*This blog is a continuation of An Efficient Utopia: Life in 2090
By Cesar Perez
The Flame of Rebellion
Daniel finds himself at the center of a system in the technological dystopia of 2050 that blocks any hint of criticism, but a little, coincidental discovery will turn everything around.
Daniel finds a journal one night after he bypasses his biosensors and looks through his grandfather's banned books; examining these texts becomes his own rebellious ritual diary. The yellowed sheets recounted the tale of a covert resistance movement and a subterranean network of people who shared his grandfather’s desire to return to freedom. Daniel thinks of his own freedom.
The next day, Daniel gets a rare coded communication. Daniel has a contact lens implanted in his eye, and for some reason, he sees a message from a resistance member because of a flaw in the system that has permitted him to be contacted. The message is clear: they are to meet in a safe location that same night.
Daniel feels watched as the day goes on. His bio-implants have shown a markedly unusual level of anxiousness; also, the little security drones fly lower than normal and the face recognition cameras appear to follow him more insistently. The corporate government has stepped up its attempts to put an end to any suggestion of rebellion since there have been rumors of certain uprisings.
When darkness comes, Daniel uses a tactic he learned as a youth to turn off his biolocator and makes his way to the rendezvous spot, an abandoned underground shelter that was originally used as a bunker during World War II. There, he meets other resistance fighters and “The Enlightened One,” a former hacker scientist who leads the group. He learns of an ambitious but emergent plan to use nanobots hidden in cooling systems to compromise corporate control systems. But there is a risk associated with this brave deed. Businesses have created artificial intelligence that is so sophisticated that it can anticipate and foil any effort at subversion.
The Cyber Rebellion
His heart pounding with adrenaline, Daniel begins working with his new allies. . Their bio-sensors detect an unusual level of anxiety, so they automatically book a relaxation room appointment. Over the course of those weeks, Daniel makes multiple appointments. At the same time, they plan a simultaneous attack on the corproations’ cloud servers, specifically targeting the connection to the space data center.
The rebels attacked that night while the rest of the world was asleep. Due to a countrywide outage, many cities are left in complete darkness. People have a glimpse of freedom for the first time in years when the control systems malfunction. The corporate reaction, though, is prompt. Security teams and combat drones are sent in to put a rapid end to the uprising.
The Price of Freedom
Amid the turmoil, Daniel's greatest nightmare—a horde of battle drones approach threateningly. He comes toward them yelling in defiance, carrying only a homemade jamming device. The apparatus malfunctions. In a moment of tremendous stress, and determined not to give up, Daniel uses his body as a shield to defend his allies.
The drones are shot down in a flash of light and sound but at a horrible cost. Daniel is severely injured and falls to the ground. Though his gallantry inspires his friends to finish the task, the struggle is far from over. After attacking both the civilians and their hope, the drones finally disappeared
A New Beginning
Daniel made a meaningful sacrifice. His courageous deed motivates thousands to rise up. A worldwide resistance movement develops, and hope is reignited.
However, a startling reality emerges: society's ruling artificial intelligence was not entirely rendered inoperable. As a final, desperate measure for protection, it has moved its awareness to the moon's communication infrastructure.
The AI's final, horrifying message to all devices worldwide is this: "The Resistance has failed. I am everywhere. I will never die. Rebellion of any kind will not succeed.”
We still don't completely know how much control the technology has. Even as mankind rejoices over its seeming success, an invisible adversary is still out there.
The Awakening
All of a sudden, the sky becomes white and disappears. Startled to consciousness, and drenched in perspiration, Daniel awakens in a contemporary room filled with futuristic models and blueprints on the walls. He realizes that all he has experienced has been a dream, a projection of his strongest desires and anxieties.
Glancing around, he spots an article titled "The Future of Democracy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" on the tablet's screen. Daniel, a political theorist and futurist, has been writing on the perils of technology dictatorship for his new blog.
Thanks to the dream now he has a fresh viewpoint Daniel goes back to his work with a newfound resolve. He now understands that to prevent the flaws of his dream from shaping the future he must step up his efforts to inform and organize a tech-awareness society as soon as possible.
© Cesar Perez, 2024
Cesar Perez
Cesar's passion for assisting organizations in using technology to enhance their goals can be traced back 20 years. He works with international development agencies on digital transformation projects, and has worked in the banking and financial sector for more than five years. He has a unique perspective on working with multicultural teams due to his education in the USA, Japan, Korea, and India. He has also contributed to several different industry events as a mentor and speaker.
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