It was obviously the owner of the small supermarket who came through the glass door at the entrance. He raised his hands reassuringly. He was probably afraid that people would just storm his store if he didn’t talk to them. The two uniformed guard robots of a private security company would not be able to stop them. Flanked by his two robots, he said loud and audible: »You heard the President, people. No more sales today.«
A man standing at the front of the group shouted, »I just need some batteries. I’ll pay double, if you want. We don’t have electricity, and it’s pitch black in our house.«
»Keep your dollars,« said the store owner. »It doesn’t matter how much you pay. The acceptance of any currency has been temporarily suspended.«
»Then how am I supposed to feed my children?« cried the woman with the baby carriage angrily.
»You will be able to feed your children,« the owner of the supermarket reassured her. »Wait until tomorrow for the food ration coupons. For now just return home quietly. The store will be closed, and there’s nothing more you can do here.«
»You don’t dare!« shouted one of the crowd. There was a heated scuffle in the crowd somewhere ahead. One of the robots stepped in front of the shopkeeper to protect him.
Somehow I must have missed something important. Had the President announced anything? All money had been invalidated? How on earth was that possible? My smartphone hadn’t notified me because I had deactivated that damn avatar. After I had become more and more doubtful whether Betty Boobs was a real person, I couldn’t stand the sight of her on the display anymore. Although I had only found contradictory statements in the different porn sharing sites on the Internet, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I had been duped all the time. And since the avatar was now switched off, I had not been notified about this obviously important announcement of the President.
The owner of the supermarket lowered the metal shutter that covered the windows and doors of his store. Just as the crowd was about to get aggressive, the siren of a police car sounded. A small police van stopped and three uniformed robots got out. This was apparently enough to deter the assembled crowd from any aggressive actions. The group slowly began to disband as the first police officer approached.
I also decided that it was better to return home. I wouldn’t be able to buy anything at the supermarket today. So I had to go to the Chinese fast food restaurant once again. But when I reached that, I realized that the shutters had been lowered there, too. All shops in the city were apparently closed. I would probably have to go home hungry. First I thought about going to the Ishtar Temple instead, but it would probably be closed like all other businesses, since money had been invalidated. How could anybody run a business if there was no money?
Frustrated, I approached my apartment block. The security guard Jake and his colleagues had already been replaced a few days ago by two uniformed robots. I had seen it coming. That constant Luddite bullshit of Jake, that couldn’t have gone on for long. At least now I wouldn’t have to wait forever until Jake finally opened the barrier of the underground garage, when I would come with O’Neil’s car next time. The robots showed more attention and were immediately on the spot.
»Good evening, Mr. Dexter,« one of the robots greeted me. »Did you have a pleasant day?«
I grumbled some answer, then I went into the building. Of course there was no power, but at least my inverter batteries were charged. I had to take the stairs. The elevator wasn’t working. The power failure seemed to have lasted a bit longer, so even the batteries of the building management were running low. Also the corridor in front of my apartment was only dimly lit. There were only two billboards that were switched on, maybe to save electricity, maybe because there weren’t enough advertisers anymore who paid for the ads.
Anyway, it was still bright enough, so that I found my apartment door. I opened the door with my smartphone and entered. Te lock had its own battery. After I found the inverter in the darkness and turned it on, I decided to check the TV to see if I found out what the President had announced today.
I didn’t have to search long. It was the number one topic of today’s news. The newscaster just gave a summary of the President’s televised address. And it was the newscaster’s default avatar this time. I had deleted the customized avatar of Betty Boobs. According to the President there was a food shortage. To prevent a price explosion that would have made staple foods unaffordable to the majority of the population, food had been rationed effective immediately. From now on, basic foodstuffs and other basic items such as electricity, water and public transport were only available in exchange for vouchers, which would be assigned per capita. Due to the catastrophic budget situation, the government would suspend all further social welfare. This also applied to public health care and the state pension system. The fact that basic services were provided free of charge on vouchers would supposedly mean that no one would have to suffer any hardship. Military hospitals would treat patients in emergencies where the public health insurance would no longer cover them. The exchange of North American dollars for foreign currency had been stopped and a daily limit had been set on all international financial transactions.
As far as I understood it with my modest knowledge, these measures made dollars virtually worthless. Everything that was important could no longer be bought with them, and luxury goods had become unaffordable due to the daily limit. The President apparently wanted to use these measures to stop the galloping inflation. But in fact he had caused the North American currency to collapse. The measures had been taken in coordination with the other countries of the North American Union. But Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Haiti were economically dependent on the U. S. anyway and had very little say in such matters. Their so-called National Reserve Banks were part of the U. S. Federal Reserve System.
The news showed an excerpt of the speech, which apparently had lasted over an hour. Al-Rahman sat at his desk in the Oval Office, next to him the American flag. He was wearing a suit and tie. He never wore clothes that identified him as a Mussie, so as not to alienate the majority of voters. And he never mentioned his Allah, Mohammed or any other Mussie gibberish. When absolutely necessary, he simply spoke of God, which could mean Allah, Jehovah, or whoever. He deliberately pretended to be secular, but rumors and of course the propaganda of the Democrats said that he was a puppet of Islamic clerics from the SAU who had financed his election campaign.
»That’s why I ask all citizens of America for their understanding and cooperation at this difficult moment,« he appealed to the audience. »Together we will overcome this difficult crisis of our country. America has overcome far more difficult crises. And this one will be no different. Our first duty now is to remain calm and reasonable. Rest assured that I, as President of the United States, as well as all government employees, will do our best to make these difficult days as bearable as possible for all of us. Together with the members of Congress, we are working on the necessary reforms to eliminate the causes of this crisis. It was a misguided idea of unchecked technological progress and excessive growth that brought us all into this situation. By joining forces, we will end this situation and rebuild America, an America of people, not of machines and technology, an America where citizens can live off the fruits of their labor, not an America of state charity. I ask the citizens to give us time. The measures that have been decreed are only temporary. In a few weeks, if we act now with caution and calm, we will all be through this crisis together.
A notification was displayed on the screen. I received a call.
I touched a button on the screen and the face of O’Neil appeared. I had thought about calling him anyway.
»Dexter, are you home?« he asked.
»Yes and hungry,« I said. »Have you heard the news?«
»Of course I heard the news. Why do you think I call you? We’ll have to work overtime today. We have to go to a crisis meeting.« Now that was just like the Old Man. I was hungry, and he told me something about overtime. »W
ait for me outside the house. I’ll pick you up.«
I was about to answer something, but by then O’Neil had already ended the call. I cursed and looked for something to smash on the wall. But reason gained the upper hand and I refrained from destroying my own property. Besides, this evening was already spoiled either way. All the shops and bars were closed, and I had no electricity at home. Then I might as well drive around with the Old Man.
So I went back outside and a few minutes later I saw O’Neil’s car coming. The Old Man was sitting at the navigation console and navigating by himself, but only until I got in. Then he moved into the passenger seat and left the navigation to me.
»We need to get to the Boston Dynamics administrative office,« he told me. »Take the express route.«
I entered the route in the display and the car drove off. Then I said to O’Neil: »What the fuck is going on in this country all of a sudden, sir?«
O’Neil replied, »Actually, it was all predictable. It had been clear for some time that the national budget was heading for disaster. And the President, of course, chose the strategically wisest moment for it, now that the new Congress is sworn in with a clear Republican majority, so he doesn’t need not expect any opposition from their side.«
»I still don’t understand it. Why is now all money suddenly worthless?« I asked him.
»The fact that the North American Dollar is no longer worth much is nothing new. You yourselves are in my ears almost every day with your whining about rising prices and constantly demanding a pay raise.«
»Well, I guess there’s no need for that now,« I said. What am I going to do with money I can’t buy anything for?
»This is precisely the result of financing the state budget almost exclusively through new debt, this means through government bonds, instead through tax revenues. And the money for this is simply printed in an uncontrolled manner by the Federal Reserve, even if the money is not printed in the true sense of the word, but is generated at the push of a button in the bank’s computer system. And you can tell by the drop of the dollar exchange rate, what happens, if this occurs in an increasingly uncontrolled and excessive manner,« he explained.
»Why? There are still taxes,« I objected.
»Yes, but only thirty percent of the working population has a job and can be taxed, while seventy percent receive welfare from the state. Such a situation can’t work in the long run. And the big companies all have their own ways of somehow getting around taxes. No taxpayers, no taxes! It’s quite simple. Machines pay no taxes, and the whole economy is built on them.«
As we drove through the city, we passed a few shops whose windows had been smashed. We heard the sirens of the alarm system and saw looters grabbing whatever they could get their hands on and then running away. Surveillance drones swarmed through the air and filmed the scenes, but there was no sign of the police. Apparently, the same scenes were happening all over Washington, so the police were completely overwhelmed.
When we were about to drive up the elevated road, we ran into a roadblock. We had to wait in the traffic jam for a while until a police robot turned to us. After O’Neil identified himself as a senator, we were let through immediately. The capital seemed to be in quite a mess after the president’s speech.
I was still confused about the new situation and continued to ask O’Neil: »And why is there suddenly not enough food?«
»Very simple,« O’Neil replied. »Because the food producers prefer to sell their products abroad for hard currency rather than just get that worthless Monopoly money that our currency has degenerated into. In addition, most agricultural land is now used to produce ethanol and other biofuels rather than food. Now that there is no more oil, machines have become man’s direct food competitors. And there you have your explanation. Hardly any food is produced anymore and most of it goes abroad.
»They should’ve known that before. Why didn’t they do something before it was too late?« I wondered.
»It’s no news that we’re in the middle of a serious economic crisis. But our President’s hands were tied by the Democrats-controlled Congress. »Machines and supposed technological progress are more important to them than human lives.«
I doubted that this was an objective account. O’Neil was just a Republican, and therefore the Democrats and Liberals were always to blame for everything. But I didn’t understand enough about politics to debate it with him.
»What is worst for us personally now is that the Dollar and the Federal Reserve System have practically collapsed. And without the Fed, Boston Dynamics and Mr. Rosenberg are no longer able to keep their side of the bargain that they have with me. Without the Fed, I will never see the money they promised us. And even if I did, it’s not worth anything anymore. That’s why I want this clarified with Jensen at Boston Dynamics today, or else we don’t have a deal, and I can vote as I like in the Senate.«
Now it got it, why the Old Man was in such a panic mode. The old crook was worried about his own money, of course.
We passed several roadblocks. And when we finally left the high road, our car suddenly stopped. Some rioters had rolled burning garbage barrels and car tires onto the road. The autopilots of the vehicles in front of us had stopped because of the obstacle and refused to continue. And our own car was no exception. Some of the rioters now began to throw bottles and other objects onto the standing vehicles.
»Wait, I’ll take care of that,« I said to O’Neil. I got out of the car and dodged an empty bottle that flew past me. Then I pulled out my gun and fired twice in the air. Immediately, the rioters took flight. I stepped forward to the obstacles blocking the road and kicked one of the trash barrels so that it rolled out of the way. Now that the road was clear, the vehicles started moving again. I got back into O’Neil’s car and we continued our journey.
Finally we reached the factory premises of Boston Dynamics. We were let in and a guard robot accompanied us to the administrative building.
In a small conference room we were already expected, that means it was of course only O’Neil who was expected. They could just as well have done without me. Among those present I recognized Jensen and Anabelle Palmer, the android. Also two other people were present. One of them wore a military uniform. He was introduced to us as General González of the U. S. Air Force. He was a Latino with a scarred face. The other was an elderly woman who, like this Rosenberg guy, wore a brain interface over her ear and glasses. She was a member of the board of directors of SkyCom, the same company, which I had my smartphone contract with. She introduced herself as Mrs. Volterhagen. I was thinking about taking this opportunity to make some complaints about the reliability of my Internet signal, but then discarded the idea on a second thought. There were a few other Boston Dynamics employees present, whose names we had not been told yet. Apparently they were only of minor importance. And I identified at least one of them as an android. Rosenberg, the vice president of the New York Fed was not present this time. He probably had other things on his mind right now.
The entire back of the small room was taken up by a single large screen, which currently only showed the Boston Dynamics logo, a light and dark blue square with the white shape of a running android on it. In the middle of the room was a wide conference table with about a dozen seats. Through the windows on the right wall, we had a good view of the factory premises, with lights still on everywhere. Robotic cargo tractors drove around between the buildings. Work was going on here around the clock without a break. Well, what else could you expect from the leading American manufacturer of robots?
The rest of the room was rather Spartan and extremely functional. Luxury did not seem to be a priority here. After the usual welcome formalities, O’Neil took a seat at the table. I sat down beside him. I had hoped that some snacks would be served, but was disappointed. Only a plastic bottle with water stood at each seat. I sat down next to O’Neil. At the head of the table Jensen was sitting, who apparently was presiding over this impromptu crisis meeting.
&nbs
p; One of the employees of Boston Dynamics, who had not been introduced to us, said: »This crisis had been foreseeable for a long time. But it is interesting that the President did nothing to avert it. On the contrary, it almost seems as if he deliberately provoked it by inaction.«
»A clever move by al-Rahman,« agreed Volterhagen, the SkyCom representative. »In doing so, he practically eliminated the Fed. He probably knew very well that they were getting in the way of his radical reform plans.«
»That’s exactly what I’m worried about,« O’Neil said. »I see that Mr. Rosenberg is no longer present. Now what about the agreement, which we had?«
Anabelle, the android, reassured him: »I told you that we are true to our word. The only thing that matters now is that you do so, too.«
»The money isn’t coming from your company,« the senator interjected. »And even if it did, the situation has now changed radically after the collapse of the dollar. With the amount we talked about before, I can’t even afford to buy a tank of gas for my car now, apart from the fact that hydrogen is now only available on vouchers anyway.«
Mrs. Voltherhagen replied: »You don’t need to worry about the financial side, Senator. We at SkyCom can take care of that, too. We’ll pay you the promised sum in gold to a depository on the British Virgin Islands, at last November’s rate, if that’ll give you peace of mind.«
O’Neil nodded appreciatively. The one point of the whole meeting that was personally most important to him had been clarified.
Jensen now joined the conversation. »It appears there were violent riots across the country that night. And the situation in Mexico is even worse.«
The general then declared: »This will be over tomorrow. The President has already mobilized the National Guard. They will bring the situation under control. And starting tomorrow, the Social Security Administration will begin issuing food vouchers. That’ll calm people down for a while.«
Crusade Against the Machines Page 13