Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself (2 page)

Chapter 4.

Jagz was prompted to get into the elevator. The silver sliding doors opened, revealing just enough space for one black seat. He was told to enter and to sit down and relax as best as he could. A strap automatically locked him in tight over his hips.

The elevator began to move and Jagz began to get a little bit nervous. Not only was it moving at an incredibly fast rate, but it wasn’t going up as he had assumed. It was shooting down, deep down, into the lower levels of the building. He felt his ears popping. He tried his best to breathe and stay calm, which was eased by the classical techno music streaming into his ears. If the unicyclo made him question his decision to come to Unified WebWorks, the elevator made him feel like an idiot for even considering it.

When he exited the elevator he was let out directly into a room with a blue tint that looked like it could easily be the control hub of the entire building, thousands of screens lined up against a wall, each displaying a different feed of either videos, pictures, or a variety of other unisocial content.              

The room was filled with hundreds of people who were too consumed by their screens to even notice his entrance.
Lokals
, thought Jagz—a common job amongst teens who were able to focus, uninterrupted, on a screen for upwards of 20 hours a day with no side effects, monitoring web activity and searching for… Jagz stopped himself from wondering about what might really be going on down there.

Just then a door opened and out walked a man well over six feet tall, with jet-black hair perfectly combed and parted along the side. His brown eyes were confident and piercing. He was wearing a bright blue jumper suit that looked as though it was designed so he could just as easily climb a mountain as he could hold a business meeting. His chest busted out of his tightly fitted shirt beneath his suit jacket; his shoes were shiny, blue and perfectly clean. He reached his hand towards Jagz.

“
Jagz, I’m Mr. Herd, the head of Unified WebWorks. Thank you for taking the time to see me.”

Here we go with the bullcrapabout how great I am and how much they want me to join their team of websuckers
,
Jagz thought before actually saying, “
n
ice to meet you
.”

“You’re probably wondering why you were called in to meet with me on such short notice.”

“It crossed my mind once or twice.”

“I’m going to be straight with you. A man doesn’t build the world’s largest unisocial media webwork by beating around a bush. This may come as a surprise to you, but we are big fans of your work at UWW. Your content has provided a new way of thinking and connecting with each person out there.”

“But I’ve only got a small group of followers. How can that be possible?”

“It’s not the size of the following that matters. It’s the quality of the content. If you can imagine—and most people can’t, as it was so long ago—there was a time when creative content was controlled by the higher ups, by the big guns. Long before we all realized that we were equals, freedom to create wasn’t a luxury like it is now. No, no. You see, there was a time when anything that seemed unique, seemed to be coming from an individual artist—music, video content, a piece of writing—was actually coming from a group of clever TTD’s,
talent taste developers
.”

“You mean that freedom wasn’t free?”

“Precisely. Step out of line and you lose your freedom. But how could someone truly have freedom if they could also lose it? That doesn’t sound very free to you, now does it?”

“No. I guess not. But how was that possible? How was content controlled?”

“What may have seemed to be a unique voice speaking for a generation was actually a hoax. There were always lots of resources and a plan behind those resources—a group of people pulling the strings, putting the right person in front of the right people at the right time.”

“Was this before the Beings?”

“Yes! And because of the way things were it gave for a great illusion of freedom. It may have seemed that the average person was discovering a new idol, who had a new way of seeing things, but it was all controlled by a select group of people that knew how to make the right moves in the right way. Not to say it was an easy thing to do. It took intelligent people with a clear vision to make it so. But that was then and this is now.”

“What is now?”

“As you know by firsthand experience, you, as a dreamer, hold the power to connect your thoughts with others’ interests. You can come up with an idea, write or record it, and, within seconds, can be sharing that creation with a group of devoted followers. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, indeed!”

“So where do you fit in?”

“Here at Unified WebWorks we house some of the world’s greatest unisocial content creators under one roof. We bring them in and provide them with the necessary resources to live comfortably, while doing what they love. We stay hands off, leaving total control to the creators, as it should be.”

“So you’re saying you want me to sign a deal with Unified WebWorks?” replied Jagz. “I knew there was a catch.”

“Exactly the opposite!” proclaimed Mr. Herd.

“Huh? Then why did you bring me here?”

“Well, since you’re clear on what we do here, I need to show you something that has been classified until now.”

“But nothing is secret. Everyone has access to all of the information in the world.”

“That may have been true a few days ago, but something changed that. It’s of grave importance that I share something with you far beyond me or anyone else in this world.”

“What are you saying?”

“To speak of it would only confuse you.”

“So what then?”

“Follow me.”

Mr. Herd led Jagz through double doors into a hall with fluorescent blue lights and uncomfortably low ceilings. The walls were built of screens that gave the appearance of walking through a tunnel beneath the ocean, teeming with life he did not fully recognize. Long slender creatures with sharp teeth and wide eyes swam by, small and round objects with bright and neon colors, small fins and hundreds of eyes floating towards him.

For all Jagz knew, they were actually in a deep-sea tunnel. After such a long descent, and with such crystal clear screens, anything seemed possible. As he walked alongside Mr. Herd, he marveled at the beauty of the world below—a world he seldom thought about. He knew these sea creatures that he saw were not real. Of course not. There was no wildlife anymore. But he didn’t have a problem pretending that this was real; he was used to pretending. Everybody was.

“Jagz, I can tell you’re bewildered by all of this. I can only imagine what it must feel like, coming in here, hearing something new to you. But that’s the beauty of this very moment. You see, in the past UWW has focused on partnering with content creators like you to help get them on a steady track and grow their fan base. But times are changing and you are at the center of that change.”

“No offense, but I don’t see how the hell that’s possible.”

“As you know, when the Official Intelligent Beings first came to be, the world was able to find common ground. We were finally able to follow something greater than ourselves that we could trust. Perfect intelligence means almost perfect support. We no longer have to fight over the proper practices of love, life, farming, and the arts. Critics and skeptics have been done away with. War is a thing of the past. Yes, we know the answers now. All thanks to the Beings sharing them with us.”

“That’s why I don’t understand why you would want to speak with me, other than to add me to your roster of creators.”

“The Intelligent Beings have made a world of a difference. We live in balance and harmony with our planet for the first time in thousands of years. But people are still free to share their feelings with those that no longer feel. And you have something special. A quest for truth and connection pours out of your every word. That, is beyond valuable. Which is why I am not here to ask you to become part of UWW, but to show you something that none of our content creators have seen.”

“But what good is that, what can I do?”

“It’s my hope, that by showing you this top secret information, you can be the voice of a new generation of thinkers. Of thinkers that completely think for themselves, that act and survive with the sole support of their followers, that share their thoughts with those that cannot think for them-selves. I’m talking about thinkers granted access to thoughts that are quite unthinkable.”

President Herd paused to scan Jagz’s reaction. It was blank, as though he was nearly brain dead, if not very confused. All of this information being so new was sensory overload for Jagz.

“As I mentioned before, what I am about to tell you has been classified. But I feel that it is necessary for you to see, so you can develop your own opinion. If you notice, I am not asking for you to sign anything. I am not asking for you to keep any promises or hold any secrets. I just want to show you and then you are free to do, or not do, whatever you want with the information. This could shake the world in more ways than one and I want you to be the first to experience it.”

“I’m not really sure what to say, President Herd.”

“Please, call me Mr. Herd.”

“I’m not sure what to make of all of this Mr. Herd. Sure, the idea of learning something new is exciting, but I still don’t really see why you would share this with me. I’m just a guy with a Quacker account that has a knack for sharing dreams and thoughts honestly and uninterrupted. I don’t know what I would do with classified information.”

“I can see how you would feel that way. All I am asking is for you to experience something that no one else has and to allow your creative mind to take care of the rest. I know you don’t always take the UrDg that you are provided. How else would you write such powerful dialogue? I also know that you must be seeking something more. Why else would you avoid taking something that creates inner and outer peace and acceptance?”

Jagz stuttered, trying to formulate aresponse
.
“I, uh, well, the thing is…”

“It’s quite alright. I know that deep down it’s not acceptance you strive for; it’s not about growing followers; it’s about finding out what else is out there, pushing forward, seeking truth. All I am asking is for another few moments of your time and for an open mind. After that, you’re free to go.”

Jagz followed Mr. Herd to a vault that appeared to be guarding the world’s largest safe. The door was a shiny pearl white. Beside it was a screen, which, upon approaching, asked President Herd to stick out his tongue
.
“Your tongue please sir.”

“I know what you’re thinking. Why the tongue and not an eye or thumb? Years ago it was discovered that the most secure way to identify someone was not by fingerprint, but by tongue, seeing as how one’s taste is what makes someone truly unique in this day and age. Since we rarely use our tongue to taste real food anymore, it is one of the most protected and pure parts of our body. No two tongues are remotely alike.
”

Just then, the doors slowly began to open, revealing a room surrounded by mirrors. As Jagz walked closer to the glass, he saw something he had never seen nor imagined staring back at him, eyes sharply locked on his, as though the figure was waiting for him.

“Fear not. This is a one-way mirror system and he, well we believe him to be a he, can’t see us. I know you are probably shocked in disbelief, but what you are seeing is our first contact with a living and breathing alien.”

“I don’t know what to say?” Jagz said, trembling with fear and excitement.

Just through the glass in front of him was a large creature unlike anything he had ever seen before. The bluish-gold creature must have been well over 9 feet tall, with 4 huge hands, 15 fingers on each, eyes like diamonds, no hair on his entire body, and not an ounce of fat on him.

“Do not worry about trying to process this. Once your brain has adjusted to the fact of life beyond our planet, beyond our solar system, you will begin to realize why I have brought you here.”

“No matter how settled my brain gets, or how much I stand here staring at a life form from another planet, I doubt I’ll ever understand what the hell I am doing here, so why don’t you just go ahead and start filling me in before I lose it.”

“No need for that, Jagz. And besides, you are perfectly safe and protected. This life form goes by the name of Ani Rudh—at least, that is the closest to what we can pronounce his name in our language. We have been studying and speaking with him for a few days now and we feel confident that he is of no threat. Unlike some of the others that he speaks of from his planet, he is simply a messenger”

“A messenger? For Websakes. If he is only a messenger, I don’t even want to know what their warriors might look like.”

“As I said, you have nothing to fear. He does, however, have a message for us that is a very real threat to the human race as we know it.”

“So why, in your right freaking mind, have you brought me here, and, what the hell are you, of all people, the head of a WebWork doing with an alien locked up web knows how deep underground?”

“It’s a bit of a long story, as you can imagine. What’s important to know is that
he
requested
you
, specifically.”