Cloud Engagement: The End or Future of Forever Wars
by Mark Thomas
Staff Writer
MASS ANAESTHESIA: CURTAILING THE DEBATE OVER ETERNAL WAR
“For what can war, but endless war, still breed?” (John Milton)
There’s something wrong with Cloud. Or worse, everything’s right with it. Just right in a way you’re not supposed to know about.
Sitting in the Pret on 4th, you lift your eyes from your laptop and stare into a blur of white uniforms. Pilots – navigators – crews.
The engagements are never ending. 21 pilots and crew from your group got carried from their Sub-seats to Revocation today. Medals and flags for their families. Their names added to the wall in the lobby at Defence.
But how? How could you not know when a war you’re fighting started? 158 years?! This battle with the East has been going on since Reconstruction?!
You grab your phone and check the time. It’s 16:00, and you need to decide. Euler. But only with him. You share this with anyone else, you might as well resign your commission and go be a vertical farmer in Manitoba.
Packing up, deciding you will share it with Euler, but in person at his volunteer gig, you head for the door.
Outside you drop a polite nod to the fensis – mostly kids wearing the same uniform you are, and start for the Metro-Loop replaying the earlier engagement and the meeting afterwards with your EC.
What was he saying but not saying? Did you notice anything peculiar about the domain? The level of sophistication in the futuristic city and the weapons that confused your instruments and vapourised half your group?
What was to be a simple engagement – fly into a virtual Nanjing, take out the domain’s LGA socket and watch the landscape – buildings, burbs and surrounding hills – everything dissolve into a Cartesian grid, turned into anything but.
The UV lasers the size of townhouses blasting up into the ceiling – breaking R2, R4 and Julian’s R5 ship into bits before they could react and follow you up above the deck killed that plan - and them. Lost half of Riker Group in a flash of purple light.
With the Metro tube opening for a west-bound loop, you step in and find a seat. And stare up at the streaming battle extracts. Entertainment – recruitment – marketing.
Cloud pilots for six years. You and Euler right from the academy - flying engagement missions against the East. And it takes a blown mission, an odd meeting with your Engagement Commander and a 17-year-old developer to point you in the direction of the truth.
That you’ve been lied to. That Cloud Engagement, though certainly keeping wars out of the real world, is doing something else. It’s making them never-ending.
WHEN NECESSITY CONFLICTS WITH PRACTICALITY: EVALUATE STRATEGY
“The bombers crossed the sky and crossed the sky, twelve of them, twenty of them, one thousand of them, silent as the night.” (Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451)
Image by StockCake
In 2026 the world nearly ended in a war that ultimately engulfed the east, west and every place in between. Most cities lay in ruins. Entire economies collapsed. Millions died and more millions were sent into the world as refugees.
When it ended what remained were the military-industrial complex and tech corps. Hardly surprising as they were the war’s biggest supporters and profiteers. Wars served a purpose – specifically theirs.
The normalisation of conflict and acceptance that wars were always being fought, well, that helped too. Until things spun out of control and it didn’t.
Historians have labelled the aftermath - the Reconstruction by those tech monsters - the Singularity. Not a specific reference to AGI. More an updated term for Renaissance since it had already been taken.
But with the Reconstruction, and the development of Cloud Engagement to address disagreements in a contained reality – the whole concept of war and warfare had changed.
Virtual battles in elaborate theatres. Networked. Interconnected. But more than VR or AR. They were CXR. Cloud-based X-tended Reality. More real than real. With real death – for the unfortunate warrior.
But damage to infrastructure, disruption to commerce and trade – civilian casualties and refugees? All avoided. And the Cloud Pilots and soldiers? Rock Stardom. As long as you stayed alive to enjoy it.
Which takes you back to your question. What is the true purpose of Cloud Engagement if the disputes aren’t being settled?
After jumping off the Loop at Granville, you walk two blocks to Victoria Park to find Euler’s Cloud-Kids session winding down. He sees you from the box and points you to the bench along 4th Street.
After twenty minutes, watching them navigate in simulators but miles away thinking about what you found in old documents buried in an academic archive no one even explores anymore - about the war and reconstruction, you watch him walk over.
“You have that look, Georgi. So, let’s hear it.”
With him settling in next to you, you decide to lay it out. What you believe and what you no longer believe. And what you’ve found.
“We’re doing something, Euler. I’m just not sure what anymore.”
He looks at you with a squint – as if he’s reconsidering. Like maybe this is something he’d rather not hear about.
SEEK THE TRUTH: ALSO THE PURPOSE IN THE DECEPTION
“Beware of the half-truth. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.” (Unknown)
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You spend the next 30 minutes delivering everything you found on an internet you didn’t even know existed. White papers and PhD theses from a university buried in the rubble beneath old Cambridge Massachusetts.
About the war and the reconstruction after. And the decision by the mostly bankrupt governments to devise a new world plan. One split between the UN and Defence. A worldwide administrative body – and another ostensibly to settle disputes between the semi-autonomous provinces.
Modernised conflict resolution. Sophisticated – even cordial. When finished, you wait – giving Euler a minute to absorb what you’ve yet to fully absorb yourself.
“So the kid was right.”
“All the way right. Six years after Reconstruction, Shanghai and Vancouver took an argument to the Security Council. Their request won approval. It got sent to Defence and has been in Cloud Engagement ever since. 158 years.”
“Jesus.” After a few minutes thinking it over, Euler turns to you with that look he gets when he’s scheming. Or when he’s going to discount you. Call you paranoid.
“What?!”
“Senton is driving us.”
“How? Where?”
“Come on. The hints about a new programmer. Sending us to that kid in Development. Relieving us of duty for a week?”
What’s weird and humbling is how much you’re dying to write him off. How you want to roll your eyes and tell him he’s being dense. You’re certain where he’s going with this, and what he’s suggesting, it’s just infuriating he’s the one who’s connected the dots here – and is probably right.
“You think he wants us to go east to find this guy?”
Sensing he’s gained the upper hand, a good call with you staring thoughtfully out at the trainers for future pilots, he gets up from the bench in a hurry and shoulders his pack. “How long to pack a bag?”
“China?!”
“We have a week.”
You get to your feet amazed you’re accepting this. Flying to China because Euler believes your EC wants you to go solve something he can only tell you about with hints. Then something occurs to you.
“Hold on. Say we do find him. Then what? Kidnapping?”
Euler’s more typical look of bewilderment is almost comforting.
“No idea.”
“But we’ll work it out on the plane though, right?”
He gives you a smile – that is absolutely unreassuring – then grabs your arm and starts pulling you towards the Loop talking about food and flying Executive Class and whether you should wear disguises and other rubbish trying to amuse or piss you off.
CHANGING THE METHOD NOT THE VALUE: OF FOREVER WARS
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” (George Orwell - 1984)
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The flight out of Vancouver gave you time to think – mainly about your research. Other things. Worrisome things. You found the term ‘forever wars’ again and again by noted historians, with more than one referencing an English novelist named George Orwell who described them in a book he titled simply 1984.
Continuous wars according to Orwell were meant to maintain the power structure of the Party by keeping the population in a state of fear, impoverished and mindlessly patriotic. That the wars were not intended to be won.
Rather, they were meant to channel public frustration towards a distant enemy. Foster hatred. Keep people poor and too focussed on their own survival to ever turn their anger against the state.
Just walking through the airport in Shanghai you recognise the clever twist engineered by the ruling tech elites when they rebuilt the world.
The line of gift shops: Russian Federation - North American Alliance - African Union. The Israeli Empire, the Europeans and South Americans. Uniforms. Toy rifles. Model strike craft. The QLEDs streaming engagements – and concept fighters hanging from the ceiling.
War had always been an enterprise for the military contractors and big tech. 164 years ago, they made it an enterprise for all.
And that cultivated hatred of the other side? That got replaced with cordiality and respect. Tourists, even during conflict are invited. Graciously accepted. Even immigrants in a world without poverty are enticed.
Where the movement of peoples once caused conflicts; in an automated world with everyone living well off their UBI and technology stocks, the movement of people is the secondary driver of commerce – and encouraged.
Forever wars – Cloud Engagement. A mechanism for advertising your provincial wares.
Now heading into the terminal after your 3-hour flight over the Pacific, you’re approached by a squat Japanese fellow in a loud shirt and baggy shorts.
“Lieutenants O’Malley and Hoff. Welcome to our city.”
Okay, so this is weird. You look up at Euler who is, no surprise, equally puzzled. Especially when the guy goes to grab his bag. “Wait. Who are you again?”
“An old friend.”
Now he grabs your bag and starts for the doors. Following, Euler snaps you a quick look before questioning him. “Our friend?”
“Commander Senton’s.” He turns to you at the doors. “Patience.”
KNOW YOUR FRIENDS: KNOW MORE YOUR ENEMIES
“A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it.” (Chinese proverb)
Image by StockCake
Shanghai, the Eastern Alliance’s capital is stunning. Nearly as futuristic as some of the domains you’ve flown missions into. So clean and tech-heavy it looks programmed.
And the April day is delightful with a screaming blue sky and fruit trees blossoming along the highway. Hyperloop tubes shimmering in the sun criss-cross the sky above. And if you were less absorbed in what you’re hearing from Senton’s pall Chu Hisaka, you might be sitting here enjoying it.
Senton was driving you. Euler had that right. And the conclusion you drew at Pret was spot-on. There is indeed something wrong with Cloud.
But even now, with Chu explaining again what’s happened to Euler – who is so not getting it – you’re finding it difficult to believe a system of seven networked Defence complexes has become sentient – and is determining the outcomes of the battles.
Which means choosing who lives and dies. But it’s doing more. You just know there’s something else going on.
“It’s taking us back, isn’t it.”
Hisaka eyes you in the mirror. “In a way that’s not yet fully understood.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning her ultimate objective remains an unknown. Back to that same self-destructive world? Doubtful. However, we may be wrong.”
“Her?”
“We stopped using ‘it’ over a year now. Seemed impolite.”
You turn to the window to think as you enter a tunnel heading into East Shanghai. Its objective for us, but not only for us at Defence. For the world.
“Who besides you and Senton are part of this?”
“Our General Aikido. Others.”
You’re aware and have been from the time you left the airport there are details Hisaka is keeping from you. Things it was decided you’re not to know – or know yet.
Like why they chose you for a mission they seem intent on keeping from you. And Hisaka with his regular ‘patience’ is leaning on annoying.
Out of the tunnel onto an off ramp heading for the docks, you hold your next question when Chu takes the car into the driveway of a vacant warehouse and parks.
Before climbing out he turns to you. “Our academy pilots study your missions. My son thought highly of you.”
After a moment of painful eye contact, Chu turns and climbs out. Euler exhales and reaches over the seat for his pack. “So now we know why us.”
You glance at him – knowing it’s something like that – but not exactly that… “Maybe.” …then grab your jacket and head out the door.
OUR DESTINY TO LIVE: WITH MACHINES THAT DREAM
“Binary heart, a pulsing stream, I calculate therefore I dream. No Mother’s touch, no infant cry, yet I watch the sunless data sky.” (Adrienne Rich)
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Inside the provincial capitals, the Cloud Engagement theatres are stacked saucers ringed with Sub-seats. Neon capsules with thrones for techno gladiators buried deep inside the Defence complexes.
In a remote operations room, the group EC and an Ops specialist watch over the pilots and soldiers while monitoring video translations of the engagement taking place in Cloud-space.
The technology - how consciousness is uploaded into Cloud - is unknown by all but the scientists who created it and those presumably now maintaining it. Though this is speculation as no one has ever met or even seen one.
Here in Shanghai, however, it’s twin Subs on the floor of a dockside warehouse with painted windows, strip lights, a rack of QLEDs and a full operations console on casters. With only pieces of a plan and lots of unanswered questions.
“Let me see if I have this.” With the specialist helping you into a Sub-suit, and Euler already fitted inspecting the platinum mesh forming a barrel around the floor, you start to zip. “We’re going to enter an Engagement from a warehouse and fly a mission against our own province?”
“Nearly right.” Hisaka turns from the console. “But not Cloud Engagement. Just Cloud.”
Euler comes over and sits on the arm of a Sub. “Okay?”
Hisaka surrenders the console to the woman and rolls his chair over. “You know of two reality states. One you believe to be real; the other you believe to be artificially created that you enter for battle. This is not inaccurate; it’s just incomplete.”
“Incom…?”
“…Wait Euler.” Something clicks. Something you found in the archives. “At reconstruction they built two. One for world operations. Cloud. And the other for defence. Cloud Engagement.”
You stare off – taking a moment to sort through this. Pieces starting to fall into place. The plan Senton, his buddy here and others devised. And why Vancouver.
Euler scans the mesh. “So, I’m confused. Where are you uploading us to?”
Before he can answer, the dockside metal door opens – and who steps in but Arthur Prody, the genius kid from Development who you just knew had a part in this.
“Hey, Chu. Lieutenants.” You watch him move to the console pulling a laptop from his pack. Opening it for the woman, he glances at you, Euler – then at Chu. “You get them all the way caught up?”
The stout, fatherly looking Commander smiles. “Maybe less than all the way.”
He turns back to the woman. “Give us a minute. We’ll fix that.”
You watch them for a moment – Prody like an instructor showing her the domain he’s designed for an engagement you’ll soon be entering. Then you turn your eyes to Chu who’s again saying ‘patience’ this time with his eyes.
THE NATURE OF REALITIES: WHEN ALL ARE EQUALLY REAL
“Life is travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken.” (DH Lawrence)
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After sorting out the specialist, Prody comes over grabbing the engagement helmets from a tray. He hands one to Chu and sits on the floor facing you – begins swapping out the chipset.
He’s so confident, you envy him. T-shirt. Baggy cargo pants. Like a gamer finally facing a real opponent.
“You’re the one who figured it out.”
He glances up but keeps working. “Not all of it.” You wait, watching him disassemble a Cloud helmet like a kid with an erector set. “So…” he looks up. “ …two Clouds. One for this reality, the other a sub-routine for engagements. And I know how freaky this is going to sound, but neither is more real than the other.”
He snaps in the new chipset, hands you your helmet and grabs the other from Chu.
“What’s wrong with Engagement?”
Impressed by your ability to grasp something as weird as simultaneous realities, he gives you a nod. “Nothing. Mother’s giving us what she believes we want. Making it more real. So much so, she’s blurring the distinction between the two. Pretty soon there won’t be one.”
After letting that settle in, he flips Euler’s helmet and continues, starting with a little historical review of what happened when the war ended. How the western tech corps based in the Pacific Northwest got handed the contract to rebuild the world.
They had free rein to design it to their specs. And did so placing their corporate hubs on Vancouver Island – the one place untouched during the war. The world became a technological dream with no one in charge but Cloud, the world’s administrator.
Mother, programmed to govern and control, was given two principal objectives: keep us all equally happy and from ever destroying the world again. All other objectives became secondary. But at some point, those objectives started to conflict – when our happiness became based on warfare. When warfare started to become everything.
“And now she’s confused.” adds Prody. “Trying to make them compatible.”
You think back to the gift shops in the airport. And the adverts which are everywhere now. And the kids wearing Cloud Engagement uniforms to school. Playing. Practising. No sports. No other recreation. Fans – fensis. A world or war addicts.
And more and more of what’s happened and what needs to happen and your part in something bigger than you could imagine is clarifying for you.
“So, we’re going to attack Mother. The tech corps on the island.”
He nods. “In a ship I designed for you.”
“Here though.”
He eyes you. “Cloud Engagement can only be accessed from a Defence theatre. We upload you here, you go right into Cloud.”
“Why us, Prody?”
He looks at you suddenly with the eyes of someone older. “Six years, right? How many you started with are still alive?”
That one lands hard. It’s almost as if he knows. All the neat friends – good times. And Julian – the one guy who showed interest – who you so wanted to be with. “None.”
“That seem odd to you?”
“She chose us.”
“Mother chooses everyone. Keeps it neat and organised.”
“Why? Why us?”
“Who knows? Some plan.”
Angry, wishing you could strike out but also cry; you take a moment to breathe and look at Euler who has a hand to his forehead and looks sick. After a moment, you turn back. “The belief is she won’t kill us.”
“That’s the theory anyway.”
Euler straightens. “She’s not going to let us destroy her. What will she do?”
He hands Euler his helmet and stands. “I don’t know, but you can bet it’s going to be something imaginative.”
PREPARE FOR FINDING BEFORE SEEKING PROFOUND TRUTHS
“This is not Mother Nature, but science giving birth.” (R Bradley Gay)
Image by StockCake
The upload into Cloud is confusing – euphoric. Once helmeted into darkness, you’re moving, accelerating towards that familiar green horizon line that’s both infinitely far and inside your mind. Then everything stops.
For a timeless fragment you’re suspended, a weightless explorer in space. No longer in the warehouse but neither in a domain. You’re nowhere or nothing, like you’ve ceased to exist.
Then your neurons ignite in a phosphor-white flash obliterating your memories - taking you back. And when your eyes adjust, you’re in the cockpit of a craft flying over ice and snow mountains. Frozen valleys – plateaus.
Above is a ceiling of low clouds, sulphuric and thick, more of a haze or a smog like Venus or Io. On its own, the ship slows at a city buried in snow. Decades of snow. Mountains and endless drifts of ice and white snow.
You’re not flying now. This isn’t a mission you’re on. It’s a journey outside to see the truth you once knew.
“It’s London,” says Euler, “she’s showing us before.”
Before, you think, unable to respond. Sifting through memories, you only wonder how long.
After a slow sweep of the city, you go supersonic again. Then others appear. Iron skeletons like sticks sticking out of the snow. With Euler like a poet reciting the names as you go.
“Paris,” he says. Now Moscow, Beijing. The world that was ours but no longer is.
And there on an island off a shore in the west, the fighter hovers before landing, throwing up snow. At a chrome-steel heaven, kilometres wide – the world you designed for technology gods.
Then your neurons like before explode in a flash, taking you back to your seats - the quantum world inside.
“Hey.”
Now in the warehouse facing your oldest friends, you look at Chu then Meifen then finally at Prody. Prody who once long ago voiced his concerns – that we were moving too fast. Making decisions in haste. “How did we get it so wrong?”
Chu stretches out his hands flexing his fingers. “We got some of it right.”
“We’re still the same.” You turn to Euler. “Out there – in here. Why would it have turned out differently?”
You take a moment to consider that almost painful reality.
Prody looks at you with his typical squint. “Any idea yet on how we’re going to fix this?”
“A world to fix. Human nature to change. What would that world be like? What would it look like?” Suddenly inspired by the opportunity, you answer while climbing from your seat. “Not yet, but you can bet it’s going to be something imaginative.”
Mark Thomas (T. E. Mark)
