5 years ago, I was 17 living in Washington D.C. The year was 2064, the United States was gearing up to celebrate Norbert Wiener’s 100th anniversary of his presidency and technology ban, kindly referred to as “Saviors Day”. Savior's Day, a holiday you can only read about in textbooks now, was celebrated in order to honor President Wiener's commitment to saving our society from the dangers of technology and ensure that we remained human beings, instead of technology diseased robots. Parades, musical performances and speeches will consume the day as people memorialize the President's devotion.
For a digitilized version of a President Wiener DedicationClick Here!
I remember coming out into my kitchen that day and my family members were exuding an intense excitement that filled the room. My younger sister's favorite holiday was Savior's day; we got off school, had a giant family dinner and attended the D.C parade. However, it was the costumes that contributed most to their enthusiasm. Metallic silver from head to toe and helmets shielding their eyes, these costumes symbolized the robots that President Wiener saved us from becoming, and the streets were filled with similar variations of the costume on the Holiday. Basically, it was a weird mix of Thanksgiving and Halloween, and I absolutely hated every part of it and had devised a plan to stop it, but I'll get back to that later.
So how did this dreadful holiday begin you ask? Well, in the 60's, Norbert Wiener, the “creator” of cybernetics, became increasingly worried about the affects of technology on society. He believed that humans could not handle interacting with it and it would ruin us. Feeling so passionately about this, he took advantage of JFK’s unfortunate death and ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for presidency. He campaigned all over the US, preaching about how technology will fry our brains, make us dependent on technology to survive and so much more that is unknown. President Weiner won the election with fear alone, he instilled shear panic among the public and because he was considered an expert in the field people supported him, thus establishing the 28th amendment to the US constitution: a technology ban. All computers, research and any form of digital communication and entertainment were stalled. The president also froze all relationships with other countries, knowing they would continue on with computers.
For a digitilized version of the 28th AmendmentClick Here!
I've always loved science. It was easily my favorite subject in school; Learning how we work, where we came from and a general order of the world was intriguing to me, but I always thought that humans had infinite more potential than how we were living. So, roughly 6 months before the 100th Savior's day, on my normal library run, I stumbled upon a book that was labeled "Packet Switching: Communicating Digitally". My initial reaction was confusion as every book dealing with technology had been put in restricted sections deep into the Pentagon because they were considered "evil" and would corrupt our minds. My curiosity was sparked, and I snuck it home it under my jacket. I read it entirely in one night.
There was so much more that our society could have that the government was holding back. It made me think whether President was actually trying to defend our country or destroy, because the lines were certainly blurred for me. I felt betrayed by the government for keeping this gift from them. I saw the potential of technology and how it could extend our abilities, helping and making us stronger. After that initial book, I found what ever she could about the early inventions of digital messaging and communication, a bit of an obsession was sparked. Reading turned into doing. From the knowledge I gathered, I began going to junkyards and landfills, anywhere I could find some sort of material to build a packet switching machine. And for 6 months, I had been hiding away my inventions in my closet, formulating my plan to show the glory of technology. The only issue is that I didn't really know how to use it.
After I spent countless hours reviewing the bits of manuals I could find in the trash, I finally figured it out. I had to find a power source big enough to power my machine and the only place I could get that? The Pentagon. After mapping out the pros and cons of each possible way to complete my plan, I had decided that breaking into the Pentagon with my machine was the only way. People do not normally believe my story because it was a tad ambitious for a 17 year old, but my determination and belief that our country could be better off pushed me forward every time doubt crossed my mind. I decided to execute my plan on the 100th Savior's Day for two reasons. One, all security was called to patrol the streets for rebels and two, it added a dramatic flare - destroying the holiday on its most important celebration to date.
I was feeling nervous when I woke up on the 100th Savior's Day, but when I saw my sisters dressed up in their outfits and raving about the glory of the holiday, rage filled my body and I knew it had to be done then. I covered my machine with a sheet, put it in a wagon and walked out the door with the confidence of million people. My family didn't question my peculiar behavior, as they know my feelings on the holiday. And that was it, I was off to change the country.
The streets were packed and even with the sheet, being discreet with a large piece of technology was not easy. So, I had decorated the tarp like a fake machine, fitting in well with the rest of the fake robot costumes. Before I knew it, I stood in front of the door of the pentagon. Like I had predicted, all government security was sent to the streets for the parade, so I easily walked in, poor execution on their part. I read in one of my books I analyzed that the government used to participate in digital communication. In fact, they were one of the largest institutions to participate in it. There had to be an old control room somewhere in the massive building and after hours of searching, I stumbled upon the basement, dusty and barren. It looked like it had been untouched for decades, so the likelihood that they stored their banned tech down there was plausible in my mind.
At first glance, every door was knocked down, which made me lose all hope that what I needed could possibly be down there. But as I kept walking, I found a door with the faintest "Control Room" written across it. As quickly as possible I opened the door and all of my dreams came true. Not only were there powerful outlets for my machine, but monitors, computers and so much more. They were covered in dust and I was fuming with anger. Why did the government keep this from us? Why do they get to decide what we do? Who let President Wiener do this in the first place? I channeled that anger into concentration. Playing the machines and plugging in mine to the outlets, they all worked. The last step: code a message to Canada. I whipped out my papers that showed me how to code. I typed "This is the USA". I sat in the Pentagon anticipating the response. While the rest of the country was celebrating the past, I was waiting for the future.
For my digital coversation with Canada Click Here!
You can probably guess how my message went grounded in the fact that your on a website right now. Canada's government sent a message of confusion as the US had broken off ties 100 years ago, but assured me that not only were the Canadians still able bodied, but they were thriving. As I waited for security to finally figure out I was in the basement, breaking the law and digitally communicating with another country, I found out all about the Internet, cell phones, streaming and so much more. It was beyond my wildest dream and supported my beliefs that the US is hurting because of the 28th amendment. I demanded that government officials read the transcription of my conversation, they told the President, who flew to Canada to see the society they had become. And every since then, Savior's Day seizes to exist. While the US is severely behind other countries in terms of technological advancements, we have made immense progress. And now, I am able to tell my story to you all on a platform I only dreamed to be a possibility.
For more speculative fiction stories CLICK HERE!.
