The paper in my hand is stiff with dried water and grit. The Smart Ones still have access to some of the Old Things, the machines that fly through the air and send data across continents in a blink and generate hundreds of pages that look exactly alike. Mostly, the only machines we use are in our skulls.
It crackles when I fold it between my fingers. Not brittle. Just stiff. It folds alright, and the other side of the torn page is blank. Brownish, yellow-white from the water and the grit.
Somewhere, someone is calling my name. I'll be late for the meeting if this paper continues to hold my attention. Then again, maybe I won't. I fold the paper again and place it in my pocket. Tonight's meeting is about the benefits of volunteering for the Smart Ones and their "government."
But the paper crackles in my pocket as I walk, and I remember the words printed on it just as if I was still looking at them.
The Human Brain is Not a Machine to be Programmed
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This was inspired by today's post on Daily Science Fiction, written by a programmer that writes flash fiction in his spare time.
And yet, I'm drawn in by the following sentence:
ReplyDelete"the ones that disagree, that say they can do better, usually fail". An interesting story in that, what about the ones who succeed?
He used to be on the council, one of the Smart Ones. Until CERC was established. CERC, or Cybernetics Emergency Research Council, was a top-secret group designed to counter the Smart One's brain-washing program.
He had been discontented for a while with the Smart One's agenda but lacked the motivation to do something about it. Until CERC came one night, with plans to build cyber suits for a coup against the Smart Ones. He accepted the invitation eagerly. Weeks went by, as they tinkered and worked on a mechanical exoskeleton that would offer a tremendous increase in speed, strength, and mental ability. Finally the time came for a human volunteer to try it on. As he climbed inside, he wondered to himself. Will this really make me a better human? Can we really overthrow the Smart One's? Should we? Then he pressed the switch.
Very nice. :) Very nice indeed.
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