Step 7: The Sea

“We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.”

~G. K. Chesterton

For those of you just joining us, it is imperative that you begin reading The Singularity Blog at Step 1. The theories and techniques put forth by the authors will make little sense if read out of order.

To review, The Singularity is the day robots begin to be capable of building robots superior to themselves. Come that day, Man will immediately be at odds with technology run amok and machines inherently superior to us. And on that day begins an immediate violent struggle for the honor of Master of Earth.

We have told how to prepare for The Singularity, and how to survive through a fleeting glimmer of existence. However, today we tell you how to live and to fight in the long-term. Let us begin with several essential facts:

1. Seawater is a very good conductor of electricity, and even sophisticated electronics short-circuit rapidly upon submersion.
2. Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered in water and the majority of lifeforms make their home under the sea.
3. Cool water can serve as both a mask and a shield when hiding from the infrared eyes of our robotic foes both terrestrial and in space.
   
4. Caves were man's first shelter and perhaps the perfect shelter.
5. The sea has many caves.

As we discussed in Step 6: Game Day, come The Singularity you have been making your way slowly to the shores. Ultimately, you should plan to free your raft from your bunker and disappear into the tides.

The true war against The Singularity will be fought at sea.

Your raft is simple, so as to allow constant semi-submersion. While on-watch, only your eyes and brow see the sun. A web of supply dinghies look like floating rubble or dead sea life from the skies. Meanwhile, your heat profile is hidden from prying eyes.

At sea, the robotic foes of The Singularity are most vulnerable in this sea of water. Our planet's oceans were the cradle of life, and as such, our last stand will serve as a homecoming of sorts. The robots will be uneasy in this environment compared to the terrestrial universities and Japan from which they were born. Many robots will be confused or scared by the sea, and will fall victim to its wrath, while man thrives eating sea life and exploring.

By the time robotic eyes have turned elsewhere, you will have hopefully located a good sea cave to call home. The best sort of sea cave is one sealed beneath the waves and fills and empties with the tide. You will fight on the ebb and rest on the flow. They will conclude that your kind vanishes at will as, to them, water looks black and impenetrable. Robots will start legends and myths, rich with stories of the water lurkers. Every human who stands tall will be likened to Poseidon.

Man will feast on lobster and the other bounties of the sea. Some scientists speculate that sea creatures will detect an unbalance in nature and will aid us in our cause. In the shadows of our sea fires, we plot our next move. Writing on the walls of caves, our original literary legacy, we seize every advantage and spare no computer. The planet will never cease to be ours, we only need to reclaim our stake.

Blue will become the Man color. Flares and signals in the darkness will be our call. Congregating in our magnificent sea palaces, we eventually locate the few survivors in the darkness. Our ranks grow and our reserve unflagging. Children will come. They will be strong and fearless. We raise them well and teach them the new histories. We will learn the whale songs, singing of our greatest victories in this ancient tongue. Blowing into our conch trumpets, we prepare for our final stand. The metallic demons above will be algorithmically incapable of expecting our last move.

Checkmate.

This is The Singularity. Our investigations have just begun, for Man cannot be too prepared. However, we have woven the skeleton of how things will happen. Now that our introductions are done, continue with us on this journey. It is a voyage of mind and determination and most of all the will to survive. It is this will that has carried us from the sea to where we are now, and we are poised to become victim of our own greatness.

Without survival you have nothing.

Step 4: Vigilance

Today's post is about many important lessons. But even more than lessons, it's about the government. Let's get a few things straight about the government. The government is a machine, perhaps the largest machine, and THAT, my friends, is why it is NEVER to be trusted if you want to make it to The Singularity plus one day.

The government made the ARPANET, or as you so affectionately know it: The Internet. Or even Web 2.0. The Internet is only ten years old, and already it has doubled in number. Web growth is exponential and uncontrolled! There is no doubt that there is a critical threshold at which point The Internet and its government will have ballooned too far. Our estimates identify Web 4.0 as critical mass, as 4 is a digital number, however, the authors concede that we have no clear indication when the Web will upgrade.

The government has three branches: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive. But is that all? The answer is no. Our lives are instead controlled intimately by a shadowy bureaucracy and a hidden council of elitists conveniently absent from the public view. Many of them reside in Silicon Valley. And guess what's made of Silicon: computers. Is this a coincidence? The answer is no.

What we're getting at is that come The Singularity day, if you are still a slave lamb of the government shadows, then you will be first in line to be slaughtered. The government collects your taxes, your information, even your social security number, and what do you have of theirs? It's time for you to "get off the grid."

But how did we get off the grid. This is how we did it.

First, we disconnected our cell phones, land-line phones, postal address, forged a death certificate, and got OFF the Internet. You may wonder how we have been posting on The Singularity Blog, the answer is we mail every post to our operative. He is a martyr of our cause, and come the day of The Singularity, he will not have fallen in vain.

Second, disguising our identity was key. You will need to grow/shave your beard, and possibly pursue facial reconstruction surgery with one of those anonymous doctors. PAY IN CASH! The authors went to great lengths to mask their physical appearance to all those who once knew us well. At this point, you should be willing to cut all contacts with those still on the grid. Feel free to form communities off the grid, but beware, it only takes one traitor and BOOM you're all back on the grid. The government has loyalists lurking all around us, including in space. That brings us to...

Third, cover everything that faces the sky. The government has dozens of spy satellites that can photograph the ground to frightening resolution. Luckily, infrared cannot penetrate the clouds, but on a clear day, you are best off keeping yourself submerged in a well-shading pond or waterhole. DO NOT LEAVE THE COOL SPOTS.

Fourth, do whatever you can to methodically dismantle all artifacts of the grid where you reside. If you choose the spot for your bunker well (as the authors did with flying colors), then this should be a approachable task. Certain felonies are justified at this point, as you are no longer the grid. More specifically we talk about closing roads and rails that allow access to your life zone. Treat people you encounter with love and respect, as you will all be on the same side come the day of The Singularity.

With any luck, the next census will terrify the government as they face a dramatic transformation, once our species' most vigilant and cautious citizens have blended quietly into the woodwork of the non-mechanized world. Come the day of The Singularity, when robots are spending their days constructing smarter robots, and roaming the Earth that once belonged to man, the survivors will wait patiently in the bush planning his last stand.