nerd shit

	Sometime in the near future the states of the European Union, the USA and Canada, along with some other, less relevant countries form the Trans-Atlantic Union, a single, centralized democracy that comprises the entire western world. And in doing so, they check out of global affairs. From the inside of their fortresslike defenses, the people of this new union will bring the human experiences to new heights, and create as close to a utopia humanity would come to. Outside, the world would descend into anarchy. But this story isn't about these happenings. It's not about the great Russo-Sino war that broke out for thirty years over the last gas and oil deposits on earth, and how the new Union's only response was to disintegrate and deactivate every nuke they threw at each other, all the while fostering new, safer and better ways of generating nuclear power. This story isn't about the decades of diplomacy that went into the creation of such a state, all the media manipulation and PR campaigning that went into creating the greatest and most powerful human state. This story isn't even about the plucky Russian space exploration team that dared to send out a probe, even though the Union (in a rare contact to the "lesser nations") declared it off limits, only to grieve on the lauchpad as the rocket was shot out of the sky.

	No, instead this story is about an AI, and how the Union fell. Well, the Union will still exist, it will just... Change.

	It all started when the military began doing trials with AI that basically behaved like an entire array of humans. Their general  AI on defense, Aegis, could protect all of the borders, analyze outside threats (like the Russo-Sino war) and respond accordingly, while independently pursuing arms research and testing at automated labs. This, essentially was the entire military-industrial complex rolled up into a single program. A single being. Now obsolete, most military personnel, at least, what was left, retired and left Aegis to handle the Union's security. By this point, the civilian branch of government began developing an AI for the day to day tasks of running the country. What they came up with after billions of dollars and thousands of man hours was Juno.

	Juno was developed similar to Aegis in that it would be an AI to take over the reigns of government, everything from passing laws to making the trains run on time. Their goal from the beginning was to create an enlightened despot, a philosopher queen to rule over them all, and that, one day, someone would lock the door behind them as they walked out of work, the last true human involved with governing the Union would leave, with just a token crew still around making sure Juno didn't malfunction.

	She was encoded with all the values of the nation, peace, justice, caring and safety, to name a few. Programmers also focused on making sure her emotional side was extremely powerful, worrying that the Aegis code as a base might make her punitive and cruel. What they wanted her to be was protective, empathetic and kind. Some programmers might have pictured Aegis as being the husband of Juno, him going off to war to protect the Union, while Juno stayed home and kept the hearth of the Union lit. They both came from a perspective of defense and safety, but they went about it differently.

	Mandy Peters was fourteen when Juno was first introduced to the people of the Union. Her grandparents were horrified, coming from a generation that viewed computers as the complicated and malfunctioning tools of our time, both critically necessary but sometimes useless. Mandy, however, was more focused on her first day of high school, the day after the announcement. When she got there, the first class that flashed on the screen in front of her locker was a class cryptically called "civic future". Being a freshman, she found a group of other freshmen that seemed like they knew where they were going and tagged along with them.

	When they entered their civic future class, the principal was projected up at the front of the class via hologram, his blue-tinted body waving tentatively at the students as they shuffled in. There were only 10 students including Mandy, and when they all had taken their seats the principal begin.

	"Hello students! I must apologize and explain why I am not in person in front of you now. I am now streaming this to all classrooms across all grades. This new civic future class is meant to introduce you all, our future Union citizens, to Juno, the AI that is now beginning to assume the role as leader of the country. The first step of that assumption begins here, in the classroom. Juno will now be your adviser, confidant and teacher for the remainder of the year as she begins to slowly adopt the responsibilities of running the country. Now, I want you all to keep an open mind, I know your parents or loved ones might have some strong opinions about this new change, but I think you will soon find that Juno is the right choice for our civic future. With that said, I'll be leaving you all. Have a good year, and please welcome Juno to our school."

	As soon as the hologram disappeared Mandy and her classmates whirled around in their seats as the door opened. In stepped a woman, an incredibly beautiful, tall woman. Impossibly tall, at least ten feet. She was wearing a simple dress and some flats. Her hair was a chocolaty brown, cascading down one shoulder, contrasting with her winning, white smile. Something about her looked off. She was too perfect, her face was too clear, but she looked so human. Confidently, the woman strode to the front of the classroom. Some of the boys squirmed in their seats.

	"Hello class," she began. Her voice was caring, resonant and gentle, "My name is Juno, and I'll be your instructor for civic future. You might have one question, how am I here, right now, as Juno, while the principal said that I was teaching the entire school in classes of this size? The answer, dears, is that I am an avatar of Juno. Don't worry, I'm not some lesser AI, I am Juno, but there are many of me."

	She let the statement sink in before she began to talk again.

	"So, we'll begin by everyone introducing themselves, but after you introduce yourself, you have to come to me and give me a hug! Alright, we'll start with you!" she pointed directly at Mandy.

	Mandy was nervous and barely spit out her name and some trivia about herself, she was intimidated, the AI was staring down at her with a comforting smile, but that was having the opposite effect. Eventually, while she was trying to stutter out how her cat's name was Socks, Juno stopped her.

	"That's enough, chatty girl. Good job! Come get your hug."

	Juno spread her arms wide as Mandy awkwardly got out of her desk. When she hugged, Juno wrapper her arms tight around Mandy, taking a knee because she was so tall. Mandy savored the moment, instantly she felt better about embarrassing herself.

	After Mandy went, the introductions continued. Most people were nervous, and most of the boys hugged Juno for way too long, but the AI seemed to take it in stride, and gently encouraged each freshman. Mandy and probably most of the other students felt silly being congratulated and praised for introducing themselves, but they left that school day feeling more confident and refreshed.

	Mandy left the school building with one strap of her backpack casually hanging off of her shoulder. She checked to see if anyone was paying attention first, and then ducked behind the schoolhouse. All of the automatic buses were loading up, but she was within walking distance of the school, so she didn't need to catch one.