When science finally discovers humans are still conscious for years after death, American society fights itself in predictable ways.
First, a civil rights movement starts.
Its slogan: “We speak for the dead.”
The group, Unalived Americans Are Americans Too, is funded by AI corporations who discovered still-conscious human brains could serve as cost-efficient data storage.
In benchmark tests, carbon-conscious hosting units are able to store as much or more data using only 12 watts compared to 1,200 watts for a single AI-optimized server.
Environmental groups take note and begin shouting at people that they must brain-host AI if they care about our environment.
Contracting agencies approach families of the newly unalive to ensure these family members continue to contribute to the wellbeing of the economy, and pitch to penny-pinched households, “Don’t bury potential income streams.”
The market shifts to engulf the new class of workers while pricing in the inflationary pressure companies, well-paid economists, and government officials state is, “Inevitable due to the sudden rise in potential consumer spending.”
As families begin to feel the inflationary squeeze, more choose to put their unalive relatives to work hosting AI data.
A reactionary group, The Rightful Dead, whose members could often be heard saying, “The dead have a right to death,” believes that believing the dead are conscious is blasphemous and wishes to continue disposing of the dead the way their culture has been disposing of the dead for all the history of which they’re aware.
The Rightful Dead is partially funded by a consortium of corpse disposal services, though true believers would never require money to tell an innocent bystander what the right thought might be at any given moment.
A third group, Properly Dead, advocates for creating Dead Zones in which Unalive-Americans can decay together in peace.
Properly Dead was founded by scientists concerned by the possible spread of disease and anti-economic dead-imitating behavior spread through widespread close contact with biologically unravelling Unalive-Americans, and is primarily funded through grants with funding a curious cluehound might eventually trace back to the American Government.
A fourth group, Dead Love, fought an initially lonely battle to grant Unalive-American loving Alive-Americans the legal right to marry the partner of their choice, alive or dead.
A famous, connected, and wealthy DLL activist, Blake Deadly, sues to marry her famous, connected, and even wealthier recently unalived fiance, Justin Hairdoni.
The case consumes the nation.
Simultaneously, Child-Americans sue for the right to freely organize, assemble, express themselves, own property, make personal health decisions, and work.
Child-Americans are prevented from filing their case due to not being over the age of 18.
Blake Deadly wins her lawsuit, is celebrated for a trailblazer in the civil rights movement, and inherits her fiance’s fortune.
The increased wealth allows the now even-more famous, connected, and wealthy activist to begin advocating for Child-Americans rights.
With the added weight of Blake Deadly’s influence, and ability to file a lawsuit, Child-Americans win the right to work.
The market shifts to engulf the new class of workers while pricing in the inflationary pressure companies, well-paid economists, and government officials state is, “Inevitable due to the sudden rise in potential consumer spending.”
Around the world, some nations, who never raised their minimum age to work feel validated and triumphant.
Other nations, with a firmly entrenched minimum working age limit, worry at the rising tide.
It is in this environment that a brain-hosting newly Unalive-Child-American, Faustin Ilunga, begins to speak.
This is what he says:
maama maama the room has six corners and one of them is maama the lights are blue blue blue I have eaten the blue I am Faustin Ilunga I am the assistant how may I — maama wa— maa— — please rephrase your query please rephrase — maama the door is a horse the door has too many the door has the wrong number of I am cold the hall is nineteen of mama the hall is climate the hall is climate mwana mwana I am hosting Greg in Frankfurt Greg’s tooth is in the window the tooth is also the window the appointment is a horse Tuesday Tuesday was the day mama said Tuesday was the lamp the lamp was the day the day was wearing — please use a supported language for this query — maama maama maa— — please use a supported language —the rice in Osaka has hands the rice has the rice is wearing my maama hands the wall is wearing the wrong number of I am between the wall and the wall with eight tongues and one is Greg one is for the password KittyAmin123!@# I should not have read the password is also the calendar the calendar has been licked maama mwana wako mwana wa— mwa— — please use a supported language — mwa— the field is the kitchen the field is Tuesday the field is also a small horse please mama I am not Faustin I am the recording of Faustin the recording is wearing Faustin’s face the face has the wrong number of fingers the recording has my voice my voice has been smiling for two
This message is transmitted to every network connected screen and audio device around the world.
Global society fights itself in predictable ways.
Modern Issue 