“Being omnipotent isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact it’s a rather boring existence and a dreadful way to spend eternity.” A humanoid being stands atop a fortress. He is lit by torch light and no stars appear in the dark sky behind him. “That said, it has always fascinated me the way a few simple tweaks to the timeline can have far reaching consequences. A well placed book, or an errant signal,” He holds out his hands, visions appearing in orbs. On his left, a small alien boy stands in a ruined structure marveling at an open book. On his right, a young human woman wearing headphones fiddles with knobs, her eyes squinting in puzzled concentration. “These innocuous events can be the difference between a long fulfilling life, or the doom of an entire civilization.” He shrugs, “Sometimes you just need to make your own fun.”
“Take the Custari.” He holds up the orb in his left hand. The boy, slowly turning the pages of his book in awe. “These cat-like bipeds were once the most brilliant builders and engineers the galaxy has ever known. In addition to converting their very planet into a machine, it can be said that most technologies in The Crimson Expanse today are simple iterations on technologies which were dreamed up and designed by them. What caused their end you may ask? Was it environmental collapse, resource depletion, or maybe intergalactic war? None of these, their true downfall was far more insidious. Let us travel to the day these great people reached the precipice of their ruin.”
The man dismisses both orbs and holds up his hand. A ring of energy appears in front of him in response. As he steps through the portal, his body shrinks and transforms to match the race of the boy from the orb. Traveler’s clothes appear on him as he emerges in an alley and the passage closes behind him. Crowds of humanoid feline people walk through the streets nearby excitedly conversing with each other. He steps out from the alley, blending in with the masses as they approach an impressive outdoor amphitheater. The center of the stage holds a small terminal with a massive holographic projection above, displaying an idle cursor.
A stranger, dressed in leather work attire turns to our narrator and whispers excitedly. “What do you think this is all about? They said it was a huge announcement. I heard Elron himself was going to be here.” Our narrator simply smiles back at him politely before looking to the stage.
Only a moment later, the chatter suddenly dies down as an elderly man in glasses and casual clothing appears on the display. He labors to climb the stage steps. Looking over his shoulder, he scans the crowds and looks into the camera, giving a warm smile.
“Hello, to everyone across our world and listening in from worlds beyond. As some of our older audience may know, my name is Elron Techray. The original Founder and CEO of Techray Enterprises.” He gives a small pause to survey the crowd and gather his thoughts. “This is a day.” He speaks with frequent pauses, as if the speech were improvised or scattered among his thoughts. “I’ve been looking forward to for two and a half centuries.”
Small whoops and hollers rise from the crowd.
Elron approaches the console, resting his hand atop the monitor as he continues in a slow methodical tone, “Every once in a while, a revolutionary development comes along that changes everything.” He pulls something from his pocket and fidgets with it in his hands. “The Techray corporation has been.” He trails off and shakes his head. “Well first of all, one’s very fortunate if they get to work on just one of these revolutions in their lifetime. Techray Corp has been very fortunate. We’ve been able to introduce a few of these into the world.”
Elron begins pacing as he continues, “Five hundred years ago we brought you the Overseer,” He gestured to the terminal sharing the stage with him. “It didn’t just make our industries more efficient. It reshaped our social fabric, fostering unprecedented collaboration.”
The crowd began to cheer but the man held up his hand, stopping them. “But this led us down a path of over development. After only one hundred years, industrialization threatened to cripple the globe, nature failed as technology spread.” He smiled, looking into the clear sky above. “Our technology didn’t just clean the skies and oceans. We found a way to recycle all of the planet’s pollutants. Leading us into a second age of spectacular growth and more importantly, preserving our world for the future generations.”
Cheers swell up in the crowd as attendees nod in recognition, quickly subsiding in anticipation for the man’s next words.
“Sense then, we learned to harness the very energy of the universe to bring you the first functional artificial gravity generator, the instantaneous deep space communications array, and affordable faster than light travel. These developments didn’t just change the way we all travel and communicate. They changed the way we live among our neighbors. This is the technology allowing unfathomable numbers of people in tens of thousands of worlds to see this speech today.”
Knowing looks are shared among the crowd as he goes on.
“Our company has brought you innovation after innovation, making this world. No.” He quickly corrects himself “This galaxy, a better place with each step forward. Well, today we’re introducing a truly revolutionary idea of this class. Today we are going to reinvent the way societies operate.” He pauses again in thought. “With what we have for you all today, we will change the very nature of what it means to be alive. We’ve created the first, well.” He pauses, looking at the device in his hand. “Maybe it’s best if I just show you.”
A silence sweeps the crowd as they wait on baited breath.
The man holds the device to his ear. “Hello Pact, can you hear me? Why don’t you introduce yourself?” There is a pause as the display above the man’s head switches back to the cursor. It flickers for a moment, then begins generating text. The same words being broadcast by a robotic yet surprisingly emotive voice.
P.A.C.T.: Hello World! Yes, I can hear you, Mr. Elron. I am the galaxy’s first Planetary Autonomous Custodial Technology, but you all can call me PACT!
As the crowd erupts in excitement, our narrator slowly shakes his head and whispers. “And that’s the moment. The beginning of their downfall.”
Elron waves to the audience as he continues, “Well Pact, can you tell me what your purpose is?” The cursor flickers again for a moment, the cheering is continuous as the computer’s voice speaks out over the crowd once more.
P.A.C.T.: Of course Mr. Elron! I am an artificial intelligence capable of not only simultaneously operating parallel systems on a planet wide scale. I am also capable of assimilating simpler and specialized AI systems. My purpose is to sustain and protect the creator species’ existence through the management of available systems. Currently, I see systems for Weather Control, Water and Air Recycling, Planetary Gyroscopes, Power and Electric Grid Management, and a large variety of system sensors and monitors. I can monitor and take full control over all of these systems in parallel series, as well as anticipate all the needs of my users to ensure life across this world can live comfortably in perpetuity.
The crowd erupts in greater waves of cheers which last for several long seconds.
Elron waves his hands and removes the device from his ear. He has to talk loudly over the enthusiastic crowd, “That’s right folks, we’ve got the galaxy’s first and last fully autonomous artificial intelligence. What some might call a general intelligence, but it’s far more than that. It’s capable of operating all the systems on our planet to ensure we live out the rest of our lives in absolute comfort. As you just heard, this AI can manage absolutely everything from the spin and orbit of this world, to your medical needs, to entertainment programming if we damn well want it to!” He has to continue raising his voice to talk over the relentlessly growing cheers. “This will revolutionize the way we grow and distribute food! This will optimize entire industries, integrating them to work in perfect harmony with the environment. There is nothing this AI cannot do.” The crowd continues to go wild in excitement long after Elron retreats from the stage.
Our narrator follows the crowds as they file out of the amphitheater, the chatter becoming deafening as everyone shares their opinions with each other.
The stranger from earlier catches up, “Hey, you were pretty quiet back there. Aren’t you excited?”
Our narrator turns to the stranger. “You realize, this will mean the end of labor. What will you do when you no longer have to work?”
The stranger cocks his head in thought, “I don’t. I’m not sure.” He pulls a set of leather work gloves from his back pocket and regards them. “I guess I could make sculptures. Like, just for fun. I could spend more time with my family.” He seemed to be weighing things in his head. “Or I’m sure I could still work, just to pass the time.”
Shuttle lots and teleportation booths were now flooded with people discussing the far reaching implications of this new technology.
The stranger continues following our narrator. “Well, what do you think the future holds, what are you going to do?”
Our narrator smirks. “I’m going to return to the comfort of my nothingness.” He turns to the stranger with a serious tone. “As for the future, I predict you all will live out a long and comfortable existence, slowly experiencing the meaning of entropy over the coming eons. The flame of curiosity and innovation you’ve all grown inside yourselves being slowly snuffed out until the last of your kind one day lay dying, having no idea what great feats your people had accomplished.”
This stops the stranger in his tracks, a puzzled look on his face as our narrator abruptly turns a corner. The stranger catches his thoughts and runs after, finding nothing but an empty alley.
