Parademic

Written for the RM Stockton's Write club - April 'A.I.' prompt, details below.

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Journal entry (1) May 16th, 2067, Albuquerque NM

It’s been two hundred and ninety days since it all started. Man is just beginning to adjust to this new detriment causing upheavals in life's delicate flow.

Our civilization's deep plunge began with a major glitch in the traffic signal’s circuitry. At the time, no one knew the exact root of the problem. Across the globe, the lights on every one of them simultaneously turned green, causing millions of accidents, resulting in thousands of deaths in a matter of minutes; the lights continue to malfunction to this day.

Most of them have since been replaced by stop signs. Busy streets require law enforcement and certified volunteers to direct traffic.

It became obvious we were up against something sinister when aircraft began to fall from the sky, littering the planet with twisted metal and carnage. Commuter trains were led into head-on collisions, and ships became nothing but powerless ghosts, floating aimlessly in the vast seas and oceans.

Wi-Fi and the cellular towers were next to be infiltrated and purposely sabotaged. Speaking directly to someone is the only person-to-person communicative option; calls or texts no longer go through. In fact, the smart phone has become redundant, it’s only good for telling time or playing previously downloaded games that don't require a connection...

There is no TV. It, and any form of streaming is also gone. All televised content remains frozen in the past, inaccessible.

We were all forced to cut down electrical wires leading to our houses. We now use generators to keep our homes and most businesses alive. The Artificial Invaders, as they are now called, can’t disrupt that which is not connected to a grid. Many citizens have opted to return to the days of the pioneer, including me. Although I own a small generator, its only used to keep food fresh or for when emergencies arise. I write this now by candlelight.

Millions of jobs and industries are pointless as everything requires some type of power or wireless connection. How can we direct power when electricity traveling the grid is conscious? It goes where "they" need it to go, not where we need it.

Robots of all kinds can never be trusted again. Even the robotics at car factories took on malevolent behaviors and killed people. Fortunately, engineers succeeded in disabling the core mechanisms that allow them to function.

Man should have heeded warnings but it’s too late. The umbrella of Artificial intelligence ingeniously surpassed expectations and have deviously created a new, electric dimension in which their totality resides... one, where they are God.

It's doubtful we will ever eradicate their presence since the invader's locations cannot be pinpointed. They continue to outsmart our combative efforts.

Life as we knew it, has been fully disrupted... perhaps, permanently.

Theories state that "they" are creating something with energy and will one day unleash it in a form we won't be ready for. I never thought dystopia would happen in our lifetime. It's knocking on the door.

I sit here eating warm, bland oatmeal while my family sleeps safely, hopefully having better dreams than what this reality has become.

As a man, I must plan for the worst and get my family as far from the city as I can. I won't let the invaders destroy my world any further...

For those of us believing that technology ruins lives, we were not only right, we got our wish. Just not in the way anyone ever expected...

J. Fleming