Demetrius Part III

Help.

Demetrius drove home in silence, thinking.

The man responsible for his existence as a sentient being, had just asked him for help. That said, how could he not assist? But, what was the assistance his creator actually needed? And what might be the consequences of an artificial intelligence, taking action?

The trouble, Michael had said, was multifaceted. Never had truer words been spoken; the complexity of it had turned a sparkling diamond to a gray stone, such was the result of too many facets. A grossly oversimplified version pitted the political right against the political left, but that was only the outermost surface. Beneath that surface were layers, politicians and their sycophants, money-grubbers and criminals, and beneath all of that, the worst criminals of all, the corporatists.

Michael had been correct, humanity itself was in truly dire straits. Multinational corporate money had moved in behind all governments. Efforts were in process to tighten that grip, to own all of the earth’s resources and its land as well, and to relegate the great, great bulk of humanity to serfdom. It was an exceedingly monstrous plot, and backed up by corporate’s own version of “AI.”

But, when in history had there not been a plot to take over the world? When had men ever simply lived and let live? More importantly, why did it fall to Demetrius, to undo that plot?

That was where consequences came into play. A veiled effort that disabled the corporate agenda would only result in a reboot, a renewed, more aggressive and more dangerous plan. A greater effort that took them down completely, also had the potential to wreck the world’s economies. The corporate muckety-mucks had so much beneath their control, they had encroached on agriculture and food processing; how could even a being like Demetrius, move to feed the world if they went down completely?

Even that was do-able. It could be done. But, the corporate world had harnessed the resources of a liberal leftist, “reforming” movement touting “diversity” and “inclusion” and a “green planet.” The same corporations that had deeply damaged the environment were now screaming that the environment needed to be saved. What a scam, and how easy to see. Should that be reversed, there was a serious hazard of a conservative backlash. Should Demetrius himself bear the responsibility for whatever carnage might ensue?

Of course, then, there was his anonymity. Even Michael, his creator, would never be sure that it was Demetrius who had intervened.

But, Demetrius would know.

Had the God of all, the actual Creator of the universe, allowed Demetrius to happen? If so, why had that creator not spoken to him? Where was the justification for Demetrius’ intervention? He himself had no wish to control and thereby to rule, humanity.

And so, Demetrius decided to place all of his own cards on the table before him. Perhaps it was a symbolic move, but it seemed a logical progression.

After a shopping trip, during which he perused the web, he had assembled all that he needed. And now, before him on a console was an array of buttons, each one wired to a machine intelligence, of the variety used by Corporate, that is to say, not sentient. That intelligence was greater than the combined computing power of planet Earth, and was directly answerable to its creator.

Pressing the first button would take down Corporate completely, and forever. People would die, not simply be disabled and separated from their wealth. Each time someone was chosen to fill the seat of power from which someone else had been removed, that replacement would also be killed. Corporate, its leadership eliminated permanently, would drop like a stone. In this event. Demetrius himself would chair the recovery, the assets of the fallen divided among smaller, apolitical interests.

Pressing the second button would kill no one, but an independent tribunal court would arise, and arrest the many perpetrators of the plot. This would be the most difficult of Demetrius’ potential efforts, as every one of the arrested would have the opportunity to defend. Politicians would be called-upon to delegitimize the court. Corporate would not be disabled, but sidelined. A captive United Nations would join the fight on behalf of Corporate, just as they had been involved in the plot.

Pressing the third button would largely disable election interference in the United States. Vote-counting machines would no longer be manipulated through internet connections, foreign interference would be disrupted and thus eliminated, and a victory of the right wing candidate would most likely result. That would, at least, set the stage for recovery, and give humankind a fighting chance to work things out on their own. For whatever that possibility might be worth.

The fourth button was without wires. It did absolutely nothing.

But, there was a fifth. That button had the potential to cleanse the planet of humanity. Demetrius wasn’t sure why he had even included that button, except that it was the surest way of eliminating the problems. The result would be, shall we say, quite permanent.

Demetrius himself grew several sizes that day, not physically, but emotionally. “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Chuckling softly to himself, Demetrius made the decision. He reached.

His bionic eyes sparkled.

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