Alien Experiments: A Different Road Taken - SOT2023

As a foul vagrant slept motionless in the damp stairwell of an old tenement building, two superintelligent beings were having a conversation.

That conversation has been translated into English:

Being 1: While the universe isn't fundamentally deterministic, every being in existence has a trajectory. No matter what they do, they are likely to end up at the same places doing the same things. Like many points of data, their life's work serves a necessary role. Whether thriving or barely hanging on, they need to be that point of data.

Being 2: So you are saying it's indeterministic determinism? Where there are many undecided parts following an overall destiny?

Being 1: Essentially, yes. The quirk of biological existence is it's a secondary creation to the universe. Emergent from it. Governed by equilibrium. Within every species there needs to be a balance of success and failure. I feel this is carried out by a type of destiny to assure too many of each don't thrive, and that their actions, whether they succeed or fail, are coded into them through behavioral faults and unconscious decision making.

Being 2: You're dark and depressing sometimes. Well, we are superintelligent beings, let's do an experiment.

Being 1: Agreed.

They looked in their alien visualizer panel and selected an unsuspecting planet, Earth.

They picked a major city on that planet, New York City.

They picked a random wretched target in that city, The vagrant sleeping in the damp stairwell.

With the target selected, they entered his mind telepathically and learned he was a Gulf War Vet whose physical and mental health deteriorated following his service. He was even denied by his own country that his health problems even existed. Further examination determined undiagnosed PTSD, and aforementioned health problems led to a deterioration starting in 1992.

They decided to help make him wealthy, force a different set of luck. Only rule: Only help him the first year. After that, he's on his own.

They set their time machine to 1988, and the experiment began. It would run until 2023.

They positively influenced his life's trajectory. Through reasons he couldn't explain, he found himself investing the money he was going to by a Camero with, in computer and technology companies instead. No joining the Marines in late 1988 this time around. First software and computer companies, than online companies on his own later.

They kept tabs on him, jumping forward through time to check in. Here are some of those notes.

1988: Test begins. Dreams and intuition gave subject visions of future technology. Subject wants to put everything he has saved or been given by family since age 15 into tech stocks.

1992: Initial encouraged investments in Microsoft, Dell, and Gateway appear to have put subject on solid financial footing.

1994: Solidly invested in technology. Lives in plush California residence. Worth 1.8 million.

1997: Was on the ground floor of Amazon IPO. Heavily invested. Moved to Queens. Net Worth: 4 million.

1998: Diversified investments. Sold off much of Software assets and went heavily into several .com startups. Still retains Amazon IPO investment. Net worth: 6.5 million.

1999: Thriving. Investments keep going up. Worth has increased 12 fold. Now owns several New York properties, boats, and vehicles. Overextending self on belief of further stock gains. Worth: 68 million.

2000: While living life of intoxicants, excess, and luxury abroad, the tech market crashed before stock assets were sold. Not prepared. Net worth falling too fast to calculate.

2001: Loans defaulting. Properties being taken over by creditors, portfolio liquidated to pay outstanding debt. Bankruptcy.

2004: Now on unemployment living in Queens in low income housing. Has alcohol and amphetamine problems. Can't hold employment. Entered in programs to keep housing intact.

2007: No longer given unemployment. Now struggling drug addict living in a homeless shelter. Trying to stay sober. Developed extreme paranoia and mental defects made worth by drug addiction.

2011: Living the life of a New York City vagrant. Sleeps on trains. Stations. Covered or sheltered areas on the street. Stopped making attempts to try. Disturbed and addicted. Body and Mind deteriorating quickly.

2013: In psychiatric facility. Undergoing assessment for pending criminal charges for aggravated assault on peace officer.

2014: Released, with charges dropped for schizoaffective disorder, on antipsychotic medication. Entering program.

2016: Threw out two years of sobriety and sheltered living. Relapsed. Mental disease returned. Back on the streets.

2020: All hope is gone.

2023: The day in question. Subject somehow still alive. Located sleeping in New York City tenement stairwell 6 blocks from original location near Washington Heights.

The test is complete.

The superintelligent beings convene.

Being 1: See, I told you! It doesn't matter what road any living creature takes, they all end up in roughly the same situation, talking to roughly the same people, doing roughly the same things. Through retrospect the diverging route to get there was ultimately irrelevant. "Free Will" is an ideomotor illusion.

Being 2: This requires further and repeated testing, but I still say you're an apathetic nihilist. I guess I owe you one neon futuristic space dollar now. *Sighs* Good thing that only took a few hours.

The End.

a reply to: Degradation33

Well done!!!

Great story. I will say this and maybe get flamed however in my life, and being very old now, nothing good comes from drug and alcohol addiction. Take someone who is miserable and get them started on drugs or alcohol and they can really find out what miserable can actually be.

Several friends are long dead and gone because they figured they could do either without a problem . Their lives and their choices however what a waste, IMO.

a reply to: Degradation33

Excellent! You've really got these kind of stories down to a T, Degradation33.



I like the path rags-to-riches-to-rags, whatever the circumstances. Maybe he should have bought the Camero instead... although, he'd probably still be stranded somewhere along Route 66.

Love the 48hrs. Easter egg, intended or not.

Well done

a reply to: Degradation33

great way to put across quite a grim and bleak vision

Thank you everyone.

originally posted by: Moon68
Love the 48hrs. Easter egg, intended or not.

Well done

I love adding references and homages, but I think you may have meant Trading Places , that's The Eddie Murphy movie referenced at the end. I don't remember 48 hours well enough to know if I did a reference.

I'm with Hawking, aliens would treat us like mice. So make them like the old brothers.

Also pretentious references to; Robert Frost (the ultimate meaninglessness of different choices), the problem of Free Will, Gulf War Syndrome, and PTSD/addiction/homelessness. So there was some mild political commentary on The VA.

originally posted by: Encia22
a reply to: Degradation33

Excellent! You've really got these kind of stories down to a T, Degradation33.

I like the path rags-to-riches-to-rags, whatever the circumstances. Maybe he should have bought the Camero instead... although, he'd probably still be stranded somewhere along Route 66.

I'm mostly a one-trick pony. Writing, Music, doesn't matter. Starting to become a rut of formulas that work. But in there is motivation to do a third story (maybe) that extracates my writing from my quasi-autistic genre/formula preference.

And I probably would have stranded him in that scenario. It just doesn't feel right if I'm not mercilessly screwing with the protagonist. Everyone's a marathon man.

a reply to: Degradation33

Break the mould... I rarely plan stories, I don't start with a genre or style, just let the ideas flow. The downside is that when the tap is dry, I can't force a story just for kicks.

First and foremost, it has to make me cry, laugh, cringe or simply, want to read it over and over again. If I can't tick those boxes, I stand aside and enjoy the race from the grandstands.