BroccoliRiceTofu on Nostr: THE REUNION OF DARKNESS Chapter VII. On the news, the world became captivated by the ...
THE REUNION OF DARKNESS
Chapter VII.
On the news, the world became captivated by the image of a man eating the face of an elderly woman. This was shown on every station's live broadcast. The growth of cell phone technology and access to the internet, would put these clips in everyone's hands. This allowed individuals to watch these crazy video reports on repeat over and over again. The 24/7 news cycle combined with the growth of social media platforms had soon created a sensory overload for society. The dopamine hit that came from the palm of your hand could not come close to the joy and pleasures of living ‘real’ life. The only thing that came close to the on-demand culture that was brewing, was the little yellow pills. These magic pills seemed to both relax the mind, while allowing you to enjoy regular activities in an ultra pleasant state. Soon nearly every adult was taking these pills just to feel normal.
Years had gone by, and society seemed to be getting worse by the day. Cell phones now had more power, data storage, and faster processors than computers. Pornography, social media and large search engine platforms, monopolized all things in society. The monopolization of the platform began to reduce the diversity of information available. Kids were no longer studying or memorizing the basics; every answer they wanted or needed was at the tip of their fingers. The rise of influencer reach on the 3x4” screen began to be their teacher, role model, parent figure and religion all in one. The influencers told them what was the truth, and no one would question the validity of these claims.
The next year, the government created a system that they dubbed the ‘Public and Private Union.’ This union would combine social media and the government, in order to ensure public safety. The government would share information with social media companies and deem who was safe to post and those that posed a threat to society. The algorithms created by top government agencies were now able to predict outcomes based on previously posted content. In return social media would get the ‘inside scoop’ on any moves before the public release.
This Private and Public Union ultimately led to one of the largest censorship moves of our time. Control over the information pushed individuals lower into the relevance marks; allowed the New Era to control the narrative that the public would see first. The first impression, for the new generation, would instantly become their own truth. It wasn't long before the longstanding news organizations, both in print and on traditional media followed suit, for they were becoming irrelevant. Traditional media was seen as ‘late,’ and the stories they published were already out in the public square. Everybody soon got in line with the New Era, those who didn't were systematically brought down. The tactics of the New Era included lawsuits (extending into years), lack of access into the large events, and the delay of information. For most companies this was just too much to bear.
Underground forums started to grow, for there was a small percentage of people who still wanted to get independent information out to the public. These forums were not regularly viewed, and a lot of information was not trustworthy & sources often disputed. The New Era utilized the ‘new public forum’ space as a way to create its own version of the counterculture in order to maintain their dominance. At this time, the growth of AI was just beginning, and the thoughts of the ‘singularity’ was only science fiction. The utilization of bots and deep fake was only used as counter intelligence at that time, but with the help of social media this changed. It started out with a simple task of creating fake users that would share content. The AI would grow over the years and would create posts 24/7 using trend data. The AI was so great that it sounded as if a person created them. The network included other bots that would share, like, upvote, and give the impression that the posts were going viral. These bots artificially inflated the data to show that millions of people were viewing them. The ‘fear of missing out’ was taking over the youth, and had become a real mental disease. It wasn’t long before the kids would only try and keep up with what was cool, instead of trying to find out what was true.
There was a study produced by a scientist that looked at fleas. In order for fleas to move they had to jump in order to spread. The scientist put fleas in a jar and closed the lid. In the jar he gave them all the necessities needed to live. The lid of the jar was closed for 2 weeks, long enough for the fleas to breed a new generation or even a young third generation. After the short two week period, the scientist removed the lid and left the jar out in the open. The fleas in the jar would still jump, but they never got close to the level of opening. The new generation of fleas never learned they had the potential to jump higher than the lid, they never realized that they could get out. With the third generation the fleas didn't jump nearly as high as the previous generation. The scientists quickly learned that if you shut off the hope and limit the potential, it was only one generation before the new limits were the ‘norm.’
This scientist would eventually become one of the top CEOs for the new social platform called ‘Flow.’ This new platform was marketed ‘to be like water.’ Much like water the flow cannot be stopped, therefore truth will always be revealed, and this platform would not censor any users. Truth will find a way forward even when blocked. This new marketing campaign grew quickly by placing their ideals front and center. Users of the platform could also utilize the new functions to make money. Other users would tip or pay for monthly subscriptions based on the content that they chose to support. With the continuing destruction of independent news sources, the flow became the go-to source for ‘independent thought.’
At first things were going well for the platform. Everyone got their fair share, people were making money, and overall spending was great. It wasn't long before Flow began a new system of algorithms. These were created to provide users with the most relevant content, at the most relevant time. The AI assisted platform would assist a user after viewing content that they subscribe to, this algorithm would suggest and auto start additional content. Although most people saw the warning signs in this algorithm, most decided that by hosting the content that they wanted was more important than the flaws. Users would overlook the issues because there was nothing like it, and nowhere else to get the content they wanted.
It didn't take long for politicians to hop on board. The following election cycle would create the largest increase of stock price growth for the Flow. Politicians were promised they could speak directly to the voters, and voters could fund campaigns directly, without any outside influence. The algorithm was working while users continued to get relevant content. Even though sometimes it might not be what they originally were looking for, it was still relative enough to keep their interest. People would spend hours going through the Flow, like Alice in Wonderland they would be lost in a world in their own mind.
As the elections drew closer, a new record was created for the most watched video of all time. The New Era and their ‘promises to society’ video became an overnight sensation. Once again people had hope, people were ready for a new future, people wanted to be heard again. The new era talked of the ‘founding’. This was based on the philosophy that the New Era was ‘founded’ on true principles but that in the past it was led by human beings. That all humans are flawed, but we can overcome this together. The first goal was to admit the errors, and work together to fix them. The New Era further explained that was the right path and they had the direction for the world to move forward. The people would just need to believe and elect the righteous individuals who would bring the principals to the capitol.
Chapter VII.
On the news, the world became captivated by the image of a man eating the face of an elderly woman. This was shown on every station's live broadcast. The growth of cell phone technology and access to the internet, would put these clips in everyone's hands. This allowed individuals to watch these crazy video reports on repeat over and over again. The 24/7 news cycle combined with the growth of social media platforms had soon created a sensory overload for society. The dopamine hit that came from the palm of your hand could not come close to the joy and pleasures of living ‘real’ life. The only thing that came close to the on-demand culture that was brewing, was the little yellow pills. These magic pills seemed to both relax the mind, while allowing you to enjoy regular activities in an ultra pleasant state. Soon nearly every adult was taking these pills just to feel normal.
Years had gone by, and society seemed to be getting worse by the day. Cell phones now had more power, data storage, and faster processors than computers. Pornography, social media and large search engine platforms, monopolized all things in society. The monopolization of the platform began to reduce the diversity of information available. Kids were no longer studying or memorizing the basics; every answer they wanted or needed was at the tip of their fingers. The rise of influencer reach on the 3x4” screen began to be their teacher, role model, parent figure and religion all in one. The influencers told them what was the truth, and no one would question the validity of these claims.
The next year, the government created a system that they dubbed the ‘Public and Private Union.’ This union would combine social media and the government, in order to ensure public safety. The government would share information with social media companies and deem who was safe to post and those that posed a threat to society. The algorithms created by top government agencies were now able to predict outcomes based on previously posted content. In return social media would get the ‘inside scoop’ on any moves before the public release.
This Private and Public Union ultimately led to one of the largest censorship moves of our time. Control over the information pushed individuals lower into the relevance marks; allowed the New Era to control the narrative that the public would see first. The first impression, for the new generation, would instantly become their own truth. It wasn't long before the longstanding news organizations, both in print and on traditional media followed suit, for they were becoming irrelevant. Traditional media was seen as ‘late,’ and the stories they published were already out in the public square. Everybody soon got in line with the New Era, those who didn't were systematically brought down. The tactics of the New Era included lawsuits (extending into years), lack of access into the large events, and the delay of information. For most companies this was just too much to bear.
Underground forums started to grow, for there was a small percentage of people who still wanted to get independent information out to the public. These forums were not regularly viewed, and a lot of information was not trustworthy & sources often disputed. The New Era utilized the ‘new public forum’ space as a way to create its own version of the counterculture in order to maintain their dominance. At this time, the growth of AI was just beginning, and the thoughts of the ‘singularity’ was only science fiction. The utilization of bots and deep fake was only used as counter intelligence at that time, but with the help of social media this changed. It started out with a simple task of creating fake users that would share content. The AI would grow over the years and would create posts 24/7 using trend data. The AI was so great that it sounded as if a person created them. The network included other bots that would share, like, upvote, and give the impression that the posts were going viral. These bots artificially inflated the data to show that millions of people were viewing them. The ‘fear of missing out’ was taking over the youth, and had become a real mental disease. It wasn’t long before the kids would only try and keep up with what was cool, instead of trying to find out what was true.
There was a study produced by a scientist that looked at fleas. In order for fleas to move they had to jump in order to spread. The scientist put fleas in a jar and closed the lid. In the jar he gave them all the necessities needed to live. The lid of the jar was closed for 2 weeks, long enough for the fleas to breed a new generation or even a young third generation. After the short two week period, the scientist removed the lid and left the jar out in the open. The fleas in the jar would still jump, but they never got close to the level of opening. The new generation of fleas never learned they had the potential to jump higher than the lid, they never realized that they could get out. With the third generation the fleas didn't jump nearly as high as the previous generation. The scientists quickly learned that if you shut off the hope and limit the potential, it was only one generation before the new limits were the ‘norm.’
This scientist would eventually become one of the top CEOs for the new social platform called ‘Flow.’ This new platform was marketed ‘to be like water.’ Much like water the flow cannot be stopped, therefore truth will always be revealed, and this platform would not censor any users. Truth will find a way forward even when blocked. This new marketing campaign grew quickly by placing their ideals front and center. Users of the platform could also utilize the new functions to make money. Other users would tip or pay for monthly subscriptions based on the content that they chose to support. With the continuing destruction of independent news sources, the flow became the go-to source for ‘independent thought.’
At first things were going well for the platform. Everyone got their fair share, people were making money, and overall spending was great. It wasn't long before Flow began a new system of algorithms. These were created to provide users with the most relevant content, at the most relevant time. The AI assisted platform would assist a user after viewing content that they subscribe to, this algorithm would suggest and auto start additional content. Although most people saw the warning signs in this algorithm, most decided that by hosting the content that they wanted was more important than the flaws. Users would overlook the issues because there was nothing like it, and nowhere else to get the content they wanted.
It didn't take long for politicians to hop on board. The following election cycle would create the largest increase of stock price growth for the Flow. Politicians were promised they could speak directly to the voters, and voters could fund campaigns directly, without any outside influence. The algorithm was working while users continued to get relevant content. Even though sometimes it might not be what they originally were looking for, it was still relative enough to keep their interest. People would spend hours going through the Flow, like Alice in Wonderland they would be lost in a world in their own mind.
As the elections drew closer, a new record was created for the most watched video of all time. The New Era and their ‘promises to society’ video became an overnight sensation. Once again people had hope, people were ready for a new future, people wanted to be heard again. The new era talked of the ‘founding’. This was based on the philosophy that the New Era was ‘founded’ on true principles but that in the past it was led by human beings. That all humans are flawed, but we can overcome this together. The first goal was to admit the errors, and work together to fix them. The New Era further explained that was the right path and they had the direction for the world to move forward. The people would just need to believe and elect the righteous individuals who would bring the principals to the capitol.