Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself

by Greenfield, Josh

  “So why, in your right freaking mind, have you brought me here, and, what the hell are you, of all people, the head of a WebWork doing with an alien locked up web knows how deep underground?”

  “It’s a bit of a long story, as you can imagine. What’s important to know is that he requested you, specifically.”

  “There is no freaking way.”

  “I know that it sounds crazy. When we first got into contact with him, he told us that his race, the Phrells, have been searching the universe for years in hopes of finding a planet to inhabit since exhausting their own planet’s resources. Unfort-unately for us, they have finally come to understand that Earth is that place. They plan to take over and will stop at nothing to do so.”

  “And can they?”

  “Well, Ani Rudh says that he left long before his planet’s army to scout a potential world to inhabit. Now that he has found Earth, he has sent for the army to begin their initial takeover. Luckily, there is still plenty of time for us to properly prepare before they get here.”

  “What the heck? Is this some kind of joke? Take over our planet? Why the hell would he summon me and why the hell have you not shared this information with the rest of the world? This is some seriously crazy crap, some end of the world, take over the planet type madness. It sounds like the kind of folklore they used to share in movies and literature before human life was interesting enough to become the main focus of entertainment.”

  “I know how it seems, but that is where you come in. You see, it wasn’t until Ani Rudh started mentioning your name that we really began taking an interest in what you were writing. At first we were half wondering if you somehow had a connection to everything that was going on. But after an intense background check, we began to realize that you were simply a key piece to their puzzle and the reason we were able to capture Ani Rudh and store him down here, away from the public eye.”

  “Piece of what puzzle?”

  “For some reason, still unknown to us, Ani Rudh discovered your Quacker account. He came to us to find you, believing that we were somehow related. He hasn’t yet shared why he was searching for you. We are almost ready to let you talk to him to try and find out, but we wanted to share everything that we know with you first, give you the facts, and go from there.”

  “The end of our planet? Alien life? And, on top of that, the messenger of an alien race trying to wipe us out wants to talk to me, of all people?”

  “Yes I know it’s a lot to pro…”

  “No! This just doesn’t make any sense. It simply can’t be. There must be some sort of mistake. I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. I think I need some air. I’m sorry I can’t do this.”

  Chapter 5.

  In a frenzy, Jagz ran as fast as he could out of the room. He stopped at the locked gate that Mr. Herd had opened with his tongue. He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath, hanging on for dear life, trying not to collapse. Anxiety began to pour over him. He reached for his UrDg, quickly realizing that he left all of his pills at home. Jagz grabbed his face and let out a loud groan, causing him to cough uncontrollably.

  A hand grasped his shoulder, pulling him out of it, bringing him back to the present moment.

  “Relax, just breath slowly,” said Mr. Herd. “I know how this may all seem. I understand if you would like to go home and just forget the whole thing. While you can’t erase what you saw, I can send you home immediately, no questions asked.”

  “No, no, no. I just needed a moment. This feels like some crazy and twisted dream. I certainly can’t un-see it, so I might as well continue forward. If it’s okay with you, I would like to meet him, or it, or whatever you are calling him.”

  “That is okay. I think speaking to him will clear things up a bit. Don’t worry, he is perfectly harmless. We will keep you protected.”

  Jagz was led back into the room. As he entered, Ani Rudh still appeared to be staring right at him, as though watching his every move. Mr. Herd assured Jagz that the alien couldn’t see him through the one-way mirror, but Jagz had a creeping suspicion that made him think otherwise.

  Mr. Herd pressed a few buttons on the device in his hand. A small segment of the mirror opened up, and he gestured Jagz forward. Jagz was taken into a room directly next to the massive visitor, a simple screen of suspiciously thin glass separating them.

  “Right this way.” said Mr. Herd. “I think it’s best if you speak to him alone. We have these reinforced protective screens in-between us and him, just to be extra safe. But don’t worry, I’ll be watching you closely. Just buzz me with this keypad by pressing one three whenever you are done.”

  “Okay,” said Jagz with a soft and barely audible tone, too stunned to pay much attention to Mr. Herd.

  Just as Mr. Herd left, the door sealed itself behind him, and Ani Rudh began to speak.

  “It is of great importance that you and I speak alone. I’m sure they are listening in, but it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that I can share something with you uninterrupted, without outside influence. I need to be completely certain that you understand what I am about to say.”

  Jagz nodded, noting the visitors perfectly clear English, scanning the alien’s body. He couldn’t stop his curiosity, but he also didn’t want to lose focus on Ani Rudh. Or piss him off…

  “You are probably wondering why we summonsed you today.”

  It hadn’t really crossed my mind to wonder why an alien race hellbent on world domination would have any interest in speaking to me, Jagz thought to himself. “Yes,” was his actual answer, half worried the alien could read his mind.

  “I’m sure that Mr. Herd filled you in on everything we have shared with him, but I’m also aware that he can’t seem to figure out why we chose you to speak with.”

  “Yes, he has no idea,” said Jagz trying to be polite, calm, and focused as a bead of sweat began to drop down his forehead but he managed to catch it just in time to avoid Ani Rudh noticing.

  “It is because you possess something that no one else, as far as we have searched, on Earth has. You have a strong desire to expose the truth, to share your true feelings, thoughts, and ideas, with an honest sense of vigor, and no fear of ridicule. Though you may not be fully aware of this, what you are actively doing takes a lot of courage, something that your race has all but lost.”

  “I don’t understand. What good is that? And why do you expect me to listen to you?” Jagz asked, quickly realizing that he may have pushed his tone a little too far. He tried to save himself with a modest, “I’m just a regular guy.”

  “We hope to get through to your people. To reason with the inhabitants of Earth. To spread the truth about why we are coming to Earth and what is going to happen if you do not seek peace and co-creation with our race.”

  “It sounds a bit like you are just trying to take over.”

  “You earthlings seem to think that you own the planet. That you are the only race meant to dominate and control your world, simply because you believe you’re at the top of the food chain. But what you have failed to realize is that there are an infinite number of worlds out there. Once you begin to see our unified-verse as a greater whole, beyond your silly idea of a singular universe, you’ll start to realize that your planet is a small piece in a much bigger reality, one that, like many others, can be conquered.”

  “But we don’t live in a world of superiority. Everyone here is equal. Up until five minutes ago, I thought that we were the only beings that existed.”

  “Ha! For someone who supposedly speaks the truth, you are quite ignorant. You may have been shut off to your ancestors’ past, your people may have done their best to cover up what they have done, but just as your once Kings and Governments have played the game of survival of the fittest, and killed and enslaved for their personal gain, doing with the world as they deemed fit, we too have a game of our own built upon survival. You see, there is no real difference between what your people have done to so many species in the past and wh
at we are capable of doing if your people are not prepared to find harmony with us.

  “But we are talking about people here, real living breathing people, people with feelings, people who want to live, people who deserve to live. Good people! How could you want to wipe us out! Why us?”

  “That is why I am here to see you. We do not want to wipe you out. We want to reason with you; we want to find a common ground. Sure, we could come in and wipe you out. I’m sure you can imagine, if we can make it all the way out here to your planet, and you can’t even leave your galaxy, that our abilities for world destruction are far beyond your abilities to do much of anything. But that is not what we want. We hope to live in harmony with you. Yes, there will be some major adjustments. You’ll have to get used to changing your life around, to living with a race far more advanced than yours. I can’t deny that things won’t change, but at least you’ll have the chance to live, to learn, and to experience a new way of life from a race far more developed than yours.”

  “But our life is perfect here. We have the Beings to provide us with all we need. I don’t think you will be met with much acceptance from a world that already has it all figured out.” said Jagz, beginning to wonder why he was suddenly taking a stance for a society he didn’t even feel a part of.

  “You should consider yourselves lucky. As I said, if we choose to, we could easily destroy your planet and take it all for ourselves, but we do not want to do that. Your world might be sustainable, but don’t you want to thrive?”

  “I still don’t get what you really want from me.”

  “We want you to help us spread our message. We want you to speak the truth, to talk about what you’ve seen here, to let the world know that in one month’s time, we are coming to inhabit Earth, to live amongst your people. We don’t want to fight and take over. We want to bring peace and growth.”

  “Sounds nice and all but how am I supposed to trust you? And what more, if I did trust you, who would believe me? I mean, I may not be one of those perfect humans that takes their UrDg every morning and goes about life without a worry in the world, but who is to say that I am okay with you coming to our planet and doing as you please? You say you come with the intention of peace, but I don’t think we will be waiting with open arms. We will have arms alright, but they won’t be the kind you’ll want to be greeted with.”

  “Well Mr. Jagz, I do hope you’ll find it in you to see the reality of this situation. I can see how all of this may be overwhelming to you. How someone of your mind might not feel ready to lead your world and influence your people to create peace amongst us. In time, however, I do trust that you will begin to understand the importance of all of this. Let’s just hope it’s not too late,” he paused for a moment, staring hard into Jagz’s eyes, “for you, and everyone else.”

  Chapter 6.

  “I want to be honest with you Jagz,” said Mr. Herd. “We were monitoring your contact with the Alien. I’m sure you can understand why. We downloaded footage of your conversation onto your device if you choose to share it at any point.”

  “Good to know. I figured as much.”

  “A necessary precaution. We knew it would be overwhelming for you and we wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything out of line.”

  “Crazy stuff, I have to say. Did you learn anything new from our conversation?”

  “Why yes we did. Initially, we were not fully sure of Ani Rudh’s plan and your involvement. But now we have a clear understanding. I have already relayed the message to those who needed to hear it.”

  “To those who needed to hear it? Do you mean the Official Intelligent Beings?”

  “Indeed. This may come as a shock to you, but we have been suspicious of alien activity for some time. The Beings have been gifting us with knowledge from both future and past. But we have a plan of action. The Beings have always been ready for the possibility of an intergalactic attack. Regardless of what he said to you, let me assure you, we won’t let their race come in like they own our world and walk all over us.”

  “But Ani Rudh claims that they do not want to fight, that they are here to live with us in peace.”

  “Oh my dear boy, I can promise you one thing, no matter what that alien told you, they do not come in peace.” Mr. Herd said as he tilted his head back and held his hands high, as if praising the ceiling.

  “How do you really know their real intentions?”

  “To understand that you must first understand a bit more of our history. You see, this world of ours was built on an idea, a way of life that was first actualized by our ancestors in the pre-device era, and that idea is freedom of speech.”

  “Freedom of speech? Was speech not always free?”

  “Not always,” he paused to let Jagz think for a moment. “During P.D. the people were not ready for what freedom of speech really meant. How could they have been? It was a new idea that no one had thought of before. So for over 300 years, humans tried and tried to figure how to to live in a world that existed on free speech.”

  “What is there to really figure out? Speaking doesn’t cost anything.”

  “Maybe not to you or me now,” said Mr. Herd, flicking his nose, “but there was a time when it could cost you your life.”

  “Your life? For speaking? That sounds rid-iculous.”

  “Hard to imagine, I know. One of the many reasons of how the Beings have helped us. But in the past, if someone spoke up against authority, it would often mean big trouble for them. They could be thrown in jail, beaten, or worse, they could have their life taken away…”

  “Woah. I had no idea. So how did they implement freedom of speech?”

  “They knew the idea was good, that it was one step closer towards equality for all. But every way they tried to grant the people free speech failed miserably. There was no system in place and while some felt free, others felt cheated and caused problems. Slowly, over time, messages of free speech spread around the world through the interweb and, one by one, other nations’ youth became infected with the idea of free speech and equality. These children eventually became the leaders, trying to put into effect all that each individual country believed to be laws governed by freedom of speech. Each of them struggled and each country had uprising after uprising, massive wars, endless fighting, it was awful. They were unable to find balance in such a simple, yet complex idea. An idea that can be quite contradicting if coming from the wrong place.”

  “I am not sure I follow.”

  “Think about it. It may be hard to imagine a time before now, but you must know some of our history. There was a time when freedom of speech really meant the possibility of freedom for some and oppression for others. How is it possible to have freedom of speech for all, yet have a higher power or ruler who would shut you down for speaking up against them?”

  “How did they do that?”

  “Simple. Through deception. You see, it was the illusion of freedom that gave most of the people peace. But it was also this illusion that gave other people a reason to rebel and fight. And that only caused chaos. The higher ups in power were playing everyone else, tricking them into believing that they had their freedom, while actively diminishing it. Believing you are free is just as good as the real thing, at least it is when that is the only life you know. ”

  “And so how did that all change?”

  “You know as well as I do that we would be nothing close to what we are now without the Beings. They have found a way to create peace amongst almost all of the people in this world, albeit a few.”

  “Yes, of course,” said Jagz, well aware that he may have been one of those few.

  “Now we are blessed to have actual freedom without any rulers or higher ups trying to control and manage our every move, to convince us that we have something that we do not. Now people have a way of speaking for themselves. There is no one to be afraid of. We all do our part. We can say what’s on our minds, we can listen to what others think, we can be what feels right, without fear of losing our f
reedom so someone else can keep theirs’. Could you image being locked up or killed for sharing a Quack?”

  “No, of course not. That would be absurd.”

  “It may seem so, but without the Beings, the world may have very well remained like that. Do you get what I am trying to say?”

  “Yes I suppose I follow.”

  “And that is why we will fight. That is why we will not let some Alien race, no matter how advanced they are, come in and push us around, take away our freedoms, and tell us how to live. No matter what Ani Rudh said about peace and working together, all his race wants to do is take away our freedom, take away your ability to speak what is on our minds. He wants to tell you what to say, how to be, how to live. He wants to use you to spread his message, to get the people on his side.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “The Intelligent Beings will never let them control us. The Aliens may have their advanced technology, but they do not have perfect knowledge of war, love, birth, art, death. No, they do not. Luckily, now, during a time when it is truly needed, we do. Never confuse technologically advanced power for truth—truth knows all.”

  “I’m not sure how reassuring that is, but I suppose they have never led us astray. So what am I supposed to do? It seems like you are asking me to do something, not unlike Ani Rudh.”

  “I have no intention of asking you for anything. I simply wanted to show you what was going on here. You are free to do whatever you want with this information. I would never ask anything of you. I felt that it was of the upmost importance to share this with you. Let’s not forget that they summoned you directly, but you are free to go anytime you’d like.”

  Chapter 7.

  Jagz, overwhelmed, disheveled, and completely baffled about what to make of all of this left Unified Webworks and decided to do something very unlike anyone these days, walk home without the guiding voice in his head.