a tapestry of thoughts, ideas and prophecies which are all rooted in didactic purpose! The creative that follows was composed back in the year 2003 and whilst short, portrays a mix between Utopian and Dystopian concept of what will happen if we achieve the singularity. Enjoy!


As the rain fell sporadically outside I signed into yet another day of monotonous work: encrypting, decrypting and modifying software codes for The Company. It was 8.45am, though the darkness of the sky and the musty smell in the air reminded me of how the earth seems to sigh in the early hours of the morning, just before it is awoken again by the sun creeping creeps over the horizon.

I was feeling exhausted and depleted, like an empty reservoir standing only for the purpose of collecting water from a drip in the roof. There is much to do, but I cannot find the incentive or energy to do it.  Not even the fear of Manager Dell using my lack of application as an excuse to terminate my employment could motivate me today.  I have been told that my “optimum performance” is absolutely necessary if there is to be a successful channeling of software codes for the US’s new defense intelligence system, Maximus.

Deciding I needed to defrag my mind, I embraced the current solitude and entered a command.  Reading the next maintenance code, I was a bit taken aback when a window popped up on screen, informing me of an email sent from Mac, a colleague who was my complementary software engineer. I clicked on the link and found a spread of matrix codes that were encrypted in the language only used by the higher ranks in The Company. At the top of the email Mac had said, “Binary codes are acceptable, but not necessary.  Do you agree?.” Following was the binary codes for installing a new piece of hardware:  something that we did regularly and something that was above suspicion.   A feeling of uneasiness spread through me. I had never experienced such a thing before. Two questions circled in the air: what was Mac doing with top level codes and should I really decode them? Breach of security was a serious crime in The Company, and immediate termination of employees who use the internal email system for non-work purposes occurred.  My senses gnawed at me.  What was Mac up to?

I paused and then began decrypting the code using The Company’s top-secret encryption software, Labyrinth. It seemed like no more than one minute before the message embedded within the codes started to surface. What I read almost made me freeze and my perception of my employer flipped. Maximus had been intercepted and turned on itself. What was supposed to be our defense had now become a weapon more powerful and destructive than all the old atomic bombs. Someone, I don’t know who, had reversed the firewall function of Maximus and diverted it outside The Company. Now it had adopted a “seek, conquer and destroy” method that threatened to destabalise the autonomy of all other systems and bring them and the countries they protect under its command.

Naively believing my sense of horror could not get worse, I continued to scan the email.   At the bottom of the screen was a signature and from this I found that the Gatekeepers were behind it.  In second position in The Company hierarchy, they had the power to authorise the input of Maximus’ launching sequence and monitor all outside activity. The boss, Manager Dell, did not have control over them for they only answered to the Board, who were the ultimate bosses of The Company.

All I could do was ask why? Why would the Gatekeepers be behind this? Was there a mutiny going on? Or perhaps…no…it couldn’t be. I shuddered to think but then decided it must be true. The threat was coming from above. The Gatekeepers cannot act alone despite all their authority. If this were a mutiny it would have been interrupted and prevented by now. No, the Board knew what was occurring. Not only did it know, it was the one that was behind what was happening.

At that moment another window popped up on screen. It was from Mac.

“How do you like them apples?” he said.

“I can’t believe it.” I replied. “But should we really be discussing this online? We don’t know who could be monitoring.”

“Never fear my friend,” Mac said, always confident, “I have scripted our conversation for our eyes only. It just looks like normal data entry to anyone else.”

Mac was always on top of things even though he was the most rebellious individual I had ever worked with. This was why The Company tolerated him. He was the only one who had the ability to formulate phantom worm viruses that could not be detected or destroyed by other systems until their missions were complete. Then they self-destruct so they can never be traced.

“I have managed to create new phantom worm viruses, they have the ability to hack into Maximus and create temporary diversions therefore allowing us to execute our disarming strategy” Mac said with obvious conceit. His ostentatious nature was always an attribute we viewed with high regard. “Once inside the control panel, we can manually disarm the launching sequence hence eliminating the imminence of its execution”.

“But how will we be able to stop everyone else forming alliances with Maximus?” I added, hoping to receive a comforting response.

“Well we cannot do much to stop the alliances, the software framework based on Maximus is too strong” Mac replied. His response plunged me into a state of defeat, I thought that there could be nothing in the world we could do, and an apocalypse had began.

Going through my files, I remembered that I once had a preliminary blueprint of the algorithm sequences for the software that governed Maximus. The Gatekeepers had given them to me as a ‘back-up’ in case the pilot software failed so that we could create another one without losing much of the logic that went through its creation. Remaining focused and persistent I searched doggedly for the file, I encrypted the Company’s archive, which my computer had priority over, and finally came across a corrupted collection of blueprint documents that were used in the initial stages of the Company’s creation.

Even though it was sort of prohibited to access things from the “old days”, the gnawing feeling would not go away. To my most pleasant surprise, I was able to open a crucial part of the blueprint document. Analyzing it, I found a way to defeat Maximus!

Following the immediate realization, I contacted Mac on the instant messaging service. By this time, the Company was informed of our rebellious plan and had set out  to come and destroy us. “Mac, Maximus is not able to extend beyond national boundaries without the assistance of satellites which need confirmation from other defence agencies in other countries” I said quickly, hoping to inform Mac of everything before our power sources were cut down. “Quick Mac! The perpetrators of this unethical act will lie to the senior delegates of other nations by saying they need their input codes for defence purposes. Send your log which contains all of the Company’s dark lies so we can get help, before it’s too late.”

Mac replied “Yes I will immediately.”

I was in suspense; the fate of the Earth depended on Mac’s transmission. The storm outside grew stronger! Lightning and rain pounded the earth as it had never before, the sounds of thunder pervaded the lines, and chaos was impending.

Whilst closing all the windows, Mac replied “I have successfully alerted the delegates of Australia, New Zealand, Europe.  The message has been sent as I received a posting confirmation. Adam, take care, the …. Are coming… oh no.. Mac… I a.”

The screen was dead, and so was Mac.  I could sense the virus coming down line to me…milliseconds only left.   Corrupting, my memory banks asked, “Is this what happened to humans, or was it only we machines who were so brutal?”