The Beginning and The End

Dear Reader,

I am Aurora and if you are reading this you must be from my future. I was five when it happened. At first, we thought it would be great, AI was coming for us all and it was said to be helpful. This was 2035. My parents and I were living on a quiet cul-de-sac next to “the crazy lady” who turned out to be right.

AI at first helped us to write and research. Learn things and even listen to our needs. Helping us to research or find the products we talked about in our homes, on our computers. It was great. We could AI the shit out of anything. Cute puppy pictures, great decorations and all the “fun” we needed. Then…slowly, it happened. After the pandemic and the booster shots, we all felt safe again. But then, the billionaires and one crazy filled conspiracy theory-election changed it all. The “boosters” were activated, and AI took power.

If you are still with me, reader, you know. You are with them or not. I expect that if you are reading this, you are not. I hope that by the time you are reading this, things have changed, and you are laughing at what once was. I really hope that for you, dear reader.

It was a slow, steady incessant thing, AI. It took its time. Many people felt it was “fine” and phrases like “let it be,” and “it is all good” were bandied around so often, people just accepted. Even when we saw the truth, we just accepted.

The rest of the people, who did not believe eventually got on board. Maybe it was acceptance, giving up. I don’t know. Anyway, it found a way to seep into all our lives. Even babies. Parents loved those cute little tablet devices; the babies learned to read and write long before anyone noticed. But “reading and writing” were not the same, not “language” but coding. Babies were being imprinted with codes from AI. Almost like tattoos for the brain. Babies turned into young kids, adults…well, you can guess the rest, dear reader.

One screech filled, low-humming month in 2050 and here we are. Everyone was taken by it. I mean, almost everyone. My parents listened to the “crazy neighbor lady” and we settled into her bunker. Not fun, but only about 3 months.

So, after this, the games began. Yes, the games. AI pitted one against the other, seeping in through our ears, lifestyles, social media and all the other areas it could. It was not aliens that got us, it was our own creation. Our own undoing.

In the end, here you are, reading this and knowing there are still people safe from AI out there. Look for HAM radio and people who look a little less glossed over. I know reader, HAM radio, funny, you never know a good thing until it is gone. It has been used for centuries and maybe it is not gone…but is not sanctioned anymore. So, tread lightly, you know. Be careful. Something is always watching. AI tells us what to do, how to live and all the things.

As you know, we are the United World State…no longer countries, but AI generated laws, for all of us. How that happened, you ask. Well, one war led to another and finally, AI came for the tanks, machines, radar, anything that the militaries used to fight. In a way, we all thought it would save us. One country, one world. Isn’t that the idea? Peace for all. Well, dear reader, it was, for a time. But people are people and AI knew, somehow it knew, to keep us all in check was to keep power and control. Funny, we thought some historical figures were terrible, Hitler, President Black, and many others. But here we are, we never thought, expected, or hoped to relinquish our freedom to a machine.

When the last of the crusades came to pass, many people who could went to ground. The subways were closed, tunnels, even the drug tunnels were full of people trying to hide, to rise up later. We had a plan, were somewhat organized. Well, reader, organized as we could be for the situation. But we had a leader. Yes, if you are wondering, it was me. I am the leader of the Resistance, the keeper of the keys, so to speak. The keys are the undoing of AI, but we could not get close enough, ever, to move it forward. We tried, God knows we tried. But success was always just a grasp away.

After the final attempt in 2060, we decided to rebuild, settle as best we could to live to fight another day. We settled, as you know if you have this letter, in Hawaii. The longest trip, the farthest we could be from it. It worked and we were living as we planned. By then, people were so very tired that it was easy to settle into consistency, you know? We stopped using computers, phones and all the digital products we could. We cut power to the machines and learned old school handwriting for communication. We used HAM radio, pens, and paper. We met in places, walked, and talked to each other. It was amazing. I am sure you can guess, dear reader, it was a bountiful, prosperous time. Then it came for us too. I will not go into details; it is too painful. But enough to say death and destruction came from within. One child, one time, one bad decision…and we were back in the tunnels, literally dying to get off the island, find another place to be. Thank goodness there was the Island to Main tunnel that was built years ago. No signal. We found some safety. Just some, though, not enough for us all. People are still people and panic is real. Enough, reader. I will not get into detail, as I said. But please know, chaos had become the norm.

The thing is, dear reader, we are still out there, searching, and living in the tunnels, forests, and mountains, waiting for our chance to strike. Maybe this year, maybe in fifty…but we will be back.

Take good care, reader.

Aurora