The issues arose the year before the national election in the United States of America. Microprocessor based devices all around the world started glitching mysteriously, causing no end of problems for people who’d come to rely on computers and computer controlled machines in their day to day lives. Cellphones would suddenly hiccup and stop working in the middle of important texts and conversations. Airplanes were lost in flight when their navigation systems failed, and had to land where and when they could. In the midst of rush hour traffic vehicles would go silent and roll to a stop, resulting in crashes and general chaos on the roads.
The stock markets were exhibiting odd trading patterns as algorithms stopped delivering the goods, and then the market’s computer networks stopped working one after another, but not before a brutal sell-off. There were a lot of very unhappy people in those days, and every day thereafter more problems led to more misery.
Monica was the science adviser to the president, and dreaded delivering her findings to the grim jowled and panicked chief-executive, who sat surrounded by his cabinet members and generals.
“So Monica, what good news have you brought us?” the president joked.
“Mr. President, we’ve discovered the source of the computer problems, and frankly are mystified by what we’ve found. There appears to be a change happening on a molecular or atomic level in integrated circuits and silicon based components, the workhorses and guts of most high tech devices. Close inspection of faulty chips reveals a complete absence of silicon, which as you know Mr. President is the foundational element in integrated circuits and transistors. The experts who’ve analyzed the evidence and data tell me that there really is no way to explain what’s happening. What they see under the microscope, along with spectrographic analysis, is that where there was once silicon present in a chip, what they find now is an element heretofore unknown, undiscovered, and therefore unnamed. The problems they’ve been having trying to get a handle on it are compounded by the fact that most research equipment in use now in laboratories are micro processor based, and built around silicon chips.”
“So we know what’s happening, but we don’t know why it’s happening, and every day I hear about some new tragedy or inconvenience confronting us,” the president said, clearly unhappy with her report. “Is there any consensus as to why it seems to be a random event that a device fails, eg that my iphone works fine while yours stops working suddenly?”
“We havn’t discerned a pattern yet sir,” she answered. “The scientists working on the problem tell me that it’s as if the laws of physics no longer apply, so the labs are full of confused and depressed scientists and researchers. They assure me though that they’ll get to the bottom of this and solve the problem. They aren’t happy though at the prospect of having to return to pencil and paper to do their calculations.”
“We have to solve this problem Monica,” the president declared. “We also have to remember that one of our slogans for the election is ‘Believe In Science.’ We’ll be trounced and laughed out of town by the voters, or hanged by angry mobs if things get worse here and around the world. My administration was a success before this crisis, and will be a success again when I’m re-elected. I shudder at the thought of our opponents gaining power and exploiting this crisis for their craven purposes.”
Things did get worse. The people were confronted with a reality they’d never experienced before. Uncertainty and dread permeated their lives. Would the elevator suddenly glitch and plummet 30 stories tonight? Will my phone call go through? Have the experts placed safeguards on the nuclear-tipped cruise missiles? Will Alexa hear me call out, and will she respond? Will the day-care go up in flames because the heating system gas valve didn’t close due to a failed processor? The media was following government directives to go easy on the fear and dread mongering, and to promote public calm and stoic acceptance of the situation as being just a temporary inconvenience, soon to be fixed by the experts.
But things got worse day by day. Switching facilities at power plants shut down, resulting in loss of reliable electricity supplies across the land. Before that happened processor controlled traffic lights were failing, along with vehicles on the roads. One after another oil rigs stopped drilling, steel mills went dark, and orbiting satellites powered down. The media finally succumbed, one network at a time. Computer controlled security systems failed, resulting in doors opening in prisons without warning, and a dash to freedom by the excited inmates. All interstate and international commerce ceased. ATMs stopped dispensing cash.
Chaos was the order of the day and violent crime rates shot through the roof. There seemed to be no logical explanation for why one power grid switching station’s computers would fail, while just 50 miles distant switches kept working. By now the government had grounded all air traffic in the name of public safety. Then came suspension of light rail, heavy rail, and all other forms of mass transit. Cell tower repeaters blinked off one after another, adding profoundly to the people’s woes. Supply lines for food supplies and any number of consumer items were disrupted and eventually eliminated outright. Yet the election loomed and the choices seemed stark and bleak between the two parties. ‘Believe In Science!’, along with, Trust The Experts!’ and ‘Vote For Empathy!’ were the president’s party slogans. On the other side, ‘Chin Up America!’, along with, ‘We’ll Fix It Cause We’re Great!’ and ‘Our People First!’ adorned building walls and roadside signs held by the tattered and disenfranchised from all walks of life.
CP Butchvarov
2023
Copyright © 2023 by CP Butchvarov