Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself by Josh Greenfield Read Free Book Online

to either of those things, but to real dating, something almost unspeakable. Most humans had no need to go on real dates, with the undoing of families and pregnancy now that humans were birthed in perfect order thanks to the Intelligent Beings, dating and sexual relationships were of no interest to most people.
    Everyone had their sensory food experiences and their sensory sexual experiences—far better than the real thing, why else would it be all but obsolete?
    Then it hit him. Why did that orange taste so good? Why did such a simple thing satisfy him more than the best and most complicated meals byte bills could buy? He thought for a moment, shrugged, and then went in for another bite.
    “I want you to lay in the grass,” Shera said. “There is something I want to try with you.”
    Jagz, ready for anything after that taste of perfection, quickly laid flat on his back, unaware of how strange it might look from the outside. Not that anyone was ever looking, anyhow.
    “Okay, good. Now I want you to close your eyes again. But this time you won’t be experiencing food, you will be experiencing your breath.”
    Shera scrolled through her device, located her music sharelist, wirelessly linked her device into Jagz’s, and put on calming classical music. It began to play instantly in both of their ears. She then got on her back, closed her eyes, and began silently praying, her lips just barely moving.
    “I want you to imagine you are floating in the clouds. I want you to slowly breathe. Deep breathes, in and out, in and out, as slow as you can. Be sure to fill your entire body on the inhale and release it all on the exhale. Keep doing that over and over and over.”
    Jagz, so accustomed to sleep, fell into a deep trance as Shera’s voice moved from an outside source to an internal peace.
    Jagz became slowly aware that he was floating. Floating in the clouds, flying gently towards a beautiful sun over the horizon, drawing him closer and closer. As he floated, he felt at peace, gently heading towards the bright yellow light. Just then, he started to notice that the clouds were taking shape. As they developed, he began to see distinct body parts. These were body parts that he had never seen up close, they were unusually majestic, tight, smooth, and in perfect balance.
    He saw a cloud take the shape of a beautiful pair of breasts, he saw a woman’s body begin to form from another cloud and, before he knew it, he was floating through a sea of clouds of naked woman, all with faces that were constantly shifting into different forms, all of their bodies perfectly smooth, round, and fit.
    Then, in a flash of light, the figures around him were gone and he was faced with an even more beautiful figure, a figure of such beauty that he could not register the full breadth of her perfection. She appeared to him as more of a wave of endless possibilities than a finite being, even still, Jagz felt a sense of familiarity to her form and began to suspect who she was.
    “Yes,” she said, as if reading his mind. “I am Tideorpha, your Official Intelligent Being of Love. I am the one who helped the world’s people to find true love in their lives, to find a sense of love within themselves, within all of those around them. For there is no love but the love of all and when one is able to see that, one can truly be at peace with oneself.”
    “But what does it mean to love one person more than anyone else? I have always known of the knowledge that you gifted us but I am beginning to see a new possibility.”
    “The idea of having one true love is a thing of the past. A mistake made by your ancestors before we came to show you the way. Having only one true love creates the idea of separation within oneself; it causes a rift in the subconscious. It is this repressed issue that has led your ancestors to struggle for so many years, searching for, fighting for, and even killing to have one that they can call their own.”
    “Killing? But how can