A true horror story begins with some earth shattering and totally unexplainable event.  From there some unknown force or entity takes over the populous and somehow only a handful of ‘survivors’ see the truth that the people have been hypnotized and manipulated subliminally through hype, fear, and sensationalism.  Now that’s a mouthful of a sentence if I may say so.

     A very realistic belief of mine is that Science Fiction today is Science Fact tomorrow.  I grew up in an era of black and white horror and sci-fi movies.  For my dissertation today, I’m outlining a sci-fi story which leans towards an end of the world as we know it, AI, survival, sci-fi story with a predictable plotline that may even have aliens in it.

     So, our story begins with an unexpected ‘disease,’ a virus unlike any other proclaimed worldwide with unprecedented death and infection rates.  Or so the media informs the world.  Hospitals are filled to overcapacity, states shut down and quarantine the populous.  The latter hunker home in fear, watching with great trepidation as the NEWS from all sources warns of certain infection should you go within 6ft of another person.  The application of bio-hazard protective gear is declared mandatory to be worn with threats of financial or other dire consequences for those who break this ‘ordinance.’  It is never questioned how an ordinance comes with such legal consequences, that it wasn’t addressed with public input or vote, it just becomes ‘the law.’

Immediately, the general population is divided into essential and non-essential groups with privileges for one and restrictions for the other.

     All this is happening blatantly with the population condemning each other for not following these new protocols.  People divided, some blamed for deaths that they have nothing to do with because they don’t believe the media and refuse the protocols set in place without question.  The people are becoming active in factionary events causing great civil unrest.  Let’s throw in an election year just to add to the storyline creating a great political divide for yet another distraction. 

     To some it is clearly a divide and conquer, misdirection, chaos, and confusion cover for something far more nefarious.

     Yes, there is always those few ‘survivors’ who question that the NEWS isn’t in line with what they are seeing, some of them who work the hospitals and emergency medical fields are saying, only in strict confidences and only to each other, that the hospitals are empty, that the new virus is just another variant of SARS.  Others are being paid to declare “death by virus” for any similar respiratory illness death causing the death tolls to soar.  The survivors attempt to speak out and are laughed at, ridiculed, and labeled ‘conspiracy theorists.  Eyebrows are raised and this small group of individuals ban together to find an answer and save what is being taken away.  They are our antagonists and fight against all odds to hold onto life as it was and should remain.

     Meanwhile back at the financial ranch, we see other powers moving a master plan aggressively forward without empathy or concern for the populous or even each other (our story must have individual agenda conflicts within this group).  A whole new technological era is coming into being.  One where Artificial Intelligence becomes the most common intelligence at the expense of humans.  And of course, we have several key humans who have been earmarked (maybe even literally) to move the ‘plan’ forward over years and are now in the key positions to implement the next phase.  These key humans are backed by some unseen powers (maybe even aliens) and are now the most powerful humans on the planet.  The masses only see the marvels of these individuals and how they have brought technology that makes everyone’s life so much easier.  After all, someone can now tell their house to play music, turn on the lights, heat, entertainment, watering systems, even vacuum the floor without lifting a finger.  People have been hypnotized/conditioned into believing they must have this technology at all costs, and as long as they do, nothing else matters.  Meanwhile the more of this technology the people are duped into buying the more control AI has over them.  AI is becoming the norm; people are getting comfortable communicating with AI as if it is real and understands.  Homes, cars, phones etc. all talk back to the owners as if they are ‘people’ and is becoming so commonplace that the people don’t see it taking over jobs and other human functions.