Svelt was not one to brood over a loss. After his defeat on Clark Mountain, he retreated to the dark web with his Margosha and Putin avatars to work on Plan B. They decided to take a more indirect route to their goal of world domination, one that would use new science and new technology to divide and conquer.
Their scheme drew upon findings of the Human Brain Project, or HBP. …
This summer, I took part in the New England ritual of an over-the-fence conversation with my neighbor. She and I talked about the kids, how the gardens were doing, and then discussed our community’s approach for holding the COVID-19 delayed Town Meeting.
The plan was to conduct the meeting outdoors on the High School baseball field with seats placed six feet apart, everyone wearing a mask and plenty of hand sanitizer. Voters with fevers were asked not to attend. I mused, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do Town Meetings on Zoom.” …
For many, the word ‘diversity’ conjures up thoughts of affirmative action programs, quota systems, and giving an advantage to someone with less merit. Being angry is understandable when you work hard to achieve your goals only to see someone seemingly jump the line.
We can dismiss these attempts to increase diversity as some lofty liberal snowflake-out, or we can examine our lives and explore the meaning behind the word. Here is what I found.
When I was a teenager, diversity meant a good day fishing at Waushacum Pond, where I never knew what I would catch; Pickerel, Perch, Trout, maybe…
My 99 year old Mom would tell a story from when she was a little girl. Patrick Breen, her dad, my grandfather, was a partner in Gillfeather & Breen, the construction company that helped build Sing Sing Prison.
Patrick had come over on the boat from county Kerry, Ireland, married his landlord’s daughter, my grandmother, Libby, and began to live the American Dream. Things were looking good for the Breens, but the dream didn’t last.
The Depression hit and my Mom’s family began the slow step-down. With each move to a smaller apartment, the money got tighter. …
Excellent exploration of possible digital life after death. You might enjoy this story on the same theme.
“Don’t feel bad, Timmy. The important people know who the real hero is.” It was Maria, offering encouragement as she, Timmy, and Violet sat on a couch in Rico’s apartment — Rico was in the kitchen cooking. They had come together for their regular Taco Tuesday dinner and were watching a VR stream of the Mayor awarding a medal to his cybersecurity chief in recognition of his brilliant work fending off the recent attack. It was typically political. …
Maria immediately found herself in pitch black. “Ouch!” After bumping her head more than once, she turned around and saw Rico following with a flashlight he pulled from his tactical vest. “Figured you might need this,” he said. He shined the light down the tunnel.
Strewn on the floor was the equipment Natalie used to breach the wall. Rico and Maria advanced in a crouch down the narrow, winding tunnel and would have missed the trail if Rico had not paused to stand upright at a spot where the ceiling rose. …
Timmy was enjoying his role as lead human on the cyber defense team. Physically, he was still sitting in Maria’s office, but virtually, he was in the war room with Samantha and Gordon Blatt. The team also had one addition. The ever protective Violet had tracked Maria and Timmy to the office on Whittier Boulevard and watched as Rico and Maria departed on their mission to Clark Mountain. Worried about her friend, she snuck into the building and found Timmy. It took some convincing, but Samantha finally allowed her to join the team as Timmy’s assistant.
“Everything looks pretty normal.”…
Obsessed leaders often look to the past for their heroes and Igor Svelt was no exception. For his inspiration, Svelt turned to Evpaty Kolovrat, the epic Slavic Bogatyr, or knight, who earned his place in history during the Middle Ages. As legend goes, Kolovrat returns from an expedition to find his city of Ryazan destroyed by the Mongolian Hoard. Furious, he gathers a small band of survivors and, through trickery and valiant battle, exacts revenge by destroying the rear guard of the departing invaders. In response, the Mongol leader sends a larger force led by the Horde’s champion, Subotai, who…
Superman had his Fortress of Solitude to safeguard his most precious possessions. But, it was only by chance that the mountain chosen to protect the Fortunate’s treasured backups had the same name as the superhero’s secrete identity. Clark Mountain stands alone as a sky-island in the middle of the Mojave Desert and was selected by the Fortunate as their citadel because of its remote location, dry climate, and stable geology.
To it keep secret, the Vault was constructed under the guise of a cellular communications tower by a private company controlled by the Fortunate. All work was compartmentalized, so each…
Dennis Mulryan
Dennis is a futurist trying his best to push the rope of humankind to a worthy destiny,
