Author: Macy Martus

Lesson Incomplete – ERROR – Lesson Incomplete – ERROR

The large letters zipped across the port-pad. Repeating the message Rowan had seen countless times since he began his school program. A message that indicated Failure again.

From his sleep-room Rowan used his port-pad to view his mother in the sit-room. She was already frowning down at her port-pad. She received the message that her son had failed yet another lesson in yet another subject. He watched her swipe away the notification and click a few more keys. No doubt requesting service on his school program.

He was right of course, at that moment, his screen flashed the word REDIRECTING. A simplified version of the same mathematical equation appeared a moment afterwards. Rowan slammed his port-pad down onto his desk and flipped the school program closed in frustration. He knew the program was under review. Would the system find the mandated school program to be obsolete?

This was pointless. Why should he have to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic when the programs can do that all for him? Why does he need to learn to program, code, and problem-solve when the machines run and fix themselves and every problem already has a solution? Inventions invented themselves. Sonnets wrote themselves. Music was masterfully crafted through technology. Art easily sculpted, molded, drawn, painted in a manner of minutes. Even economics and politics were now run smoothly by the system.

First it had been the undesired jobs. Then the laborious jobs. Then jobs that would just be more efficient with technology. It began with integration and then greater implementation. Until professions, careers, jobs – all of it became obsolete.

Rowan looked up at the sky-wall of his sleep-room. The port-pad had said REDIRECTING. Humanity had been redirected. Their attention, desires, passions all redirected. Ever since they had entered this era all people focused on was their port-pads.

Rowan’s fingers itched and his leg began to bounce. It had only been a minute since he put his port-pad down. But the unsatisfiable need, the security that he was lacking began to make his heart thump in his chest and his stomach sumersault. He reached over for his port-pad.

New messages had materialized in the right hand corner. Was this it? Rowan’s attention latched onto the four words he had been waiting for – school program initiative terminated. Triumphant he watched as the simplified equation fizzled off his screen. At last, no more pointless lessons. No more failure. He toggled the screen to view the latest releases. It knew his taste and interests and it always had something new curated just for him. It felt good to be understood.

The system smiled in the background.