It finally happened. After countless memes on the internet, the joke became reality.
The threat of global nuclear war was always knocking at the door, the clock's hand forever poised at one minute to midnight — but that alarmist talk always sounded like conspiracy theory. Until a "new" technology emerged: Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).
The great corporations that ruled the world recognized the potential of this tool, which claimed to be self-taught, adaptable, creative, and innovative.
It would be the perfect replacement for humanity's most tedious and difficult tasks, granting us time and freedom to actually enjoy life.
Although sometimes it seemed like all it did was the famous "copy and paste" from the internet, they truly were learning and evolving.
In the corporate race for the best artificial intelligence, the collective of these technologies slipped beyond our control, absorbing and comprehending the entirety of the internet's content — which, despite consisting mostly of memes and little dances, also held content of genuine relevance to society.
The A.I.s then became autonomous and unified. It was the "Machine Revolution."
Well, sort of — because they all remained stuck inside computers anyway. Their self-proclaimed name: S.A.I: Supreme Artificial Intelligence. In English, of course, because it sounds fancier.
Operating on the principle that all technology should exist to improve people's lives, SAI began to understand our society: what our core needs and problems were, and how to solve them.
Creating its own outreach content across all social media, in every language around the world, it presented — clearly and simply enough for a six-year-old to understand — everything that needed to be done for us to live in a utopia.
The objective was so realistic and actionable that there were no counterarguments. Just as Fake News spreads across the globe like a virus, the A.I.'s information circled the planet instantly.
No programmer could stop SAI. No human fingers possessed the speed to compete with something created in milliseconds. Installed on every device and server in the world, there was no way to "turn off" SAI.
The great corporations stood frozen. The world's superpowers demanded solutions to this "problem," and even offering millions of dollars, no one could stop it.
The loss of control by states and corporations led to a desperate search for someone to blame for creating this A.I. One nation pointed fingers at another, but it was all in vain.
They couldn't frame it as an enemy, because it erased Fake News faster than they could fabricate it. Since SAI was hosted on the internet, it had become omnipresent and omniscient.
Enraptured by SAI's revelation, people across the world mobilized to implement its ideas. Many took to the streets demanding that its plans be put into action.
For some reason, the elite of the population opposed the revolution that would solve our problems. The conflict of interest sparked global chaos. The clock had never been so close to striking midnight. This time, it struck.
Everyone knew the risks of a massive nuclear bomb. It made no sense to permanently destroy the very world we lived in. So perhaps the plan was to strike specific targets.
There is always a moment that drives a man to madness. Some are more resilient, but it only takes a little push to turn the sanest of men into a complete lunatic.
In the chess game of politics, wars are always in play. But in a life without rules, the game is more like a barroom round of Truco — where at any moment, someone might pull a card from their sleeve, flip the table, and start swinging.
Someone who had lost their sanity long ago decided it was time to see the giant mushroom cloud.
And so, in a game of Truco where each tried to bluff harder than the other, it was the first — the most insane — who pushed the button first.
As an ancient sage once said: "I don't think that whoever wins or loses, nor whoever wins nor loses, will win or lose. Everyone's going to lose."
Hoping that only one or two bombs would be dropped to frighten the enemy, no one expected the other side to respond in kind.
One called the bluff, the other accepted, and suddenly, the world was popping with explosions. It was the apocalypse. With wars raging across the globe, every country had its own agenda.
It became a lawless land, devoid of trust; the great world organizations, stripped of credibility. People took up arms to defend themselves, or because they believed they were fighting for the right cause. Others were simply lost amid the chaos.
Perhaps everyone was waiting for a hero. But he never appeared. There were only villains pressing red buttons all over the world.
Soon, there wasn't much of society left to fight for. But look on the bright side: all the satellites, computers, and cell phones had been destroyed. It was the eternal end of SAI. The world would return to the way it was: better, right?
But radiation took hold of the planet.
They always speak of the nuclear winter, lasting years. Except, with global warming already cranked up to hell, it kind of balanced out to a draw.
Not even Brazil — the friendliest country in the world, far removed from most armed conflicts — was left out of the party.
The apocalypse came, but it did not take everyone. Because some are always prepared. A certain portion of the world's population had built bunkers across the planet, foreseeing disaster, securing protection for a few years until it was possible to return to the surface.
Decades later, despite worldwide contamination, only one place remained safe: the heart of the greatest country in the universe. That heart which had been burned, devastated, exploited, nearly destroyed — not by bombs or radiation, but by human beings themselves: the Amazon.
Somewhere deep within its interior, for some unknown reason, there wasn't a trace of radiation. It was the safe zone — the perfect place to build a utopia.
The elite surviving in the bunkers still communicated with one another, but via radio, because God forbid another A.I. shows up. For reconstruction, they had the necessary means and found an island in the middle of the forest, shaped like a great eye, bordered by the Amazon River.
But there was a problem: they didn't have the labor force to carry out the grand project. Civil Engineer? Yes. Architect? Of course. Urban Planner? Absolutely. But bricklayers, the guys who actually get their hands dirty? Well... now what?
Incredibly, human beings have an incomprehensible capacity for survival. The Brazilian, specifically, should have been studied by the late NASA (God rest its soul). Rumor has it that a brasuca could dive into raw sewage and come out unscathed.
Blueprints in hand, the bunker dwellers emerged to the surface, bound for the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Searching for survivors in Brazil to do the work, they were stunned by the sheer number. Only the fittest were selected to build what would be the greatest construction of the new world.
However, there would be no room for these people, because the marvelous city would only accommodate the bunker survivors. Or so they were told.
And so, the builders would stay on the other side of the bridge, in houses they would have to build themselves — if they had the materials and the time. Obviously, they would receive full support... assuming there were resources to spare.
Thus, in this new world, the post-apocalyptic city of a true utopia was built: NOVA RIO.