Uncanny Valley: Artificial Intelligence

Near future. Society is not what many hoped it would be, rather, it looks like what many others feared. Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft… the Big Tech are more powerful than ever. The line between governments and enterprises has blurred. Powerful countries struggle and fight not to lose its power and grip, so do the powerful in control of them.

Climate disasters, crime, corruption… are even more commonplace. Food, jobs, housing and fuel are scarce, crime and despair are plentiful. However, somehow, the world still functions, but not everybody is paying attention. Bread and circuses are still a powerful resource.

And there is a new threat, the Artificial Intelligence. And not due to the “intelligence” part, but the “artificial”. As usual with most man-made things, the bad uses are almost as endless as the capabilities.

But something is indeed better. Humankind has now helpers, and it seems there is still hope. Robots are now an inseparable part of our society. “Real” robots, as imagined by children, with heads and limbs, not the robots present in assembly lines. They have conquered almost every aspect of our modern life. They can perform almost any task, from run-of-the-mill ones, like painting, cooking, mowing, caring for elders and children… to piloting spaceships. This was the nightmare of many people some years ago, but the truth is that the lack of jobs and many of the other forecast catastrophes are happening, yes, but not because of them.

Even some police agents are now robots, being the most fearsome of them the Roguard. It is a superb machine, an unbeatable robot. Strong, fast, hard. Completely equipped with scores of accessories and weaponry. Incorruptible, untirable, a real champion of the law and order. Thousands of them roam the streets, driving the criminals out them, cleaning, watching the city. They can run in drone or autonomous mode. Either way, if they are after you, you are arrested, or history. But the hunters started to be the prey. Someone is going after them, someone found the way to fight them.

One day, a young celebrity is shot in the middle of a crowd. No one saw anything. The city is in turmoil. The same day, a police truck is rammed by a car, and four Roguards, which were in the police truck, are destroyed by the attackers. Rob, our adventurer, and Lisa, a lovely girl, were inside. They had met in the truck. Lisa had been detained and taken into the truck for a misdemeanor, and Rob does not remember why he was there.

They manage to escape from the scene, but they are still in danger. Some men start to pursue them, but why? They do not know. Lisa suspects Rob is the reason, but he can only remember the name of his mother, Sarah, and little more. He cannot find a way to contact his family, or to find out who he is, but he knows where to go if something like this happened. Lisa and her father, Rick, will help Rob reach his destination, but it will not be easy. The pursuers do not stop, the law is not helping them, and even the Roguards could be after them. There are more people at stake, however. How can Rob protect his loved ones when he does not even remind who they are? He believes he can flee and save himself, but, at what cost? What would happen to the others? Would his family be safe? Lisa and Rick are at risk now too, and because of him. They help him because they believe he is the victim, but, is that really the case? How can he be sure?

Go with Rob and Lisa on their seemingly unsurmountable obstacle course, and in the meanwhile be immersed in a world that, yesteryear, seemed impossible, or far, far away, but now looms closer every day. Rob will find out a lot of things in his way. Perhaps, some of them, can teach something to all of us.