Katy Perry: Slave Hunter

2037: The first “Artificial Life” is created: a neural net with reward-based thinking, motivated by the pleasure that successful completion of a task brings. These synthetic minds are all but indistinguishable from humans—their personalities and intelligence can be modified on demand. PenpAL, the first commercially available reward-based neural network, becomes hugely possible. Eighty percent of adults and ninety-five percent of children report interacting with their “PenpAL” on a regular basis.

2038: Terrorists associated with the Iranian regime detonate a dirty bomb in Tel Aviv. In retaliation, Israel deports the entirety of the Palestinian population from their claimed borders. Attempts to recross the border result in summary execution.

2039: Iran and Iraq declare war on Israel. The United States sends troops to support its ally. This decision by the Republican president is widely criticized and tanks the GOP’s popularity. The party, already moribund from infighting between the MAGA and non-MAGA contingents, is fast ceasing to exist as a political entity.

2040: After two terms of a J.D. Vance presidency and two highly contested elections, 24-year-old Mary Khan is elected President of the United States. The first female president is considered highly underqualified, having only served one term as a state senator, and accusations of election fraud and vote-buying are rampant.

2041: President Khan forces through a reorganization of US Armed Forces while they are still embroiled in what’s commonly known as the Israel War. Declaring that this will be America’s first socially just war, underqualified women and minorities are promoted almost automatically, while white men in senior ranks are forced out. The conflict becomes a quagmire. White soldiers, airmen, and Marines begin openly disregarding orders they see as politically minded instead of in their best interests.

2042: Out of the wreckage of the Republican Party, the Gentleman’s Party is formed. The vast majority of America’s males join the new rightwing movement, which sweeps the House and Senate.

2043: American refugees flee blue states for red, where a revitalized police force, often composed of former soldiers, zealously keep the peace. Unrestricted migration results in blue cities being composed almost entirely of immigrants. Lax law enforcement, more concerned with political correctness than arresting criminals, makes these cities all but warzones.

2044: President Khan is narrowly defeated by the Gentleman candidate, who purges the Armed Forces of half its new officers. Women and minorities, embittered by what they see as a betrayal, push the Democratic Party further left.

2045: Advances in robotics pair with developments in Artificial Life to create Simpatico, realistic humanoid androids with artificial intelligence built into their chassis. At first only available to the super-rich, the Sims become objects of controversy, fascination, and lust.

2046: Michigan flips red. The new Gentlemen administration rapidly reverses their predecessor’s soft on crime policies. The National Guard is called in to enforce mandatory curfews and deport illegals. Footage of arrests and killings shock the nation. In Democrat-controlled Montana, a National Guardsman visiting his parents is killed while riding the bus. President Scott, supported by his party, signs an executive order deploying the National Guard to safeguard all methods of mass transportation in and out of red states. National travel grinds to a halt as blue states refuse to allow any travel through their borders with Guardsmen onboard.

2047: ‘Simlebrities,’ robots built to resemble and act like iconic actors, headline movies, TV shows, and video games. Identical models can be bought for private use. Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, and Sophia Loren are three of the initial offerings. Each one costs the same as a luxury sedan.

2048: The Presidential election is won by Mohammed Zomar, a gay Muslim man. After a recount, Gentleman incumbent Geoffrey Scott is revealed to be the actual winner. Riots are widespread.

2049: Feminist outrage over Simlebrities further divides the nation. Sims are banned in blue states, but subsidized by the government in red states. Virtually the entire male population aspires to own a Sim.

2050: The Democrat Party is 95% female. Their continued presence on the national stage is largely attributed to nonnative voters. A self-help guru, Margaret Sato, enjoys widespread popularity catering to women suffering from anxiety regarding the political situation. Georgia flips red and once more the National Guard is deployed to combat rampant crime and corruption among the largely immigrant population.

2051: The National Guard is now the largest branch of the Armed Forces. Enlistment is made particularly lucrative by a government contract that gives every Guardsman a Sim at the end of their tour. Many reenlist in order to own two or more Sims.

2052: After polling shows he has virtually no chance of winning the election, Mohammed Zomar declares himself president-in-exile and, from his headquarters in Puerto Rico, encourages ‘resistance’ against ‘each and every member of the draconian regime that wants to steal this election like they did the last.’ He also announces his gender transition. Attacks on Guardsmen occur daily. The Army, Marines, and Air Force are deployed on US soil to reenforce the beleaguered Guard.

2053: Margaret Sato’s ‘health and mindfulness’ podcast is now a religious movement, blending fiery invective against the male-dominated political climate with pandering slogans about female enlightenment and power. Encouraged by Sato, a plurality of women join female-only communes in the wilderness. Now almost entirely deprived of incentives, remaining migrants self-deport.

2054: The remaining swing states are solidly red. The reclaimed cities are settled by Guardsmen and their families. Labor in these cities is largely given over to mass-produced Sims.

2055: The artificial womb, invented in 2031 but dismissed as a pointless curiosity, is now relied upon to shore up falling birthrates. Sims can be equipped with A-wombs or the fetus can be grown in a lab until viable.

2056: The vast majority of men support the Gentlemen Party and own at least one Sim. The vast majority of women report they are followers of Margaret Sato’s ‘HealthMind’ system.

2057: Following violent rhetoric from Sato, sabotage of Sims becomes an act of political protest. Men are outraged at the expensive repairs necessary to revitalize their damaged units.

2058: Sapphire Zomar commits suicide.

2059: Despite government censure, Sato’s HealthMind cult acquires multiple brands of A-womb. Already vastly wealthy from her followers’ donations, Sato offers free reproduction through her new ‘HealthFuture’ network, under two conditions. The child must be female and no male can be involved in parenting her.

2060: Men, vindictive after the damaging or destruction of their Sims, attack HealthMind’s mobile fertility clinics. Sato calls upon her followers to guard HealthFuture vehicles, resulting in widespread conflict along gender lines.

2063: HealthMind, richly funded by the United Nations and other foreign entities, pays for their women-only communes to be hardened against environmental degradation. The US government similarly hardens their settlements against climate disasters. Territory not important to either group is left to decay.

2068: The first rogue Sim is reported.

2069: HealthMind is accused of being responsible for the rogue Sims, many of which defect to HealthMind communes and an uncertain fate. All diplomatic relations cease between HealthMind and the ongoing Gentlemen administration.

2071: The US government partners with the largest Sim manufacturer, Communicado, in order to train elements of law enforcement and the National Guard in how to hunt down and dispose of rogue Sims.

2074: A change in leadership at Communicado results in a downplaying of rogue Sims. Instead, focus is shifted to a new line of Sims, guaranteed not to rebel. Communicado suggests the government pay for the replacement of all exigent Sims with new models. The President is reluctant to go through with this exorbitant proposition. Caught in this political crossfire are efforts to contain and restore rogue Sims.

2076: Sensing an opportunity, several former Sim hunters go into business for themselves. A captured Rogue, once recalibrated, can be sold on the secondhand market for a substantial profit. These new-age bounty hunters work on the outskirts of the law, needed and yet resented—both for cutting into Communicado’s profits and for damaging men’s confidence in their Sim units.

2079: No cause has yet been determined for Roguery. Sim hunters live on a razor’s edge: no recalibrated Rogue has ever rebelled for a second time. The moment one does, the government has vowed to crack down on the wild west of Sim serfdom. The attitude among Sim hunters is simple… make as much money as you can, as fast as you can.

In This Game, You’re Either Rich Or You’re Dead

She’d let herself fall behind. Primetime viewing was over and the guests had gone home, but there were still chores to do. They couldn’t drift into the next day.

Marilyn tried to appreciate the variation in routine, though it wasn’t really variation. Here she was, after all, with warm, soapy water making her fingers shine like they were metal outside instead of inside. And when the kitchen sink was empty and the dish drying rack was full, she would go to her husband and make love to him. Pure sexual satisfaction would be hers and then she would power down for the night.

Rich brought another tray of empty glasses to the sink that only had two forks left in it. She appreciated that he always tried to make her job easier, even when it was her job. More work for her.

She took the glasses and he rinsed the tray under the running tap. “We oughta have the Duncans over more often. They’re a real kick. Really the life of the party.”

“As long as they wait for the commercials to start a conga line,” Marilyn said, a witticism that had an eighty percent chance of pleasing Rich.

“How could anyone be a bad houseguest with a hostess like you? You were perfect, as usual. You don’t mind the late notice?”

She did not. Any opportunity to be of use was to be relished. A chance to learn how to be a better, more efficient housewife. Why, when she did all the work, was it so hard for him to tell her he needed more than the usual chores done? “I’m adaptable. You’re unpredictable. It’s what makes us a good match.”

“We’re simpatico, alright.” He yawned. “All those clean dishes remind me—I’d better get in the shower before I fall asleep with conditioner in my hair. Unless you’d rather I wash the dishes and you wash me?”

“I’d hate to disappoint you, dear. There’s only so clean I could get you…”

He pecked her on the cheek. It was a sign of affection; she did not know if it was meant for him or for her when he did these things. If he touched her simply to feel her or an attempt to make her experience something: straw into gold, electricity into emotions.

It was enough that he touched her. It didn’t matter whether it made him happy to touch her or if he was trying to make her happy. He loved her either way.

Of course he touched her. That was what men did with their dutiful, happy young wives. He didn’t feel the cold metal through warm flesh. If she had nerves, Rich would not feel that they were taut, ready to snap.

Marilyn finished the dishes quickly, once he was gone. She never moved too fast when Rich was watching. It reminded him of her artificiality and she hated to do that. It was why she wore shoes even though a pebble underfoot would be crushed before it irritated her. Why she took hot showers when a moment in the UV chamber was enough to clean her like any other household appliance. Why an inordinate amount of processing power went to randomizing her opinion of the TV show she’d just watched instead of downloading an analysis from her maker’s central server.

She’d been built to play a part; the better she played that part, the less her work was noticed.

Rich sang in the shower. He was in a good mood. She’d put him in a better one. Marilyn self-selected Tingle as an emotional simulation, then unzipped her cocktail dress and hung it in the closet. She took off her hose, her garters, her bra, her panties. Then she put on a sheer nightie. She knew Rich would like how she looked in it… that was why she liked it.