Seeker

by Douglas E. Richards

Returns 1 Anwar Sadiq whispered a silent prayer to Allah, clutched the American-made M4 assault rifle strapped around his neck, and glanced at his watch. He estimated that showtime was now only ten to fifteen minutes away. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, twin beacons framed by the folded black scarf that covered his head and face, their intensity and shine indicating intelligence and zealotry in equal measure—a lethal combination.

In the West, the phone had become a drug even more addictive than opioids. In a culture becoming ever more secular, the phone had become a god.

Luddite

It’s gotten so bad that for several years now, we’ve been keeping our most important secrets in paper notebooks, never letting them touch anything electronic.” “Wow,” mumbled Stephanie Annise, unable to help herself, “that’s like the Dark Ages.”

Headrick smiled. “Not at all,” he replied in amusement. “Our people have learned how to use their quills at night, by torchlight, so we’re okay.”

He knew it wasn’t sentient, but there was no doubt it could fake this well enough to pass a Turing test. Not that this had been considered adequate evidence of consciousness for some time now. Ironically, if an AI were truly sentient, as Ian MacDonald had once pointed out, it would be smart enough to know that it should fail such tests of sentience—on purpose.

But evolution never optimized. Once it found a solution good enough to ensure species survival, it was content.

So Ella was attractive, brilliant, witty . . . and a Star Trek geek? Wow, he thought. She might just be the perfect woman. He made a mental note to marry her if they ever survived.

if we really are at our best, why do so many of us think otherwise?” “Because war, terrorism, violence, mass shootings, and so on are all around you,” replied Seeker. “They seem worse than ever now because you have twenty-four-hour news channels, which bring you constant examples of violence and barbarism from the most remote corners of the globe. These outlets, with the aid of social media, spread and amplify the bad news much more effectively than the good. Plus, few of you are able to put the current age into historical perspective.”

Just how unique is our solar system? Recent findings suggest extremely unique. I hope that this turns out not to be the case, because I like the idea of a Star Trek universe in which endless planets just like Earth are out there. But I suspect that the cosmos doesn’t care about my preferences. The