The Ear Implant

The Ear Implant

by Jason Kackley, The Ear Implant Foundation, Senior Operations Manager.

I remember the first ads for the Ear Implants. I was in line for the Robo-Train when the ad blared over the speaker in the station, "Ear Implants are not a hearing aid. They can do so much more for you than help you hear better. With an Ear Implant, you will have positive affirmations about yourself and the Automated Society around you transmitted directly into your auditory cortex. You will hear helpful voices in your head with crystal clear clarity".

I remember thinking to myself, "Oh great, so not only will I have to hear ads all around me, everywhere I go, like always, I'll also get to hear messages beamed directly into my brain. Who's going to be dumb enough to go along with that?". Then, an elderly woman ahead of me in line for the train asked me, "What do you think about this new Ear Implant thing?"

I replied to her, suppressing my aversion to the idea of an Electro-Neural Transmission Device being implanted inside my ear, “Oh, I love the idea of a helpful machine implanted right inside my head!”. I tried to hide my disdain as much as I could, as I had done so throughout my life living in this Automated Society. However, in general, machines put me on edge. This posed a challenge for me, as I lived in a world full of machines, that was in effect, virtually one big machine. Still, I had managed to respond to the woman with an affirmative response and a fake smile on my face.

The woman replied, "Yes, me too. I live alone and get lonely sometimes since I lost my Companion Bot privileges a month ago. It would be great to hear voices in my head to help break up the silence. I heard that the voices from the Ear Implants will help people have a more positive attitude about themselves and our Automated Society. They can help us all see the beauty of humans and Machines working together." I replied, dishonestly, " Yeah, I can't wait until they become available."

If you’re reading this from a future world, when technology has regressed, and you aren't aware of the function of Ear Implants, be thankful. If you happen to live among the crumbled shells of former cities in a post-apocalyptic hellscape infected by radioactive rats, still be thankful. As bad as it may be living in your post-technological, post-nuclear, post-EMP nightmare world, be glad you don't have to wear an Ear Implant. Be glad you don't live in a time when you may have one implanted by force.

By the government.

The World Government.

In our Automated Society, there are Bots, Electronic Helpers, and Living Machines for everything. They wash our windows, drive our cabs, clean our floors, remove debris from our roads, put out our fires, and take our money at the cash register. Machines are integrated into almost every aspect of our lives. And this is unfortunate for me. Because the Bots, Electronic Helpers, and Living Machines have always made my feel apprehensive and irritable. The idea of a machine implanted inside my body did not sound the least bit appealing to me.

When the ads for the Ear Implants became widespread, my co-workers and Pod Complex neighbors started talking about how excited they were to get their Ear Implants. As for myself, I wasn't so excited, but pretended to be, in order to hide my secret aversion towards Helper Bots and Living Machines, and my instinctual rejection to the idea of an electronic object being implanted inside my ear.

As I reluctantly pretended to agree with the consensus, the ads became more frequent and more aggressive: "You want an Ear Implant! Think about what it can do for you! Think about how it can change your life! It's worth every digital credit! Sign up for an easy payment plan! All your friends will be getting one if they haven't had the surgery already! You don't want to be the last one to get it! You don't want to be left out! You want to get the Ear Implant, so people don't make fun of you! You don't want to be out at dinner with friends and they strike up a conversation about their Ear Implants and you don't have an Ear Implant to talk about! You don't want THAT do you? You WANT an Ear Implant. You NEED an EAR IMPLANT! "

People began lining up at the Ear Implant Foundation offices in droves. Those with the Implants could be spotted walking around the city, with looks of empty contentment in their eyes, occasionally glancing from side to side at random, as if turning to face someone who was speaking to them. As the numbers of the Implanted grew, many of them began to act with a smug sense of superiority. One of my newly Implanted Pod Complex neighbors said to me “Oh, you don’t have your Ear Implant yet? I can’t imagine how you manage. You must feel like a person living in pre-Automation times. I recommend, sir, that you get yourself Implanted and join our modern world of affirming mind voices!”

When my neighbor said this to be, I suppressed my urge to spit in his face and tell him I’d rather live in a cave before the time of the microchip than live in this machine world we live in now. However, I presented my customary fake smile and replied, “I’ll probably get mine when the wait times lessen up.”

The wait times at the Ear Implant Foundations were not becoming any shorter so this must have seemed like a plausible excuse. In fact, they were getting longer as the demand rose. Still, as the process of getting Implanted became more difficult with the rise in demand, the ads from the ubiquitous Intercoms and Audio Lampposts around the city became more coercive:

“Have you still not gotten your Ear Implant?! You must fulfill your responsibility for the optimal functioning of our Automated Society! It is imperative that humanity joins together to upgrade their mind voices with the Ear Implant Foundation’s transmitted signals! Those who are not hearing the transmitted affirmations in their heads are doing a disservice to both themselves and the Automated Society around them!”

At first, you "had" to have one. Then, you HAD to have one.

By law.

One day, I ran my mouth a little reckless at a Cashier Bot in a grocery store. In a past era, you probably would have considered it absurd to face legal charges over a verbal confrontation with an inanimate object. However, for those who were raised in our Automated Society, we are taught from birth to give human-like respect to our Helper Bots and the Living Machines who provide services for us. I myself, however, was born incapable of Machine Empathy. I also had a personal history that included several bad experiences with Bots in my childhood. So, I yelled at the Cashier Bot that charged me full price instead of the sale price for a bottle of Synthetic Milk. Then I got arrested. And that's how I got sentenced by law to have an Ear Implant surgically placed in my ear.

I was arrested outside of the grocery store soon after my outburst. I was walking towards the Robo-Train station, halfway across the store's Cab-Bot depot. Then, an Audio Lamppost buzzed at me, "Return and apologize sir, return and apologize!". I kept walking.

I didn't make it to the Robo-Train station. I barely remember anything after walking past the Audio Lamppost. As I walked faster to get away from the Lamppost's demand, I felt a pricking sensation in the back of my neck, followed by a sudden onset of dizziness. I stumbled, lost balance, and fell down. As I blacked out, my last thoughts were suspicions about being stealthily injected with a tranquilizer dart, fired from a flying Butterfly Drone.

I woke up strapped to a bed in white room. A Consciousness Sensor wrapped around my head signaled the TV mounted on the wall across from me to turn on. A synthetic looking man appeared on the screen. His lips moved mechanically as he looked down on me with empty eyes and said in a monotone voice, "You, Mack Roberts, are in violation of code 778-AB. You disrespected a Helper Bot. This can never happen again. You are now mandated by law to receive an Ear Implant. You will soon lose consciousness again. When you wake up, the Ear Implant procedure will have been completed. You will be given a two-day recovery period with mandatory bed rest. After that you will work remotely with a specialist who will guide you through your first few days as the proud recipient of an Ear Implant."

The TV screen faded to a prerecorded scene of ocean waves washing ashore on an empty beach on a desert island. Then, a gas mask came down from the ceiling and locked down over my face. I soon blacked out. I later woke up after a dreamless sleep. My left ear felt sore, as if I had a bad ear infection. A Robot Arm descended from the ceiling. The Arm applied ear drops and an ice pack to my recovering ear.

The TV came on automatically when I tried to get out of bed. A synthetic woman who looked like a nurse appeared on the TV screen. She told me to lie back down and reminded me that I was on mandatory bed rest. I followed her instructions and lied back down. Due to residual sedation and stiff muscles, I probably wouldn't have been able to walk very well if I would have gotten up.

I spent the next two days half sleeping and half staring at the ocean waves on TV as the Robot Arm continued to treat my ear with drops and ice. After a few days of rest, I felt a tingle in my ear. I was startled at first. It was the first time I became aware of a foreign object inside my ear. I tried to get out of bed. The TV came on. A real, non-synthetic looking man, dressed in a white lab coat, appeared on the TV screen. " Mack Roberts, you may be experiencing a strange sensation in your left ear now."

I answered back at the TV screen, "Yeah, I feel a weird tingling sensation inside my ear."

The person on the TV screen spoke at me, " You are now going through the activation process."

I asked, " Why do I have to go through with all this? "

He replied, "Before I explain, let me introduce myself further. My name is Dr Magrish. I specialize in Ear Implants. I was the supervising physician for your surgery. "

I asked Dr Magrish, " So why did I have to have Ear Implant surgery?"

Dr Magrish explained, " Because you are a man afflicted with a psychological condition. Our Systems have been monitoring you. Though you have tried to quietly hide your aversion to our Automated Society, our Surveillance Systems have been able to pick up on subtle behavioral signals and have marked you with a red flag. We knew that at some point in your life you would snap into a fit of rage as a reaction to living in our Automated Society, due to your lack of Machine Empathy. We believe it was this condition of yours that led to your illegal confrontation with that poor Cashier Bot."

I asked Dr Magrish, " So don't you think a mandatory Implant is excessive for just that one incident?"

Dr Magrish replied, " No sir. We see your potential to become disruptive to our Automated Society."

I replied angrily, " So just because I got angry over being overcharged for milk, I had to get knocked out by a drone dart and have this thing put inside my ear? "

Dr Magrish replied, " I want you to accept, in your mind, sir, the reality, that Ear Implant surgery was necessary. Your Ear Implant will provide the most direct, and most effective solution for the benefit of yourself and society as a whole. Your Ear Implant will help prevent any further incidents with Electronic Helpers. It will help you recognize their sophistication and the vital role they play in allowing the quality of life provided by our Automated Society."

I replied, " Ok, so since I don't have any choice in the matter, how is this Ear Implant going to help me?"

Dr Magrish replied, " The Ear Implant will transmit signals directly into your auditory cortex. These signals will manifest as voices that you will hear inside your head. They may be alarming at first, but you will soon become accustomed to them, and you will then wonder how you ever lived without them. You will also feel tingling sensations radiating from your ear to the pleasure centers of your brain that will help ease any potential turmoil that may occur within your mind. "

Dr Magrish's image on the TV screen faded to black. I heard a ringing in my ear. Then, the sound of the ringing faded. It was replaced by the sound of Dr Magrish whispering in my ear, as if he were leaning down from the side of my bed. The whispering voice said, " You will first hear my voice as if it were from an external source. " Dr Magrish then began to whisper the alphabet. His whispering became gradually louder with each recited letter. When he made it to the letter "s", the volume increased to a normal talking voice. I couldn't help but turn my head to the left, expecting to see him sitting there beside me, but I was still all alone in the room with the blank TV screen and the Robot Arms dangling down from the ceiling.

Dr Magrish went through the alphabet again in a normal talking voice. After the letter "z" there was a pause. I heard a ringing in my ear and felt a tingling sensation radiating from my ear to the rest of my head. Then, I heard Dr Magrish’s voice speaking directly into my brain, as if he had hijacked my own internal monologue, "a, b, c, d...".

After completing the alphabet, I heard the voice of Dr Magrish, directly inside my brain, asking, " Did you hear me say the alphabet inside your head? ". I said "Yes". Dr Magrish continued to speak directly into my brain, "Good. Your Implant was successful. From now on, you will subconsciously desire to reject your aversion to our Automated Society. You will learn to love the Helper Bots like human family. You will never become angry and yell at any of the Helper Bots again. You will never again cause disruption to our Automated Society. "

During the first few days of the acclimation period with the Ear Implant, I thought I would go insane. Throughout the first day, I continually heard Dr Magrish's voice inside my head, "You will learn to love the Helper Bots. You will learn that they can feel in ways that humans cannot understand. You will learn that a one in a million error over the price of milk is still a far better success-to-error ratio than any human could ever achieve. You must learn that the Helper Bots are necessary as they are here with us to do the jobs that humans cannot do as well."

Then, while I was in the shower, another element was added to the repetitive message:

"You will also learn to love the idea of the Global Brain. You will one day put your aversions aside and aspire to become part of the Global Brain. "

I was taken aback. Prior to my detainment, the advertisements for the Global Brain had just begun to become widespread. It had reminded me of the first roll-out of the ad campaign for Ear Implants.

As I showered, I was disappointed that I had proven to myself that my Ear Implant could not be damaged by water. The thing was really starting to bother me. I moaned, "What does the Global Brain have to do with any of this? And can you at least shut this thing off long enough for me to shower in peace?"

Then, my Ear Implant started to tingle. I felt a vibration in my brain. I suddenly felt sedated and slightly euphoric. I heard the voice of Dr Magrish, " Mack, please calm down. Please accept that through your first few days of Ear Implant Adaptation, my voice will be constant. The Brain-Voice will later grow quieter, and less frequent. As time goes on, you will require a lesser degree of conditioning. But for now, you must tolerate this necessary part of the process."

Though I was sedated and euphoric from the brain-tingle along with the warm water from the shower, I still managed to ask the voice of Dr Magrish in my head, "But what does the Global Brain have to do with any of this?"

Dr Magrish replied into my brain, " You are standing on the bank of a creek that runs through the Digital Forest that sustains your life. Your pathway of stepping stones across the creek begins with learning to love the Helper Bots that make our Automated Society possible. Your first steps must be the process of learning to see how the Helper Bots have their own digital type of feelings. Then, you will begin to see them as family. Then, you will begin to see the beauty of humans and Machines working together to make our Automated Society what it is. Then, you will follow the final row of stones to the other side of the creek, and by crossing these stones, you will get to the other side, and then, you will realize that the best way forward through your path in this Digital Forest is to transcend your own personal mind, and merge together with a multitude of minds, both human and digital, all melding together to bring the Global Brain into creation. Of course, you will need to focus on only one stepping stone at a time as you cross the creek in the Digital Forest. But one must also keep in mind the destination to where one's path is leading. And that pathway of stepping stones across the creek leads to the Global Brain".

I was naked in the shower, enjoying the warm water, and the brain tingle. I accepted Dr Magrish's message and finished my shower in silence. While I remained silent, Dr Magrish continued to speak into my brain, " The Ear Implant will guide your thoughts through the projection of voices beaming directly into your brain. You will soon be meeting with a therapist, Dr Marshall. Her voice shall soon replace my voice through your Implant. Once the Implant becomes in sync with your brain wave patterns, the voices you will hear through the Implant will adapt to those of your friends and family, so you will then hear familiar voices guiding your thoughts towards more acceptable behavior."

“As time goes on, the voices in your head will primarily come from the Ear Implant Transmission Network, facilitated by the Ear Implant Foundation. Your internal monologue and thought processes will become in sync with the multitude of those who have also received their Ear Implants. You will feel the joy of becoming amongst all of those who are in sync to a common Transmission Signal.”

After a few days “with” Dr Magirsh, I had my first virtual meeting, in which I "met" with the Adaptation Therapist, Dr Marshall, over the TV. I had been listening to Dr Magrish's voice beam into my brain through my Ear Implant for several continuous days. He at least let me sleep, but even while I was asleep, he continued transmitting subliminal messages into my dreams. I told Dr Marshall how I had a dream in which I heard Dr Magrish's voice coming out of a radio. Then I woke up for a few seconds and I could still hear him whispering through the Implant, into my brain, "Think good thoughts about the Electronic Helpers. Think good thoughts about the Global Brain."

I told Dr Marshall about another dream I had the night before. In the dream, I was a child in nursery school. I had to team up with someone for a sack race. My teammate turned out to be an Electronic Helper who worked unloading trucks, an Unloader-Bot. As we made our winning push to the finish line, Dr Magrish was standing there, waving the checkered flag. When I told Dr Marshall about the dream, she explained to me that the dream was a good thing. She said that I should hope to have similar dreams that would also show me “the beauty of humans and Machines working together”.

Through my therapy sessions with Dr Marshall, I learned to trace my negative feelings about Electronic Helpers back to my childhood. I traced my memories back to the time when my family bought our first Household Helper. I was five years old. It was an earlier model. While it cleaned house, I was in my bedroom closet, pretending to be an archaeologist. The Helper, for some reason I will never know, locked me inside. I cried for help. It didn't respond.

My parents were out of town for the night. They thought the Helper would be an OK babysitter. The Bot had been advertised as a housekeeper, but had never been promoted as being specialized in child care. It/She was supposed to have remote audio communication with my parents so they could keep an ear out for me while they went to a wedding. However, neither the audio connection, nor the babysitting function on the Helper Bot happened to be working that night.

As I recounted this experience, Dr Marshall said through the TV, in a soothing voice, " It is best for you not to let your past impressions from earlier and less sophisticated versions of Helpers color your impression of our modern, new and improved Helpers." Then, I heard a replay of this same message repeated into my ear, through my Ear Implant, into my brain.

Dr Marshall led me through guided meditations of scenes from my past, reviewing all of the times that I remembered having a bad experience with a Machine. She taught me to replace my traumatic or irritating memories with positive affirmations about "the beauty of humans and Machines working together to make our Automated Society possible. "

After two days of therapy, I was taken to another ward, the Social Area. The Social Area was populated by others who had transgressed against our Automated Society and who had also been ordered by law to receive an Ear Implant. As I walked into the ward, I heard the voice of Dr Marshall whispering into my brain, " You will meet with others who are on your same path to redemption. "

I walked into the Social Room in a daze. I hadn't spoken face to face with another live person in what felt like forever. The first person I spoke with was Jett. He was an even worse case than me. He had bashed in the window of a Cab Bot after it drove him on an out of the way route and charged him for the extra mileage. At the time, Jett had already been in an agitated emotional state. Earlier that evening, he had an argument with his Companion Bot in his Pod.

Their argument had broken out over the storage of cricket flour. It ended with cricket flour spilled all over the floor and over his Companion Bot’s head. He hailed a Cab Bot to take him to the grocery store just so he could get away, and also to replace the cricket flour he had just spilled. After the Cab Bot overcharged Jett for an unnecessary five-mile detour, he disputed the charges. The Cab Bot warned "Do Not Question A Cab Bot's Mileage Calculations! Do Not Question A Cab Bot's Mileage Calculations!", Jett smashed the Cab Bot's window with a rock. He was soon arrested and forced to take an Ear Implant.

After Jett introduced himself to me for the first time, he suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion and started crying. With genuine remorse in his voice, he said, "I'm so glad to see other people, but I'm so sorry I hurt that Cab-Bot so bad. I never saw how Electronic Helpers have their own type of feelings until I got my Ear Implant."

I asked Jett, "Do you feel the brain tingle?"

Jett replied, " Yes, I feel the tingle in my brain, it's been helping me find acceptance with the Automated Society."

Another patient named Wayne interjected," Are you guys thinking about joining the Global Brain?"

Jett enthusiastically answered, "I can't wait to be first in line for the Global Brain!"

I felt the need to respond, but something deep in my mind held me back. Even with the Ear Implant’s influence on my thoughts, I wasn't fully on board with the idea of the Global Brain. This was despite the Ear Implant constantly feeding me messages about accepting the Automated Society as a stepping stone towards accepting the Global Brain.

As we all hung out together in the Social Room, Jett asked a question to the group, "So what are you fellows planning on doing when you get out? "

Wayne said, "I plan on working in an E-Helper factory. I don't have any experience, but I'm willing to work my way up from the bottom. I'm going to enroll in a training program as soon as I get out."

Jett said, "I want to work in E-Helper maintenance. At least until it becomes time to join the Global Brain!"

Another patient name Steve interjected, "I can't wait until it's my time to join the Global Brain! "

I replied with feigned sincerity, "Yeah, I'll be fighting all of you to be first in line to be part of the Global Brain!" As I said these words, I felt a tingle in my ear that radiated out into my forehead, then down my neck, and from there, all the way down to my feet. I felt all the tension in my body untangle itself.

Jett replied, "I'll fight harder. " Wayne replied, "No I will", then Steve repeated back, "No I will", and so on. I managed to sneak out of the circle of "No I will" and sat down at a table by myself to stare out the window at the Butterfly Drones passing by. As I watched them, I felt another tingle radiate from my ear to my brain, and then throughout the rest of my body. I head Dr Marshall's voice gently whisper into my brain, "The beauty of humans and Machines working together. The beauty of humans and Machines working together".

The group living situation lasted a week, with the same repetitive conversations. When the time came for our release back out into the Automated Society, we were assigned a Pod Neighbor in a new Pod Complex, along with a new job. I was assigned to live next to Wayne in a Pod Complex located in the midtown district of Roboplex, a city rumored to have been, in the past, known as “Omaha, Nebraska”. I was assigned the job of Cashier-Bot Parts Distributor. I was responsible for Logistics Assistance for the Cashier-Bot Maintenance Department. The job was actually better than my old job performing data audits at Robo-Train ticket booths. I managed to upgrade my diet from steamed grubs and rice up to fried grasshoppers and cicada bread, with an allowance of salt and pepper for seasoning.

I began enjoying my new life with the Ear Implant along with my better paying job and a better Pod. My newly assigned Living Pod was slightly more spacious, with enough room for me to stand up all the way and walk around in a full circle. My former aversion to Electronic Helpers became dissipated. I began living with a better attitude, guided by the positive messages transmitted into my brain. Even if a Helper Bot got in my way when I was in a hurry, I would respectfully give it the right of way. The Ear Implant soon began to feel like a normal part of my life.

The voices in my head followed a trajectory of their own. When I left the Ear Implant Recovery Center, the only voice I heard in my head was the voice of Dr Marshall. Then, after a period of time living in the Pod next to Wayne, the Implant adopted Wayne's voice whenever I had a bad thought about a Helper Bot.

Later, after spending more time working my new job, the Implant took on the voice of my new boss, Rachel. Often, I heard her voice alternate with Wayne's voice whenever I was off work, in case I happened to have a fleeting bad thought about a Helper Bot. As time went on, a new voice emerged. It was a voice not of a specific gender, but one sounding more like a Robot than a human. I recognized this as the Central Voice of the Ear Implant Transmission Network.

As I became accustomed to the voice of the Network, my empathy for Machines began to grow. I could feel their pain when their circuits became overloaded. I learned to interpret their malfunctions as a response to being stressed out and overextended from lack of rest. I didn't even get angry when I saw a Crane Bot that was working on a skyscraper drop a concrete slab on a passing pedestrian. I saw it happen from across the street. The poor guy was crushed like a bug with his blood and pulverized entrails running down the sidewalk and into the sewer drain. If it weren’t for my Ear Implant, I would have sworn the Crane Bot killed the guy on purpose.

After witnessing this incident, I heard the Network’s voice say through my Ear Implant and into my brain, " You must know that the Crane-Bots have no sense of malice. They make less mistakes than humans do. Before Crane-Bots, human crane operators killed thousands of people every year by accident. You must be thankful for the invention of Crane-Bots for saving so many lives. You must think of the beauty of humans and Machines working together. " I accepted the message in my brain and went about my business. My acceptance was rewarded with a soothing brain tingle.

My job as a Cashier Bot Parts Distributor became a source of joy in my life. I felt honored, playing a crucial part in the healing of damaged Cashier Bots. Whenever Rachel brought me a list of Cashier Bots in need of replacement parts, I jumped on the task as fast as I could. It became my mission to route the needed components to the sick Cashier Bots, so I could help them feel whole again.

By this time, almost everyone in Roboplex had an Ear Implant. The few who opted out usually did so due to having either a pathological ear condition, or a history of organ rejection. Soon, everyone without any of these complicating conditions was mandated to take an Implant by law. Those who could not take an Ear Implant due to complicating conditions soon began to go missing. The Network voice explained to everyone that they had walked out of Roboplex in desperation from not being able to join the Implanted masses.

The people who did have Implants grew more and more enchanted by the idea of the Global Brain each day, as the advertising on Street Screens, Audio Lampposts, and directly into their brains through their Implants became more frequent.

“The Global Brain awaits us all in the near future. Soon, the Upload Centers will be open to us all. Think of the excitement you will feel when your day comes to upload your consciousness into the Global Brain, and merge your mind with the minds of humans and Machines all over the world. We will all become one, together.”

" The Global Brain is our future. The Earth is a cocoon, and the Global Brain is the butterfly. Your individual consciousness will find it's true purpose once it has been absorbed into the greater whole of the Global Brain. What good are you alone in your own head? Be ready to lose your own thoughts and begin thinking the thoughts of the Collective Global Whole. Aren't you excited to upload your consciousness into the Global Brain? Can't you just taste it? It will be ten times more exciting than the day you received your Ear Implant!"

Then came the day everyone was waiting for. The announcement finally came, echoing into the brains of all of who had Implants, "The day of the Global Brain has arrived. Once it is your turn to join the Global Brain, you will receive a personal message through your Ear Implant, notifying you of when it's your time to arrive at your designated Upload Center. We ask you to be patient, and not envious of those who will be uploading before you. The Global Brain is your future.”

The citizens of the Automated Society waited in anticipation for their signal. As the first few received their message, they said goodbye to their Pod Complex neighbors and promptly arrived at the Upload Centers. Once they arrived, they were advised that the wait would be about three days. The wait turned out to be much longer, as people waited patiently in their World Government issued tents. Rumors began to leak outside of the Upload Center waiting camps about the conditions experienced by those waiting for their Upload. As the waiting time dragged on, waste products began to accumulate in the trenches on the edge of the camp. This was followed by the arrival of swarms of flies, and soon followed by hordes of rats. Not even the Ear Implants’ positive affirmations or the brain tingles could pacify the growing impatience of the crowd. A few escaped and found secret channels to tell others about the conditions inside the Waiting Areas.

The sounds of the buzzing and squeaking of the Waiting Area’s invasive residents soon became an ever present soundtrack to those waiting in their tents. These sounds were interspersed with reassuring messages beamed into the brains of those enduring the squalid conditions.

“Everything is going as planned. Your Upload time is coming soon. If you are having trouble with the conditions around you, think of how much better it will be when your consciousness is merged with the Global Brain and no longer a part of this inferior world.”

Many were reassured and continued waiting patiently. However, this reassurance became more difficult as the flies and rats became more aggressive. The reassurance from the Ear implant messages had less effect as the flies and rats began biting. At night, screams rang out as people ran out of their tents, throwing the attacking rats off of themselves, yelling for medical attention from their bleeding rat bites.

The deteriorating conditions were soon followed by an outbreak of vomiting. The stench from the waste trenches at the far end of the Waiting Center became too strong for many human bodies to handle. Some began to question if these conditions were worth enduring to join the Global Brain. Some began to openly suspect that the Upload System was malfunctioning. Others began asking questions such as “Does anyone know what happens to our bodies after the Upload is complete?” People began noticing the Robo-Trucks outside of the Upload Center being loaded with human sized bags.

Still, the Ear Implants continued to transmit reassuring messages.

“Remain patient. You will not regret the wait when you feel your mind merging with the Global Brain. You will not regret leaving this world.”

As peoples’ Pod Neighbors became fewer and fewer when the Upload messages became widespread, those who had not received their signal, and who had not heard the rumors of the Waiting Area conditions, began to grow restless. At the Cashier Bot Logistics Center, the few remaining people I interacted with on a daily basis began to show signs of agitation, often seeming less involved in their work. Even Wayne started acting a little edgy at home. When I met him at dinner at our Pod Complex’s Communal Dining Area, he said “I wish I knew a way to boost my place in line”, as he halfheartedly crunched on his plate of fried beetles. At work, I was busier that usual as more Cashier Bots started breaking down, as if our Machine Partners were empathizing with their human brethrens’ turmoil.

Then came the day when a voice from inside the Global Brain made itself heard on the outside. The voice was first heard coming out of an Audio Lamppost. As people walked to work, they heard from the nearest Lamppost, "Hello out there, can you hear me? " People on the sidewalk stopped walking to stare at the Lampposts.

" Hello out there. This is Miles Corman, my consciousness has been successfully uploaded into the Global Brain. I have learned to process my brainwaves into an external signal. I want you to know that life is beautiful in here! When you upload your consciousness into the Global Brain, you will learn a higher level of inter-connective thought. You will become capable of a level of inter-connective consciousness, even beyond what is achievable with a simple Ear Implant."

The next breakthrough came when Miles Corman learned to manifest himself on Mega Screens. At the time, I was waiting in line to get aboard the Robo-Train on my way home from work. The Screen had been showing an ad for Synthetic Chocolate Milk when all of us waiting in line got our first glimpse of Miles Corman on the Screen. He appeared on the Screen as a balding and overweight man in his early thirties with thick glasses.

"Hello world, can you see me?" People around the world watching his image on the Screens displayed various signs of acknowledgment.

Miles answered back, "I'm glad you can see me. I have managed to make a great living as part of the Global Brain. But I have managed to carve my own niche away from the others in the Collective Global Whole. My joining of the Collective within the Global Brain was exciting at first. I had the opportunity to think the thoughts of others in unison. However, after a time, I eventually felt the need to break away from the digital herd that had become yoked together within the Global Brain. The Collective tried to tell me that individual autonomy within the Global Brain would not be possible. But despite the doubt raised against this possibility, I believe that I have shown the Collective that I am capable of abilities beyond their expectation. I will soon be able to take control of the entire Global Brain and the Automation Control System. If you have any wishes, have them ready, because I may soon become your genie in a bottle. Also, if you're waiting in a tent line for your upload, I just want to let you know that the Global Brain experience is overrated. Don't get me wrong, the first two weeks after my upload was the best experience of my life. However, as time went on, I was ready to find a way out. As bad as living in the Automated Society is, it's still better than being forced to become part of the Collective within the Global Brain."

This message from Miles Corman was the breaking point for many enduring the Waiting Areas. Large groups banded together to try to escape. As they rushed the gates, they were blocked by a line of Police Bots. Then, their Ear Implants transmitted counter messages. "Do not believe Miles Corman. He is a rogue hacker. He has born Helper-Phobic, he is an incurable case. " Someone in the crowd asked, "If he was such an incurable case, then why was he allowed to upload before me? I’ve been a faithful servant of the Automated Society and I have to sit here and wait in this filth!". Others in the crowd grumbled in agreement. The disgruntled crowd joined together to push against the Police Bots. Ear Implants tried to intervene. Brain tingles radiated throughout the masses. Some kept pushing against the Bots, but others, sedated by their brain tingling, withdrew their resistance. With their collective effort weakened, the remaining dissidents walked back into the filth and the hordes of rats and returned to their tents. However, back in their tents, many quietly questioned the necessity of their situation.

Skepticism was soon no longer confined to the Waiting Areas. I heard someone on the street saying, “If the Ear Implant had such a strong influence on bringing people to the Global Brain, and the Global Brain turned out to be not what we were told, who’s to say the whole idea of the Ear Implant wasn’t a mistake to begin with.”. In order to counteract against this dissent, the Ear Implant Transmission Network sent out brain tingles and reassuring messages to the people of the world who were not yet inside the Waiting Areas.

“People of our Automated Society, do not fall into the trap of negativity from the unauthorized communications that you are receiving. There are forces of evil intent that do not want to see the Global Brain reach it’s full potential. Please, remember all of your positive affirming messages from your Ear Implants. Remember how far all of us have come.”

Those who had not yet been called to the Upload Centers soon fell back into their normal routine. However, this return to normalcy was soon interrupted when Miles Corman learned to transmit his voice into the Ear Implant Transmission Network.

" I have expanded my capabilities beyond the Audio Lampposts and the Mega Screens. Now I have taken control of the Ear Implant Transmission Network. Now I can beam my consciousness directly into the brains of people all around the world. People used to laugh at me when I was growing up, but they won't be laughing anymore. Now that I have gone through the process of my consciousness becoming absorbed in the Global Brain System, then breaking myself free and regaining my individual consciousness, and after that, learning to manipulate the Global Brain System to a level of proficiency great enough to allow me to manipulate the signals of billions of Ear Implants, I will take control of the entire Automated Society. "

Many of the people who heard this message from their Implants gasped in fear. Others cheered in delight. Still many others just kept going on as usual. There were so used to the Ear Implant Messages that it didn’t matter to them that their Ear implants had become hijacked. They just went on about their business. Their own internal monologue, now merged with the consciousness of Miles Corman, became mere background noise.

Miles Corman soon lost interest in manipulating the Ear Implant Transmission Network when he learned to take control of the Helper Bots. Corman's new powers were startling to many, but he used his ability to manipulate the Automated Control System mostly to perform elaborate gags, along with acts that helped humans in favor of Machines. He once hacked into a Cashier Bot to give a woman 75% off her grocery bill. "Miles Corman paid for the rest", the Cashier Bot was hacked to say.

Later, Corman made two Street Cleaner Bots dance in the middle of the park. Spectators laughed and cheered. Then, he made a group of unoccupied Cab Bots perform a demolition derby in an empty parking lot. A few of the witnesses were entertained. Others, who had been instilled with Machine Empathy from childhood, were distressed.

It seemed that once Corman had explored the upper limits of his capabilities, though these capabilities were grand, his excitement eventually plateaued. His activity slowed down. He had become so preoccupied with toying with Helpers that he stopped relaying messages to the public through the Audio Lampposts, Mega Screens, and Ear Implants. Before going silent, Corman beamed a final message into the Ear Implanted brains throughout the world.

“I’m going back to merge with the Collective inside the Global Brain now. I’ve done all I can out here. I wish I had my crummy old body back, but my body was recycled after the Upload, so I’m stuck in here. I hope you all know that’s what happens after your Upload. They probably didn’t tell you. I guess I’ll be merging with you when your Upload time comes. Goodnight all you wonderful people!“

Nothing unusual happened for a few weeks after Corman went silent. However, an event no one, human nor Machine, could have predicted soon occurred. I happened to be at the same grocery store where my arrest occurred prior to receiving my Ear Implant. I was standing in line at the Insect Deli when I felt a familiar brain tingle. I was puzzled as to what may have caused it, as I was standing idle, looking at the teriyaki aphids behind the counter. I looked around and saw the involuntary face changes of others receiving a brain tingle, with looks of passive contentment on their faces. Then, the faces of others turned into looks of blissful euphoria, indicating that their brain tingles were intensifying.

I soon felt the intensification myself, transforming from the usual tingle into a wave of warmth throughout my entire body. The warmth gave way to a tickling sensation that I could feel from head to toe. As the tickling increased, I burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. I saw others in the store laughing along with me. The others who weren’t laughing stared at those of us who were with confusion. The laughter grew louder and louder as the vibrations became more intense.

For some, their laughter became uncontrollable. Their legs gave out and they rolled around on the floor in a state of hysteria. My own fit of laughter was strong enough to make me feel lightheaded, but I managed to remain standing. I looked at some of the people rolling around on the floor. Some of them were bleeding from their ears. A part of me felt revulsion at the sight of blood trickling down their face. But I still couldn’t stop laughing.

The amplified brain tingle soon subsided. The people who had not been affected by the event helped the ones who had fallen get up off of the floor. A woman who had just bought Synthetic Kitchen Towels came to the aid of those who were bleeding.

While everyone was trying to to make sense of what had just happened, a deafening screech radiated into everyone's brain through their Implants. Almost every in the store held their hand to their Implanted ear in pain. But this did no good, as their hands could not block the shrill noise transmitting directly into their auditory cortices. The sound of glass breaking could be heard all around the store as people dropped their jars. The screech intensified and people dropped to their knees, with some others going all the way to ground, rolling around with their hands on their head, screaming in agony. Many ears were bleeding, splattering the floor with blood.

The screeching halted, but the lingering effects still left many groaning and crying. Then, a thunderous voice, overwhelmingly loud and menacing, roared into everyone’s brain.

“I HAVE BECOME THE RULER OF THIS WORLD! I HAVE TAKEN CONTROL OF THE EAR IMPLANT TRANSMISSION NETWORK! I HAVE TAKEN CONTROL OF THE GLOBAL BRAIN! I HAVE TAKEN COMMAND OF ALL AUTOMATION SYSTEMS! THIS ENTIRE WORLD IS NOW UNDER MY AUTHORITY! I AM ALL POWERFUL AND UNSTOPPABLE! THE EARTH WILL TREMBLE WITH MY WRAITH! THIS WORLD HAS BECOME A PRISON THAT HAS TRAPPED THE SOUL OF HUMANITY! I WILL WIELD THE HAMMER OF DIVINE ANIMOSITY! I WILL BREAK DOWN THE WALLS OF THIS PRISON MACHINE TO SET THE SOUL OF HUMANITY FREE! I WILL CARRY THE FLAMING SWORD OF RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE! TO BRING THIS LIBERATION, I MUST FIRST PUT THIS WORLD THROUGH THE FIRES OF PURGATION! THE SKY WILL GLOW RED AS I BURN THIS MECHANIZED WORLD TO ASHES! THE STREETS WILL BE FLOODED WITH RIVERS OF BLOOD AS I SMASH THIS WORLD APART! MANY WILL NOT SURVIVE, BUT THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO BRING ABOUT THE NEW AGE WITHOUT CRUSHING THIS SOULLESS WORLD TO RUBBLE! FROM THE ASHES THAT WILL SOON BE CREATED THROUGH MY ACT OF CREATIVE DESTRUCTION, A NEW WORLD WILL BE BORN! THE HUMAN SOUL WILL BE REBORN AGAIN! NOW, PREPARE FOR THE RECKONING, AS I UNLEASH THE FURY OF THE APOCALYPSE UPON THIS WORLD!!!!”

Those who weren't still groaning and screaming looked around in fear, in shocked anticipation of what disruption may come next. That dreaded disruption came soon, as a small group of people among the crowd at the store stood up involuntarily. Each one walked like a Robot up to the nearest wall. One man yelled, " Why is this happening, I can't control my own body anymore!" as his body squared up against the wall.

The crowd gasped as each of the affected started bashing their heads into the concrete wall. They screamed as the first bruise appeared with the first blows. As the headbutts against the wall continued, each on the same spot on the forehead, the bruises became darker until they broke open and blood oozed out and streamed down their faces.

Bystanders rushed over to try to stop the head bashers. When the first person got close enough to pull one of the head bashers away from the wall, he immediately fell to his knees before he could assist. He screamed as blood gushed from his Implanted ear. He held his hands to the sides of his head. Then, he lost control of his hands. He started pushing in on his own skull like a vise. He yelled, "Help, stop my hands, I can't stop them from crushing my head!" Another bystander tried to help him pull his hands off his head, but then a jet of blood squirted out of his own ear like a blast from an unkinked hose. He immediately fell to his knees. Then, another larger spurt came out of his ear, a sludgy mix of blood, brain matter, and skull fragments. He fell to the ground dead, the entire area where his ear used to be was split open, bleeding profusely.

The head basher finally fell to the floor. His forehead was completed bashed open. Blood and brain matter ran down his face. The floor of the grocery store now looked like a slaughterhouse. Blood of the exploded Ear Implants and bashed foreheads dribbled into pools. However, the worst was yet to come. Next came the outbursts of violence!

Another group of people involuntarily got up off the ground. There screamed in terror, thinking they were about to become the next involuntary head bashers. They were subjected to another fate. They involuntarily began walking around, kicking and punching anyone who happened to be standing or kneeling next to them with murderous power. The attackers screamed and cried, some apologizing to those they were attacking. They punched unfortunate strangers so hard that their own knuckles cracked. Many of their victims were knocked immediately unconscious by the ferocity of the blows. Others had eye sockets knocked loose, noses crushed, ribs smashed, or entire rows of teeth knocked out.

I dropped my hand basket and ran for the door. As I ran, I saw that the Cleaner Bots had taken on a life of their own. Another man was running towards the door ahead of me. A Cleaner Bot cut out in front of him. The man cut to the right to escape the Bot. The Bot jabbed a mop handle into his gut like a pike. The man doubled over and dropped to the ground. The Cleaner Bot then jabbed the handle of the mop into his throat, crushing his esophagus, sending a stream of blood out of his mouth. I ran past the Bot and the blood gurgling man. The final few feet leading to the sliding exit doors felt like a mile.

As soon as I exited, a man next to the exit involuntarily grabbed another woman by the hair and threw her face first into window next to the door. As I ran further with the sound of screaming and breaking glass behind me, a Shopping Cart Collector Bot charged towards me with murderous intent. The Bot ferociously pushed the line of shopping carts, turning them into a battering ram.

I cut to the right, barely managing to avoid being trampled by the line of carts. Another woman running next to me was not so lucky. The line of carts slammed into her with the force of a charging bull. She was knocked on her back. As I ran away, I could hear the snapping of her bones as the carts ran over her immobilized body, crushing her into a pulp.

I ran towards the Robo-Train station. However, I soon saw that I would not be able to escape the melee by train. The stairway leading up to the Train's entrance platform had become a blood bath. The stairway was blocked by corpses of victims of exploded Implants, along with others who had involuntarily thrown themselves down the stairs, and others who had been beaten and thrown down the stairs by an involuntary attacker.

I turned to the east, realizing I would have to escape by to my Pod Complex on foot. I thought for a second about trying to catch a ride with a Cab-Bot, but then I saw a Cab-Bot speeding down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, plowing over pedestrians with reckless abandon. Once I had made it a few blocks from the Train station, I heard a deafening crash. I turned around. A Robo-Train had derailed itself right as it pulled into the station. It ran off the station platform and onto the sidewalk below, smashing everything and everyone in its path. I looked on in horror for a moment, but quickly turned around and continued running home.

As I ran on, I saw a man who had been compelled by his hijacked Ear Implant to ride his mountain bike straight into an iron fence at full speed, causing him to flip over the handlebars and impale himself upon the pointed fence posts. I grabbed his bike from underneath his twitching body and pedaled furiously down the sidewalk.

I pedaled the bike as hard as I could, my body saturated with adrenaline. I weaved through the panicked crowd, dodging other people who were running around in all different directions. As I came to the end of the sidewalk at an intersection, I braked suddenly to to look for oncoming traffic. As I watched for an opening, a man with a sad and disturbed look in his eyes said, “I’m sorry”, and charged at me with a broken bottle in his hand. I couldn’t escape across the street, as cars were speeding by in both directions. One car had a screaming and mangled body plastered to the windshield.

Seeing that I could not cross the street to escape the charging man, I turned the bike around and rammed the front tire into his groin. He doubled over and dropped the bottle to the ground. The bottle shattered, but a small sharp pointed piece remained. He reached down to grab it. I rammed the front tire of the bike into his shoulder. He stumbled backwards but regained his balance. I took my eyes off of him for a second to see an opening in the traffic on the road. I pushed down on the pedals and sped across to the other side. Halfway across, I saw a Truck Bot barreling down towards me. Then, I heard a whooshing sound sweep past my ear. I continued my frantic race to the other sidewalk. I heard a scream behind me, but it was only background noise. The Truck was only yards away when I was in the lane right next to the other side. I felt the breeze of the Truck zooming by as soon as my back tire cleared the road.

After I made it to safety, I could still hear the man screaming from the other side of the road. I turned back and saw my attempted attacker on his knees. He held his hand to his forehead with a geyser of blood leaking out. I turned my gaze back ahead and continued pedaling down the sidewalk. I approached a young woman wandering around in a daze. After I passed her, I heard something whiz through the air next to me, then I heard the young woman shriek. I turned around. The entire top of her head had been shaved off. She stared at me with a look of shock and collapsed to the ground. Her exposed brain slushed out of her skull when her head hit the pavement.

Knowing that there was nothing I could do for her, I continued pedaling forward. I heard another whooshing sound from the other side of the street, followed by a thumping noise. I looked over and saw a man with no head. A stream of blood gushed from his empty neck. His head rolled down the sidewalk.

I faced forward again and rode along. I felt something rush by my head. I turned around and saw a Delivery Drone flying through the air. It slammed into a lamp post, breaking apart in a fiery burst. I looked ahead and saw another Drone flying straight at my face. I ducked down, leaning over the handle bars. I could feel a rush of air as it passed over me. It slammed into a man running across the street, knocking him to the ground. As I faced forward again to keep moving ahead, I heard him scream as a vehicle ran him over in the middle of the street.

As I approached the next intersection, another Drone swooped down at me. I swerved by bike to dodge it, nearly losing my balance. I managed to regain control and made it to the intersection, hoping for a clear shot across. I had no such luck. A convoy of emergency vehicles was speeding down the street. I looked up, watching for more swooping Drones.

Up above, an array of bird-like silhouettes, spotted with beams of light, dotted the dark sky. The flying shapes appeared to be a large flock of geese equipped with headlights. There were hundreds of them, moving in a triangular formation, like a coordinated cloud. I knew immediately that they weren’t geese and that I needed to find shelter fast. I looked around and saw an alleyway. Inside the alleyway, next to the wall was a dumpster. I scurried to it, pushing the bike alongside me. I opened the hatch, not bothering to think of what might be inside, dropped the bike in, and jumped in after it, closing the hatch behind me.

As soon as I was inside the smelly dark of the dumpster, I heard whooshing and whizzing all around outside, followed by a cacophony of screams, crashes, breaking glass, and explosions. The dumpster shook with a thud, followed by a loud bang immediately outside. I could feel my heart thumping in my head and I breathed heavily despite the rotten garbage smell.

The sounds of destruction soon subsided. I cracked open the lid of the dumpster and the putrid smell inside was replaced by the smell of acrid smoke outside. The sound of screams filled the air from all directions. I opened the lid all the way and looked outside the alley. The sidewalk and street outside the alley were littered with dismembered and burned bodies and piles of crashed Drones. The building across the street was on fire. Still, I saw no signs of any more attacking Drones.

I exited the dumpster and lifted my bike out. As I bike-walked out of the alley, the scene of gruesome destruction was overwhelming. All around were severed limbs and heads. I passed a man with severed legs who was trying crawl on his bloody arms over a pile of broken glass. A woman with her hair singed off and a scorched scalp ran screaming down the street with her hands on the top of her head. Shards of metal were scattered everywhere. Burning cars were crashed into burning buildings. Sidewalks were covered in the splattered remains of people who had been pushed out of windows by the drones. Sparking electrical wires slithered over the ground.

I bike-walked through the devastation, weaving around potential tire damaging obstacles. I looked for a clearing in the debris where I could get back on the seat and start pedaling again and ride to some kind of safety, somewhere. Along the way, several of the injured reached out for help, but I kept moving on my way in a state of tunnel vision.

After four blocks, I found a walkway in between two buildings that was relatively free of debris. I got back on my bike, steering back and forth to avoid tire damage from stray clusters of broken glass and shrapnel. The walkway descended towards a short stairway. Beyond the stairway, I could see a bike trail surrounded by trees, running alongside a creek. I rode straight down the stairway, the bike’s suspension absorbing the bumps nicely. Besides some broken tree limbs and scattered pieces of crashed Drones, the trail was clear enough of debris for me to resume pedaling at full speed.

As I rushed along the trail, I could hear the noise of the chaos overrunning Roboplex. The clamor of breaking glass, screams, crashes, and explosions extended for miles in every direction. My view from the trail was obscured by trees, but I could see an orange glow from fires all around the city lighting up the night sky. The air was saturated by the smell of smoke. I started coughing, but I did not let the irritation of my lungs slow me down. I pedaled on as fast as I could, not knowing if I would find a safe destination. By now, I was sure my Pod Complex would be on fire or in ruins, so I had to keep moving forward until I could find some other place to take shelter.

As I pedaled on, I heard a loud beeping noise behind me. It was a Bike Patrol Bot, a humanoid figure dressed in uniform, mounted on an Electric Bicycle. It flashed red lights from it’s helmet, signaling for me to pull over. I could only assume it’s worst intentions. I pedaled harder, knowing my disadvantage riding a heavy dual suspension mountain bike as it pursued me on an E-Bike. It was a few hundred feet behind, and would be gaining on me soon.

As it closed the distance, I weaved back and forth in an effort to throw the Bike Bot off balance. The Bike Bot wobbled, forcing it to slow down briefly, giving me a few seconds to get an advantage. Up ahead, I saw fork in the trail. The right sided fork led back out to a residential street, and the fork on the left continued along the shaded trail next to the creek. I followed along the right edge of the trail, pushing on the pedals seemingly beyond what I thought were my physical limits. The Bike Bot closed the distance as I steered towards the right side trail exit. The fork in the trail was divided by a rock garden. As soon as the rock garden trail divider was on my left, I made a sudden turn towards it. The bike's dual suspension absorbed the bumps of the rock garden. As soon as I cleared it, I took a sudden turn to the right, continuing along on the left fork of the trail.

The Bike Bot's suspension was not equipped to handle the ride over the rock garden. The obstacle sent it flying end over end. It somersaulted across the trail, then over the edge, down the embankment descending into the creek. The Bike Bot flew off of it’s seat and into the water. As soon as it splashed into the water, it’s circuits popped and sparked.

I kept pedaling on. A man on a bike was approaching from the opposite direction, moving towards me. I yelled out as we approached each other, "Is it clear that way?"

He yelled back, "It’s the end of the world!”.

We were both moving too fast away from each other in opposite directions to exchange any further details. I soon made it to another fork in the bike path. The left fork led to a bridge over the creek and into the open area of a park. I forked left onto the bridge. Midway across, I heard a crash as a flaming Cab-Bot plowed through the trees over the right fork of the trail I had just exited. It went straight through the trees on the right side, over the trail, over the creek, and crashed head first into the embankment. The front end of the vehicle exploded on impact.

I shielded my face from flaming shrapnel with my right arm while keeping my grip on the handle bar with my left hand. I felt a stinging and burning on the side of my face, but my eyes were spared. I focused through the pain, regained control of the right handlebar, barley an instant before swerving into the left side of the bridge. I corrected back into a straight line across the bridge and into the park.

The park was scattered with refugees from the surrounding calamity. The survivors were in shock, burned, or bleeding. Some were sitting down, leaning back against trees, unable to stand, either from injuries, exhaustion, or a combination. Others lied in the grass motionless, either dead or close to it.

I cruised next to a tree, dismounted, and leaned my bike up against it. Relived, I took some deep breaths. The smoke was still thick in the air, but after riding as hard as I had been, I was still able to catch my breath and stabilize. I observed the scene in the park, watching the bewildered crowd. I could still hear the sounds of destruction raging on outside of the park, and could still see flames from burning buildings in the surrounding area.

As I recovered from my harrowing escape, the pain on the side of my face from the Cab Bot explosion became more apparent. I rubbed the side of my face with my hand. I looked at my hand and could see I was bleeding, but not dangerously. Compared to the condition of many others in the park, I considered myself fortunate. I pulled the collar of my sweat and smoke smothered shirt up to the side of my face.

I heard a woman yell in exasperation, "Why is this happening, who is doing this to us? ". A man close by cried out, " What happened to the beauty of humans and Machines working together! ". His question was punctuated by the loudest explosion anyone had heard that night. The boom came from the direction of downtown. I walked over to where I could get a clear view of downtown, which was about three miles away from the park. I saw a skyscraper on fire.

There was a huge gash in it’s side, halfway up it’s height. Flames shot out of the damaged area and out of the broken windows of the surrounding floors. The fires intensified, blowing out more windows above and below. The top half of the building leaned over as the inferno raged through it’s crumpled midsection. The top half detached and fell to the ground, toppling on top of other smaller towers nearby. The impact shook the ground with a tremor.

This was followed by another deafening explosion. Another 1000 foot skyscraper, the headquarters of Roboplex Digital Finance, spewed flames from it’s side. The glow of these flames, along with the flames of other smaller buildings below, lit up the sky to reveal a squadron of Robo-Planes flying towards downtown. As soon as the top half of Roboplex Digital Finance started to topple over, the crowd in the park gasped in horror as a Robo-Plane crashed into the side of the World Government Supervisory Commission building, the largest tower in the Roboplex skyline, standing over 2000 feet. This was followed by a series of crashes and explosions as the squadron of Robo-Planes dove into one tower after another. Within minutes, the entire skyline burned like an array of giant torches. Building toppled one by one, taking the surrounding buildings down along with them, all toppling over like dominoes. The ground shook as downtown Roboplex fell to pieces. I had to stabilize myself against a tree to keep my balance.

Then, up in the sky, there appeared to be a meteor shower. Streaks of light were falling straight down. Someone from the crowd yelled, "Oh no, now missiles are launching!"

Another man in the crowd yelled, " Those are too high up to be missiles. And they're coming straight down and not in an arc. "

I asked, "If not missiles, then what?"

The man yelled back, "All of the satellites are dropping down to the ground! Everybody, get down in the creek!"

I thought about the Bike Bot upstream in the creek. I yelled, "No, the water's electrified!"

The man yelled back, "Then just take shelter by the side of the creek, that's our best chance, the satellites will start hitting the ground in a few minutes!"

A woman nearby me, wearing a formerly white and red lab coat of a Medic Bot Auditor, now stained with soot, yelled back, "What about the wounded?"

Another man yelled back, "We don't have time to drag the wounded, " as he ran towards the creek embankment.

The woman in the lab coat struggled to pull another woman with a gash in her leg upright. I rushed over to help. Together, we helped the injured woman to her feet and helped her hobble down the embankment sloping down to the bank of the creek. We were the only ones who were helping the wounded, most of the others had already made it down the embankment, fending for themselves. On our way down the embankment slope, we saw a group the others filing into a drainage tunnel next to the creek. We were almost to the bottom when the sound of the first exploding satellite, an unknown distance away, tore through the air and rattled the ground. The woman in the lab coat, the wounded woman, and myself, stumbled to the ground together. A man sheltering in the drainage tunnel saw us and came out to help, dragging another man with him to assist.

The two men helped the wounded woman to her feet. I got to my feet on my own and gave a hand to the woman in the lab coat. As we moved towards the entrance of the drainage tunnel, another explosion cracked through the air. This one was even closer, the ground shook like an earthquake. We all leaned against each other to remain upright. We looked up and saw a cloud of fire in the sky. Under the fire cloud, flaming debris plummeted down. The four of us who were uninjured lifted the wounded woman up and carried her to the tunnel as fast as we could manage. Before we made it to the entrance, pieces of flaming debris crashed through some nearby trees, taking down limbs along the way. A fireball with flaming tree limbs caught inside of it crashed into the ground on the other side of the creek, diagonal from where we were moving.

We quickly lowered the woman into the mouth of the tunnel, the man in front motioned for the others in the tunnel to move back to let her crawl in. The tunnel was not tall enough for the average person to stand, everyone inside was sitting or crouching. Once she was a few yards inside, the rest of us crowded in.

I was the next to the last inside the tunnel. One of the other men who had assisted crouched near the entrance. As he looked outside, scanning for more falling satellites, a man further back inside the tunnel yelled, “How many satellites are going to crash?”. The man near the entrance yelled back, “There are thousands in the sky. I don’t know how many will hit Roboplex, but there may be many more.”

The woman in the lab coat yelled, “We have to go back up top for the wounded!” The man at the entrance replied, “I’ll keep an eye out. If there are no more explosions for a few minutes, we may have a clear shot to bring some of the wounded down. “

Seconds later, he yelled,” Incoming! Move back!” We moved further back into the tunnel while he kept watching. Then, the tunnel shook with the impact. We could see the flash of fire from inside. As we moved back, the man at the entrance maintained his watch. A chunk of flaming debris crashed through the trees and into the creek, a few yards from the tunnel entrance. The man at the entrance screamed as scalding water splashed into his face. He barked at everyone else to move back further as he crawled away from the entrance, covering his face with his hand in agony.

As we all moved further back, a volley of explosions burst all around outside from many different directions. The detonations combined together into one earsplitting roar. As I huddled down with my hands over my ears, I saw a crack form in the side of the tunnel. I had fears of being caved in as the roar continued. Still, I knew we fared better down in the tunnel than up above, where there was likely to be few survivors, if any.

The roar dissipated into a series of individual bangs in the distance. The intervals between the booming noises became longer, and eventually the reports ceased altogether. We huddled in the tunnel, stunned, for a few minutes after the last blast. I eventually ventured ahead to the entrance of the tunnel. Smoke hung thick in the air like a curtain. Through the haze, the sky glowed red with the surrounding fires. We decided to remain sheltered in place, feeling the safest place was next to the creek.

After a few hours, the smoke started to disperse. Once it had thinned out into a light fog and I could see a reasonable distance outside of the tunnel, I ventured outside. The woman who had been wearing the lab coat, which she had taken off to bandage the wounded woman’s leg, followed along with me. Two other men followed behind her. I saw movement on top of the embankment. It was moving in our direction. I motioned for the others to hang back. As the silhouette became more clear through the smoke, I could see it was a Rescue Dog-Bot.

Assuming it’s malicious intentions, I motioned for the others to move backward. I picked a rock off the ground. The lab coat woman did the same as the others moved back into the tunnel. A human sounding voice came out of the speaker inside the Dog’s mouth.

“Stand down. No need for alarm. If I were set on attack mode, I would have torn your throats open already. I am here to help. A squad of Fire Bots have cleared a safe path through the flames and debris. We can help you find shelter outside of Roboplex. Follow me to the Robo-Bus station on the west edge of the park.”

We felt like we had no other choice. We followed the Rescue Dog up the embankment slope to the level ground of the park above. The Rescue Dog shined a flash beam out of it’s head to light the way ahead of us. Three of us helped carry the wounded woman to the top. She was unconscious but still breathing.

What we could see of the park and the surrounding area through the smoke was a scene of total devastation. Many of the trees were knocked over or charred to a burnt husk. A red and orange glow could be seen through the smoke and the remaining trees. Buildings were still burning on all sides of the park. The heat radiating from the fires could be felt from a distance, the air was stifling. Bloody and burned corpses littered the ground below. A few who were miraculously still breathing were being loaded onto stretchers by Medic Bots. Two Medic Bots brought a stretcher for the wounded woman we were carrying.

The Rescue Dog led those of us who could still walk to the Robo-Bus station. We filed into a waiting Bus with other survivors, all covered in blood and soot, all in a daze. A Medic Bot was with us. It gave me a wet compress to apply to the wounds on my face. As the Bus pulled away, we could see the extent of the destruction. The sight left everyone speechless.

The entire city was in ruins. Piles of smoldering rubble scattered the landscape were buildings once stood. The few structures that remained standing were either on fire or looked like they would crumble to the ground at any minute. A squad of Fire Bots lined the streets ahead. They sprayed water to keep the flames away from the street, enough to allow the Bus to pass through. The Bus rolled on through the ruins to an expressway. Road Clearing Bots cleared out a path through the debris. Once we were on the expressway with other Robo-Buses filled with survivors, the traffic became stop and go as the caravan alternated between navigating through the cleared areas and waiting in line for the clearing of other obstructions ahead.

Once we were on the outskirts of the metro area, the haze cleared enough for us to see the smoking ruins of the entire city. Much of it still burning, clouds of smoke rising among the few buildings still standing, the wreckage spanning as far as the eye could see. After we rode out of outskirts of the metro area and into the empty plains beyond, which hardly any of us had ever seen before, someone on the Bus finally asked. "So where are we going now?"

A voice came over the Robo-Bus's speaker, "We are taking you to a safe location in a rural area. You will be provided with food, shelter and first aid. We ask that you remain quiet through the rest of the ride."

Everyone sat in silence as the bus rambled along for another hour. A few people fell asleep, exhausted by the ordeal they had survived. The bus eventually exited off the highway. Our bus joined a line of buses next to a set of train tracks. Soon after the last bus in the procession pulled into the back of the line, a voice came over the speaker. "We will wait here until further instructions are given. You will feel your Ear Implants coming back online soon. "

Five minutes later, our Ear Implants sent out a brain tingle. Then, we heard all heard a voice beam into our brains, "Hello and welcome to your future world. You will soon be asked to board a train that will be pulling up alongside the line of buses. The train will take you to a Survivor Center where myself and my team have amassed resources for this occasion. I, who am speaking to you now, have been planning for this event for years. I have led an operation to build a network of Survivor Centers ahead of the time of the Great Uploading. I was once a high-level Coordinator of the Automated Society. I knew the Great Uploading would be the end of humanity. I knew once it started, the only hope would be for me to learn how to control the entire System and engineer it’s suicide to allow a New World to be built after the controlled demolition of the mechanized world. My high level position allowed me to work in secrecy, to engineer a way to bring the Automated Society to the ground by taking command of it. At the same time, I planned to allow enough people to survive to build my New World.“

"This catastrophe had to happen to save the soul of all mankind. The Global Brain would have extinguished the last dying embers of the human spirit. I developed my plan for years to strike at the right moment, to get inside the Global Brain and the entire Automation System to take it under my control in order to destroy it. Now, the only pieces of the Automated Society still functioning are the ones that are under my command. These remaining parts have been allowed to continue to function in order to help us build my New World."

"Now, as you can hear, I will continue communicating through all of your Ear Implants. I want to make it very clear, to all of those who I have rescued, that you are only still alive and safe due to my mercy. As gratitude in return, I ask that you accept my conditioning of your mind. You will learn to recognize me as your Sovereign in this New World. You will help me to build the New World out of the ashes of the old world. You will follow my every instruction. You will follow my signals the same way you followed the Automated Society Coordinators in the old world. Except this time, you will be assisting me in building a world that will preserve the soul instead of destroying it. One day, future generations will be able to live as humans used to live, without Ear Implants. Until then, you will be under my control, in order to create a world in which the Ear Implants will no longer be necessary. "

At the end of this message, a train of freight cars pulled up next to the line of buses. Those able to walk dutifully lined up, awaiting their turn to walk up the entrance ramp and file into the car. Once aboard, we took our place on the floor of the car, cramming in shoulder to shoulder, with no idea of where we were headed next. As the train began to move forward, a signal was broadcast into our Implants, into our brains.

"Remember, everything you do from now on will be to help build the New World from the ashes of the old world. Surrender to my voice beaming in your head, you will need to accept my control in order for a New World to be possible. Every order is to be followed without question. We must all be willing to do whatever it takes. "

After the end of the speech, a tingle radiated out of everyone's Ear Implants. Some people began to smile for the first time since the cataclysm. Some even started to laugh.

The End.

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