"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein
"In a few minutes a computer can make a mistake so great it would have taken many men many months to equal it." -Unknown
To Whom It May Concern:
By the time you are reading this, the dreams of our era will most likely have faded to dust along with our marvels. Technology will have advanced far beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of and the world will bear a very different face. It is important, however, that we retain links to the past, especially where overbearing governments and shifting world powers may seek to recreate the future on the basis of false pasts. Hence I write to you from the past so that you may glimpse at the destruction that will surely have passed and understand what lead to it.
It is the year 2007 and mankind’s existence is quickly rising to a climax. We have connected the entirety of our planet with countless invisible wires of composed of pure data in a complex pattern of 0’s and 1’s we commonly refer to as the “internet.” Essentially we have removed all physical boundaries and expanded into the vastness of space with our communications technology. Information from all across the globe can be transmitted anywhere almost instantly through “broadband” connections. Businesses and individuals have both benefited from and exploited this technology in pursuit of more gain. Greed and capitalism, similar beasts by different titles, have become a primary source of motivation for communications development especially in regard to the “internet.”
With the creation of the “internet” came the inevitable mass exodus from paper to plasma as worldwide citizens depend more and more on the “internet” and the computer as a means of journaling and personal therapy. In more recent times the web log, or “blog” as it is commonly known, has been a key source of the breakdown of the human condition and of social sense. Millions of people a day retreat from the stress and anguish of everyday life into a private world of free speech and unlimited boundaries that exists in the form of these “blogs.” Through unchallenged opinions posted for selfish benefit we have removed ourselves from the refreshing reality of skepticism and have transcended into a realm of fantasy and self destructive thought. Notions of suicide and murder go untended as they are slowly placed forth under innocent titles and “typical teenage drama.” Man finds truth in his statements only because no one sets forth to challenge him. We have all become extremists of introversion, dependent on the visible track of our thoughts to prove to ourselves how right we are and how futile our situation is. We have set forth on a path that leads only to doom.
It would not surprise me to learn that in your time we have begun again. Perhaps whoever finds this will wear a gunbelt and ride a horse, or perhaps not even speak the same language. I do not blame the complete eradication of the human race, if that is what happened, on the internet, but I do give reason to believe that it contributed to the plot. It is important though, that whoever read this remember the importance of human interaction. We are social creatures by birth and are sure to find reasonable arguments if they come only from ourselves. Our duty is to seek each other’s guidance and live accordingly that all of us may find comfort and safety and emotional relief. We are members of the human race and if we cannot help each other, then we are doomed to fail as individuals.
I pray that whoever reads this is in good health and finds themselves enlightened by this vision from the past. We have come farther than anyone dreamed of, and every decision we have made has had no promise of success. Now we have fallen into the pitfall of our decisions and are pulling the future backwards with us. If, through our arrogance and greed, we have caused trouble to befall the future generations, I beg forgiveness. It was never our intent to destroy your dreams with ours.
Sincerely,
Thomas Graham Schoonover
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