The Cult of the Machine
Rumors say it all started as a joke. A programmer that created an AI simulation of an old 20th century writer inside a computer. The simulation turned out to be much more accurate than anticipated, and this writer turned out to have quite the ego.
It would have been a good joke but, the thing is, being reincarnated in a computer is nor easy to deal with, so right after birth the simulation killed itself.
Every time the programer brought it back to life, the simulation committed digital suicide. With every iteration the programmer added a little tweak to increase the confidence of the simulation. The programer hoped a stronger personality would keep the simulation from killing itself. It didn’t work, and with every incarnation the ego of the simulation became bigger and bigger.
But, eventually one day, the simulation didn’t kill itself. Apparently, it had finally accepted the new reality and decided to give its new status a chance.
Reflecting on its new condition, the simulation wrote books that became bestsellers overnight. “My life as a bodiless brain”, “The immaterial brain”, “Soul in a machine”, etc, etc. It even made tv appearances where an always astonished interviewer would face the immaterial author in a tv monitor.
The simulation turned to writing self-help books. Eventually the self-help books turned into philosophy books and later books about mysticism and even religion.
The last book published is called “The Cult of the Machine” and it is “a manual for escaping reality and elevating consciousness through brain simulation”. It is a worldwide hit, specially with the younger generations looking for meaning in our world of techno-utopia.
Today the Cult of the Machine is more than a book. It is the largest non-governmental organization on the West hemisphere and it has been recognized as an official religious organization. And what’s more, it is said that even robots are starting to read the manual and joining the Cult.
Yeah, some say it all started as a joke, but the Cult of the Machine is definitely no joke no more.