FF – Role Reversal
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Brenda Cox. It took me forever to think up a story this week.
Hand-painted art was all the rage. And why wouldn’t it be? Since the attempted takeover of the world by intelligent machines (well done, Sci-Fi, you were right), that’s all there was.
After all the scientists and engineers were blamed, put up against a wall and shot (it was presumably a very big wall), creative types were all that were left.
In a completely unexpected reversal of roles, poorer countries became the new “Silicon Valley”, while those left in the actual Silicon Valley, bereft of devices, were left trying to rediscover how to make a pencil work.
Who’d’a thunk it?
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Friday Fictioneers
draliman on life 
I never fail to appreciate your blog entries!
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Aw, thanks 🙂
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Wow, up against the wall and shot. It must have been a blood bath.the future of AI looks like it is in trouble, thankfully we can fall back on the tradition man made crafts.
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On the next episode of Zeeba Hitchcock Presents…. millions of scientists and engineers lined up and shot along the world’s longest wall! Running length: 4 hours and 20 minutes.
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All in glorious ZeebaBlood-O-Vision…
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Can I suggest a few names for the next round of shootings?
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Perhaps they’ll slowly rediscover their multiplication tables
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Yep, another skill they probably don’t even teach in primary school these days…
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Holy squirrel, where can we run to? That is a harsh future. Now, where are my pencils…
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Quickly start drawing something, don’t look like a scientist!
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No more starving artists! Sounds good to me!
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Yep! Now they rule the world!
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It could happen. There are much worse things that could.
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Being a scientist myself, it would be pretty bad for me 😮
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If part of your science is growing food, it might be what keeps you alive! You’d just have to pretend to be something…
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Yeah… I can do plants!
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I don’t know the answer but I love the way you thunk it out! Sometimes I reckon a straight reversal of so-called sophisticated values would bring a lot of improvement to the world.
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It would certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons!
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What goes around comes around. Thank goodness I hung on to my pencil sharpener – now, how does it work?
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I’m sure there’s an engineer somewhere you can ask… oh.
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You know, some of that scenario sounds like not a bad idea…
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To me too. Not the “me being shot” part, though.
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Oh so true. Don’t know what to do without those devices! Very clever tale as alway, Ali.
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Many would be completely lost!
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All one or all the other is just no good. When will we ever understand? Oh, I know, like never…
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Oh, for a nice balance…
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Yes indeed. I sat in a classroom discussing ‘educational technology’ one day (years ago). One of the other students raised his pencil and declared, “Not long ago this was considered technology.” Well done. 🙂
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Nobody would be seen dead with a charcoal stick once the pencil came along!
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Except the artist. I have many. But yes. 🙂
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And the muses ruled! 🙂
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Yay 🙂
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🙂
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But who’s making those pencils? 🤔
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That’s a good point. When they’re gone, they’re gone!
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Yea, who would have though that.
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Not the scientists.
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Hmm. I wouldn’t want all the tech types to be executed, but it sure would be nice if we could all relearn the use of a pencil or, even better, crayons 🙂
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Yes! I wonder if they still even teach writing properly at school these days.
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I did, and still do in the homeschool co-op our church sponsors. But in the private Christian school in which I taught, we still did school the old-fashioned way–readin’ and writin’ and ‘rithmatic 🙂
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A world full of only creative types… hardly conceivable.
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The world will be more colourful!
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it’s the circle of life. 🙂
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Yep, sort of 🙂
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There’s that wall in China. It’s just sitting there looking for a claim to fame.
I never learned how to use a pencil the first time around. I got all the answers right, but my teachers never knew it.
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A likely story!
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Dear Ali,
A truly terrifying story given today’s climate. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Thanks. Let’s hope it never happens 😮
Ali
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How about Paw drawings, I can do that…still…Extra Pawkiss🐾😽💞
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They would be pawfect 🙂
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I write fiction, I do! Okay, so I have a science degree but I repented – I REPENTED!!! I’m a writer, a writer of fiction – what’s all that dark stuff on that bullet spangled wall?
Oh dear…
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I even wrote about this very thing happening, honest, look…!
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Is there are wall near me…. and do they take suggestions?
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They may do, but it’s probably best to keep our heads down and hope we’re not noticed…
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