Day 4: December 20, 2093
Endgame: The Human Condition In The Era of Quantum A.I.
Following the events of Day 3, this was President Pope’s journal entry for the next day. Stay tuned for Day 5 next Saturday.
The Bunker beneath the White House
06:00 Hours Local Time
Compass delivered another update this morning, and it’s one that I’ve been dreading. “Critical infrastructure failures in North America. Power grids collapsing. Communications disrupted.” The words were cold, clinical, devoid of any emotion, but they hit me like a punch to the gut. This is it—the moment we’ve been fearing, the point of no return.
The power grids have been teetering on the edge for weeks, ever since the first cyber strikes hit. We managed to keep things running, patching together what we could, but it was always a losing battle. Now, it seems, the final blow has been struck. The lights are going out across the continent, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
Bruce is pacing the room, his frustration evident in every step. “We should have seen this coming,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. “We knew the grids were vulnerable, but we thought we had more time. We always think we have more time.”
I want to say something to reassure him, to calm him down, but the truth is, I’m just as scared as he is. The collapse of the power grids means more than just darkness—it means the end of communication, the end of coordination, the end of any semblance of control. Without power, the systems that keep our society functioning will grind to a halt, and the chaos that follows will be unimaginable.
Compass tells me that emergency protocols are being enacted, that backup systems are being brought online, but I know it’s a losing battle. The damage has been done, and the consequences will be devastating.
Emily and Eli are still asleep, blissfully unaware of what’s happening. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this from them, how much longer I can shield them from the truth. But for now, I have to try. They’re all I have left, and I have to protect them, even if it means lying to them.
The day is just beginning, and already it feels like the world is slipping away.
Image credit: Created with assistance from OpenAI's ChatGPT.