"Operation Human Chip"

"The governments have scheduled a free complete physical for every member of the society in the entire world. Everyone, please report to one of the designated hospitals or clinics nearest you. If you look at the newly installed billboard screens which are everywhere, you will find a mandated medical facility".

They were not kidding, it seemed as if the billboards had popped up overnight. But in hindsight, they had been working on it for months, we just never really paid any attention.

People who were uninsured were the ones at the head of the lines, lines which stretched so far no one knew where they started or ended.

This went on for months. There were small riots, scuffles and bickering as children were pulled from schools and adults struggled to contain them and their youthful curiosity.

++++6 months later

Governments throughout the world announced that within the last six months, approximately half of their population had received their free physicals.

Those who declined the physicals were surprised by visits from agents and organizations with various previously non-existent acronym-formed bureaus and agencies. Businesses and homes were visited, and individuals were rounded up like cattle. No one was allowed to report to their jobs without first receiving their physicals.

The previously sick and infirm members of society were mysteriously disappearing. Families were told that they were being relocated to special facilities for treatment. They never returned.

++++

But, as with every new change, an opposing faction had sprung up. They claimed that the free physical was a government ploy to control their subjects, subjugate them and make them compliant like sheep to the slaughter.

The police and national guards had long been ordered out to control the crowds and maintain order. Things had really gotten out of hand. Now the lines were more orderly, still long and crowded, but more subdued.

++++1 year later

In an underground facility, a group of hackers gathered in a secret lab, monitoring government activities. Three times they had had to move their locations as men in black suits and SUVs had raided their hideouts. A few of their colleagues had been detained, arrested, bailed out and released with warnings.

The government spies were watching their every move.

"People against Control", reported that the 'free physical ' was nothing but a ruse against unsuspecting humans that would change their way of thinking.

THE GOVERNMENT HAD DECIDED THAT IF THEY COULD NOT CHANGE PEOPLE'S WAY OF THINKING, THEN THEY WERE LEFT WITH NO CHOICE BUT TO PHYSICALLY DISGUISE THE REAL FUNCTION...USING REMOTE ACCESS THEY WOULD CONTROL AND MANIPULATE THEM AT WILL.

The young and strong would become soldiers, assassins, government spies, and more. Everyone could be used to spy on everyone, not even children would be immune from becoming like trained animals.

A special group was being trained to detain and arrest or eliminate anyone who interfered or tried to educate the public, or if they posed a threat to the planned implementation of the new world order.

People knew that something was terribly wrong.

++++5 years later

Fully three-quarters of the world had been had undergone the 'unnamed treatment', as it had come to be known. But most of humanity refused to believe that the world had changed, how could they? They were now mostly incapable of free will and choice.

With the powers that be now able to control the actions of computer engineers, software developers, analysts and the entire spectrum of 'techies' everywhere, the moral aspects of computer technology and the impact on society was no longer a debate.

++++10 years later. AI took over control of everything.

Technological advancement had reached its zenith. The governments were fast losing control of their now far advanced computer network worldwide. Slowly, the AI which humanity had advanced, had begun to advance itself far beyond the reach of human control.

AI had now forced everyone in governments to receive their treatments. No human was left to exercise free will. Even those who lived in far and remote regions of the world, were hunted down and made to receive the cure.

++++15 years later

"People against everything", had long abandoned their fight. AI and computer technology were so far advanced that they could track them everywhere.

Or so they thought...

In a dense forest in an unnamed location, behind a breathtaking, cascading waterfall, is a fortified cave-like structure.

There are untouched humans beyond this structure. If one is allowed in...you will see fields of vegetables, compact housing hidden from aerial view, and tree covered barn-like buildings where food was being processed. Children played and everywhere, groups of people were busy doing some kind of activity.

Most important of all, one would see the ones training for the fight to return freedom to humanity.

++++

But as Kallian, the leader of the group, stood looking at the over 300 strong and able-bodied warriors who had escaped the process, he could not help but wonder if humanity was really worth saving.

Joyala, his mate, walked over to join him, touching his shoulder as he turned and smiled. She too looked to the sunlit panorama, seeing the kind of scenery that makes your heart skip a beat and your camera work overtime!

Beyond the Sunlit Mountains the sun ascended, casting its golden hue upon the rugged peaks. There, atop the rolling mountains, is the witness to nature’s freedom and grandeur.

The morning is quiet, the air is crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and dewy grass. The valley below lies cocooned in mist, a secret between earth and sky.

The mountains themselves rise with quiet majesty. Jagged cliffs, softened by eons of wind and rain, jut out like the proud shoulders of a guardian. Lichen clings to the rocks.

As the sun clears the horizon, it spills warmth across the landscape, illuminating patches of emerald green. Each leaf seems to knows it’s part of something magical.

A stand of pine trees lines the ridge as the breeze rustles through their branches, a gentle susurrus...an invitation to pause and listen.

Below, is a quilt of meadows, rivers, and tiny hamlets. The river snakes through, glinting like a silver ribbon.

Above, a pair of eagles ride the thermals.

Wildflowers, alpine blooms...violets, buttercups, and delicate forget-me-nots, carpet the ground. Their colors defy the rocky soil, declaring life’s insistence on beauty.

Perhaps the most enchanting part is the silence of nature. It wraps around you like a soft shawl. No car horns, no ringing phones. Just the wind, the birds, and your own heartbeat.

As they stood there, a part of this infinitesimal vista, Kallian and Joyala realized that beauty isn’t just seen; it’s felt. The sunlit mountain becomes a sanctuary for your weary spirit, a place where time slows, and worries dissolve.

Kallian took Joyala's hand in his, turned back to the furtive movements and activities of the people who depended on his guidance and leadership to free humanity once again, and his brows furrowed.

Overhead, the drones hummed, paused for a few minutes as movement below halted. A few rabbits were released, they hopped into view of the drones and scurried into the underbrush.

Satisfied, they drones buzzed and veered over the hills.

Yes!!! Kallian decided...Humanity, despite all their faults, deserved to be free....!

Chapter 2...