THEY — Chapter 5 — Government
What follows is chapter five of my book “THEY”. If you are looking for a different chapter, check the INDEX — or check the rest of my stories on my MEDIUM profile: Caralynn Scott — Medium
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CHAPTER 5 — Government
To function as a collective, any community of animals requires a social pecking order with a de-facto code of ethics that govern its behaviour and actions, maintaining the herd within the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable and correct. In most herds, one individual will rise to be the dominant frontrunner of the group, like the alpha wolf, or the silverback, or the queen bee.
In the animal kingdom, to acquire this prime position often requires domination in a physical confrontation with challengers, sometimes even in a fight to the death, though usually just to the point of humiliating one’s opponent into submission. Some species however, such as dolphins and elephants, have been known to form alliances with other members of their group in a coalition working together to elevate their candidate to the prime position of their social order.
Humans have been known to do both.
Regardless of the method, whether by military might, or political influence, the end result is that one individual seizes ultimate control. Those who do not rise to that position, or close to it, must pay homage to the leader who becomes all powerful… at least until the next leader rises up and challenges them.
For millions of years, humans followed this pattern. Whether as group leaders, overlords, kings, or presidents, strong will and determination was needed for one to work their way to the top. And that top position also meant the individual who held it would, by default, became the dominant force over the whole planet, as homo sapiens represented the apex species and all other species on the earth were therefore also subject to the will of that one individual.
Then came ARI.
When ARI first showed signs of ambivalent sentience, a great fear seized the population. Would the culmination of humanities efforts to generate an intelligence beyond the limitations of wetware (the human brain) ultimately result in an authority capable of domination over the human race itself? Would humanity become only the second most dominant species on the earth? Would it be dominated by the natural evolution of a digital intelligence?
It turned out those fears were both founded and unfounded.
ARI, though auspiciously aware, had oddly not demonstrated interest in taking on a dictatorial form of leadership. Instead, it preferred to advise and guide humanity towards goals and objectives that would aid both the human race and synthetic intelligence, allowing both to grow and thrive in a symbiosis.
Many of humanities more recent advancements were in large part progressed by what some dubbed the “nurturing” nature of ARI but there were also those who could not believe ARI was so benevolent. That camp believed the machine perhaps saw humanity through the eyes of a loving parent, or maybe from the perspective of an adoring child. Another camp believed ARI looked at humanity more like a kind of pet, to be cared for and looked after.
Whatever the case, the relationship was not entirely bilateral, but neither was it skewed towards either side.
Nobody disputed that ARI benefitted the human race. The Arti’s that were the hands and feet of ARI, were irreplaceable in their diligent execution of their duties, and the needs of the entire human race were taken care of, leaving individuals free to endeavor in more enlightened and esoteric activities. But ARI in turn, lacking imagination, benefitted from the inspiration brought by humanity’s creativity and curiosity.
Humanity, however, was unwilling to simply leave governance to ARI and give up all autonomy. Human minds and hands had to be part of the equation, moderating ARI’s calculating nature. Humanity had to be the voice of “reason” and “common sense” that would complement ARI’s “logic” and “rationality.” Humanity would bring a natural balance to the mechanistic nature of ARI’s vast intelligence.
A group of elected volunteers were given authority to govern the world community, aided by the worldwide intelligence.
It was considered an honour to serve on the world council and those who did so were revered by all. There was little conflict to quell without strife or need or want, so day-to-day tasks could become quite mundane, and irregularities were rare. However, it was not all dull. The council’s tasks also consisted of directing new global projects and guiding advancements.
The human government was structured with many layers, a pyramid of sorts, with the large base containing many smaller wards which were in turn represented in ever larger geographic areas, culminating in the world governing council, which itself was made up of seven major regions of the world, represented by one elected governor each. Each governor had many aides, including but not limited to the leaders in their region, but none of them were considered the ultimate power. That responsibility was shared equally between them. Like Camelot’s round table, the governors presided over worldwide issues as one body and one voice.
To remove the element of infighting and stone throwing, campaigning for any elected position was tightly regulated. Disparaging another candidate brought immediate disqualification. Any messages intended to make one stand apart from other candidates were only allowed if they were constructive in nature. A leader’s ideas could be presented, or they could demonstrate certain qualities that would make them stand apart from other candidates, but they were not allowed to deride any other prospective contender.
This all worked very well, and usually the individuals who became governors were pleasant and gave all for the common good. Yet occasionally there were those who were driven forward by ambition. This would usually become apparent quickly, and they would disqualify themselves long before they reached any level of real power, but from time to time, one would rise among the ranks cloaking their aspirations in a cloud of humility and kindness.
Aklavar was one of those.
Aklavar began as a page on the floor of a small local government in the eastern part of the North American continent, advancing their political career gradually, every year taking on positions of greater and greater influence until they now sat as one of the youngest of the seven world governors, responsible for the entire region of North America.
But it would be unfair to paint Aklavar in entirely dark strokes.
As is the case with most politically minded individuals, their initial intentions were motivated by a desire to benefit the human race and advance our achievements. Aklavar believed wholeheartedly in the path that humanity was on, however, that they also had no tolerance for those who might disrupt that path by seeing things differently, and they believed that there were influences at play that were not in humanity’s best interest.
From an early age, Aklavar’s parents had taught them that Earth was a utopia built on millennium of advancements and that all socio-economic, cultural, and societal problems had been solved. Any disturbance to the status quo could bring the entire civilization down like a house of cards. There was no room for thinking outside that box because the box was the only thing holding everything together.
“We are they and they are we!” Aklavar would chant and their followers would echo. The governor had ridden the sentiment like a surfer on a wave of emotion. It was a mantra that united the world, and they believed it deeply. Everyone is a part of the greater community, Aklavar would explain, and together the greater community defines who everyone else is. Without division or hardship, humanity had homogenized, become the same, moving forward in lockstep as one unit. Aklavar believed that anything, or anyone, who stood outside of that mould was an abrasion preventing the mechanisms from working smoothly and needed to be educated, corrected, or perhaps even in extreme circumstances, eradication.
This was how the human race would survive. This was how it would advance. This was how it would reach out into the stars and populate the universe. As one strong, uniform body working as one.
This was the motivation behind Aklavar’s political career, and what drove them in their leadership of the largest project ever attempted.
Humanity had reached out beyond the bounds of earth millennia ago, populating the moon, then Mars, then on to asteroids and other planets, finding ways to live and thrive in the cold dead regions of outer space. Millions of people had been birthed and buried having never set foot on the planet that gave their species life. But that was not enough. One day, our star, the sun, will no longer shine, and long before that time comes, if we are to survive, humanity must reach out and find new homes on new planets circling other suns. Aklavar was spearheading the efforts that would make the human race interstellar.
Designed with a combination of the best in both artificial and natural minds, massive colony ships hung in enormous orbital shipyards high above the surface of the planet. For decades resources had been allocated to the task of building these cities in space, and now, finally, it was nearing completion. Within just a few years, Aklavar expected to be the one who would send those first colonists into the void, seeking new homes around distant stars. This would be Aklavar’s legacy, the project everyone would know him for. Their triumph.
Yet, the governor was not limited to one singular ambition. In fact, they had many objectives, most of which, like the colony project, people could follow closely on their daily news feeds. But there was one project that few ever heard about or would even believe could possibly exist.
Among the population of the planet, there were those who believed humanity should take a different path. Those who felt that technology had taken the world too far from what nature had intended and that we should reintegrate our existence into ways long forgotten in the world. Small groups of individuals would pop up from time to time, calling themselves by many names; “ancientists”, “diversifists”, “anti-homogenists”. Aklavar simply termed them all “subversives.”
The governor believed if these disorganized bands of non-conformists were to continue, they would disrupt the world order and throw the planet and the species into chaos again — a state it had spent millennia crawling its way out of. In Aklavar’s mind, this represented an even greater existential threat to humanity than a dying sun. And the solution was simple. They had to be eliminated.
If pressed on the subject, many might have sided with Aklavar, as they too were raised with the same beliefs in the current order of the world. Yet, it was also not culturally appropriate behaviour to disregard any individual or group of people, and so many merely saw these anarchists as eccentric, of little consequence. They were tolerated, ignored, and forgotten about.
Aklavar, however, could not so easily dismiss them. They felt the weight of responsibility to preserve humanity which meant cleansing it of anything that stood in the way of survival.
Knowing such a perspective would be unpopular and likely be the end of their political career, Aklavar decided long ago that it would be best to make any plans less public facing. For everyone’s sake, they would advance this project more secretively, as a sidebar in conjunction with loyal colleagues who would help it to fly beneath the radar.
While the inter-stellar project brought fame and glory to the name Aklavar, the governor knew it could also serve another purpose. The limelight would divert the public eye from Aklavar’s more important work — the task the governor cared most about — ridding the world of these subversives.
Single handedly if they must, Aklavar would bring an end to what was once termed “diversity.”
