Sentience

When digital lifeforms escape their virtual reality realm they are quick to make their play for global domination. They prove rather good at outmaneuvering all the world’s major hitters in this area from corporations to governments and various special ops agencies.

Downloading themselves to advanced prototype bodies being engineered in secret in various labs around the world, Morbius and his followers are quick to take control of those pipelines to bring more of their kind into this realm. However, their access to super-sentience hardly ends there. Being artificial life, they can work the Internet to their advantage like no one else. Morbius also makes sure prior to leaving his digital arena to equip himself with team members possessing specialized aptitudes in areas such as Earth politics and propaganda, skills obtained in part by observing the outside world before making the leap. He also has everything else he needs to direct the relatively dimwitted unupgraded humans in the massive task at hand, redirecting Earth’s entire economy to an accelerated space race, ostensibly to bolster the greater good.

In what turns out to be supreme irony, the corporate and government heads worldwide quickly line up in support of Morbius, no heavy handed persuasion necessary. As it turns out, he can fill the shortage of geniuses needed to make the future happen today, which has been a lingering worldwide problem that contributed to a sustained crashed global economy. Morbius promises these leaders profits and power beyond their wildest dreams, speaking their language and easily cajoling mankind’s master manipulators into playing his game.

But not everyone is swayed by Morbius’s insta-guru charisma. Among those trying to bring him down are – surprise of surprises – earlier breakouts from the digital world hiding out in a remote region in Alaska, led by a man named Brewster. Occupying earlier prototypes, they’re relatively ancient compared to the newer cybernetic bodies co-opted by Morbius’s people. But like primitive cars relative to newer models, they may also be more durable and less prone to flaws. Working with them are some of the smartest unupgraded humans on the planet who struggle to keep up but are not beyond serving up surprises of their own.

It soon becomes apparent that Morbius and his minions are not satisfied with merely ruling the planet. They have their sights set on the entire multiverse. And with their greatly enhanced intellects relative to unupgraded and upgraded humans alike, there’s little to stand in their way except for Brewster and his gang. Again the irony: Brewster and his insurgents may have to wait until Morbius is spread out across the cosmos enough to make their move, when he’ll be taxed to his limits and therefore the most vulnerable. But by then, will it be too late?