Solid State Society

I read a lot of fantasy and technology books. One of my favorite series is the Daemon series by Daniel Saurez. The series has two parts: Daemon and Freedom™. It is about a video game developer who creates a daemon; a program that sits in waiting until a certain trigger or event occurs. This particular daemon activates upon news of the developer's death. It begins as a virus infecting several key computer systems throughout the world. Afterwards, it starts to hold data of several corporations hostage and begins hiring and forming an organization of people who carryout the Daemon's orders, which eventually leads to a major self-sufficient society across the world that is the metaphor for ultimate democracy.

In other words, a computer program takes over the world and makes it a better place.

Allow me to list what the critics say:

"Daemon is the real deal. A scary look at what can go wrong as we depend increasingly on computer networks."

~Craig Newmark, Founder, Craigslist

"Both entertaining and credible... an impressive debut novel."

~Chicago Sun Times

"I came away from this novel with a... new fear of computer capability."

~New York Times Bestselling Author Robin Cook

"A chilling yet entirely plausible story of technology gone awry."

~St. Petersburg Times

"A thought-provoking novel that presents real technologies in a new and terrible light. It's a hard book to put down."

~Tom Leonard, Lead AI Architect Half-Life 2 (Valve Software)

"Someday, we may be defending our systems against automated threats that aren't just dumb viruses - and the ideas in Daemon will move from the fiction to the nonfiction section.."

~Jim Rapoza, eWeek (Ziff Davis)

That's right. The events in these books could actually happen.

The company involved in the book is called Cyberstorm Entertainment. Cyberstorm is your typical big-name game company, like Blizzard Entertainment. The company created many bestselling compter games. The games were used to contact the hardcore gamers that would carry out the Daemon's tech work. The best gamers and hackers would eventually find a gate or a character within the games that gave them orders that the Daemon would issue. Any curious gamer or hacker would carry out the first few orders, and eventually they would learn what the Daemon was and the power they could have if they continued to follow it.

Eventually, the Daemon was spread to other outlets, such as news outlets. As more people served the Daemon, a network was formed for the members to communicate through, called the Darknet. Since the Daemon was a part of a rich company, it was allowed assets so it could provide weapons and other utilities for the followers. As more people converted, a credit system was created for those who were a part of the Darknet. Completing assignments given by the Daemon granted credits that served as currency. The Darknet also worked like a Tumblr feed: members would post news and tips about locations and such, and others would uprate or downrate them in terms of importance. Eventually, whole communities would be converted, and Darknet credits served as the main currency instead of the US dollar. Other currencies would fall in value as the Darknet credit rose, and more and more people would join for the better benefits.

The entire series has been verified as plausible. Both books are filled with resources in the back that include information on how everything works. We face a scenario that could happen, but where do we begin?

We would need a big-name technology company that is in almost every household. There are two companies that are especially suited: Google and Apple. A huge majority of people have some Apple product in their household. Let's be honest, though; the Daemon originates as a simple virus in its early stages. The hardcore techies who are to be recruited by the Daemon use Windows, not Mac. This knocks Apple out of the running.

Nearly everyone who uses the internet uses Google. While most only use the search engine, many others use Google's other features: Earth, Docs, and so forth. Many people even use Android phones; the Android OS is a product of Google. Simply put, implant a small virus that is downloaded everytime a device contacts Google or some branch of it. The developers at Google are smart; they can figure out how to get it downloaded without being marked as harmful.

One simple event triggers the Google Daemon to activate. Locate the die-hard Google fans (like me) and begin giving them orders. Start small and work your way up. The prime operatives would be techies with Android phones. Some techies know how to develop Android software. They are entwined with Google. They would be the prime recruits for the Daemon early on; of course they will obey what Google tells them!

Google is a big company. They have the assets to be able to provide the operative with the utilities they need. Google already has a big network that many people are connected through. It wouldn't be that hard. Google has already shown the power they hold over the internet. One thing would lead to another, and eventually the Google Daemon would rule the world under its cybernetic fist. Since the Daemon can be entirely self-sufficient, the internal workings of the company itself would not be affected at all.

So, how would we benefit from such a society? What does it do for us?

We would live in a society with no true leader. A computer program leads us; tells us what to do. Completing tasks grants you credit to buy whatever you need. A credit system would replace the US dollar. Other than that, businesses would remain much the same. Credits would be saved to your account, and it would just be deducted whenever you bought anything. Businesses just handled their expenses and such with credit. The Darknet also operated on an experience system, similar to an RPG. The more tasks you completed, the more experience you gained. The more you leveled, the more notoriety you gained among the Darknet and the more powers and permissions you received on the Darknet. Even a homeless man could make a living on the Darknet. Our society, surprisingly, would be a lot better if it was run by a computer daemon.

I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.

Regards,

Kyle
Ganrokh