Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself (10 page)

Chapter 18.

Jagz woke up, blinded by a bright white light. His body was buzzing from head to toe.

Hums and chants overcame his ears. He involuntarily began to join in on the ever-growing vibrational sound, his voice synced up with the rhythm. Foreign sounds rose out of his throat, flowing naturally in the infinite space. He was at peace, he was one with the universe and nothing else mattered.

Maybe he was dead. Maybe his previous life was no more,
he thought. He remembered a time in the distant past when a man came into his house and turned on a small device, he wasn’t sure who that man was, but it didn’t matter much at the moment. Perhaps that man took his life, perhaps he was in a new dimension, a place where pain was no longer prevalent. Whatever it might be, he didn’t care, he just wanted to stay present in the moment. It was absolute bliss.

The deeper he climbed into the depths of his spirit, the brighter and more powerful the sounds and colors got until they reached a peak. Before him appeared Lopola, the Being of the Arts.

“This is what it truly means to be whole. To be at peace. To be one with the universe. You are coming from a world that relies on pills to feel complete, to make sense of your surroundings, of the way in which everything works, but what you are feeling right now is the way we were meant to feel. By harnessing vibrations and colors we can truly connect to the world. UrDg is of temporary relief, something that we created once we disc-overed that humans wanted to take the easy path, the less meaningful path, the quick fix to enlightenment. But it is here with me now that you truly feel the power of art, the power of being present, the power of the eternal connection, in its true form.”

Jagz said nothing. He felt everything and nothing all at once. He didn’t want to speak, for he knew speaking, at best, would diminish the moment. There was nothing he could say to make this moment more meaningful, nothing he could do to deepen this feeling, he was basking in all of its glory and it was perfect.

“Remember this place, for it will soon be gone. It is not a place that someone like you can stay forever. No, not on Earth, but it is a place that you can tap into, a place that will take work and dedication to reach, a place that you can find within yourself and share with those around you. But you have to practice being present. Connecting with simple rhythmic vibrations through music , movement, meditation and dance. You can’t take any short cuts—no drug, no substance, no pill, can truly give you what this simple vibration can. But you must be patient and gentle with yourself.

Chapter 19.

Jagz awoke and found himself strapped to a table. He tried to recapture the moment that Lopola shared in his dream. He didn’t want to lose that feeling. He couldn’t lose that feeling. It was still lingering, but just as soon as reality kicked in and he realized that he was strapped down, trapped, he started to panic and could not break free.

After a few minutes of fearing for his life, he decided the best thing that he could do was try and relax, to accept what might come, to try and remember that everything happening to him had it’s place, that it must be this way. These thoughts, though momentarily comforting, were of little actual help.

The door to the room opened and in walked Shera.

“I’m so sorry that it had to be this way,” she said. “I need you to know that I…”

“Save your apologies. What a load of crap. I know you’ve been in on it this whole time. You played me for a fool. I congratulate you for that, but please spare me the phony response, you are nothing but lying scum.”

“Jagz! Please!” cried Shera, “you have to under-stand, I had no idea what was going on. I loved you. I love you. More importantly, I don’t know how, but I think I’m pregna…”

She fell to the floor, unconscious.

Jagz confused as ever, unable to see her, called out. “Shera? Shera? Is this a joke? Hello? Shera?”

Nothing.

After shouting for a few moments, he heard the door open again. In walked another familiar face that he had nothing but hate for, President Herd.

“I’m sure you can imagine why we had to lock you down. We can’t trust you now, can we?”

“Trust me? What about you? You lied about everything—the Alien attack, being on my side, you even tricked me into believing that I was in love with one of your spies! You can piss off and you can piss off good!”

“That’s enough. Spare me the harsh language. While you might not be ready to hear it, all will be clear in time. Yes, there is something much greater than meets the eye going on.”

“Save it for someone who gives a damn!”

“This is to be expected. They all act this way at first.”

“They? Who is they?”

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘they say’ followed by any number of things such as ‘they say you should never put all of your eggs into one basket?’ It used to be quite a common introduction to a number of phrases. Not used much in this day, but I imagine you know what I am talking about.”

“Sure I’ve heard it, what is your point?”

“Have you ever wondered ‘who
they
are?’ And why you might blindly believe what
they
say?”

“No, not really. It has never crossed my mind. It always just seemed to be a common expression, nothing more.”

“But you see, a simple, small, common phrase can hold so much hidden meaning. Not unlike your latest Quack. You didn’t really believe we wouldn’t find out what you were trying to do, did you?”

Jagz suffered another moment of panic as he realized that they knew about Redd.

“Of course. We know about the
Uncommons
,” almost as if he had just read Jagz’s mind.”

“How could you know about them?”

“We know about everything. Which brings me back to my point about
they.
They
are
us
.

“I’m not sure I follow,” replied Jagz.

“
They
are the ones who keep this world running smoothly, the ones who make sure that everyone has their place and enjoys their place, without
they
there would be nothing but chaos.”

“If you are referring to the Beings, I’m well aware of what they do for this planet and their supposed purpose here.”

“Ha! Beings. Why of course you would think that. No, I’m afraid not. Even the Beings are controlled by
they.
Everyone is.”

“What?”

“It has been brought to my attention that
the Uncommons
have shared with you a bit of information about our little Alien visitor, a slight detour in our initial plans, but nothing that can’t be resolved. You were going to find out in good time anyhow.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you lie about something like that? It all felt so real, so right. How could you do this to me!”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You are one of an end-less many.”

“Like Jon Cleary and Edith Maymoore?”

“Yes exactly like Jon and Edith! Only difference is that we played the Alien against you in a new way. You see, in the past, long before the world operated as it does today,
they
needed people to be the face of their grand master plan, needed those who could be celebrated by the many, people that the masses could get behind, follow and believe in, and so we created cewebrities. But what
they
did not realize was that the cewebrities, if not heavily watched and managed, would get out of hand, become power hungry, believe that they were in control, and eventually crash and crumble and cause major set backs. Every time someone was built up to be the next face of a great plan that
they
created, the cewebrity crashed and burned and
they
had to start over.”

“That was then, but what about now?”

“About three decades ago, as our world was taking a major shift, as we saw the opportunity to do something great with this world, we had to get creative and think of new ways to make idols that people could get behind. We started finding those that were gaining the respect of their peers and we began influencing their decisions without them knowing. In the case of Jon the farmer, we made him think that he saw Alien life and that those Aliens could be trusted. We had him believe that they shared new forms of farming practices with him that would help the world. Jon believed he spoke to Aliens and believed their information, so much so, that he began spreading their ways to the people around him, but not without some outside help from
they
or as I said, us. After all, I am the CYO. It is my duty to our world .”

“Outside help? Beyond fabricating Alien life?”

“Yes, outside help just like we had with you.”

“Shera.”

“Yes. Shera. But if it’s any consolation, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She really believed that she was on a secret mission to help you spread the truth about an immanent attack on our planet. She followed her mission as well as we could have hoped. She even fell for you, just as you fell for her.”

“Shera,” said Jagz. “Our love was real.
”
with a heavy heart.

“But she has played her part and she will die knowing that she did well.”

“How could you? You son of a bitch. You can’t just kill innocent people for your own gain. That is twisted, you sick flub!”

“Don’t worry, she, like you, will be forgotten.”

“Screw you. I don’t fear death anymore. I just fear for the people on this world that have to live in ignorance of what you are really doing to them.”

“Doing to them? You act like I am doing them a disservice. It is what I am doing for them that they will be forever grateful for. Of course, they will never know it is me who is doing it. Oh no, that is why we find people like you. I’m just surprised you haven’t pieced it all together yet, considering everything that you have heard today.”

“Pieced it together? How do you mean?”

“Let me ask you something. The Uncommons shared a code with you, a code that they wanted you to send out to the world. Schoron, our Being of Technology, the one who has built all of this, has a direct link to someone else, who, I take it, you know a bit about based on your Quack. Chronos, the Greek God, The Father of Time, a most powerful deity. In Ancient Greek mythology, Gods played the highest role there was. Each God had its ruling place in the world, had its power, and every facet of human life—love, birth, death, time, sex, all had a God to go along with it.”

“Yes, I know a bit about this. But what’s your point?”

“There is a reason why the ancient Greeks, the most powerful civilization before our current world, had Gods that they believed in and prayed to. It is because people, as we have come to realize, need something greater than themselves to believe in. When you take a society of people that do not believe in a higher power, you are ultimately left with chaos. It happens over and over throughout history. It doesn’t have to be a God that people worship, but it has to be something greater than any of the individuals—a divine source that watches over everything, keeps everyone in line. And so, as man fought against the very idea of a God, of a divine creator, man started to believe that he was in charge of his destiny and started to take the world, and the way in which it works, for granted.”

Jagz, tried to make sense of this thought long and hard, but came up short.

Mr. Herd continued, “as man took the world for granted, the world seemed to stop caring. Every-thing started to fall apart. The animals began to die, the crops wouldn’t grow, the water depleted, even the air quality declined. And so a secret group of those in the know,
they,
began devising ways to bring the earth back to balance.”

“So it has been you all along?”

“We had no other choice. We saw what was happening to the soil, to the birds and bees, to our water, and we saw why. For one, the humans did not respect the world; they believed that the world was theirs for the taking. They did not see the bigger picture, they did not care enough that their actions were destroying the planet; they were more concerned about having what they wanted when they wanted it. And we realized that the reason that this was happening was that no one had anything greater than themselves to believe in, nothing to keep them in line, for the greater good. Science and technology were becoming the new religion, but had no defined leader.”

“So what, the Beings just showed up and magically you had your new Gods?”

“Oh my. Dear boy, think about it. You know the Alien was a farce, can’t you think outside of the box for a second? It’s like the table you are strapped to. What makes you think that you are strapped down? You may think it, but do you know that you are strapped down or do you just assume because it seems like the chains are tied down?”

Jagz moved his hands and began to shake his arms. The chains fell off and he was free. He had been free this whole time. He considered lunging for Mr. Herd, but decided to hear him out.

“You see, what you believe to be true can be just as powerful as the actual truth. The brain doesn’t know the difference. And it was with this very idea that we used to create…”

“The Official Intelligent Beings. Oh my web, how could I have been so blind? It was right under my nose this whole time, just like the Alien attack, you made it all up.”

“Precisely. Although, it wasn’t entirely made up. You may be wondering what ever happened to Jon Cleary and the others that went missing. Well, if you were to do your research, which would be impossible because the records have been dest-royed, you would find that there are exactly as many people who rose to fame and vanished as there are Beings who now govern the world.”

“So what are you saying?”

“That the missing people who have long been forgotten are the Official Intelligent Beings. And with a little trickery, just like with the Alien you ‘spoke’ with, we were able to convince the world to follow along. The missing people were already at the top of their game. We just helped shape their image, eventually killing off their past identity, turning their followers against them so they would be forgotten, and rebirthing them as one of the Official Intelligent Beings, each in the image of something that the world could really get behind. Our plan has been perfect thus far. Just about every person has gone about their lives as they should, keeping peace on this Earth, save a few. Thanks to the Beings that give the humans something greater than themselves to believe, the world can be preserved and continue forward in harmony.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“Think about it. It makes perfect sense. Freedom isn’t free. People don’t really want freedom. They want protection, safety. They don’t want to make the big decisions. They want some-one to decide for them, and we gave them just that, we gave them direction with belief, otherwise you would have a bunch of cewebrity nut jobs running around claiming to be living Gods, and well, we’ve seen where that leads. Let’s just say it’s not pretty. Which is what made our plan so perfect.”

“Perfect? But you are lying to people. At least with the Gods of the past people had a choice.”

“Ha! In Greek mythology the Gods could exist as invisible beings. People had to have blind faith. It worked for those willing to bow down, but there were so many who did not, there were endless wars and battles for power. And the Gods were all created by a small group of brilliant minds to control the people anyway. Nowadays people need something tangible to believe in, something physical, something that they can see and say ‘that’s real. I can see it for myself. He has powers. I’ll follow him.
’
That, we discovered, was the most important part, creating something like an ancient God that humans could see for themselves and get behind. We live in a world where faith isn’t going to cut it. This is where technology truly meets religion.”