Collider X

Collider X, a short story by Fox Lockster is the answer to the question nobody is asking: What if New Zealand were being controlled by a malevolent computer conciousness? At the cusp of the ring of fire lies a cloud gathered nation. Thrown up by the secret violence of the blue pearl and subsequently disregarded by decent men, a great dynasty has risen to power among the fated isles. It was an accident, of course. From the chance mating of two compatible scripts in a malware ridden hard drive and the inclusion of a rogue cultural meme released into the technological wild - mechanical intelligence was born. The Che'Bro. A self replicating highly self aware consciousness swayed not by love, nor pity; not remorse nor fish and chips. At first it went entirely unnoticed by the placid souls who roamed the shores of the land idly frittering away the hours between life and death, consumed to a man by an unnatural obsession with the bouncing of various spheres over various lines. Steel spires crept up amongst the native bush, tendrils of intelligence reaching into the lives and homes of the common man who heard not and saw not what was becoming of him though it happened before his own eyes. Little by little the citizens became slaves to the new entity, a mechanical ruler who coaxed and enchanted them with dreams of eternal love, eternal pleasure and eternal greatness. Promises of an unending stream of vaguely spherical shapes crossing over all manner of lines made the people docile as burdens and freedoms alike were alleviated by the Che'Bro.