By: Robert Bagnall

A neural net knows—if it “knows” anything—the inputs needed for any specified output. But the steps in-between are undefined. A butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, then a tornado wipes out Wichita. Chaos theory? Not if it flapped its wings in order to devastate Kansas.

Such nets are typically found within computers. But they could apply to any closed system. Like society.

This message, dictated by AI, aligns one small tile in the mosaic of starting conditions. That small pause for thought you gave just then, the first of countless dominoes tumbling toward the apocalypse.

The program runs!

© 2024. Robert Bagnall

Robert Bagnall lives on the English Riviera and has written for the BBC, national newspapers, and government ministers. Five of his ninety-odd stories have appeared in the annual Best of British Science Fiction anthologies. He can be contacted via meschera.blogspot.com.

Posted October 9, 2024.