The Singularity

**Awarded second place in the contest "Boy Have I got a Story for you!"


I closed the holographic document and the floating plane of light blinked out. My research over the past few weeks had been centered on what was called merging; the process of taking two virtual people and combining them to become one. This was astounding technology and was the result of the efforts from both scientists and advanced computers. Laws and social implications were already being put into place around the world.

Virtual life had been made possible years ago. Computers could transfer physical data into virtual data, then back again. Millions of people lived half their lives in machines, and could easily reappear into the real world. It took worlds of information, but that was okay because the average computer could process galaxies of it. Hunger was hardly an issue anymore. Simply transfer yourself, then when food became available come out again and eat. People living in poverty could enter a huge database and live in luxury without worrying about financial implications. If your physical body expired, you could transfer and return with a younger form of your body that had been stored. Other researchers were working on the ability to alter the body in order to make it even younger without a younger form being recorded. Immortality had arrived, and earlier over-population concerns had become a thing of the past. Transportation became almost instant, as fast as an email might be. The cost was much cheaper compared to the more primitive counterparts.

My team had worked really hard to improve and invent these new technologies, and every step of the way had been fought by radical groups. Centers had been stormed and in some cases scientists had been killed. These extremists were dangerous and one had to lie low most of the time.

I looked out the window at the crowd below. Protesters cried to the heavens and waved signs through the air. I shook my head at the barbarians.

“Are we ready to test?” I asked steadily. A scientist nodded. “Alright; George and Gloria, are you ready?”

The pair called back an affirmative from the transfer platform. They were to be the first test subjects, since they were twins who had worked on the project together. They looked nervous yet confident and kept glancing at each other.

The platform was made of glass, while underneath it laid an impressive array of sensors and various particle-readers. It made up the floor of the room, except for a border around it allowing for a few feet of mobility. This was occupied by four scientists standing ready to take notes. Above was more machinery, unrecognizable to the average person. To the side of the room was a staircase about six steps high, leading into the control room where I sat. This room had a thick door, and there were windows where I could see what was going on.

Ignoring the screams of rage outside, I entered my security code, activating the transfer.

George and Gloria appeared to unwind in the air; blood evaporated and skin cells flew apart. One of the last things to go away was the clothes, in order to give a little more privacy. It was painless, but quite disturbing to watch. From here on out the process ran on a set algorithm we had written beforehand. The two individuals would be transferred, combined, and then transferred back as one person. It was very fast, and we only had to wait a few seconds before the new person began to reappear.

Bones pieced themselves together while muscles were strung around these. Clothes were threaded into existence and draped around forming shoulders. As the person became clearer, it was evident to be male. A scientist scribbled a quick note on their clipboard.

The end product looked exactly like George; they were twins after all. That was the downside to using the siblings; one couldn’t really be sure how looks would blend. Whatever gender it happened to be would look like one of the twins. They had wanted to test it on pair first because it was likely there could be problems with melding two non-similar people.

George-Gloria looked around with a blank expression. I walked down some steps from the control room to the platform and approached.

“How do you feel,” I asked.

He shrugged noncommittally. “I feel fine.”

The words seemed to have an edge to them and a chill ran down my spine. No one else seemed to experience the same dread, and there was a general cheer among the scientists.

Among this, the figure and I remained staring at each other. Neither of us gave away anything from our expressions. George-Gloria looked away and was led by a scientist for complete questioning.

…

The celebration was short-lived. Eventually the screaming from outside the building became more frantic and uncontrolled. Suddenly alarms were ringing and yelling could be heard from the hallways. I launched myself towards the window looking outside and scanned the landscape. Police were restraining crowd members, but I could see that the doors had been forced open. They were inside.

I heard a piercing scream from outside the room, breaking off at the sound of a gunshot. Suddenly the doors to the absorption room flew open and a group of perhaps ten protesters made it in. The uproar was chaotic. I was the only one in the control room, while the other scientists were spread around the platform checking equipment. The protesters mixed among the scientists as fights broke out. I saw that one of them was carrying a pistol. He noticed me.

There was a forceful whisper from behind me, “Absorb them.”

“What?”

“They’ll kill each other. This is self-defense. Absorb them all.” It was George-Gloria.

There was no time to do anything else. The man with the gun raised his arm to point it at me at the same time that I slammed my hand down on the button to begin transfer.

Everyone in the room began to disappear. Dancing figures twirled out of existence and freshly spilt blood from the fight evaporated off the floor. I saw George-Gloria rush down the stairs and onto the platform. He too was transferred.

For a few seconds there was silence. I was breathing heavily, and completely alone. Then, in the middle of the platform a figure began to emerge. Lab clothes appeared around them as the computer was programmed. As I walked down the steps slowly I saw that the new person was male. Others from the research team that had been outside when it happened began to enter cautiously and stood a little behind me.

The new man could only be described as average. He had brown hair and green eyes with a medium build. He looked around and his eyes fell on me.

“Hello,” I said carefully.

“Hello.”

…

There were some legal issues following the riot. A few people were hurt, but fortunately nothing serious. No one was sure whether charges should be held against me, but it was decided that I acted in self-defense. Besides, the only ‘victim’ did not wish to press charges at all.

In fact, the man I had created resisted any efforts to get him to split. He claimed to be perfectly happy as he was. The fifteen or so people he represented were fine how they were. The subject was dropped.

The… thing went off to live on its own. He sold most of the property owned by his predecessors to live by himself. He resisted further questioning.

…

“Tell me, who is doing research on this technology now?”

I found myself sitting on a plush chair under the intense glow of multiple lights. The interviewer in front of me was dressed in a green suit with perfect hair and had a ridiculous grin plastered to his tight face.

“Well, most of the research has already been done. The technology has been perfected as far is it can go with us and is now in the hands of businesses and corporations.” I sat relaxed despite being broadcasted on national television. I had received enough publicity already to be used to mass attention.

“I’m sure it will be exciting to see where that takes us,” he grinned stupidly.

“Yes it will. There are currently several groups affiliated around becoming ‘one.’ It’s an interesting idea.”

He shuffled some of the papers in front of him as he read off of the screen that fed him lines behind me. “There is a growing concern of its irreversibility among the public. Are you concerned with that prospect?”

I shifted slightly in my chair. “No, not really. That is a misconception of the technology. The process is completely reversible at any time.”

I could tell he had already lost track of the conversation. “Yet anyone who undergoes the process never wishes to have it undone. We have never spoken to someone who has been unabsorbed.”

He was not the one really talking to me. It was some producer somewhere who actually had some brains. Even so, I stared this man in the eyes. “Well I have no way of knowing, do I?”

…

There were some concerns in this. No one who went through with the procedure ever went back. Prior to all this, the population size had been in the hundreds of trillions with almost no deaths. Already however, the number was nearly half that. It was considered a neater, more organized way to live.

There were individuals who were rising to the top as the most popular to be absorbed into. It was almost like a war of who could have the most people and who would absorb whom. Sometimes whole towns could disappear into one person. As the months went by, streets became emptier and the pressure to become absorbed grew more and more. There were few left who didn’t, and they were looked down upon. As one of the original inventors, it was expected that I too be absorbed into one of the growing factions. In fact, I was the center of much publicity on the subject.

…

Years passed as the population shrunk. There was no one left to reproduce due to the combining of genes. As long as there was at least one male involved in the absorption, that Y chromosome was carried into the final product. Originally there had been a few feminist organizations where the new individual had been female, but soon they were absorbed into a tidal wave of larger factions. The world population numbered around a thousand, and I soon became the only independent person. I was famous for such. It continued.

…

I was becoming nervous, living in my house alone. I had enough resources to survive by myself, but relations against me were becoming increasingly hostile. There were only a hundred or so others, but they had everything at their disposal. The world was empty, and everything was run by computers that kept things clean and running.

As I paced my living room, a soft beep came from my pocket. I took out my cell phone and held it flat on my palm, activating it. A holographic screen materialized before me, but instead of the usual home screen, there was a face I didn’t recognize filling my view. Although it was unfamiliar, I had the strangest feeling I had seen him before. But this was common for those that merged. They looked completely ordinary; an average between such large groups of people. Most had brown hair and green eyes depending on where the majority of their originals were from.

“And who are you?” I asked.

“I am everyone you have ever known, and most of the people you haven’t. Your friends, family, and everyone you have ever seen. I represent the North American continent.”

“I see. And what is it precisely you want from me?”

He stared with cold eyes. “I want you. But more pressingly, you are being summoned. There is a meeting at your old research center. Where it began it shall finish.”

“A meeting between whom?”

“The world. The ten who represent all of humanity. And,” his face filled with disgust, “you. There is no choice in this. You will come.”

…

I transferred down to my old center quickly. This led me to a transfer pod outside the building, and I entered through the door with voice command. The platform room was right down the first hall and I found myself at the door. It looked just as it did the day, years ago, when I helped change the world. From inside I heard the susurration of hushed voices. I braced myself for what might happen and pushed through the doors.

On the platform stood ten men, each dressed in different outfits depending on what regions of the world they were from. About fifty trillion people in one small room looked much more ordinary than I would have ever expected. When I came in, they all looked at me, falling silent.

Before any of them could speak I asked simply, “Why have you summoned me here?”

The man I had talked to on the phone stepped forward. “We must finish the work. We are to be absorbed together.”

To his left one of them said, “Think of it! All human kind as one!”

“And why am I here?” I asked.

Another chimed in, “You are necessary to this. You will be absorbed.

I leaned against the doorframe. “No, I don’t think I will.”

The men looked confused. With all their knowledge and power, they had not been prepared for opposition. The first man said, almost childishly, “But you have to…”

“Why do I,” I asked calmly.

Another man cried out, “It’s your duty! We represent trillions of people! We are your superior in every way!”

I stood up straight and walked forwards a few feet until I had reached the edge of the platform. I made sure not to step onto it. “You have no power over me. You are no more than ten silly men.”

One who hadn’t said anything went pale and shouted out desperately, “Activate the absorption!”

Upon the voice command the computer activated transfer, and ten cold faces shriveled away from ten skulls as they disintegrate. I stared ahead, watching. For a moment I was alone in the world until a figure slowly materialized. I carefully observed every detail of him as he emerged. Brown hair wove itself and fell above green eyes. His medium build was covered with a lab coat. The World’s eyes fell upon me and I knew this to be the same person I had created so long ago in that very lab.

“Hello,” said The World.

“Hello.”

Casually, The World strolled towards me, swaying slightly. “It’s interesting how my own creator could oppose me to the very end.”

I started walking to the side, in the direction of the control room. “Simply because I do not wish to be part of you, I oppose you?”

He put his hands in his pockets, pivoting to look at me. “You are either for or against. There is no middle ground.” I was almost to the stairs. “I had a feeling you would resist. So I had a firearm programmed to be transferred with me.” He pulled out from his pocket a small pistol and pointed it at my chest. Walking closer, he said, “Coincidentally it is the same one a protester once pointed at you, forcing my eventual creation.”

I laughed lightly, but stopped moving. “You wouldn’t kill me. I’m too important to you.”

The World’s face flushed. “You will do as I say.”

“No I will not. You’re insane.”

He was in front of me, the gun held by a straight arm only a foot away from me. I stared him down defiantly as he shook with rage. “You have to!” he screeched, waving the pistol.

In a fluid motion I waved my arm in front of me, hitting his arm away from my body. The gun discharged and shot the concrete at my back. The crack echoed around the room as dust showered me. Before he could react further I brought my fist around and hit him in the ear. He dropped back, and I raced up the stairs into the control room. I slammed the metal door behind me and heard a sharp bang as a bullet ricocheted off of it. I turned the lock.

There was a pounding, and The World yelled franticly, “You cannot resist me! Why would you resist me?!” His voice was pleading.

I ignored the question. “You keep using ‘I’ instead of ‘we’. You have become singular; what of the trillions of people inside you? Do they not exist?” I asked.

There was silence.

I turned to the control panel. On a screen was a blinking name, ‘subject one’. The computer was locked onto its last subject. I brought my curled hands over the keyboard and typed for a few seconds. It locked onto me too.

The pounding resumed at the door as I entered my instructions. Before I put in my code, I heard a final “Please-” and then the transfer started.

My vision blurred then blackened. For a second I sat in darkness, and then before me a city spread itself out. Golden skyscrapers rose from nothing and chrome streets formed beneath me. Suddenly I had a body, and my feet touched the ground. A bright sky arched overhead. The virtual world was as beautiful as my ancestors had once imagined it to be. In front of me The World materialized. He saw me and grimaced.

“I will never stop hunting you,” he said. “I will find and absorb you.”

“And I will never stop resisting,” I replied. He grinned as his body became a glowing white. I watched as he split into two separate glowing figures, and everything went dark again.

…

I was transferred into a small pod, reminiscent the transfer pods used in my own home town. The door slid open and I stepped out. There was a women waiting.

“Gloria?”

“Yeah,” Gloria said.

“Interesting.”

We were in a small town. I had transferred into one of 5 pods that sat on the corner of the street, as bus stops were once placed. Other than the occasional pod or holographic store advertisements, the town looked like it could have been from the turn of the century. It was late in the evening with the sun low in the sky. I turned down the street and began walking. Gloria followed.

We were still in our lab coats. We went on in silence for a few minutes before she spoke. “Why me?” she asked eventually.

“Random chance.”

“Oh.”

There was a pause.

“Where are we,” she said.

“I don’t know. Neither will it,” I said. “Eventually he’ll find us, but he doesn’t have the resources to for a long time.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why does he- it want us?”

“Power. But we can fight back. I know how; slowly we can free more people. It could work…”

She shook her head. “It was never meant to be like this. It should have been the complete average. Yet with all of those people… it shouldn’t have acted like that.”

We stopped atop hill. The sky had become a deep orange as the sun disappeared. I watched for a minute before replying. Slowly, I said, “As individuals, no one would ever support the absorption. Only as a group can people truly do harm unto themselves. The collective wishes things that to the people are unthinkable. We thought that traits would be decided in averages, but groups don’t work that way. Instead things were determined by the mode. Whatever was more common prevailed. That was why it had brown hair instead of a mix; without individuals, the majority rules.” I turned around to look at the town I would now call home. “Yet there was more to it. In the collective there are traits that no one in it could dream of. Perhaps that is where the evil in human nature stems. It is not as much as the inner evil of the individual, but the thirst for power of the group. It is in numbers that we become deadly.”

The air was brisk and stars began to peak out, small bright gems in a sea of loneliness. “I don’t know. Perhaps I’m just an optimist.” I took her hand and we made our way back to the town.

...

Years earlier, in another mind...

I was born in a virtual world, but had only a short time to live in it before I was sent through the confusion of transfer. It was a strange feeling to suddenly exist where shortly before I had not. I retained the memories of the two people who were essentially me, but it was clear I was a different person. The scientific part of my analyzed my traits, comparing them to my predecessors. Interestingly enough, my feelings didn’t appear to be a merging of the two personalities at all; some I got from George, some from Gloria and others that were entirely my own that had not been present in either of them.

As the world blended into focus before me, my surroundings were familiar. It was as if I had been here many times before (which in a sense I had), yet as though I were here for the first time. A man I recognized stepped forward.

“How do you feel,” he asked.

I shrugged and said, “I feel fine.”

…

The confusion of the fights surrounded me, yet my head was clear. I had seen an opportunity which I thirsted for. I needed MORE. More people, more power. It was for the best; I must absorb them!

I ran up the stairs to the control room and saw inside the man who had first greeted me into the world.

From behind him I whispered, “absorb them.”

“What?”

“They’ll kill each other. This is self-defense. Absorb them all.”

The man saw he had no choice and activated the transfer. I raced down the stairs and onto the platform area. As I ceased to exist I felt a hungry satisfaction.