Jinn Part 2

Interlude

Over 200 years ago. Human science and technology had reached unbelievable
scale. Nano-machinery had become commonplace and gene enhancement was
on the rise. Disease and illness had been eradicated. Human
population exploded to over ten billion over the course of two years.
Death was all but stopped.

With many people lived to two hundred
years old the need for vastly increased food production caused a
demand for machines to cultivate, grow and process all of the
necessary ingredients. A small German manufacturing company stepped
up to take the challenge for Germany at least. They had successfully
created machines to work in all sorts of human capacities and spread
globally but never achieved much success. Until they developed a
robot nicknamed The Nurturer. It was a self sustaining, solar
powered, intelligent machine that could choose everything at the
precise right time for all farming needs. Millions were created and
sold within the first year and soon after the began creating machines
to make all manner of other human duties obsolete. Street cleaners,
refuse collectors, electricians, surgeons, doctors, firemen, police.
Within five years they had effectively replaced almost eighty percent
of strictly human occupations with their vastly more efficient
machines and they began to create networks so as to coordinate them
better.

They took over smaller companies and created a Global Interaction Network,
which allowed all of their machines to communicate wirelessly and
manoeuvre freely. If one city was in need of more of a particular
kind of robot, others would come and aid them. It was a marvel of
engineering. A completely self sufficient society was formed within
Munich, Germany. The headquarters of Almhanza was constructed
entirely by machines from an artificial sapphire structure within
just over a week. It was a colossal tower over three miles high,
built out of one solid sapphire crystal and buried deep in the earth.

Humans became increasingly dependant on these machines to fulfil every
aspect of their lives. They became sedentary. The machines took over
all duties and eventually the majority of humanity died off.

In the year 2119, there were eleven billion people on Earth. At the end
of 2120, there were just three billion, and it was declining still.
Many died off simply from lack of activity, organs failed and bodies
decayed. The rest were believed to have been killed by machines for
being a danger to themselves and others. In this way they never
directly overruled the laws of robotics, but it allowed them to
bypass it.

Almhanza never made any attempts to rectify these problems and simply faded
into memory. The machines took over the jobs of everyone and
eventually took over the cities themselves. The few surviving humans
fled to the countryside and set up small enclaves, eventually
attracting others and starting villages. Societies began to form but
many could not survive and quickly crumbled.

Two distinct groups formed. Those who blamed the machines and all
machinery for the downfall of humanity, and those who saw that it was
the fault of humanity itself which led to the end. Those who blamed
the machines refused to use any sort of mechanical device in any way,
they lived hard lives for many years and became bitter towards
others. Colonies soon broke out into war and many more lives were
lost.

For almost a century, the two groups fought. Over land, water, supplies,
food. Thousands were killed and humanity was brought to the edge of
extinction. Although vastly outnumbered, the Adept people overpowered
the, self proclaimed, Enlightened. The technological enhancements and
vastly superior weaponry led to a fraction of the population holding
back a much larger proportion. A truce was created and peace forced
upon both sides.

During the time of peace, many sought to return to the way of life before
the collapse and left to find the cities. Few returned and those who
did spoke of horror and death. Due to inactivity and a lapse in the
moral coding of the machines, they had become incredibly hostile
towards all humans. The cities defences that had once kept humanity
safe from the ills of others, were now an impenetrable wall
surrounding every major city across the globe. Many died trying to
find a way back inside. None succeeded.

Eventually, people stopped trying to take back the cities. More and more villages
and towns were formed. Entire countries were established away from
the prying eyes of the machines. Humanity began to grow and prosper
once more. However, the uneasiness of the alliance between the Adept
and Enlightened remained. Some large cities were created as a safe
zone for those either unaligned or unwilling to get caught in the
violence. People settled, lives continued and the world slowly got
back into a state of peace. Nature took over where humanity had
destroyed so much and it began to repair itself. Both groups of
people recognised the wrongs humanity had done to nature and sought
to repair what damage had been done. Agriculture was established and
law and order soon took hold, in the hope that societies could be
safe once more.