Winning Peace 5:
"-the primary issue isn't whether or not Ezekiel Lopez' work is integral to helping rebuild human civilization after World War III. That isn't up for debate, because it's just factual truth. The real issue at stake here is how we have a young man who has no experience in politics or governance, isn't appointed or elected by any legitimate authority, but maintains complete control over a revolutionary technology that he can turn on and off at his whim. I'm not even trying to argue that Lopez' decisions to blacklist certain chemicals, elements, and pieces of technology are inherently wrong. I certainly don't want some random kid putting in an order for weapons-grade uranium and making a nuclear weapon in their bedroom. It's the fact that Lopez is doing all of this unilaterally, without any check or balance on that power."
What passed for a reporter these days, someone with access to the still-crippled internet and a digital camera with some sort of online following, nodded slowly. "So what you're arguing for is some kind of accountability to keep this from setting a dangerous precedent?"
I had to admit, this one was at least one standard deviation above the various conspiracy theorists and doomsday cults I was having to fight a cultural shadow-war against.
"Exactly! Ezekiel Lopez is a great guy. He saved tens, if not hundreds of millions in the immediate aftermath of the war. I'm the last person who thinks he's got some kind of nefarious plan behind moving us to a post-scarcity economy, but this isn't about him. It's about the next person who has this kind of power. It's about whether or not they'll be as well-intentioned and capable as Lopez is."
I sighed and muted the channel, leaning back in my chair as I stared up at the Earth hanging in the sky. "Have the system flag that one as reliable and start adding it to peoples' feeds at a low probability randomness. Review it for weekly fact-checking and add a percent more likelihood each time they score ninety-plus on the check."
The system chimed back with a notice that the change had been logged and I took a moment for myself before checking the next video in my queue. Most of this could have been done by automated programs, but I liked to keep abreast of opinions about my own exploits personally instead of reading a sanitized report generated by an algorithm.
"Let's see what we've got next..." I hummed to myself quietly as I flipped through the various displays. "A roundtable discussing the environmental impact of the nutrient mold I seeded the Earth with, then there's someone debunking the conspiracy theory that I'm actually in charge of a secret society that planned the apocalypse-" I shook my head and gave a priority reminder to that one. Inasmuch as there was no such thing as bad publicity, a vocal fringe group accusing you of killing over half of humanity was pretty damning.
"It's hard to argue that I came out of the end of the world smelling like roses." I spoke aloud truthfully. Even five years after the bombs dropped, when society was just barely starting to get back up on its feet... a lot of people wanted someone to blame who wasn't the elected official they'd voted for, the demagogue they'd supported, or the dictator all of the propaganda had told you was fighting against foreign influence to keep your country free and the people fed.
Meanwhile, this billionaire on the moon seemed to have the answer for every problem this new world faced and was using all those solutions to solidify an unassailable base of power.
People were already meme-ing about me pretty hard.
Orbital colonies lack vital chemical precursors and technological components to survive?
'Don't worry, Dr. Lopez built a nanoforge that'll assemble whatever you want on the molecular level! You can print micro-g medicine to keep your bones and organs healthy, titanium beams to help build your new habitat module, or even just a new hologram display table for the kids to play on! Nevermind that all of these are blackboxed and programmed to only allow you to print specific things, or that he can shut them off to guarantee our political compliance.'
Everyone on Earth is starving and crops are refusing to grow in nuclear winter!
'Dr. Lopez' has it all! He'll genetically engineer a series of edible slime molds, fungi, and algae that will not only solve world hunger, but also keep the oceans oxygenated! I hear he's even working on a super-potato that'll have all your mineral and nutrient needs fixed by next year! You totally shouldn't worry how this makes you totally dependent on him for new crops each year!'
We can't get anything to and from Earth except in armored capsules because of all the space debris from the destroyed satellites!
'That swell guy Ezekiel Lopez will just build a bunch of laser platforms to knock everything into decaying orbit! Don't mind the fact that there are now giant weapons platforms surrounding Earth that could fire on virtually all of the vital orbital paths!'
"Nevermind that there are good reasons behind all those decisions." I sighed again. "I could hand out the controls to the nanofabricators today and tomorrow countries would be using them to print out tanks and fighters and nukes. If I don't make the crops I generate sterile, they'll consume the global ecosystem. Don't even get me started on the mess left in orbit. They're lucky I've been able to take out as much as I have! If I ever get the free time to shoot down a ship with political dissidents in it, I'll throw a fucking party just for having the option!"
Admittedly, it would be easier if I could give out enough nanofabricators that people would just be able to print food directly, but we weren't at that point yet. Because of the conditions needed to safely manufacture the nanofabricators, I was limited in how many I could produce per unit of time. Someday soon, humanity would be at that point, yes, but as it was now logistics meant that we were better off mass-printing seedstock (or, well, 'spore-stock') for each planting period.
All of this was unfortunate because it meant maintaining the existing nanofabricators as a choke point.
And if history had shown us anything, any existing choke point was begging for someone to try to take control of it.
Which reminds me...
"Thoth, handshake with Isis and give me a report on the latest deployments of peacekeeper units." The order was accompanied by an inefficient beckoning gesture towards thin air even though the AI would understand me without it.
'Artificial Intelligence' was somewhat a misnomer as far as my current generation of programs went. They were more intelligent than they were intelligences. I'd been very careful to keep any shred of personhood out of their coding. I simply didn't want to deal with that issue at this point in time in addition to everything else I had on my plate at the moment.
Several floating screens popped open as I skimmed the charts and graphs before looking in on the various clips of footage. "Goddammit Brazil, another populist insurrection? Thoth, upgrade Montu's troops to a full division and put priority on the new tablet computers we're rolling out in the region, double-down on getting the local politicians to hand them out as an educational service."
So... maybe the idea that I was controlling the world wasn't so far-fetched?
Another wave of frustration rolled over me. "If they'd just let me give them free shit, everything would be fine, but nooooo..." I rubbed at my eyes tiredly. "Everyone's listening to the idiots who want to go back to the way things were before the bombs. They want megacorporations and paychecks and all that bullshit." Sure, that wasn't what the political positions were being sold as...
I thought back to one of their speeches I'd red-flagged on the internet.
"Lopez is not a man of the people. He does not understand you or I! He sits upon a throne on the moon like a would-be king! We must reject his corruptive influence and return to the days when people were not given handouts to live on, when we were not kept like pets in cages! Join with me, all you people of the Earth who wish to earn a living as God intended! We must take control of these cursed magic boxes that are sent down to poison our human spirit to become lazy and indolent like those who did not taste the fiery wrath and even now enjoy indulgent luxury among the stars! Take control of your destiny and use these fabricators to rebuild our native industry so that we can stand on our own once again! As humans, not as dogs licking at their scraps!"
"'Let me claim sole ownership of a magic box that can make anything you can dream up and I'll use it for your own good,'" I drawled sarcastically, looking at the pseudo-military forces arrayed around so many of my nanofabricators. "'I won't let the dirty poors waste valuable time on the magic box printing off housing materials or water filtration systems or green energy power sources.'"
They weren't all like that, of course. There were plenty of well-meaning regimes making legitimate attempts to organize collective effort for large-scale projects on the nanofabricators.
However, I'd gotten annoyed enough after the tenth time I'd seen someone printing out solid gold flooring for their mansion while others starved in a slum less than five miles away that I'd decided to do something about it instead of simply negotiating with whatever would-be dictator had risen to power locally.
Montu, the wargaming system I'd been developing to run computer-generated factions in a mobile game I'd been about to launch had been repurposed into a tactical and strategic advisor for various polities. Those who actually had some understanding of 'human rights' received my stamp of approval, fighting off slaver raids, coup attempts, and other violence from neighboring states who were trying to aggressively expand.
The other part of the 'solution' I'd settled on...
"Master, the self-proclaimed Neo-Kaiser and his Fourth Reich have been fractured." A cloaked hologram stated. "A group of anarchists discovered a stockpile of pre-war arms and munitions which they used to assassinate the current head of state while he was touring Vienna. No one will be able to connect the violence to you, as you ordered. Simulations remain uncertain whether they will survive the event without further interference."
I nodded. "Very good, Seth. Continue work on destabilizing the regime. If possible, I'd like to see the Czech-Polish alliance move in to take over administering their territory, but I'm willing to accept a sub-optimal solution to the problem as long as the Nazis are dealt with."
"I hear and obey, Master." Seth bowed, his hologram shutting off.
"There's no 'maybe' about it anymore, is there?" I asked my gorgeous view of the Earth floating in space. "There hasn't been for a long time now." I combed a hand through my hair and shook my head. "Is there any way this was going to be different? I didn't want to take over the world, but..."
"They're just so stupid, so small-minded and bigoted and ready to fight all the wrong battles for worse reasons. They turn the solutions I give them into new problems and pat themselves on the back for it, like it's something they should be proud of." I groaned aloud in frustration. "It's not like the colonies are any better, either! Every third or fifth opinion I run into suggests leaving Earth to its fate, leaving the vast majority of the human race to die. 'Decrease the surplus population,' indeed! Ebenezer Scrooge would be horrified by these remorseless fucks!"
The decision having already been made long ago, I opened a new project file.
Humanity wasn't ready for a unified government and they wouldn't be ready for a long while yet. Many countries still hadn't resumed regular trade with each other yet, and most of Switzerland and a few other European countries were living out of bunkers given how radioactive their major cities were.
It also wouldn't be as easy as just putting up an announcement that I was in charge now. People were already rankling under mostly-benign humanitarian and reconstruction aid. There'd be open revolt if I tried for a blatant power-grab right now.
No... I'd need to lay the groundwork first.
Skill List:
Mathematics: 1-10
Computer Programming: 1-10
Physics: 1-10
Material Sciences: 1-10
Nanomachines: 1-5 (New)
Orbital Mechanics: 1-5
Quantum Mechanics: 1-5
Artificial Intelligence: 1-5 (New)
Artificial Intelligence Shackling: 1-10 (New)
Blackboxing: 1-10 (New)
Robotics: 1-5
Ruggedization: 1-5
Molecular Assembly: 1-5 (New)
Safeguards: 1-5 (New)
Failsafes: 1-5 (New)
Genetics: 1-10 (New)
Astrobotany: 1-4
Medicine: 1-3 (New)
Social Engineering: 1-5 (New)
Public Speaking: 1
Speed-Reading: 1
Teaching: 1
Critical Thinking: 1
Logistics: 1-5 (New)
Strategy: 1-5 (New)
Public Relations: 1-5 (New)
Corporate Espionage: 1
Automation: 1-5 (New)
Business Management: 1-3
Economics: 1-3
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