The world is fragile, teetering on the bring of annihilation, saved only by good fortune. Disease spreads like wildfire, eroding the populace in one way or another. Yet it is not a physical disease that has the human race careering to the end of the road, but rather one of the mind; anxiety has infected the world over, riddled throughout both body and mind, spread by conscious design. I wanted to cleanse the world of this strain of evil, yet only succeeded in exacerbating the symptoms, underestimating the power wielded with reckless abandon. Innocuous invention born out of convenience, co-opted by cynical prospectors. Mining never stopped – coal, gold, and diamonds, were simply replaced by cobalt, lithium, and data, and the canary passed away a decade ago. Human resources; the most horrific capitalist turn of phrase. In two words, you learn everything you need to know about society that this term is accepted, moreover it is a marker of precisely what you are – one piece of the great plains, ready to be stripped of all your worth.
I grew tired of watching this erosion of life, lived through a lens, where these unseen puppeteers carelessly yank the strings, guiding you to false experiences you’re told you will enjoy. Spurred on by the tightening grip this weaponised technology holds, whilst it is ignored by the masses. New features serve to distract, polishing the fact that life has lost all meaning, replaced with the concept of more. The cult of the digital age continues to grow, whilst the analogue world strains under our own hubris. I am considered a terrorist by most nations, and an irritant by the masses. Why? Because I stopped watching, stopped being a passive observer, and took action. My plan was simple; take down the backbone of the internet, rendering much of the addiction null and void, hoping that people would go outside and see the world…not through an editorial lens, but feel the air, the soft tickle of the grass, and truly see what they were missing. That was my first mistake…hope.
The plague of anxiety worsened; people checked their phones more in agitation, desperately trying to see if they could get their fix. I underestimated the “wet paint” effect; how irresistible it is to constantly check, even when there is nothing there. They clung to the digital, rejecting the world as it is. Few went outside, and those that did had already lost the ability to effectively communicate, so they told no one, and forged no connections. Within one week, the DNS had been rebuilt, and the only thing that changed was my criminal status. The internet companies banded together, forming a cabal against the real world, whilst top-level executives bought copious amounts of land. I may have fired the first shot, but they declared war on what it means to be human. Artificial Intelligence developments were pushed by the cabal, endlessly reported by the media, fueling the anxiety plague even more, as the populace wrestled with impending redundancy.
My second mistake was doubling down. Disturbed by the inaction, I reasoned that it may simply be a lack of direction. I went to the media to explain the situation – that if my message was not distributed, that worse action would follow; the banks would be my next target. The cabal were prepared, and warped my message immediately, and though I would love to lay the blame squarely at their feet, the sad reality is that no one cared. Everyone seemed happy to trade their soul for convenience that causes inconvenience. I never wanted to escalate, but what choice did I have?
“Over twenty-million people have been affected by the latest in a string of cyber-attacks. The SNB today disclosed to parliament that their systems have been hit with an attack rendering them inoperable.
“Details of the cyber-attack have not yet been disclosed, however a thorough forensic investigation is underway by leading security experts.
“Although it remains purely speculation, industry insiders believe the suspect is the same as behind the recent outage on the TLD providers, calling himself ‘Leviathan’ – shortly after the internet was restored, this individual contacted the media warning his next target would be the banks” concluded the reporter, with a wry smile of someone unaffected by the chaos. The cameras switched back to the studio, where the talking heads had activated their solemn faces.
“I am joined in-studio by leading cyber-security expert Magnus Torvald. Magnus, tell us, how can something like this happen?” the presenter asked, leaning forward with an all-knowing look, trying his best to appear reassuringly concerned.
“Let me start by saying we have no idea what exactly has occurred, and it will be some time before the precise vector of attack is identified. What we do know is that there are no reports of demands for money, effectively ruling out ransomware.
“The SNB have been slow to respond to the rapidly evolving world, recently facing investigations and sanctions over system’s failure due to security flaws caused by long-standing legacy software they failed to update. In such an environment as this, bad actors can gain access to systems and wreak havoc, as we’ve seen today.” smugly answered Magnus, reveling in his fifteen minutes of fame.
“Twenty-million customers of the SNB are without access to their funds. How soon is this likely to be resolved?”
“Until the vector of attack has been ascertained, systems cannot be restored as the bad actor may still have access. At this time we do not know whether the backups have been affected.”
“What do you know about the suspected perpetrator, ‘Leviathan’?”
“I only know what he has released through the media; he is a cyber-activist, subscribed to a Luddite philosophy, believing that the population are too reliant on devices and services, and that it is damaging their mental health. From what I gather, he believes we as a people have become disconnected from the world because of technology, and that their mental states are effectively the play-things of four or five mega-corporations” answered Magnus, surprisingly without judgement.
“So what you’re saying is he’s a terrorist, like Ted Kaczynski.” replied the presenter; neither question nor statement, just air.
“There is a clear distinction between the two; Leviathan is non-violent, and I believe that matters. Look, I know I spend too much time on my phone, and I would say your viewers are the same. His point is that there is significant resources heavily invested in engineering engagement, with continual harvesting of data to measure success, and continually improve. This channel is designed to keep people watching, and every app and service we use is vying for our attention, leading to anxiety and the feeling that we’re somehow missing out.
“I must reiterate that ‘Leviathan’ is only speculated to be involved – there is no evidence at this time that he is linked. SNB’s systems were rife for exploit; it could be as simple as organised crime via ransomware, as we’ve seen in the past with police forces, our own health service, and universities around the world. It is a reminder that cyber security in this age cannot be an after thought. It is critical to the services we rely on every day” and there it is, the reason for Magnus’ appearance; advertising. Let no bad news go to waste.
The rest of the broadcast continued in much the same way; misery-porn pedaled to the masses. For one brief moment there was a glimmer of hope, but the capitalist mindset could not be suppressed for long. The outage of SNB was widely reported, consumed on television screens, laptops, and phones. People tut-tutted softly, as they swiped to the next article; the only people who cared were customers of SNB.
In the weeks that followed, the situation went from bad to worse – representatives from the bank revealed that all their records were unsalvageable. They had the money, much of it purely numbers. Physical cash had been eroded,so exactly what they had (and where it was) remained a mystery – the days of a dedicated vault were all but gone. Public opinion worsened when they requested proof of recent balance from affected customers; statements had become paperless, generated dynamically and only accessible via the app. The house of cards had fallen, and people were beginning to see how precarious the situation was.
Why? That sycophantic question, always loaded with sneering self-righteous judgement. I never wanted this, but eventually someone has to do something. We have fallen so far, with lies upon lies, where all of our frames of reference are skewed. Working jobs we hate to earn money to rent our homes, lease our self-driving cars, subscribe to access software and services – we own nothing, and are expected to be happy about it. The bleak reality drives us to seek enjoyment elsewhere, buying things we don’t want with money we don’t have, just for that fleeting moment of almost-happiness, or to seek refuge in the virtual world. We have become slaves to money, and the digital world. When the crushing weight of this fractured existence becomes too much to bear, we go to the doctors where we pay to be given the opportunity to hand over more money on prescribed medicine, all to make us what someone somewhere has deemed ‘normal’, when the problem is endemic.
None of this is real. The only currency is time – that is what is of value, and that is what we trade. Rather than arbitrary figures or numbers, products cost you time. That new phone? One-hundred hours. Money is an abstraction – remove your awareness of the true cost, but that’s still not enough – holding physical cash retains a modicum of awareness to cost, so that is further abstracted with plastic, until it feels like a game. Nothing is real, and we’re the abnormal ones for falling outside of the system.
“The man known as ‘Leviathan’, notorious cyber-terrorist, was arrested today by the authorities, following a long investigation into the recent attacks. Spokesperson for the police has said it would not have been possible without the aid of the Tech-Sector providing invaluable analysis tools.
“Leviathan is considered by some to be a sort of folk-hero, akin to Robin Hood, fighting the modern world, however others believe he is nothing more than an anarchist. He faces up to 150 years in prison for his crimes, and if convicted, may never see the light of day again. We go live now to the steps of the courthouse, where Leviathan’s legal representative is giving a statement” said the presenter, unsure of how to emote, as he diligently read the preordained lines from the teleprompter.
At the base of the steps stood an unassuming young woman in a pantsuit, barely visible atop the sea of phones, microphones, and cameras.
“Earlier today, the police detained Nicholas Roberts, my client, often referred to as ‘Leviathan’ – my client has requested that I read to you this statement:
“I do not consider the actions I have taken as crimes – they are acts of defiance, of revolution. I unequivocally reject that we should live this way, simply because those with more determine it to be so. From the moment you wake up, you are being controlled and manipulated – the alarm tells you when to wake, traffic lights tell you when to stop and when to go, ads tell you to shop and what to buy, and every step of the way you are being tracked and analysed.
“It is not real, and is only becoming more artificial. It is a game, and the rules are stacked against you. The only way to win is to not play.
“The outside world is real – you can see it with your own eyes, touch it, and feel it. Forge connections with real people, and exchange value, determined by you.
“I know that the analogue world is dying, and my warning will go unheeded, for in the balance of probabilities, your are reading or watching this on your phone.
“Game over.
“I will not be taking questions at this time, thank you.”
Eighty years, and that was lenient…apparently. Minimum security prison, regimented in every sense of the word, and yet somehow it’s better. Control here is over, honest. There are no clandestine hands, and no technology. For better or worse, in here it’s just humanity.