Humans or pawns? - 30 Minute Writing Exercise

Raw writing for 30 minutes, expect errors. This one, in particular, is not a style I'm practiced in.

Tonight's prompt, "Group of people (kind of acquaintances kind of more than that) are playing a group game."


*Timer starts...NOW

A series of monitors line a wall approximately 20ft in length. In the room is a collection of art from "insert drip painter name" to Picasso to Basguiat. Displayed on the monitors are humans gathering in a city street.

"Hey Steve, how much control do you actually have in these scenarios?"

"Complete control."

"No, really. There's a few hundred people down on that street, at least. There's no way you can have that much access and influence over a situation."

The room had several investors observing the experiment. An array of tech enthusiasts ranging from UI and UX specialists to marketing moguls that held all major news channels and internet domains in their pockets.

Not even the entirety of the Bilderberger group, (a closed door meeting between world powers) was privy to this sort of showcase.

Steve, softly warming up a smile, "what would you like to see?"

A woman, head of one of the largest still operating print organizations, chimed in, "this is too quiet to make headlines. How quickly can you escalate tension?"

With a subtle nod, Steve looks over at one of his people with tablet in hand then continues, "This is all still human, so a delay is inevitable. From the moment a command is sent, we've found that it takes approximately 4 minutes and 9 seconds to begin seeing the desired effect."

*15 minute mark

A moment crosses the room as attendees begin looking closer at the screens. 

"What you're saying is that you can, essentially, dial up or down how people react? But at scale?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But that's impossible. You're talking about hundreds of people, thousands even. There's no way to predict what's going happen."

"0's and 1's is all we are. When you figure that out, with the right equation, and series of events, even humans can be programmed. We're getting close to four minutes, keep yours on the screens. Even now the unrest seems to be growing."

As if on cue, the street filled with hundreds of protesters seems to begin to bubble. 

"I shouldn't have to repeat myself, but the future is now. Every person has at least one mobile device on them capable of listening and/or emitting noise and frequencies, some of which are mostly undetected. Also, when you're dealing with the lower class, what are pennies to us are riches to them. We have agents yes, but we also have so many apps and platforms that we're just prepping them for the sequence of events to evoke our desired reaction."

A woman gets pushed off the sidewalk as onlookers observe.

Immediately, phones come out and the live footage begins being broadcast. 

Other members of the protest push back as yelling and whistles begin.

Officers arrive on scene with batons displaying aggression and mace ready to spray. 

"Stop." the woman of the organization says. "How quick can you stop this?"

Another subtle nod from Steve to the man with tablet. 

"Less than 20 seconds. If you feel the people are easy to manipulate, the authorities are even easier. "

Moments later, the officers with batons pull the woman up and give her space. The fights subdue and help is issued as the officers create a barrier between woman and protesters. 

To serve and protect.

"How would you like this protest to go next?"