The building looked beautiful perched over the edge of a mountain with a view of the high seas and surrounded by lush greenery. It has the best of what modern world offers while staying close to the nature. The only downside was the long drive to reach it but when one can afford to fly anywhere, with their own personal flying cars, road accessible for a home is a negative. Who would want those impoverished people ruining your day by staring at your mansion and making you feel bad about your own luxuries? Many of the friends and visitors can potentially afford to fly there as well but not for an entry level salesman of an upstart company like Arun.
Arun was a new salesman for a company targeting billionaires and had never come across a billionaire’s home, other than what they show in movies. But when technology is changing so fast, even faster for the richer, who knew that all those movies depicting the rich are so outdated? As such, Arun couldn’t hold his awe as he is approaching the building. He had an appointment with one of the most successful businessmen in the Silicon Valley, Albert Wang, who made a fortune by selling an operating system for businesses. Arun studied all about Albert by pouring through his recorded videos and speeches, to make sure that he can make a convincing case to sell his device.
Albert came from a wealthy family and had the right pedigree to reach the top echelons of the society. He went to MIT and Harvard, and studied under the best. As a wealthy family, his parents are friends with several other leading figures of the day, which gave him incredible connections to some of the most important people and organizations. With his pedigree and connections, his success was all but guaranteed; But what kind of a success? That was a tough question for him to figure out. It didn’t take him much time to come across Ayn Rand’s philosophy and he was immediately attracted to the idea of super-mensch. Having come across several other people in his life, who were toiling to deal with basic necessities, he always felt like one of those super-mensch. It was just a matter of proving it to himself. And prove he did, to himself and to the world. The only difference is that, unlike super-mensch of Ayn Rand’s vision, the newer super-mensch realized that their individual progress don’t necessarily require societal progress.
Arun entered the gate, which opened automatically by using facial recognition to make sure that it is indeed Arun and cross-checking it with Albert’s calendar. A little quadcopter appeared out of nowhere and signaled Arun to follow it. It took him to a parking lot where Arun parked his car. As he stepped out of the car, he noticed that the main entrance of the building was still far away. Just as he was wondering as to why the bot made him park so far away, he noticed a shuttle driving towards him. The bot signaled that he should get into the shuttle and so he did. The bot was following the shuttle all along. The shuttle is a custom built autonomous vehicle for large residential and commercial establishments. It offered all the luxuries of a limo but inside a restricted area. Ah the luxury.
Shuttle dropped off Arun at an infinite pool behind the mansion, where he could see Albert relaxing under the sun while reading a magazine with his picture on it. Arun walked towards Albert and introduced himself. This was the first human that Arun came across this day in this mansion. If there is anyone who might want to buy Arun’s device, it’s got to be Albert. Arun felt a little nervous but tried to put himself at ease by saying to himself that Albert is a human too. In his heart, he wasn’t really sure.
Albert took a look at Arun and made a gesture. It wasn’t exactly welcoming but more like asking him to get to the point. For someone who is actively doing nothing, Arun wasn’t sure what Albert was rushing for. But any salesman would be stupid not to meet customer’s needs and Arun is trying hard not to be one of them.
Arun took out the smart lenses, that his company manufactures and handed them to Albert and asked him to try them on. They looked luxurious and comfortable but Albert wasn’t sure what for.
“These look like one of those Apple iLenses” said Albert, “why would you come all the way to sell me these?”
“Actually, those are Apple iLenses. That’s not what we sell. It’s what runs on those glasses” said Arun. “Forgive my candor, but for someone who ‘made’ it, I see you still care about the world”
“What do you mean?” said Albert.
“You are reading a magazine, with your picture on it. I can only imagine that you do care about what people think about you.”
“Of course, fame is part of the success and what good is fame when you don’t know it?”
“Yes, fame is satisfying and no one doubts that you earned it. But your fame only lasts till you remain a contributor to the society. Either you toil your life in service of society or you keep yourself public by paying for it. Do you want to spend all that effort so people still remember you?” said Arun
“So what’s the alternative?”
“Have you heard of a technology called Deepfake?”
“Is that the one that was used to generate real looking fake videos with famous people?”
“Yes. What if you create fake videos with common people cheering at you, adorning you and dying for you instead of famous people entertaining common people? What if we replace everyone of your sensory interfaces to make you believe that millions of people love you?” said Arun
“That would never work. Do you think I am stupid to believe such fake stuff?” said Albert
“Does it not? What makes you believe that the magazine that you are holding is real or that they actually had your picture on the magazine?”
“That…they interviewed me and took my photographs. Are they your people?”
“They are. We build believable experiences mixing physical and augmented in places you cannot even imagine. You may doubt but you can never be sure. We have multiple packages that can make you from a notable celebrity to a rockstar. You don’t need people to make you feel famous. You don’t need to put any effort to be famous. Nothing that you can do can make you lose your fame. It’s with you wherever you go from the most luxurious hotels of New York to the remotest beaches of Tahiti. You can control the intensity of the experience or you can completely disable it. You have the exact same experience as the most famous people in the world. For the first time in the history of humanity, you have absolute control over your fame.“
“Intriguing. What makes you believe that I would want it? I am happy here isolated from people with all the things that the world can afford me.”
“Because everything about life is relative. You may have money and the power that the money buys. But Maslow’s pyramid dictates that you seek to be loved and recognized. As a technologist, you understand that some of these needs are remnants of our primitive mind. What we build is as much about dealing with our primitive mind as many of the personality development ideas are about honing it.” said Arun. “We just do it differently. It’s just that our approach works with the mind and makes it believe so all those doubts and concerns no longer drag you down.”
“As an individual, I also believe in managing my perspective and keeping my mind in check.”
“So how successful are you? All that age old philosophy was thought and written when they didn’t have better options. Do you want to be beholden to ideas that never really worked? What’s the point of all this technology and abundance if your ultimate survival choice is to desire less?”
“Hmm”
“Our software is an alternative to the buddhist solution of living without desires. It is built for the world of abundance. It is for a life of carrots when the world is filled with sticks. In our world, you will have everything that you seek.”
“I am not sure” said Albert
“What did you feel when you saw your picture on the magazine? Why is that an inferior feeling? Why is seeking that feeling a sign of inferior character? All of this progress and our lives and morality are still dictated by the ideas of olde. Step out of that mindset. Seek what your mind desires. This is what you worked all your life for. And now it is within your reach. You just have to accept it.”
“Alright. How do I try?”
A small popup showed up on the center of Albert’s vision showing a large blob of legal text. He instinctively knew what to do. Arun smiled and congratulated Albert on his choice, just as Albert started hearing loud sound of people cheering his name near the entrance of his bungalow. A small surge of dopamine hit his brain and he felt happy.