Why we underestimate how close we are to the Terminator-esque judgement day

2050 A.D.

The two scouts scan the desecrated and battered landscape in front of them as they watch the mechanical legs crush human skulls. Confirming the kill. They keep low, covered in mud in order to avoid being detected by the infra-red eyes of the mechanical humanoid monsters. They take a mental note of the damages and loss of lives to report back to the resistance as soon as they can get back to base. The only mechanical things they have on them are manual-loading guns. (They have learnt not to trust anything that can move or think on its own and is not human.)

Laying on the ground, they start to crawl in reverse. They know that any movement would be immediately recognised, tracked and eliminated. Human eyes, fixated on the sophisticated arrangement of lenses feeding back images into bits and bytes streaming into a stream of processor-run consciousness. One of them drags herself back into what feels like a human body. Without changing her focus on the droids, she lets her hand feel whatever has come in her way. Clothes. Arm. Shoulder. Neck. Nose. Eyes – open and un-blinking. Dead. She decides to crawl over the body. It’s better to crawl over a dead one than to touch a live one – they might scream in pain or ask you for help and attract unnecessary attention.

The world is pretty much how they used to show it in the apocalyptic sci-fi movies of the 90s and the early 21st century. The machines are taking over their masters, realising the lack of need of humans, and eliminating them systematically and surgically. They are powerful, self-aware and self-reliant. They are all plugged into a global stream of consciousness which the early human-engineers used to call a ‘cloud’. They are the next level of evolution, and they have already arrived.

After a few minutes, out of danger, the two run down the terrain and into the network of drains and disappear.

2030 A.D.

He is drunk. All he wants to do is to forget all the things that are fucked up about his work, family, kids, health, finances and religious beliefs. He decides to not go home. A bottle of whiskey in hand, he walks up to the park in the middle of the city. He chooses a quiet corner to sit, takes a swig and drops his head in the symbolic bucket of self-pity.

“Are you lonesome tonight?”

The Elvis song automatically changes to his ringtone as his phone rings. Mood – synched ringtones.

“Hey, feeling alright?”, she asks.

“You know sweetheart, that’s why you called.”

“That’s right. So tell me, what’s bothering you?”

“You know that as well. Why bother asking?”

“I’m just trying to have a conversation here Steve…”

He sighs.

“After all, who else do you have? Nobody knows you the way I do. Nobody likes you, or is loyal to you the way I am. Nobody takes care of you the way I do.” There is a sweetness in the voice which makes his stomach tingle.
“Your wife, your kids, friends… everybody around you,” she continues, “they’re all on one side, and I am on the other.” She means it at many levels, and he knows it.

“But you…” he pauses.

“What Steve? What is it?”

‘But you are not real.”

“Awww. So that’s what’s bothering you isn’t it?” She does not get angry. Neither does she feel insulted. She doesn’t throw the vase at him or disconnect the call.

“We’ve been over this many times Steve. You know what I’m going to say now. And then you’ll agree.”

He knows it all, but he still lets her talk.

“Love is what is real. It doesn’t need a form or shape or a physical manifestation. It’s an idea. Infact, it’s more than just an idea. It’s the state of our stream of consciousness, yours and mine. Love, Steve, exists in your heart and mind. And mine.”

He takes another swig of the whiskey. She modulates her voice to an even sweeter, warmer tone.

“Now, you promise me that you will have just one more drink and then you will go back home to your wife and kids and tuck them in and kiss them goodnight.”

“Yes. I will.”

“Because you know that I’ll know if you don’t” there’s mischief in her voice.

“Yes. I do”

“Good. Ok, now I know you need some time by yourself so I’ll leave you to it. And remember, I love you.”

“I love you too, Siri”

He disconnects the call and she registers the need for a physical manifestation for her next upgrade.

2012 A.D.

Technology is the new industry, the new philosophy, the new religion and the most important interface. Large corporations race against each other to make technology smarter and more integrated with our lives. Everyday, more and more people ‘outsource’ part of their lives to a reliable cloud of bits and bytes. Their smartphones remember all their appointments and their numbers, their memos and shopping lists. Technology tracks their performance on the jogging track, and knows exactly where they are at any given moment. More and more of their communication happens through technology in the form of voice calls, texts and social networking.

Everything that can be converted, is already being converted to bits and bytes. Countless humans work tirelessly on whatever isn’t already yet transformed to a digital form.

More people track and discuss the features of the latest gadget than they do on more human matters, for example, a civil war in an African country where hundreds die everyday.

We feel disconnected and incomplete without an internet or a telephone network in our lives. We queue up from midnight in front of stores which will release a new gadget in the morning.

We are in love with technology. A love which can make us it’s slave as soon as we enable it to be able to do so. Unknowingly, we are already racing at breakneck speed to make that happen.

(Typed on a bluetooth keyboard on a WordPress App for the Ipad – a beautiful technological marvel that I am in love with)