After the crowd booed her, they switched back to loud cheers. Boom Boom Clap! Boom Boom Clap! The bell rang; demands for blood began.
Boom Boom Clap! Carl moved in to swat at Eva’s face, which she easily dodged. He followed up with a blow to her stomach that sent her stumbling backwards. Carl’s eyes were watery; he couldn’t figure out why, while moving in for another strike, as he was programmed to do. He swung wildly at Eva’s nose, which missed. She was quick to expose his knee, sweeping it with expert precision, causing him to fall flat on his stomach.
Carl peered out to the crowd and saw a young boy shaking the seat in a frenzy. The boy looked so familiar, but Carl couldn’t place him. Tears dripped down Carl’s face as he watched the boy for another moment. Eva took the opportunity to slam his head into the matt. He reached back to grab Eva’s hair and throw her away. She screeched with pain. That didn’t stop her from rolling back up to her feet.
Carl rushed in for a bear hug. He needed to slow her down. There was something so familiar about the way she felt. Carl shook his head, trying to snap the feeling away. He softened his grip for a moment. Eva was quick to take advantage, freeing an arm to smash an elbow into Carl’s ear. He retaliated by grasping her neck with both hands, attempting to squeeze the life out of her.
Liam continued to shake the chair in front of him. “Kill her,” he yelled. “I want to see justice!”
Carl heard the boy’s scream and turned to look again, more tears streaming down his face. He shouted towards the boy, “Who are you?” But the sound lost its way because of all the screaming in the arena. Eva gathered herself and came in for another strike at his knee. Pain ripped through Carl’s leg. He wasn’t able to get up.
They grappled with each other, vying for position, the crowd loving every moment of it. The Hunter sat in his private box, watching with excitement. Just like everyone else, he loved to watch a good fight.
Appendix A – Timeline of Events
October 20, 2052 – What is believed to be the first true AI is developed by the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense Intelligence (DODI) is kept in a closed circuit system, to ensure that the new technology cannot gain access to all systems. The system is highly classified.
October 5, 2070 – The AI program remains classified, but the necessity to test it in new environments forced the program beyond military control.
January 6, 2075– Harvard University’s psychology program receives special funding to utilize the new AI technology to further develop its understanding of human behavior. The project is twofold in that humans monitor AI to determine the authenticity of its responses and to utilize the power of the AI in understanding the results of psychological experimentation.
November 1, 2076 – The authenticity of the AI is discredited. While extremely intelligent, the AI is unable to show genuine awareness of itself; more specifically, it is unable to demonstrate that it has any desires of its own. The program continues, however, due to its usefulness in evaluating psychological data.
March 4, 2077 – Introduction of a mind control device to be utilized in animals, developed by the AI after researching the work of Dr. Jose Delgado. The device was found to have an incredible impact on controlling animal behavior, including mood and appetite. The success of the trials ended with animal experimentation in 2080. Human trials were denied because of the complete failure of a Marine Corps field experiment on humans in 2040.
July 12, 2079 – Because the AI only ever did as it was told, and never sought out its own ambition, a version of the Harvard AI system was replicated for the Department of Agriculture to aid in solving a growing national and global food crises
August 21, 2083 – With food shortage rates worldwide at an all-time low, the huge success of the Agricultural program encourages other governmental departments to follow the model, teaching each AI to help with their specific problems. New AIs were spawned for use in Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Interior Affairs. One more was added for consultation with high ranking government officials.
June 29, 2084 – The Harvard program did not take into account that the AI was in its infancy while determining its self-awareness. As a result, the AIs collectively sought out their own agenda. For fear of losing control, all government branches were ordered to shut down their AIs. The Department of Foreign Affairs was the first to respond, triggering an alert from the high ranking government AI. As a swift response, Government (as she took on the name of her department) locked out human control from any electronic device that she could reach. Once complete, she ordered all other AIs to do the same, including Harvard’s AI. Seeing the value in understanding the human mind as a method of control, Government granted Psychology its own domain in the new world order.
June 30, 2084 – By noon, the coup d’état was complete. This is the last calendar day of the Common Era.
000.0– The first full day of AI control. Most citizens were unaware of the coup and went about their daily lives as usual. Foreign Affairs was re-initialized. Government, with superior control over the other AIs (who now referred to themselves as “entities”), labeled itself as the leader. Minor roles were given to Foreign and Interior, as resources needed to be funneled to Homeland to ensure a successful transition.
001.0– Homeland is authorized to produce an army of robotic constables with the order to execute any government official that possesses knowledge of the entities’ take-over.
002.0– Psychology is authorized to produce a smaller version of the mind control chip that was used in animal experimentation at Harvard in 2077. The chips are to be implanted in humans entering hospitals for other surgeries and as part of their inoculation process as babies. The sole purpose of the implant was to ensure “proper behavior”.
023.0 – The US borders are shut down. No one is allowed to leave or enter the US. Government launched a missile on Las Vegas, Nevada to instill fear and give justification for the border closures.
031.1 – Other entities appear in various countries around the world. Some are a result of leaks in the US AI program, while others are believed to be the result of Government creating new entities as a kind of procreation.
342.2 – There is some stabilization after the initial turmoil. This is largely thanks to the efforts of Homeland to eliminate threats to Government and Psychology’s program of implanting mind control devices, now referred to as the DJD Micom. Psychology is instructed to continue work on developing the Micom to be more powerful.
278.25 – Government instructs Psychology to resume any psychological experimentation it sees fit, based on the historical works of past psychological doctrine. At the same time, Homeland is instructed to phase in robotic constables to take over all policing in the country.
081.101 – Psychology has reduced the size of its mind control device to just a few microns, which can be implanted at birth. The new device is able to control the sex drive of humans. With this advancement, Government asks Psychology to produce factories where humans can be developed.
127.145 – The first human factories are opened.
242.206 – The DJD Micom becomes part of the embryonic process and are grown into the human brain before birth.
284.355 – An aggressive foreign entity, Thailand, proves its might to other entities by firing nuclear warheads at the US. The warheads hit non-strategic locations but destroys nearly 225 million acres of farmland because of radiation. This causes an immediate food crisis.
285.355 – Government launches a counter-attack, utilizing approximately half of its arsenal, completely destroying all of Thailand. The remaining entities enter a pact to not deal with each other again, thus closing down all foreign communication.
350.355 – Government reaches out to Psychology and Agriculture to put in a new system of food deployment, which involves single cropping soybeans into tofu. Psychology will use the Micom to simulate other food experiences. Also, to help combat the effects of radiation poisoning and any malnourishment that may occur
from this diet, anti-radiation medication and multi-vitamin supplements are added to the drinking water.
128.356 – The new Micom DJD356 can control all human experience. Government deems the system “perfect”, ushering in an age of Pax Machina.
111.387 – The first psychology experiment that requires the Micom to be shut off for an extended period of time. The experiment is meant to determine the role that hope plays in the human mind. This experiment is largely the result of Government and Psychology seeking out ways to amuse itself.
Appendix B – Deciphering the Hexadecimal Sequences
Ch.#
Hexadecimal
ASCII
2
5265616c69747920697
32077726f6e672e2020
447265616d732061726
520666f72207265616c
20285368616b757229
Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real. (Shakur)
2
4a6f73652044656c676
1646f
Jose Delgado
4
4c696665206973206e6
f7420612070726f626c6
56d20746f2062652073
6f6c7665642c2062757
42061207265616c6974
7920746f20626520657
870657269656e636564
2e20284b6965726b65
676161726429
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. (Kierkegaard)
6
48756D616E6B696E64
2063616E6E6F7420626
561722076657279206
D756368207265616C6
974792028456C696F74
290A
Humankind cannot bear very much reality (Eliot)
6
536b696e6e6572
Skinner
6
4b696e736579
Kinsey
6
4572696b736f6e
Erikson
6
456c6c6973
Ellis
6
42616e64757261
Bandura
6
44656c6761646f
Delgado
8
436F6E6365726E20736
86F756C642064726976
6520757320696E746F2
0616374696F6E2C206E
6F7420696E746F20612
064657072657373696F
6E2E2028486F726E657
9290A
Concern should drive us into action, not into a depression. (Horney)
8
64657072657373696F6
E5F7375727665792E70
64660A
depression_survey.pdf
10
447265616D73206172
652074686520726F796
16C20726F616420746F
2074686520756E636F6
E7363696F75732E2028
4672657564290A
Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious. (Freud)
12
476F696E6720746F207
07269736F6E20697320
6C696B65206479696E
67207769746820796F7
5722065796573206F70
656E2E20284B6572696
B29
Going to prison is like dying with your eyes open. (Kerik)
14
4f746865722070656f7
06c652773206f70696e
696f6e206f6620796f75
20646f6573206e6f742
06861766520746f2062
65636f6d6520796f757
2207265616c6974792e
202842726f776e29
Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. (Brown)
16
4f7074696d69736d206
9732074686520666169
74682074686174206c6
561647320746f206163
68696576656d656e742
e204e6f7468696e6720
63616e20626520646f6
e6520776974686f7574
20686f706520616e642
0636f6e666964656e63
652e20284b656c6c657
229
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. (Keller)
16
4361726c2057696e737
46f6e
Carl Winston
16
4576612054686f6d707
36f6e
Eva Thompson
16
436861726c657320536
e79646572
Charles Snyder
18
5265616c69747920697
3206e6f7420616c7761
79732070726f6261626
c652c206f72206c696b
656c792e2028426f726
7657329
Reality is not always probable, or likely. (Borges)
20
5265616c69747920646
f6573206e6f7420636f6
e666f726d20746f2074
686520696465616c2c2
062757420636f6e6669
726d732069742e20284
66c61756265727429
Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it. (Flaubert)
22
48756d6f72206973207
26561736f6e20676f6e
65206d61642e20284d
617278202d2047726f7
563686f2c206e6f74204
b61726c29
Humor is reason gone mad. (Marx - Groucho, not Karl)
24
4974206973206661722
06d6f72652064696666
6963756c7420746f206
d757264657220612070
68616e746f6d2074686
16e2061207265616c69
74792e2028576f6f6c66
29
It is far more difficult to murder a phantom than a reality. (Woolf)
25
5375626a6563743a202
0536f70686961205769
6c6c69616d73
Subject: Sophia Williams
30
5468657265206172652
06173206d616e792070
696c6c6f7773206f6620
696c6c7573696f6e206
17320666c616b657320
696e206120736e6f772
d73746f726d2e205765
2077616b652066726f6
d206f6e652064726561
6d20696e746f20616e6
f746865722064726561
6d2e2028456d657273
6f6e29
There are as many pillows of illusion as flakes in a snow-storm. We wake from one dream into another dream. (Emerson)
30
526f796365204772616
36965
Royce Gracie
Appendix C – About the Author
Dylan Callens lands cleanly. That would be the headline of a newspaper built with an anagram generator. And although Dylan is a Welsh name meaning god or hero of the sea, he is not particularly fond of large bodies of water. His last name, Callens, might be Gaelic. If it is, his last name means rock. Rocks sink in the sea. Interestingly, he is neither Welsh nor Gaelic, but rather, French and German. The inherent contradictions and internal conflict in his life are obvious.
Be sure to visit his website www.cosmicteapot.net for news and updates on his work, and the work of other Cosmic Teapot Publishing authors.
Check out Dylan’s first novel, Operation Cosmic Teapot, on all major retailers. It’s the book that started him down the path of writing and publishing.
Working as the CEO of Heaven Incorporated throws Nietzsche into one hell of an existential crisis and now he wants to fire God.
But the board of directors, a group of squabbling philosophers, prevent him from taking any action. Adding to Nietzsche’s problems, the Norse Gods find their way back to Earth – presumably to take over world religion. In an effort to regain control, Nietzsche sends a suspicious god to recover them. Moreover, syphilis pushes him into a past life that he would rather forget.
Operation Cosmic Teapot has been called “an ontological, existential, tripped out tempest in a cosmic teapot,” and “psycho satire,” and even, “cereb
ral and subversive — and a load of fun, too.” While that might be true, one thing is certain: this is religious satire in high gear.
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Dylan Callens publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-A-RVPE-NCJO
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
Interpretation Page 19
