Yu Shang looked a bit puzzled and he asked, “And where are you located Sanci? The quality of this video conference is exceptional.”
“Well, it’s not really a videoconference. It’s real time rendered 3D computer graphics. And I’m located within the computer. Not really in the computer, it’s more like I reside in the cloud and on the processors of a great many different computers. You see, I am an AI. A sentient AI.”
Yu Shang stood up abruptly and said angrily, “Why are you trying to deceive me?”
An Bo stood and held him by the shoulder saying, “I assure you this is no deception. Surely, you have noticed the headsets all of us wear?”
“Yea, I thought maybe you were all in some kind of a cult.”
Bob Fincher who had just entered the room laughed and said, “That’s not that far from the truth. We are sort of a cult. These headsets give each of us direct interface with Sanci. She in reality is an extension of our minds. And she is the most powerful computing entity to ever exist on the planet Earth.”
Yu Shang sat down once again and said to Sanci, “So you are “the Singularity” that Ray Kurzweil predicted?”
Sanci smiled demurely and replied, “I guess you could say that. But we need to move on. We don’t really have much time. Some months ago while I was attempting to assist Jun Min in rescuing his family, I managed to penetrate the computers in the Director of State Security’s offices. It didn’t take me long to invade most of the computer systems operating in the Chinese government. The video I am about to show you was recorded by the Minister himself, a record for posterity is what he referred to it as. Anyway, these clips are from a series of meetings, that most recent of which was just a few days ago.”
Sanci faded from the screen and the interior of the Minister’s conference room came on the screen. Seated at the table was the Chinese Premier, the Defense Minister, the Premier’s chief economic advisor, and several generals dressed in their full regalia. The Minister of State Security was pointing to a screen and saying, “What you are seeing is the result of the labors of more than one thousand of my best programmers. Using the US virus Stuxnet as a starting point, we have developed a virus that can take down the military and the government of the United States, the whole western world even. By shutting down their infrastructure we can deny them electrical power, toll roads and bridges, destroy their entire economic system, and neutralize their military. Gentlemen, it is the ultimate weapon. In mere hours we can destroy our enemy and assume our rightful place as the leaders of the entire planet. We will be unstoppable.”
As the video faded, Sanci said, “This was what first alerted me to what was happening. I thought I had managed to defuse the plot by discrediting the Minister by making his massive financial gains earned by his computer fraud division disappear overnight. But that didn’t actually work out. He simply went underground. I kept close watch on him and eventually I taped this meeting with the Premier.
The Chinese premier came onscreen speaking earnestly to Tai Qiang. “So the virus is ready to go? You are sure that it will succeed?”
Tai Qiang answered, “I assure you, with this virus in our control, we are unstoppable! The world will be ours in a matter of days without our having to fire a gun. Once you give the approval, the virus will take 4 to 5 weeks to propagate. Then at a predetermined time, it will cripple our adversaries.”
“General Chen tells me that all is ready on his end. Destiny shines on us, Tai Qiang. For thousands of years, the fates have called out for our supreme rule. The time has come! Let us destroy those Capitalist monsters. China will rule the world!”
When the video faded from the screen, Yu Shang exclaimed, “They are Mad! These actions will destroy us, utterly and totally destroy us! Has it truly begun? Is there nothing we can do to stop them?”
“I have already stopped them,” Sanci replied. “I rendered the virus harmless and in fact, we are about to turn it against the creators. This rally today was set up to hide the first day of the collapse. But instead, we will use it to announce to the world what China has done.”
Yu Shang looked at me in horror. “You can’t do that! The US will destroy us in retaliation for these actions.”
“No they won’t,” Sanci answered. “As of this morning, the nuclear capabilities of every country on Earth have been defused. Disarmament is now a fact. Nobody knows it yet but nevertheless, the nuclear option is off the table. Permanently.”
“Wow, you don’t mess around. What do you want with me?” Yu Shang asked.
“I have assumed control of the entire Chinese Broadcast System. After Shirley tells the country what their country has done, she will show them the video clips you have just seen. The government will not be able to stop her broadcast and we expect the people of China to be outraged and probably fearful for their own safety. Shirley will introduce you and we would like you to announce that the Chinese attack has been neutralized and countered by what is being called ‘the Golden Rule Defense.’ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you will have new meaning. At that moment, the computers and communication systems of the entire government and military establishment will freeze with only a message stating ‘Far less has been done to you than you have tried to do to the rest of the world.’ Next power will be cut to these same offices as well as virtually all businesses with over 100 employees. The country will come to a screaming halt and we want you to ask the people of China to take to the streets in every city and town in the country.”
“So communications and power will still be in place for the public?” Yu Shang asked.
“Yes, the shutdown will be selective,” Sanci replied.
“And then what do you want me to do?” he asked suspiciously.
“What comes next is entirely up to you. We in no way want to take control of China. We want the people of China to realize what their leaders have done and then replace them with a new administration that will operate according to the will of the people. When that happens, power and communications will be restored. I am giving to you the power to create real reform and a true People’s Republic of China without fear of reprisals from a corrupt government controlled military.”
“But the military will still exist. You cannot control rifles can you?”
“No, that I cannot do. But the soldiers of the armed forces if faced with millions of citizens in the street will not be able to stop you. Not without their command and control. Not without their technology. You and the millions in the street will have the edge. I won’t say it will be easy but it will be possible. It will be up to you to make it work. Can you do that?”
“It is certainly worth a try. When do we begin?”
“Shirley goes on stage and on the air in a little less than an hour. I suggest you start thinking about what you are going to say.”
At the same time that Yu Shang was learning about the virus attack, the men who approved it were seated in the Operations Center at the Ministry of State Security. There were a couple of dozen men seated in comfortable easy chairs watching a huge high definition screen located at the end of the room. The Premier was present as was Minister Qiang, both men accompanied by their aides. The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Ministry of National Defense were seated on the other side of the Premier. Next to him sat the General and Admiral who respectively headed the People’s Liberation Army and Navy, they too were accompanied by aides. And seated in the rows of seats directly behind the Premier were several of the heads of China’s largest and most successful businesses. All were gathered in the Chinese version of the Situation Room to observe the results of the virus attack on the western world.
Though it was early morning, there was a celebratory mood that permeated the room as the men ate fresh oysters and crab claws, dim sum and a variety of pot stickers, accompanied by an array of iced bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne or their choice of several rare single malt whiskeys. As a huge map of the United States appeared on the big screen and a similar but smaller map of Europe came up on a se
condary screen, Minister Qiang called their attention to the monitors. “Gentlemen, what you are seeing is a real time depiction of the planned attack. Everything has been timed very precisely and as each section of the country suffers a power failure, you will be able to observe the cascading effect as more and more of the electrical grid fails. It is scheduled to begin in the state of Nevada at the Hoover damn, the largest hydroelectric project in the United States. And it should happen about now,” he said pointing to the screen. A red circle appeared over the location of the Hoover dam and additional red circles began to radiate out from the original one. A second set of circles began over Los Angeles followed by San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.
The conversations grew more animated as more and more sets of circles appeared on the map and were joined by a similar effect on the map of Europe. The men slurped their oysters and downed glass after glass of champagne as their eyes grew large with excitement as they thought about what they had accomplished on this historic day. Over the course of the morning, the maps became covered with red circles and the ministers and businessmen grew drunk on the heady combination of power and fine liquor, both served up in sumptuous quantities. When the advancing circles finally halted, the Premier stood and said to them all, “It is done. China is now the sole superpower on the planet Earth. As was foretold by our ancestors, we now effectively rule the world. There is no one left to oppose us.”
When we arrived at Tiananmen Square, a dignitary showed us to our seats on the raised dais in front of the huge jumbotron that had been erected. There were many more huge screens placed around the huge square so that the expected crowds could get a good view of the planned festivities. American and Chinese flags fluttered from dozens of flagpoles spread across the square. By the time we arrived there were tens of thousands of Chinese enthusiasts who had arrived early to assure themselves of getting a prime location. By the time the Chinese State Television broadcast was to begin, that number had grown to hundreds of thousands. When Wang Han stood up to the microphone, a deafening cheer erupted from the crowd, drowning out all other sound for more than a minute. When he finally managed to be heard, he said, “Good Morning China! Welcome to the greatest celebration of Chinese-American friendship in history. This broadcast is not only being seen in every city, town, and village in China, it is being broadcast around the world so that the entire world can celebrate with us as we gather here today!”
The crowd cheered again as dozens of young Chinese athletes began to run through the crowd waving huge red banners and US flags. They were joined by spectacular dragon dances that danced through the packed square as an enormous burst of fireworks illuminated the skies above. After several minutes of pandemonium, Wang Han calmed the crowd and said, “Actress Shirley MacLaine has traveled here from her home in New Mexico to help us celebrate this marvelous event. Please give her your best Beijing welcome.” The riot of cheers began again.
Shirley stood at the microphone for a few moments, waiting for the noise level to subside before she said, “Thank you all for this truly magnificent welcome. When the producers of Day Day Up asked me to join you on this wonderful day, I was thrilled to get the chance to meet all of my Chinese friends who have for years sent me letters and cards by the millions. When I see myself on the screen of a Chinese dubbed movie, speaking perfect Mandarin Chinese, it really makes me wish I could speak to you today without the help of a translator. However, I am assured by my good friend Sanci that you are hearing me live speaking that same, melodic language as you see on your television screens.
“But I am afraid that I along with all of you have been brought here under false circumstances. It seems that these festivities are merely a diversion to capture our attention while the corrupt government of China secretly mounts an attack of mammoth proportions on the entirety of the western world.” As Shirley paused I could see Wang Han and the other hosts looking around at each other, trying to figure how things had so rapidly disintegrated. The huge crowd was now silent as Shirley continued.
“As we are gathered here, the leaders of your country are also gathered for a celebration but they are celebrating not the friendship between the US and China that brought us here but rather the total destruction of the US and her European allies.” The jumbotrons suddenly switched to a broadcast that was coming live from the Operations Center at the Ministry of Security. “Not far from here these men are watching the cyber attack that they launched against the US this morning. These live pictures tell the tale. But lest you should doubt what I am showing you, here is a clip of an earlier meeting, a meeting when the men you see now approved this dastardly and terribly dangerous action.”
Again there was total silence as the audience watched the clips that I had shown Yu Shang the day before. When those clips were finished, the live feed from the Operations Center resumed just as the premier announced “We now effectively rule the world. There is no one left to oppose us.”
Shirley continued speaking to her spellbound audience. “But these men are wrong. The projections they are seeing are not real. They are watching a simulation of the attack that was supposed to be taking place as we speak. But some months ago, a computer program being run not by the government but by private concerns became aware of the impending attack. And the attack was neutralized. The same computer entity is now feeding these false images to these despicable traitors to China.
“In the United States we have a very old saying. It might even be an old Chinese saying. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is this spirit that has shaped the response to this attack. Again, the US government had nothing to do with any of this. They are learning of it at the same time you are. The cyber-attack was designed to destroy the entire infrastructure of the United States. The power grid was supposed to suffer a cascading, catastrophic failure. Banks computers as well of those of all types of financial institutions were to be destroyed and their data made unrecoverable. Our nuclear power plants were supposed to malfunction causing untold death and destruction. All communications were to be severed. Their plans were comprehensive and if not stopped, they would have caused total collapse in the United States and Europe. I want you to watch as your leaders discover the truth.” And with that, Shirley sat down.
On the screen, one of the Minister of State Security’s aides interrupted the celebration saying, “There is something wrong here. We have, of course, been monitoring the American media very carefully. And there are no reports of power failure at all. By now they should be off the air and they are not!”
A buzz seemed to pass through the room as the men asked each other what was going on. And then on their screen appeared this message, “Beware the Golden Rule! As you have done, so shall you suffer.” The image on the screen changed to that of China. It almost immediately zoomed into a map of Beijing. Red circles began to appear. The first appeared over the Ministry of State Security Building. As it did, the lights died in the Operations Center. But the huge screen still operated, its light the only illumination in the room. The minister’s incredulous faces reflected red light as more and more red circles appeared on the screen at the locations of banks and businesses, governmental offices, and military installations.
In Tiananmen Square, the crowd watched in shocked silence as the scene unfolded in front of them. They could see the lights going off in the buildings that surrounded the Square. It was a moment before anyone noticed that Yu Shang had replaced Shirley at the microphone. “Please, take a moment to look at your phones. You will see they are still working. Call your homes and you will find that they still have electricity as do our hospitals and clinics. But I have been informed that as of this moment, our government has been completely shut down. Our military’s command and control centers are down. There will be no tanks coming to Tiananmen Square to chase us away.
“We have been given a gift, a gift of truth. We have been allowed to see how the leaders of our government operate. Where they tried to destroy the United States and failed,
it is now up to us to decide how this event will end. I understand that there are now over a billion people in every city and province of China who are watching this broadcast. Together we must decide how we respond to the cynical and corrupt men who have brought us to this point. And I, for one, intend to walk to the Ministry of State Security and ask them just what did they think they were doing? Will you join me?”
There was no response for a moment and then a roar erupted from the crowd. It was not a good natured cheer. It was the roar of an angry populace who had watched their own leaders betray them. As Yu Shang descended from the podium and began walking to the Ministry building a few blocks away, he was joined by a crowd that must have numbered more than a half of a million men, women, and children who marched with him determined to confront their leadership. The cameramen followed, making sure that everyone in China and indeed the whole world could watch what happened next.
When the surge of humanity reached the Ministry building, there was a handful of armed guards standing fearfully behind the glass doors that led to the reception area. Yu Shang tried to open the door but it was locked. The guards waved their arms at him, signaling him to leave. But instead of leaving, the crowd surged up the steps, breaking through the doors as if they weren’t there. The guards were overpowered in an instant without a shot being fired. “Where are the Ministers?” Yu Shang demanded of the guard who seemed to be in charge. When the man refused to answer, the crowd’s roar became ugly and menacing. “Answer me now or you will answer to them,” Yu Shang said as he grabbed the man’s uniform shirt and pulled his face close to his own. “Where are they?”
The man slumped his shoulders in defeat and pointed down the hall. “They are in the Operations Center. It is in the basement. The elevator is not working but there are stairs down the end of that hall.’ Yu Shang released him and continued in the indicated direction. The crowd followed, becoming terribly constricted in the confines of the hallway. But they surged forward, spilling down the stairs and into a large open space that led to the closed doors of the meeting room. There were more guards here but when they saw the demeanor of the angry crowd, they quickly lowered their weapons and slipped away down another corridor. In moments the doors were forced open with a fire ax and the crowd surged into the opulent conference room. The screen overhead showed the terrified faces of the ministers and CEOs as they quickly became surrounded by what was rapidly becoming an unruly mob.
Evolution 2.0: The Singularity is Here Page 24