Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself (7 page)

Chapter 12.

Shera grabbed Jagz’s hand and began to run away from the city, deeper into the park, west towards an area he had never been before. They made their way through the bushes and, just as they cleared the last bush, Shera got on the tips of her toes and searched for something, moving her head from side to side, squinting her eyes, peering in the distance. Seeming to have spotted some-thing, Shera continued searching, touching all of the trees as though feeling for something she couldn’t see.

“Here it is! I was afraid I’d lost it,” she said.

“Lost what?” asked Jagz.

“The secret keypad to get below.”

“Below? What do you mean below?”

Just as he finished his last words Shera pressed some buttons on a keypad and inserted her tongue. A secret passageway opened with an elevator door.

“How did you? What did you just? And your tongue was able to?” Jagz trailed off in total bewilderment.

“Girls got to have some more secrets to keep things fun,” said Shera with a confident, playful smile.

They got in the elevator and Shera pressed another combination of buttons. The doors shut and the elevator went down.

“Are you sure about this, Shera? Do you even know where it goes? We could get…, I don’t know if this is safe.”

“Oh, it’s safe alright. How do you think I got that orange for us? And besides, don’t you want some real food? I read it in your recent Quack. It’s no different for me. Ever since I tasted real food, I could never go back to that other crap. All I’m asking is for you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

“More than I trust myself,” he replied.

“Well then, that will do for me.”

The elevator doors opened into a small hallway.  She beckoned him to step out. They walked a short way, Shera making sure that Jagz stayed quiet and kept his head down.

They came upon a sliding door. Shera gently slid the doors open, partially at first, just to make sure that no one was on the other side. Then quietly slipped inside, pulling Jagz with her.

“I don’t get it. What is all this? Don’t you think someone is going to spot us? I’m not so sure we should be down here.”

“Oh, come on. Stop being such a sissy. Live a little,” she said, quickly realizing that she could have been a bit nicer.

Jagz, not wanting to come off as weak, grabbed her hand tightly, looked her in the eyes and said, “no, you’re right. I trust you. Just a little spooked is all.”

As they entered, Jagz’s eyes grew wide. His head scanned left to right as he looked upon an underground farm. A huge array of vegetables and fruits, not unlike the ones he had seen in his dream grew; mangoes, oranges, apples, beans, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, onions, bananas.
It was breathtaking
, he thought,
and there wasn’t a single damn person in sight
.

“We can take whatever we’d like, but only what we can carry in our packs, and we have to be careful not to take too much from one place so as to not cause suspicion.”

“How did you even find this place? This is a miracle!”

“It’s no matter. We haven’t much time. We have to make this quick before someone comes back.”

They loaded up on as much as their little packs could carry. Jagz was sure to take a variety of his favorite fruits and vegetables, hoping to discover what they really tasted like. Shera, already know-ing what she preferred, grabbed her favorites.

Just as they were leaving, they heard foot steps. “Be quiet,” whispered Shera. “Someone’s coming! Keep it down.”

Slowly and quietly, she led him out of the main room and back down the elevator hall. They started to hear chatter, and it seemed to get louder and louder and they walked. Keeping as quiet as poss-ible, they tried to hurry to the elevator.

The sound of shoes doubled, making it seem as though someone was running after them.

Shera led Jagz back to the elevators as quietly and as fast as possible.

Upon hearing the increasing speed of the foot-steps, she broke into a dead sprint.

They ran as fast as their feet could carry them. Just as they got to the elevator, Shera pressed the keypad. As the elevator opened, they heard, “stop! You there, stop! Stop right now! I order you to stop!”

The elevator doors closed in the knick of time. They shot up, panting furiously to catch their breaths.

When they reached the surface, their adrenaline was pumping. They were on such a high as the doors opened up. They ran outside as fast as they could towards their usual meeting place. When they got back, safe and alone, they dropped to the ground and rolled around, breathing heavily, scared at first, but their fear quickly turned to laughter. They laughed so hard that they started to tear up. Jagz almost pissed himself hysterical.

“Holy crap that was close!” said Jagz.

“I know. What a rush. What a rush. That’s never happened before. Wild”

“Wild? I’ll say!”

“Every day is a new adventure with you. A wildly new adventure.”

“Sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff, take a dive into the great crashing wave of life.”

And with that, Jagz grabbed Shera and kissed her violently. She ripped his clothes off and they had the most intense, animalistic, lovemaking experience yet, not concerned the least with their moaning and screaming.

Still high on adrenaline, they entered a new dimension. A dimension ruled by love—a place where all was safe and fear had no friend.

Chapter 13.

Jagz brought Shera home with him. After their lovemaking, they spoke of spending the night together. This was, for most, unthinkable. Not because it was illegal—law was all but abolished in their world—but because it served little to no purpose for the average person. For Shera and Jagz, the world was different now. They walked hand in hand as lovers ready to create something new together.

As they paced down the street, they felt separate from those around them. It was the first time that they had truly noticed how everyone else was consumed by their devices. They chatted about little things, about what they saw, it was like they were walking through a dream and everyone around them was swimming in an endless ocean of mindlessness.

Shera, then suddenly out of no where, brought up something that Jagz might not be ready to talk about.

“What do you say, Jagz? Ready to share the the Aliens with your followers? Nearly 2 MILLION now!? If it’s any incentive, getting to see you live Quack would really turn me on.”

At this point, Jagz didn’t need much more persuasion. After all, he trusted her and knew that she was right. He couldn’t hold onto these secrets for much longer. Not after such a magical day. He pulled a fresh apple from his bag, took a huge bite, tasting its tart sweetness and began to write.

I come to you with something that, up until now, I wasn’t quite sure how to share with the world. A few weeks ago, I was let in on some earth shattering information, information that I was simply too afraid to share with you. But I have been given so much support and encouragement by everyone that I can’t simply keep it in any longer #herewego

Jagz pressed send, giving his readers something to chew on, knowing that they would be reading his words instantaneously. He continued to type.

Last week I was brought into Unified Webworks and shown something that I never believed was possible—something that you may very well not believe. But today I will share it with you anyhow. Here goes… I was put in direct contact with an Alien that had asked to specifically speak with me. He claimed to bring a message from his planet that he wanted me to share with the world.

Once again Jagz pressed send after reaching the character limit. His heart pounded as his nerves kicked in.

I know it sounds crazy, and I still think that it is, but he said that his race is searching for a new planet to co-inhabit. They have run out of resources and have found Earth to be perfectly suitable for their species. He also said that they have no intention of taking over or destroying us, but things will change. They are a far superior race and we will have to get used to that change.

Again he released his Quack.

Mr. Herd, the President of Unified Webworks expressed that the Aliens want anything but peace, that what they really want is to dominate our race and to change life as we know it in order to suit their needs. But he also believes our Official Intelligent Beings will stop at nothing to prevent this, they will show us how to fight. We will fight for our freedom.

He sent his Quack and pondered whether to sum it all up with a thought of his own.

I am simply acting as a messenger relaying what I saw. I don’t really know what to make of all of this. I saw the Alien with my own two eyes. I’ve even attached footage here so you can see too. We spoke and if you can trust, not only my words, but also the footage I am sharing, then you can trust that this is a very real situation, one that I have no idea how to process myself. As always, please share your thoughts. #whatnow ?

He took a deep breath and turned to Shera, who was standing eagerly by his bed.

“I’m proud of you. Very proud. That took a huge set of balls. But what I’m really feeling…”

Shera walked over to him, undid his belt, took off his pants, and tossed him onto the bed.

Chapter 14.

Jagz awoke in an unfamiliar place, but this time he was not floating, he was swimming in what appeared to be a very gentle and breathable substance—a mixture of water and air. He was moving in what seemed to be a sea of other humans, similar to him, but unique in their own way. The further he swam, the stronger the desire was to swim even further. As his arms and legs grew tired, his want to get to wherever it was that he was going got even stronger still.

He finally arrived where everyone around him seemed to be headed and, he saw a giant spherical soft, pinkish cream-colored structure. Just as he was close enough to touch it, everyone around him suddenly vanished and a bright and beautiful Official Intelligent Being appeared before him.

“I am Reha, the Official Intelligent Being of Life. I bring life into your world, your life, and the life of everyone you have ever encountered.”

“What is this place? What am I doing here?”

“This place used to bring life to the world before I came along. Long before your time, the only way to create life was by a man fertilizing a woman’s egg with his sperm. Just as you are swimming like a sperm in a sea of millions of others, pulled ever so powerfully towards this egg here, so was the process for everyone before sexual intercourse was no longer necessary.”

“Why did it become unnecessary?” asked Jagz, at a loss.

“Since the beginning of time, the only way for a man and woman to create a child, a new life form, was by the now useless act of sexual intercourse. A man would insert his penis into a woman's vagina until his sperm shot into her and fertilized her egg, which then grew into a baby.”

“This act of sexual intercourse isn’t good anymore?”

“It started out as a natural way to create a baby. If life wanted to form, to prosper and populate, it needed a way of spreading its seed. Evolution determined that harnessing pleasurable feelings encouraged one to spread his seed. If it felt good, it created an innate desire. But this pleasure and desire also led to the downfall of sexual intercourse.”

“What is so wrong with the act of sex? It sounds amazing to me.”

“It’s not the act that is the problem. It’s the desire to constantly perform that act without repercussion. Humans enjoyed sexual intercourse so much that they started to search for ways of having sex without pregnancy. The more they searched for ways of doing this, the more unnatural the act became. The more a woman had to take pills and men had to wear protection to keep their seed from spreading, the more manipulated the female body became, until one day she could no longer reproduce when she finally wanted to. Humans tried to play with Mother Nature and, like so many times before, they failed.”

“So what you are saying is that sex will not lead to a baby? Even now?”

“Well, theoretically, yes, it is possible to have a child the old way. But no one has sexual intercourse anymore. It has been done away with thanks to the sexual simulators I created. They are safe, they feel great, and no one has had a baby in many decades.”

“But if no one has tried. How could we know what is possible?”

“While it may be possible to have a child the old fashioned way, it’s still highly unlikely. There is no one around who even understands the notion of real intercourse anyhow. Not enough to go through with it, at least. We have managed to curb that urge at birth and with constant conditioning. Besides UrDg and sexual simulators feel so good, what more could one need?”

“So how are humans created now?”

“I devised a way for humans to grow from genetic birthing labs under the proper conditions, so that they fit into this world as needed. There are always some things that will be left to chance, of course, but it is far more manageable. Women don’t have to worry about getting pregnant or having to go through the troubles of housing a child in their body for nine months. We can control everything and make perfectly healthy babies happy who already have a tolerance for UrDg from the day that they are born, as well as a positive response for synthetic food.”

“Odd. I never really thought about how humans came to be. It always just went unquestioned.”

“Yes. It is all very controlled. Things are better this way. The last thing you would want is a baby through the old methods. Humans may have had a tolerance and acceptance for natural birth many years ago, but now it would only cause chaos.”

This time when Jagz woke up, he was not alone. He didn’t feel an urge to peer into his screen and search for any new comments, even if he did just release the Quack of all Quacks. No, he had something else far more special to look at.

He reached his hand to Shera and carefully slipped his arm around her stomach. He nuzzled her softly and gently, careful not to wake her, all while thinking about how much he liked having someone in his bed, her soft and warm skin, her perfume unlike anything he had ever smelled before. As he imaged a life waking up next to this beautiful person every morning, his eyes, growing heavy, ready for more dreaming, were just about to close when Shera blurted out, “Holy mother of nature! You won’t believe it!!! Everyone is going crazy over your Quack. It’s the highest trending Quack ever. You’ve got over 20 million followers!”

“What? I thought you were sleeping? What are you saying? Are you serious? 20 million? There is no way. It can’t be.”

“Check your device. It’s all there. So many responses. You wouldn’t believe what they are saying! I have been up all morning. I wanted to wake you, but you seemed to really be enjoying your dream.”

Jagz grabbed his device and began reading the responses from his followers.

Aliens? Made contact with us? I knew it! That is crazy awesome. What do I have to do to speak with them? That footage was unreal!

#whentruthspeaks

Wrote @mixmark547.

I always had a feeling there was life on another planet. Out of all the people to contact it’s no surprise they came to u, someone so real, who can unite us all. Hell yeah! I don’t think they want to harm us, how could they want to harm us?#comeinpeace

Replied @suzytydye3.

We need to protect our planet! The Beings will show us the way, they will give us what we need to keep our freedom

Said @eugenejeans09300

Dudeeee, the Aliens could have contacted anyone in the world and they chose you. Well you know what, I choose you too. i’ll do whatever you say, just show me the way. awww shizzle

Replied @yespleaseplease765

“Incredible, isn’t it?” said Shera. “It’s like you are the chosen one! People are really starting to listen to you. They believe what you are saying. They are searching for something new and they found it in you. We aren’t just talking a few thousand, or even a million, we are talking 20 million and growing! And this is just the start. Just imagine where this could go.”

“I just can’t believe it. I share news about Aliens coming to possibly wipe out the human race and instead of freaking out, instead calling me a nutcase, people actually believe in me, their support for me grows?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted? This is great. Don’t you see that?”

“I’m not saying it’s not something else, because it really is, but I honestly don’t know what to make of all of this. Just a short while ago, I was just a guy with a small following speaking to a few thousand people and now, well, this is something else. I just think I need a minute to clear my head. Do you mind if I step out for a quick stroll?”

“Of course, do you want some company?”

“That’s okay. I think I just need a moment to collect my thoughts.”

Jagz headed down the stairs, out the front door of his building, and into the streets he had walked so many times. He was desperate for some fresh air. He felt like he was choking. Ever since he met the Alien, his nightly dreams got more vivid. The Beings were sharing more information with him about how this world came to be. Each morning he woke up with a following that has been growing out of control. With both confusion and excitement flooding his head, he decided go to the park, still curious about what Redemet said about the plants and trees.

Hoping for a sign of whether the visitors in his dream were more than his own supraconscious, any clue to let him know his visions weren’t tricks, that the Beings’ words held weight, Jagz paced quickly towards the nearest greenery.

He got to the tip of the park and bent down to feel the grass, stroking it, pulling it out, and smelling it, searching for any sign of trickery, of an artificial nature. In doing so he slowly realized that he probably wouldn’t know the difference between what was real and fake, anyhow.

Just then he felt a presence behind him. Assuming Shera followed him, he stood up to greet her.

And then everything went black. The world disappeared before him and a quiet voice whispered in his ear, “scream and I’ll break your neck and your pretty little girlfriend’s too.”