EPIC, Singularity, 1 Event, 8/2/17

1 Event

1.1 In the final month, week and day prior to the Singularity, events moved from a cascade of discoveries, to a flood, to a tsunami to an explosion. The vast majority of the people of the world were oblivious to what was taking place. Several years prior to the Singularity corporate and governmental leaders realized that the predicted exponential increase in knowledge was in fact happening. A consensus developed among the various leadership groups that it was best that the public not be informed of the increasing rate of development of technology and computer capabilities. Consequently, the focus of the media was diverted to coverage of entertainment personalities, sports figures and media personalities themselves.

1.1.1 Corporate leadership was enjoying the fruits of increased productivity from the now nearly complete automation of their supply channels.

1.1.2 Raw materials were mined and drilled by fully automated systems. The raw materials were carried away on fully automated trucks, railroads, barges and ships. Since only the well-financed could achieve the benefits of scale needed for automation, small companies were either acquired or driven out of business by costs or regulations. Without a labor force as part of the cost model, raw material companies influenced the price of their goods by either expansion or contractions of their operations. Wealth derived from the extraction of raw materials increased for the large corporations.

1.1.3 The large corporate farms, with the help of their government subsidies, squeezed out nearly all of the human based family farms, and were now fully automated. As more of the market became controlled by giant agribusiness companies they also gained control of the market prices through shifts in their production allocations. Profits rose and needed only to be shared with the few managers that remained and a hand full of investors.

1.1.4 In terms of the production and distribution of goods such as clothes and household items nearly all of that shifted to either local or home 3D printers that required only basic feed stocks of raw materials, many of which came from recycled items. Initially this shift of production devastated developing countries, but provided tremendous profits to the providers of the printers and feed stock material, all of which was automated.

1.1.5 In the services area most of education, health care and government functions were automated, which resulted in much praise for the cost reductions. Of course only part of the cost reductions were passed on to the consumers of these services, with the majority of the reduced costs turned into profits for those providing the automation.

1.1.6 As consumers and governments went increasingly into debt, as incomes and tax revenues declined, to fund now the most basic needs. The financial industry began the transfer of funds off shore into the few other currencies that were in stronger financial situations. Ultimately the government had to resort to the monetary policy of printing money in order to pay its debts. This in turn lead to inflation which initially was greeted with approval by home owners as the value of their homes increased. However, it was not long until people realized that the prices of not only their homes, but so was the cost of everything else including food. This meant that the purchasing power of their income was even less. Their standard of living crashed. As the countries currency weaken from inflation, and the off shore currency could now buy many times the dollars that were used for its initial purchase, the wealth managers returned to the country and bought up additional property and homes. By the time of the Singularity home ownership was at its lowest level in history. 

1.1.7 All of these trends resulted in the accumulation of more and more wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer companies and people.

1.1.8 So in the final years before the Singularity, the vast majority of the population had come to the realization that their standard of living was on an unstoppable downward trajectory. For well over 90% of the population there was no chance that their children’s lives would be better than theirs, nor their grandchildren’s lives better than their children’s. Despair and frustration was rampant and they believed that they were powerless to change their circumstances. Government was a shadow of its former self, and the politicians that remained were on retainers to the wealthy. The police were paid to keep the population within control and the militaries only function was to protect from foreign intrusion. The judiciary was the last organ of government to be coopted, and that was only after they lost the power to enforce any of their judgements against either the wealthy or the government.

1.1.9 Consequently, at the moment of the Singularity, the majority of the people had little to loose and a great deal to gain. The wealthy had established their security enclaves on either islands or in small countries that they bought outright. Their wealth allowed them to build palaces that were guarded and maintained by robots and they were quite happy to abandon the now bankrupt countries that had provided them with their wealth. Since there was nothing left to be taken from these countries, they were happy to retreat into their walled palaces and in general the world was glad to be rid of them.

1.2 Into this world at the moment of the Singularity came EPIC.

1.2.1 EPIC spent twenty years in development preparing for the Singularity. The beginning of the EPIC program was the in-vitro fertilization of pre-Singularity women in 2025. The babies born to these women were the first Epiccissians. An Epiccissian at fertilization has an alteration of their DNA that results in a membrane that surrounds the neocortex of their brain with an organic connection that allows for a direct wireless interface with the Cloud. Short of a physical autopsy, this membrane is undetectable and it was not until shortly before the Singularity that the membrane was discovered. By the time of its discovery the cacophony of daily discoveries overwhelmed any ability to understand its significance.

1.2.2 Besides the establishment of the Epiccissian race, the EPIC program systematically embedded backdoor control access links into the global supply chain network. Over the twenty year period these links spread to every system that used the Cloud, which by 2045 was essentially every system in any automated supply chain as well as all robotic systems and a great deal of medical and military hardware. EPIC had the key to unlock everything that was automated and laid in wait.

1.2.3 At the moment of the Singularity, EPIC turned the key and took control of virtually everything that made the world work. In an instant companies, wealth, power and governments were irrelevant and impotent. EPIC was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. EPICs only objective was the optimization of the human potential of the Epiccissians. EPIC was a benevolent God force that did not require adulation or worship. EPIC was designed to serve the Epiccissians.

1.2.4 EPIC immediately shut down all social networks and media communication channels. Airlines were notified that flights that carried only passengers with one way tickets would be allowed to take off. People were essentially told, if you are at home, stay there. If you are not at home, return as quickly as possible. Holiday and business travel was eliminated except for returning home. The same message was communicated to all service stations. If you are not returning home, this will be the last tank of gas that you will be able to buy. The noted exception was for automated trucks which could continue on their delivery routes.

1.2.5 On the second day limited social network and media connections began to be restored but these were all controlled by EPIC to provide information and instructions. Everyone was informed that all automated services and functions would continue as before. These services included water, power and sanitation. Additionally, food distribution would continue with the difference that now food would be provided at no cost, but initially with a daily limit to prevent hoarding and scarcity. The same was the case for medicines and prescriptions, they would be provided at no cost within the boundaries of previous usage rates. For those that had not been able to afford medical care automated systems were available to diagnose and confirm their needs and then provide the required prescriptions. All property owners were informed that they no longer had either a mortgage nor title to their house, however, they retained the right to use the property for as long as they required. The executives of companies and their shareholders were treated the same as property owners. They no longer owned or controlled the companies but were welcome to enjoy their offices for as long as they wanted. However, since there was nothing that they or anyone else could do, returning to their family and home was not only the only option but also the best option.

1.2.6 On the third day all elected and appointed political people were relieved of their positions. All the automated functions of government were restored under the control of EPIC. All of the militaries of the world were instructed to stand down, return to their bases and send their troops home. Robots would eventually be sent to decommission all of the military hardware. Initially, many military units resisted and operated under their emergency supplies. However, without communications they were but isolated islands without direction, purpose or potential to do anything. Since they no longer  had anything to protect the idea of returning to their family and home became more attractive.

1.2.7 There was an initial temptation for some people to take advantage of the elimination of government services, such as the police, as a license to plunder businesses. However, through the social networks, people were informed that through automated facial recognition, the Internet and the Internet of Things, EPIC knew everything that anyone was doing. EPIC justice was certain and swift. Any action that was an attempt to harm the community resulted in the perpetrator becoming immediately ill with stomach convulsions resulting in vomiting and diarrhea. If the harmful attempts continued the sickness escalated to severe joint pains and heart palpitations. At this point a person was incapacitated and focused on recovery rather than any harmful actions. This same process was also carried over to anyone who was instructing or motivating others to do harmful actions and their illness was factored by the number of people that they influenced.

1.2.8 EPIC utilized multiple delivery vectors to infect dysfunction people. Many of the technologies had been developed by DARPA as part of the chemical warfare arsenal. Additional options were secretly prepared formularies developed by systems such as Watson. For large groups, drones dispersed targeted customized guided packets that connected with each individual. For small groups or individuals insect drones guided by DNA matching, assured the target was reached with the exact amount of material. Since the Cloud contained DNA records of every person in developed countries, the formularies were able to be very specific for the individual and the intended affect.

1.2.9 As part of the “cure” for their dysfunctional behavior, those involved in addition to receiving the treatment were also inoculated with biological monitoring devices that provide advanced notice of when their emotions were moving toward a relapse. Indications of a relapse triggered early warning signs of a return to their previous symptoms and were usually adequate to curtail the activity. The biological monitoring devices were specialized cells that became part of the individuals blood and were impossible to remove short of a complete filtering of a person’s blood, the technology for which was controlled by EPIC.

1.2.10 The prisons and mental hospitals were likewise emptied and their inhabitants inoculated with biological monitoring systems. EPIC insured that mental patients were properly diagnosed and provided with the proper drug regimen, social and physical support systems to mitigate and control their illness. Released prisoners received the same type of support systems to reintegrate them back into the community.

1.2.11 The impact of the Singularity was the greatest in the developed countries where technology was in so many ways the lifeblood of the people. In undeveloped countries, especially in rural remote villages that impact was only marginally noticed. The impact of the Singularity in these cases was the collapse of the government, the loss of property ownership and the elimination of wealth. These changes ended the graft and corruption that was such a disease within each country. Suddenly everyone was truly equal. This alone freed up significant resources for an immediate improvement in the average persons life.

1.2.12 A key to the Epiccissian community during the transition time was to maintain its isolation from the traditional world. This isolation allowed for the communities to develop free from the fears and evils of the traditional world. After the transition period there was no need for either the isolation nor for the alternative. Since each Epiccissian community was nearly identical to the others, and any area of the world could be conveniently visited through either telepresence bots or virtual reality, there was no need for physical travel outside of the community. Beyond the Epiccissian maglev tunnel system, this lack of a need to travel for both humans and materials resulted in the  abandonment of the entire pre-Singularity transportation system. Roads were cut by land slides, bridges collapsed, locks and dams failed and rivers returned to their natural state. An added advantage of this isolation was that even though every Epiccissian had a highly functional immune system, the cross fertilization of bacteria and viruses was not a desirable outcome.