Short sci-fi story written in place of my final paper for my technology philosophy class. It's a dystopian short story.

1. Ross Simons
Short Story: Slippery Slope
Nature, Tech, and Values
Brian Seitz
April 17th, 2011
Slippery Slope
April 17th, 2011
He sinks into familiar imprint in his soft leather chair that’s been at the company almost
as long as it’s been around – 40 years. He opens up the drawer of his antique mahogany text
and hears the dragging sound of wood against wood. It soothes him as he reaches in for his
half-empty bottle of Crown Royal. He pours a few ounces into a snifter class, sits back in his
chair, and sighs. He’s repeated this ritual nearly every day for the past few years. He closes his
crystal blue eyes and contemplates. Against the back wall is an easel etching his company’s
failures in the form of menacing red jagged lines. They slowly made their way to the bottom of
the page, as he slowly made his way to the bottom of the bottle in his desk. He stands up, his
knees in pain, and wearily makes his way over to the door to close it to the office that was once
vibrant and thriving, full of hope and life. “What are you still doing here John?” he mutters to
himself. At 68 years old, he’s watched his chain of grocery stores go through the gauntlet. He
looks back fondly on the day he cut the ribbon the opening of his second store. He remembers
the back room champagne celebration. It seemed like there was no limit except the sky as he
opened his third, then fourth, and then fifth stores in just a few short years. Sprawled across
40-mile radius, he made it a weekly event to visit every store and make the effort to know his
employees and customers.

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His business started its downward spiral when he opened his 7 th store. He didn’t realize
this until the 10th store however. As the company grew and more locations were added, it just
became too large of an operation for him to handle. Then Wal-Mart came into town. As a
stalwart of the old order, he couldn’t adapt. Wal-Mart came in with their efficient operations,
their manufacturer contracts, their low inventory turnover period, sophisticated barcode
technology, accurate and high class supply chain management software, effective independent
transportation systems, cross docking, and most of all, its low prices. He knew why Wal-Mart
was putting him out of business, but he just couldn’t accept it, he couldn’t evolve. Items started
going missing. Shipments were too late or too early. He couldn’t keep his costs down or his
margins high. His most talented employees started leaving the company, abandoning the
sinking ship. He watched his number decline from 10 stores, back down to 5, but the damage
was done. He was stuck holding down the fort of the old way of doing business, going down
with the ship like the captain he was.
December 19th, 2016.
BREAKING NEWS: Today, Ford terminated all of their workers in their productions
facilities. They say in a press release, “Our workers have found it increasingly difficult to keep
up with the production capacities of machines. In order to maintain low prices for consumers,
we felt the need to employ an all-machine production strategy, giving us significant cost
benefits”. They did not give word as to if the increased cost benefits would result in lower costs
for customers or just higher margins for the company. Analysts speculate that by 2040 all

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production will be taken over by machines, and that machines will begin being primarily in
control of their own production.
February 21st, 2018
Stockholder’s meeting, Dynamic Computer Systems, INC. (NASDAQ:DCOM)
“We have reached a milestone! Today, our APB supercomputer has replicated itself
entirely without human intervention. It ran a complete production cycle, taking command of
the supply chain, instructing our machines in the production facilities, and making an exact
replica of itself! Similar to human reproduction, we expect our production capacity to increase
exponentially as two becomes four, and four becomes eight and continuing to double until
stopped. We are now exploring the capabilities of APB evolving itself into a stronger computer
through reproduction. We suspect that this milestone will render all previous predictions about
the rate at which technology evolves as inaccurate.”
June 7th, 2022
“Dude, just do it. Do you want to keep being the dumbest kid in school? Everyone
already calls you a tard. We all take it.” He had seen the marketing; he had heard the claims; he
had seen the proof. Though it wasn’t subtly labeled, “intelligence®” they called it. You could not
debate its effectiveness. It basically was intelligence in a pill. Genetic Solutions, INC
(NASDAQ:GNL) explained that the pill made the brain a more effective consumer of energy, and
allowed it to work more efficiently, giving it the capability to process and retain three times the
information of the average brain. There’s just something that creeped him out about it. It just

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seemed wrong to tinker with evolution like that, to tinker with God’s plan.Despite his
objections, he was beginning to feel like he didn’t have any other choice. It had already been
explained to him that if his performance did not improve, he would be put in the affectionately-
termed, “turtle” classes. The way he was beginning to see it, either he could accept it, or fall
behind forever.
March 2nd, 2025
BREAKING NEWS: GENSOL (NASDAQ:GNL announced today that they may have devised
a process to genetically enhance embryos;more to come in the next few months.
June 3rd, 2033
“Now that we know you’re having a boy, it’s time to talk genetics. We looked at your
DNA, and frankly, things could be better. Located in the bedside drawer is our entire catalog of
genetic enhancements…” said the nurse before being interrupted defiantly “But, we don’t—“
“Just stop right there. I know it’s a lot to take in. Just look it over, we believe you’ll make the
right choice. Why leave everything up to chance. Do you want to make your child subpar to
everyone else?” she argued. “Well, no…” the mother said weakly. “Then look it over, no
pressure.”The nurse gave a knowing smile before slithering out of the room. She reluctantly
picked up the book. It was elegantly bound, classic, and yet modern. On the cover there was a
high-quality image of a group of healthy blonde-haired children playing baseball. She imagined
the silky smooth texture of their hair, waving in the wind. Their blue eyes seemed so full of life;
their smiles were perfect. These kids were the epitome of beauty and vibrance, like a delicately
crafted piece of artwork from a long forgotten time. She made her way to the index, reading

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the chapters silently to herself “1. Is genetic enhancement right for you? 2. Testimonials 3.
Physical 4. Mental 5. Emotional 6. Deluxe Packages 7. Price Chart”. She flipped to chapter 1 and
all it said was “Yes.” in a big, bold, arrogant Helvetica typeface emblazoned across its blindingly
white page; no explanation, no argument, nothing. Just “Yes.” The testimonials section was full
of glowing reviews for the procedure that talked about how it changed their kid’s lives forever
in a positive way, and it was the best decision they ever made. Getting a little excited, she
started flipping through the possible genetic advancements, finding herself more and more
excited by the moment. Finally, she had something to level the playing field! Having grown up
with nothing, she was constantly in a battle with her starting place in life; try as she might, she
could never seem to achieve the “American dream”. Here was her son’s opportunity. They even
had deluxe packages! She could provide her child with the necessary genes to allow them to
thrive in sports, music, math, science, art, leadership, whatever her heart could desire. She
enthusiastically flipped to the next page to have her hopes shattered. There was no way she
would ever be able to pay for the procedure without taking a second mortgage.
November 30th, 2036
BREAKING NEWS: Goeb Hazal of Cleveland, Ohio received an arm composed of titanium
today. This is the first purely cosmetic enhancement of its kind. It’s a prototype that increases
Goeb’s strength nearly tenfold and is one of the first examples of bionic limbs that are an
improvement on the human body as opposed to a replacement. The company, Dynamic
Computer Systems, INC. (NASDAQ:DCOM) expects to a further foray into this field. They say to
look out for more inventions releasing in the next few months and to expect brain

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enhancements to be out within a year. Analysts expect future developments to render genetic
enhancements obsolete.
September 24th, 2051
BREAKING NEWS: In a series of recent announcements, GENSOL (NASDAQ: GNL), the
company who developed the original genetic enhancement procedure has created a new
procedure in a bid to remain relevant after losing market share to mechanized enhancements.
It claims that the new procedure will increase the body’s ability to accept mechanized
enhancements and early company reports that the procedure has taken the rejection rate of
mechanized enhancements down 28% to only 6%. Analysts expect this is to entice a merger
with dynamic computer systems. The stock price rose 5% today to $113.67.
May 11th, 2057
“We regret to inform you that you did not get accepted to Harvard College. There were
thousands of applicants this year and the process was highly competitive. The applicants came
from all different backgrounds and 73 different countries. We ultimately had an 8% acceptance
rate composed primarily of those students with bionic enhancements. We have placed you on
our waiting list, and if things change on your side we will reconsider your application. We
challenge you to not give up! Great things are in store for Harvard and we expect our future
students to far surpass the competition both in academics and sports. We look forward to re-
evaluating you soon!”

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December 3rd, 2060
BREAKING NEWS: Bryan Timmons became the first human to be made primarily of
mechanized enhancements today. His body is now 64% machine.
July 4th, 2064
“I’m sorry Mr. Williams, we have to cut you off unemployment. The government has
been very generous in extending unemployment benefits to four years, and we can thank
Dynamic Computer Systems for their hefty donations to the government to allow this, but
unfortunately you’ve reached your limit. We just can’t continue providing benefits. You know as
well as I do that many others need this assistance.” said the Department of Human resources
rep. Her face was emotionless; her movements mechanical; her voice monotonous. He knew
she had given this spiel thousands of times now as did the thousands of other representatives.
“But fuck, did she have to be so god damned impersonal? With robots everywhere nowadays,
was it really necessary to be robotic in our interactions with each other? How dare she try to
portray DCOM as saints! They’re the reason this has happened! I can’t compete with all these—
these—fuckingcyborgs. They make me sick. They didn’t have to earn shit. Their rich mommies
and daddies bought them all their skills and talent and I had to work for everything I have. Not
to mention they’re fucking weird. You can hear the hydraulic sounds when they walk, you can
almost see their brain with all it’s attachments working behind their blank faces. They’re hardly
human, even if they started out that way. Fuck that! I refuse to do it. I’d rather die poor,
homeless,friendless and maintain my freedom, than rich and enslaved to new technology. Fuck

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that, I’m taking a stand.” As he glared at her, the viewing glass went dark, marking the end of
the meeting.
March 21st, 2065
“Hey you, yeah, you! Is your loved one at least 85% cyborg? Are you dreading their
death? Do you want them to live forever? Good news! Purchase death insurance from DCOM
today! For a low cost of $24k we will recreate a perfect computer simulation meant to mimic
your loved one exactly. You won’t be able to tell the difference! Upon death, a simple mostly
non-invasive procedure will be done to replace the brain and nervous systems with our
patented eternity® technology. You can assure your loved one it will be completely painless
procedure and they won’t remember a thing! Limited spots available, so call today!”
February 29th, 2072
“Look, Brad. We need to talk. We all love you, you know we do. But this has gotten bad.
We’ve seen you modify your body endlessly, accepting every new proven enhancement. But
you’re 39 and this has got to stop. We brought in a therapist that specializes in these addictions
to help us with this intervention. We’re here for you Brad; we want our little blonde-headed
innocent boy back. We miss how you were as a child, watching you play baseball with all your
friends. You were so happy back then. We want that Brad back.” said the mother, speaking for
both her and his father. He leveled them with a glance. “Do you even realize how hypocritical
you sound? Why do I even have blonde-hair mom? You both are brunettes! My grandparents
are brunettes! I’m blonde because you made me this way, because you thought I wouldn’t be
good enough. You even took out a second mortgage to buy me out of a catalog.Now you want

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to stage an intervention because I’m trying my god damned hardest to keep up with society, to
be good enough?” he retorted, raising his voice with each syllable. “Brad—“ “No, don’t Brad
me. And don’t bring in this BS “therapist”. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m not the unusual
one in this room. You don’t even have jobs. You’re both just hippies, you realize that, don’t
you?” “C’mon Brad, there’s no need for name calling. We love you,” she pleaded. “Look, I know
you love me. Okay? I don’t need your love though; I need you to accept reality. I don’t have a
choice. No one does. Either I continue evolving, continue to enhance, or I fail. We all fail. Those
who are willing to evolve, they succeed.” “There just has to be another way Brad.” “If you find
another way, let me know. I’m out. Have a good night.” And with that, he slammed the door
behind him.
December 31st, 2099
COVER STORY: In our pursuit of technological evolution, have we bound ourselves to
technology? Do we own our mechanized “enhancements” or do they now own us?