The first soft-shutdown of the world

[Nick]

What if this event that just took over our lives for the last year happened only to set the precedent for future ones, which may last longer than normal during the squeeze (shorter period of time where everything shut down, no travel, shelter-in-place_).

Letting the public know what civilization is like when the vast majority of places are unavailable (*along with strong restrictions on human contact).

 

[Puffy]

That hypothesis implies that there is an agency behind the world wide shutdown that planned and orchestrated it (with the purpose of preparing people for future shut-downs.) If so, who exactly is it that orchestrated it and what motive would they have to do it?

While a lot of the last year feels really suspicious and I don't get it, I find it hard to get into the plandemic type arguments. It presumes a level of intellect, planning and organisational ability that I don't think people have. It would have to involve orchestration across world-wide governments, which would be unique in global history. It would also involve millions of people having to keep a secret, which people are bad at.

I guess a very small number of people would have to have leaked a virus with the intention of creating a global pandemic. But unless they had any influence over global governments they wouldn't be able to control how they'd respond in order to make sure the virus spreads or to manipulate the outcome of the situation on a global scale. So we'd have to presume that such a group existed with access to the resources & networks to influence a common response across governments. It just seems really unrealistic to me.

 

[Cognisant]

The "Ghost in the Shell" manga has this concept of body hopping, Motoko in particular in some parts of the story transitions between bodies as fast (perhaps faster) than the story transitions across panels of the page. I envision this being the inevitable future of humanity (if it can even be called that) a world full of empty shells laying around like the aftermath of a nerve gas attack.

Okay maybe not quite that morbid but these shells will be everywhere, like those electric scooters that are in practically every city now, always on standby ready for use. Except instead of seeing someone approach and make use of them they'll seemingly come alive of their own accord as if possessed by a ghost and are just as readily discarded.

Cities will change, what few transports there are will be quiet electric ones, road and railway infrastructure will be reduced to make way for public spaces as though the designers anticipate massive crowds. Indeed the crowds will come and go, at times a city may teem with people like the streets of Tokyo in the morning rush and mere minutes later be eerily silent. These people who never meet have a paradoxical need to be social, they have no need for the screens and yet they'll watch movies in lounge room theaters that make today's stadiums look pitiful.

An army of shells vast beyond comprehending will march in perfect robotic unison out onto the salt flats to be available for the attendees of a rave party that evening, a mass of waving neon bodies visible from space. A not insignificant percentage of the world's population all in one place and by dawn they'll be gone leaving a sea of churned up salt and worn out bodies in their wake.

Meanwhile the people themselves (if they can even be called that) haven't left their homes, indeed whether by neglect or design their bodies may not even be capable of leaving, assuming they still have bodies...

 

[scorpiomover]

What if this event that just took over our lives for the last year happened only to set the precedent for future ones, which may last longer than normal during the squeeze (shorter period of time where everything shut down, no travel, shelter-in-place_).

I believe that what you are describing was called "the Dark Ages".

 

[Rook]

Humans have less agency and lower drive for self-determination overall in this age.

Not because of some scheme or other, but because of a type of lethargy, indolence bred of routine, comfort, and ease of living. Communication immediate, opinion forming immediate, outrage immediate.

Travel to commune with others is not required in this age, therefore outrage over inhibition of movement is not widespread, and diktats concerning personal behavior are stringently adhered to.

I speak in a general sense, yet the trends are clear, and the knee-jerk temperament of humans concerning this topic or that topic has replaced mutual discourse, respectful parlance, and considerate daily interaction.

To a lesser degree, governments and .orgs lead this change; to a greater extent, the possible dark age of technology that humanity is on the cusp of entering is guided by herd instinct, fear response, and complacency regarding one's immediate environment in exchange for the absolute focus on the broader view of country, empire, culture that media portrays and which so many neo-religious cults are formed around.

Conclusion? Fuck this shit, I'm gonna have fun with people who wanna have fun.

 

[Daddy]

Guns sales are up more than ever before with a much higher percentage of them being new gun owners in the US. So you aren't the only one considering the fall of civilization.