B-10

The browser filled the screen, and the search results filled the browser area. The first few results contained the manifesto, in its entirety or major portions of it. He was only interested in those that came later, that discussed the manifesto and had small excerpts at most. He was more interested in developing an understanding of the person, Porto Magus, and an appreciation for his work.

In his head, Min saw Porto as a man of average height, slightly stocky, a round head that was shiny and bald, and large round spectacles resting on his nose. Porto had a small but deep smile, magnetic black eyes. Porto was the epitome of intellect.

When he was sure he could hear Porto's voice, Min opened the topmost result. The page bore the Magus Manifesto in its entirety.

**

To see the future, look back into the past. One with wisdom would see the recurring patterns. Every revolutionary idea was preceded by a pressing failing. Darkness precedes dawn.

And we are headed into that preceding darkness.

The inevitable cannot be prevented. But what cannot be seen with just wisdom, can be through wise eyes. We need to see.

The future is a world where electronic intelligence runs hand-in-hand with biological intelligence. In utopia, every human would be enhanced the same. In utopia, the miracles of today would be normal and impossible dreams of today would be regular miracles.

But before utopia dawns, there is the darkness. And in that darkness, utopia would be redressed to the median. This is the true inevitability.

And therein rests the struggle.

We should rise to arms. We should lay ourselves in the way of fire. We should fight for our future.

What the night will bear is the greed of power and the hunger of money. In the process of integration with electronic intelligence, the biological intelligence will be laid bare to be lusted over, left unprotected to be stolen.

In such a world, the majority will be struggling for autonomy as they are today struggling for groceries. The minority will be dealing in the majority as they would slaves. As today the rich and powerful hoard electronic devices, in such a world would boast of their collection of intelligent slaves.

Dawn is inevitable. It is one's own responsibility to protect their eyes to bear sight in the dawn.

**

He should have felt a chill. He should be trembling. The new world had dawned. And what the manifesto proclaimed, was coming to fruition. But Min felt nothing.

Was that normal?

Everyone would be in Gaia. And everyone would have their consciousness stolen. The bug would make sure of that. Just that was evidence of the bug being deliberate.

What would be stolen, would be stolen to be sold to somebody. The distinction couldn't be any clearer. The majority would be stolen and sold to the minority.

Had the old him read the manifesto? Had he been influenced by the words? Did that have a role to play in his discovering the bug? Was that what compelled him to take action? Was that why he had to stop the release?

He allowed a pause to consider the questions. As he was now, he didn't feel a thing after reading the manifesto. The weight and the veracity of the words were immaterial. He couldn't feel more distant. What couldn't impress him now, certainly couldn't before.

Maybe, the old him didn't even arrive at the manifesto. He certainly wouldn't have even now, if he wasn't searching.

But now that he had, he couldn't be blind to it. He hadn't begun connecting the dots, but he could see that the manifesto was an unmissable dot.

He turned back to the page. He hadn't read the manifesto to the end of even the first chapter. And the manifesto wasn't all there was on the page. It seemed like it, but there most certainly was more. Hidden from plain view. He couldn't see what it was. All he saw were curious blanks, like dark spots on a white canvas that could be dismissed as shadows of the artist and the brush, but were actually something else entirely.

He smiled as he felt more intrigued by the blanks than the manifesto.