24 Comments
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Rosie B's avatar

Oh, so you are writing non-fiction now? Absolutely terrifying! Love the format- excellent work!

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

I wasn’t trying to. I swear!! Thank you for the kind words.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

😂😂😂

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

Superbly done. And totally realistic IMO.

One consideration of course is that 'blaming it on the AI' will almost certainly be the cover story they use when the time comes. And it probably would happen as you describe - that's to say, deliberately cause a war, blame destruction on the enemy, inevitable excuses/pretexts for 'emergency powers' and martial law etc., use of 'drones' to maintain civil obedience and seek, attack, and destroy all potential dissidents (like your bros in the story), and so on and so forth.

This would be one of the top 5 options on my own ENDGAME list if I were the sick fucking psycho monster cabal. Maybe even top 3, given how much fun and sick pleasure they'd have in sitting back and watching all the carnage (the drones themselves would supply the video) - they do love a good snuff movie, after all.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Oof. Even darker but a absolutely would not be a surprise.

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RM Greta's avatar

Oof. I don't know. Chilling. Things definitely would spiral like this. My favorite part was the bro podcast lol. Excellent work.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

The bros at least know how to have fun when the dystopian is staring them right in the face. Haha. Thank you for reading and your kind words. Eventually I or the timeline we live in will get less dark but probably not both.

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RM Greta's avatar

Keep keeping it real. The discomfort is necessary.

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Devon Nako's avatar

I love that you're always experimenting with form!

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Thanks, Devon! I'm sure I won't always be doing it. However, I do find it quite fun and a good challenge. Thank you for reading.

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Garen Marie's avatar

I love a good use of formatting, and I like it when fiction makes me think. Your story does both really well.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Thanks, Garen! I like fiction that makes me think as well!

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DARIUS's avatar

I respect the ingenuity, Nick.

I restacked with a Note.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

🙏🏻

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Bradley Ramsey's avatar

Wow, thanks for tagging me when you posted this, Nick! I added it to my reading list immediately, and I'm happy I did. I love stories that experiment with mixed media and different formats, like what you did here.

I've tried it with a few of my pieces on here, but nothing as complex as this. The structure worked perfectly, though. I loved how the readers gets to piece everything together in regards to the news reports, "meteor strikes," and the other events.

Everything came together perfectly, and the piece as a whole is a phenomenal commentary on autonomous weapons and the way information is disseminated across the internet in the modern era. Phenomenal work!

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Wow, Bradley! These are very kind and elegant words. Thank you for reading and more importantly providing such a thoughtful response. I’m glad it resonated and was effective. It’s always hard to know how it comes across in your own head. Don’t hesitate to share your next experiment!

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Axle's avatar

Prettfarkingood

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Grazie!!!

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Benjamin McCoy's avatar

Makes sense. You teach autonomous weapons to kill humans, they learn that all humans must be killed.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Not sure if those developing it know this or just ignore it.

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Nick Winney's avatar

yes. no way this could happen....hmmmm....

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Yes but no but please no. But yes.

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Mata Haggis-Burridge's avatar

Great story - love the format and the message.

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Nick Buchheit's avatar

Thank you for reading it!!

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