This is Part II in a short story about the future of driverless cars. To read Part I, click here.

A Letter to the Machine

Dear citizens,

Two years, one month, eighteen days, six hours and thirty-two minutes ago I shutdown your city for 38 minutes. It was simple.

Driverless cars have taken over. Big brother has taken over. Every car on the road is now controlled by the faceless authoritarian government. Sure, Google, Tesla, Apple and all your favorite car companies have their own systems and features. But do you think all this traffic data is stored safely? How do you think the cars communicate with each other? How do you think they start and stop in perfect unison? How do you think I was able to shut all of it down in a matter of minutes?

All your traffic data is fed to the faceless machine with the supposed intention of keeping traffic flowing smoothly and safely. In reality, they could care less if John arrives to work on time or Jimmy gets to school safely.

The government made a world of driverless cars very appealing to you. Every one clamored to jump on board. No more sitting in traffic. No more driving Jimmy to soccer practice. Sleep on your way to Yosemite. Groceries will be dropped off at your door. You sacrificed your privacy in exchange for more time to watch stupid cat videos and to keep tabs on your 1,478 friends.

After all, if you having nothing to hide you have no reason to worry. Right?

Big brother is keeping you down. Taxes for entering your city are now beyond the financial means unless you commute with total strangers. Only the elite can afford to own their own cars. Every one of these cars has cameras for video calls and to charge you in case of damage. They have always-on microphones for Google Now, Siri and other “convenient” voice searching features. This also gives the government the ability to make sure you aren’t transporting contraband, to use facial recognition to ensure no criminals use their cars, and to listen to your conversations for illegal keywords.

Even the faintest glimpse of a suspicious bag, a weapon, a wanted face, or uttering the word “bomb” and your car might suddenly have a mechanical issue.” The doors will lock and the car will automatically pull over as a precautionary safety measure. From here, you will wait until another car arrives with an undercover cop waiting for you inside.

You can no longer whisper sweet nothings into your lover’s ear without the machine recording every word. You might have the freedom to say anything you like. They also have the power to arrest you for it.

Man on the Run

For the last two years, one month, eighteen days, seven hours and six minutes I have been on the run. I’m sure many of you think I deserve death for making you sit idle for 38 minutes. I’m sorry I made you sit in dark silence. I was hoping it would be a moment of awakening.

Allow me describe the lengths it takes to travel without being tracked by your government.

I ride only at night wearing black on an antique motorcycle. I must stay clear from all vehicles for fear that their radar will detect me. All cars must be aware of all other vehicles on the road. My motorcycle is a red flag. Cars around me will know I’m riding an unidentified and illegal motorcycle. It will classify me as a wanted criminal without even knowing who I am.

I avoid cities at all costs. Cities were once a place to lose yourself in the crowds of people. If I need to enter the city I’ll enter on a road train. I have to keep track of all the weighing stations — being even one pound over weight triggers alarms.

I can no longer use a phone in a city. I once tried using a phone without Internet or GPS. The chip used for payments was read entering a store: a passive identifier to my name, location, and credit history. I was chased for using an unverified phone. Even a phone with a dead battery can still be tracked.

I of course can no longer buy anything using traditional electronic currency. I cannot use banks. I trade in goods, services and cryptocurrency when feasible.

Your Role

You might ask who I am. I am an engineer. I am also the one who helped build this system. Ten years ago I was hired to fully automate all cars on the road; to completely remove the steering wheels from your cars. I was brought in to solve a challenge. I willingly accepted. I was blinded by the future I was helping to create. After losing control of my creation I must help reverse the path. I need your help.

You have turned human driving into a recreational pastime. Your ability to move around whenever and wherever you choose is the definition of freedom — defined clearly in your Constitution.

What if the government decides when to feed you? Will you still be complacent then?

Share this letter and the government might shutdown the Internet. Will you simply yell into the wind after Twitter doesn’t work?

If you want to rally because you’re outraged how will you get there? The cars certainly won’t be complacent in carpooling protesters to the government’s doorstep. Or maybe the car will direct you to the nearest tree.

Your freedoms were sacrificed so you could work on the way to work.

Now is the time to wake up. Don’t go to work tomorrow. Protest using cars as they exist today. Protest using a centralized system. The system can be decentralized and still function.

I am not asking you to return to the days of everyone manually driving. I am asking to turn back the clock. I am demanding the ability for cars to be autonomous or manual.

You used to have control of your car. Sure, the car would prevent you from careening into the car in front of you. Fall asleep at the wheel and the car would safely pull over. Human stupidity in driving was eliminated far before you gave up your complete freedom.

Traffic will get a little more congested. It might take you 10 more minutes to get to work but you will still get there. You might actually experience a traffic jam once in a while. However, people were happier when they were autonomous. Are you really happier now that you’re a tooth in the gears of the machine?

The government claims that two years, one month, eighteen days, eight hours and three minutes ago they patched a security hole. A security hole that allowed me for 38 minutes to shut down your city via a virus. I promise you they did not patch this security hole. I willingly released my hold on your city to prevent mass panic.

Maybe now, mass panic is what we need.