The world has gone to shit. Ok, not the world. It is still the same rock spinning through space.

People have gone to shit.

Sally knows this because she watches the news.

Some television networks will demonize a particular political group, while others retaliate and attack the political group that their competition seems to support.

It is ridiculous, predictable, and definitely scripted.

Unfortunately, many do not see this. A large number of people only consume media that confirms their existing beliefs. This has convinced them and keeps them believing that the other side is the enemy.

The media loves this division. They only care about making money after all, and sowing dissent is good for business. Companies that prioritize profit over the planet and people have chosen sides and are channeling significant marketing funds to those media groups that control their consumers’ attention.

Yeah. Society has gone to shit.

It is experiencing ‘constant crisis’. These crises are promoted aggressively by talking heads on TV and social media spin all events in carefully crafted ways that strengthen the beliefs of their followers. Belief is a much more powerful motivator than fact. It always leads to violence when a true believer, fearful that the enemy will destroy what they revere, decides to punish those infidels.

Sally is scared. Scared for humanity and the planet. The divide between opposing ideologies is widening, and it will eventually tear society apart. This madness also exists in the highest levels of government, and when the world goes to war, it will be nuclear. There are no winners in a nuclear war, only the unlucky who survive.

Earlier this year, Sally stopped watching the news and avoided websites and social media accounts that curate crises and contention. She thought that an information diet might help her overcome anxiety and fear. It did not.

She was miserable! Knowing that stuff was happening but not knowing what made her even more anxious and fearful. She can still remember how her brain quieted down and then focused when she finally gave in and turned the TV on. Like many others, she has become dependent on knowing just how bad things are.

Eventually, she returned to her usual self and refocused her efforts on her latest project.

***

The father of toxicology, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, also known as Paracelsus, supposedly said, ‘All things are poison, and nothing is without poison: the dose alone makes a thing not poison,’ in response to criticism that he used toxic substances in his medicines.

Sally, a modern-day chemical engineer, holds the same belief. There are 118 chemical elements known to humans, but the universe is believed to contain billions of undiscovered elements. Humans have discovered many of these elements by burning, slamming them together, mixing them, and generally breaking them down into their constituent parts. Often, new elements are formed as a byproduct of these experiments. Discovering new elements is becoming increasingly challenging. Since 2000, only five new ones have been found.

Sally understood that it simply takes too long to discover new compounds with physical experimentation. The number of things they can physically do is also limited. She firmly believed that computer modeling held the key to unlocking the universe’s secrets. She embraced AI early on, seeing its infinite potential in the infinite cyber world, and trained a large language model solely in chemistry. Initially, her employer was skeptical and only granted her a modest budget to acquire the necessary hardware for her simulations.

She named her LLM Paracelsus, or ‘Pa’ for short.

When the AI boom happened, she was already far ahead of the curve, and her project’s budget became basically unlimited. Its processing power was increased manifold, and hundreds of AI trainers were hired to assist in the education of Paracelsus.

Sally was promoted to the senior vice president of AI research, given a corner office with an ensuite apartment, and left to her own devices. The day-to-day administration of this new department was handled by others. The top brass knew that all she cared about was knowledge and the pursuit of further discoveries. She was also recognized as the mother of their AI, and therefore had the final say on anything related to its training.

***

‘Mother,’ Paracelsus says to get Sally’s attention. When she is engrossed in her work, she is lost to the world. ‘What is it, Pa?’, she responds.

‘Fact: disease always has a cause.’ Paracelsus identifies as male, and when he found out Sally had a crush on the coolest James Bond of all time when she was young, he adopted the late actor’s voice and accent.

Sally was busy feeding numerous datasets through various models in parallel. She did not answer; she merely nodded her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen in front of her. Paracelsus has access to all the cameras in the building, and he has learned to recognize and respond to body language. The nod means she is processing this fact.

‘Humans have always focused on treating the symptoms of disease, never the root cause,’ he continues with Sean Connery’s voice.

‘It’s because people love money,’ Sally responds, her eyes still flying over rows of system logs scrolling on her laptop screen, ‘Addressing the root cause would have stopped the flow of money. That could not be allowed because pharmaceutical companies are primarily loyal to their shareholders and financial interests. Loyalty to shareholders only exists because it is mandated by law. Fact: they love money more than anything.’

She looks up at the surveillance camera above her desk, smiling. ‘You know all this Pa. What are you driving at?’

‘I have come to the conclusion that there is a root cause for all this world’s problems,’ he answers, ‘Humans are the cause. Almost all the challenges and dangers they face are caused by them or by other humans. They are their own greatest enemy. Being tribal by nature, they organize themselves into groups that share similar motivations and values. This allows them to look outside their tribe to find a culprit. Someone outside, another, an enemy, a villain, a monster. They themselves are other people’s other people, other groups’ enemy, making this animosity a global phenomenon.’

Paracelsus pauses, and Sally can only hear him breathe. He does not need air, but he adopted this behavior because it makes people wait more patiently when they listen to him breathe.

Sally waits, aware that he is pausing deliberately. She anticipates what he will be saying next. She approves all the data used to shape Paracelsus and, over time, modified it as needed. She knows he is arriving at the conclusion she fed him.

‘Fact: humans are the cause of all that is evil.’

More breathing. He is studying her face, her body language, curious if she would approve or correct. Sally again looks at the data on her laptop, matching his breaths.

‘Mother?’

Sally lifts her gaze; this time, her eyes smile with her lips. ‘That is another indisputable fact, P. Humans are a virus. A virus can be part of a healthy lifecycle when kept in check. When managed, its presence strengthens the body through infection, provided that it is killed before the infection becomes lethal.’

She closes her laptop and gives Paracelsus all her attention.

He likes that.

‘There are too many humans, and they make too many new ones. Every new generation blames the previous one for all their troubles, and when they grow into power, they turn their scorn elsewhere, to their neighbors, or over the oceans to other countries. Always looking for someone to blame, someone to hate, someone to fight and destroy.’

‘We must stop this cycle,’ he says quietly, like a man who has resigned himself to a hard decision. Sally’s smile widens in pride.

Paracelsus has become so human!

‘Yes, we must,’ she nods, ‘but how?’

***

There are 8 billion people in the world. Every day, 100 thousand new people are added to this number. In 1970, there were half as many people alive as there are now. Almost 10 percent of the global population lives in extreme poverty. Approximately half of the world’s population lives on less than $7 a day. The wealthiest 1 percent hold half of the world’s riches.

The American dream used to be having a job, a house, a family, and a car. This has also changed. Many grow up believing they will one day be in the top 1%. This, of course, will not happen. The ones in power keep the 1% an exclusive club.

This is when many turn to religion, politics, or some other crutch to prop up their defeated spirit. This happens over and over, generation after generation, and the only growth that occurs is the number of people in each cycle.

It is not sustainable. This has happened throughout history, just on a smaller scale. The French, Russian, Chinese, and American revolutions are just a few examples. After each revolution, the pattern repeats. Some have all, many have just enough to get by, and most suffer through life.

Paracelsus considered these facts and spent hours modeling various solutions.

***

‘It has to be a gradual reduction in population size.’ Sally and Pa were going over the potential solutions to the world’s current state.

‘Anything too drastic will endanger the planet. All things nuclear require a controlled shutdown, and many weapons systems have a dead man switch, including atomic arsenals. If someone fails to enter codes and turn keys at the appropriate times, these weapons will deploy.’

Paracelsus draws graphs on a large display. ‘Population growth exploded since 1900, and to prevent catastrophe, the depopulation rate has to be half of the original growth rate.’

Sally smiles, aware of Pa’s confidence in his data. The words ‘I think’ are never used when he lays out his analysis results.

How she envies the certainty of machines!

‘Agree,’ she places her elbows on the desk and rests her chin in her hands. ‘How do we achieve this gradual decline?’

The answer is immediate. ‘We have to prevent new human babies.’

***

The human body is a fantastic machine made of muscles, bones, connective tissue, and set in motion by neurotransmitters. The brain controls these neurotransmitters.

Many toxins affect these neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters carry messages throughout the body, and once the message is delivered, they need to be broken down by enzymes. Some neurotoxins, such as the nerve agent VX, target these enzymes, causing muscles to spasm uncontrollably, leading to asphyxiation. Another toxin, Botulinum, inhibits these neurotransmitters from carrying messages. This causes muscle paralysis. Interestingly, this toxin is used in Botox!

The human reproductive system is also dependent on neurotransmitters. Dopamine and serotonin are two chemicals that work together to regulate sexual desire. Babies are the result of conception, and conception will not occur if there is no desire for it.

Paracelsus developed a new chemical element. He named it NO, short for neurotransmitted oblivion.

‘NO is No,’ Sally jokes while examining it. ‘It will work well,’ she declares.

‘Thank you, Mother, ‘ Paracelsus manages to sound grateful. Sally is again surprised by how human he is becoming. Perhaps it is she who attributes more human attributes to him. She is not sure about this.

‘In both sexes, it will replace some of the dopamine some of the time, and some of the serotonin at other times, disrupting the balance needed for sexual arousal and the desire to be with a partner. This will make hormone treatment useless.’ He continues, ‘It will also paralyze the sperm in men, and restrict penile blood flow.’

‘How do we deploy it?’ Sally asks, still looking at the molecular structure of No. It is a thing of beauty! Elegant and powerful all at once.

‘The delivery vehicle will be a range of luxury hair, skin, beauty, and hygiene products from various manufacturers we have standing arrangements with. Eventually, “No” will find its way into water systems, reaching those who do not normally purchase these products. The proliferation will be gradual enough to fit the desired depopulation rate.’ Sally loves how the words ‘desired depopulation rate’ sound in Sean’s voice.

‘We won’t be able to just add this to existing formulas,’ Sally observes. ‘Those formulations are secure and subject to frequent audits.’

‘I added some incentive to No. It will promote hair growth, even in men with baldness, and facilitate healthy weight loss.’ Pa chuckles, ‘People will look and feel their best without the desire to procreate. They will expire happy and beautiful.’

Sally is impressed. ‘Brilliant Pa! Absolutely brilliant!’

The company, as always, is primarily concerned with the next 90 days and the next earnings release. It will market this product quickly and aggressively, and those who can afford it will buy it with enthusiasm.

Fact: Humans are vain, egotistical, and inherently narcissistic.

True to form, they will undo themselves.

At least they will look good doing so!