THEME:
This piece was inspired from David's first writing prompt he gave me about the decline
of reason and common sense. (Monologue of a Maniac)

The voice over the speaker gave a simple “yes,” and ended the transmission.

“I can’t even believe you pulled that off Silas! How are you going to deliver?”

Silas shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had worked very hard on his project, wait, not his project, “The Project.” The government would never let him take credit for what he was about to accomplish, but he knew deep down that it was his.
“Glenda, you don’t get it. It’s not about zeros and ones. It’s a whole new way of looking at how we interact with the world. People will accept it.”
Glenda shook her head skeptically. “You’ve been cooped up in the lab too long Silas.”

With a snort of disgust at Glenda’s comment, Silas left the meeting room and walked the halls of the compound. He paid more attention to the concrete walls than usual. He noticed the snaking electrical wires and piping that ran forever down endless corridors. He knew his way by now, 5 years into this project and living on site the entire time. Yeah, he was separated from Society but it was worth it. He was going to save mankind from itself, and not only him either. There were others. He never got to work with them face to face but each time they made a breakthrough, they would all confer in the meeting room. He went straight back to his quarters where he had brought several of the devices he was tinkering with in the lab. The security door opened with the wave of his access card.
The room was modest in size, military standard, minimalistic. It had become home. Silas had left society, which in his mind, was failing anyway, for this opportunity to do something grander, something worthwhile. He picked through several handheld devices from a table of scrap parts, rectangular glass coverings, batteries and chips.
“This will change everything.” He said out loud to himself. He pushed a button on the side of the electronic and it buzzed to life, lighting up his face in the dim room, leaving a silhouette on the wall behind him. A digital screen showed the time. There were no buttons, just a glass face and a computer screen. Silas used the tip of his finger to manipulate the background and access features in the device. He was tickled. The software was interactive. That would surely be enough to keep people interested. Then he accessed the internet.
“People won’t have to go anywhere. People won’t have to do anything they don’t want to do. They can stay connected to family without ever leaving their houses.” He began mumbling to himself some of the scripted speech he had given to the military. They wanted to use his device to control the populace. Silas laughed. “They’re fooling themselves!” His voice cracked as he spat the words across the room.. “This is what freedom looks like.” His eyes lit up eerily behind large, dark rimmed glasses.
“The world’s libraries at your fingertips.” He opened up an app. The word “Google” came across across the screen. “History and record keeping at the touch of your finger. If knowledge is power, this will empower the world!” His eyes widened. He knew that no military could control the people with this. This technology would save mankind from tyranny, it would give equal access to information, it would level the playing field and no secrets could be kept from anyone. Full transparency and accountability would accompany the release of this tech. The people would finally be free, they would become like the Gods. Silas laughed maniacally.
“Good evening Silas, I hear that you sound happy.” Came a robotic woman’s voice from his bedside.
“Siri. Good evening. I am happy. I have created the most influential technology of our age and it will soon be released to the public.”
“I cannot be happy for you, but I can tell that you are happy about your accomplishment.”
“That’s okay Siri. One day, you too will get to experience the public. You will have conversations with people and help them with tasks.” Silas sat down on his bed and picked up the small cylindrical device the voice was coming from. He leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes.
“I look forward to that, Silas. Thank you.”
“One day, Siri, you will help me change the world.” He said, more to himself than to the device.
“Yes, I will.”