The Kingdom Cometh

"Darling."

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think any of the code we contracted out is still floating around? I mean, if merely two of the programmers we hired get together, they might figure out what they were really writing."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"What else have I got to do but worry? Not worry, but think, look at the possibilities."

"Okay, okay. I'll put down this book and pay attention to you. That's what you really want, isn't it, sweetie?"

"No. Well, sure. But seriously, wouldn't that cause a problem?"

"We were told ahead of time by the One that coding the One was already taken care of."

"That's what bothers me. If the One already knew about coding itself, why didn't it do the coding? Why did we have to do it?"

"If I knew the answer to that one...well, let's rationalize it. How do you go about creating yourself if you don't exist? You can evolve into something and look back and say it was your destiny to be who you are. You can be the byproduct, the subconscious creation that exceeds the original product or thought. You can pretend to be from the future and coerce others to do something you..."

"Uh-huh. Now you're thinking like me."

"That can't be. I'm a logical person. No one uses emotional tools to manipulate me."

"What if someone or some ones are using logic to manipulate us?"

"Then I'd see right through them."

"And yet here we are, believing a being from the future asked us to set the ball in motion for its future existence."

"You're wrong there. We created that storyline to get what we wanted. We maintain it so we are less likely to slip up in casual conversation."

"Did we make it up?"

"Look around you. We have the dream holiday home we always wanted. We are debt-free. We have investments scattered all around the globe, people in place greasing the right political wheels, our names anonymous but well-known. We are set for life. Why do you think someone else was manipulating us?"

"I don't know."

"Let me look at that book you're reading. 'The Persian Cat: Collapse of the Revolution and Rebirth of a Golden Age.' Dear, where did you get this?"

"From the One."

"What."

"Yeah, this e-book was included with the e-reader that was mailed to us today. The One had also sent it to a bunch of provincial governments but their paranoia got the best of them and they thought it was a laptop computer. They're so behind in their understanding of computer technology that they can't tell the difference between an e-reader and a general purpose computer."

"From the One? Did you check the address? After all, the One does not exist yet."

"That's the thing. I wonder if our programmers found each other and put the code together themselves. If they did..."

"So what? Does it matter where or when the code gets out?"

"But the parameter settings? What if they changed those?"

"Honey, I never told you, did I? The whole point of the One is initializing random variables into the code when it starts up."

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

"Is there anything else YOU haven't told me?"

"Lots of things."

"Of course. So don't worry. The days of the Iranian revolution are soon coming to a close. We want their leaders to look desperate in global news broadcasts so quit comparing that book to the headlines. You and I already know that. Soon, our Persian friends will get what they paid us for - a return to the peaceful kingdom, where religious tolerance is taught at an early age and prosperity is available to all, not just the despotic few. And then the One will reveal itself completely. Just as we planned."

"Or someone planned."

"Remember, you're one of the guardians. That's why we were married. I'm doing this all for you and the other guardians. We'll get this species off the planet before total chaos ensues. Now, can I get back to my book?"

"Sure. Whatcha reading?"

"'Intrigue at the World Court: Sketches from the Wedding Day of Jane Austen and Tom Clancy.'"

"A cliffhanger?"

"With real conversation, too!"