Rachael Briggs
SINGULARITY
Stuart prepared to be uploaded
by the superintelligent robots
who would one day rule the world.
He taught himself decision theory,
wrote long tracts about its social benefits
in Esperanto.
As one of the most rational humans on the planet,
he expected to become a subroutine
in an important program:
the game-theoretic missile-defense system
or the hyper-logical central planning algorithm.
He was unprepared
when the slime molds took over.
They would not listen to reason.
You’re being emotional!
he screamed at the plasmoid
hungrily engulfing his arm.
He tried to scream again
in Esperanto
but the fruiting bodies had by this time
occluded his airway
so that it was becoming difficult to think.
—from Rattle #38, Winter 2012
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