Bumblebees were given a problem they had never seen before: a fake flower full of sugar water was placed just out of reach, & the only way to get it was to roll a wooden ball underneath it & stand on the ball like a step stool. Without any training, several bees figured this out on their own—the first time spontaneous insight has ever been shown in an invertebrate. That's an important distinction because the experiment emphasizes no former training, no trial & error, & no stepwise shaping. (That involves breaking down complex tasks into smaller, simpler & more manageable steps). The insight also requires a sudden, internally generated solution (the "Aha" moment), similar to the "Eureka! I have found it."
King Hiero II of Syracuse gave a goldsmith a certain amount of gold to make a crown. When it came back, it weighed the right amount—but the king suspected the goldsmith had pocketed some of the gold & replaced it with less valuable minerals. To test the crown, Archimedes knew about water displacement dependent on the size of a substance (volume), not weight. Archimedes first compared the volume of the crown to the volume of a pure gold lump of the same weight. Immediately, he saw the crown displaced more water, meaning it was less dense & not pure gold. When he realized this, he was so excited that he ran through the streets stark naked, shouting, "Eureka! I have found it!" The bee's realization in the ball-rolling experiment is the same type of Aha! moment, just on a much smaller scale & in a very different brain.
German psychologist Wolfgang Köhler set up a famous experiment more than 100 years ago that changed how scientists understand animal intelligence & the power of insight or spontaneous problem-solving. The bee's remarkable insight is more similar to Wolfgang Köhler's chimp test, where a chimp wants to get a banana hanging too high to reach & is initially perplexed how to reach it. But then he sees boxes lying around, & without being taught, the chimp suddenly realizes that "if I stack the boxes, I can climb up & reach the banana," which he did & finally grabbed the banana. The experiment demonstrated that chimps were capable of insight. Both the chimp & the bee came to the same realization—same structure, same cognitive leap, except one was done by a chimp with a big brain; the other identical reasoning was done by an insect with a brain no bigger than a sesame seed.
Most animals can do problem-solving; insight is a step up because it's an understanding of cause & effect that does not rely on trial & error, copying others, or previous knowledge. Scientists have observed this ability in only a handful of vertebrate species (not invertebrates like bees), such as great apes, elephants & some birds (ravens & crows) & parrots. There is ongoing scientific debate over whether even more species—invertebrates such as octopuses & certain spiders—should also join the ranks of the spontaneous problem solvers, but until we have controlled conditions that challenge those species with the same paradigm, we won't know for sure. The bee result suggests that a tiny insect brain can support surprisingly flexible behavior. Bees do not normally move objects around to make platforms; this is not natural bee behavior. But the experiment shows that they can remember a hidden goal location & manipulate an object in relation to that goal.
In the 1st experiment, researchers built a circular arena about 4 in (10 cm) in diameter & 1.3 in (3.2 cm) tall, in which bees could walk but not fly. In the center, the team placed an artificial blue flower containing a sugary solution that was above their reach. They introduced a small wooden ball roughly 0.5-0.7 in (1.2-1.8 cm) that was light enough to push. Bees attempted to reach the flower but failed repeatedly. That's when the bee equivalent of Archimedes hit upon a brilliant idea. Use the ball as a ladder to get to the treat. The other bees then followed the innovator to get the sugar water on the fake flower. This shows us they have reasoning, they can innovate, & they can generalize (once they solve it once, they solve it faster the next time). Other clever insects include ants (navigation, using the Moon & celestial clues & path integration); honey bees (symbolic communication involving the waggle dance, which tells other bees where to go to forage); & jumping spiders that plan detours & have a visual working memory. However, spontaneous insight—the "Aha!" moment—has only been seen in bumblebees thus far.
Who Needs God in an Age of Artificial Intelligence? By Jan Markell
Most people have no idea what’s coming. In fact, what is here now. Very few people comprehend the level of mischief and evil that surrounds what is called artificial intelligence (A.I.). It is paving the way for a robot Messiah.
I wrote an article several years ago about this, but when talking about advancing technology, just a few years is a lifetime. Back in 2018, I began to read that people would even form a church that worshiped an A.I. god.
A Billion Times Smarter Than Humans? Really?
I was learning that he who created and mastered A.I. would rule the world. That sounds very Antichrist-esque. Imagine such evil in the hands of ultimate evil? What a convenient tool to run the Antichrist’s last days’ empire. Just as the Nazis needed the IBM punch card system, the “man of sin” will need the genius of artificial intelligence.
I began watching some online videos of A.I. robots who look human and who “think.” They answer questions and seem to process real thoughts. By now, we have all learned of the robot Sophia. This A.I.-driven monster is attractive, clothed, looks you in the eye, and answers your questions.
She can be your friend, companion, problem solver, and perhaps someday, your spouse. At the very least, she will run your errands and put away your groceries. In the wrong hands, she will be dangerous.
Developers say these A.I. robots will solve all of society’s problems. These men also say that they believe that it is possible for artificial intelligence to be a billion times smarter than humans. Try to process that. To be honest, I am puzzled why God would even allow that, and it may be one reason He nearly destroys the earth before His Second Coming.
Are We Summoning Demons?
Many are warning that with A.I., we are playing with fire and that in the end, machines will win! Others say we are summoning up demons.
Most recently, I am learning that people are going to talk to the dead through A.I. “griefbots.” It just doesn’t get any stranger.
A new report reveals how artificial intelligence programs will advise terrorists how to attack a sports venue, buy nuclear material on the dark web, buy spyware, bombs, and more. Jihadists will use A.I. to plan attacks and map targets. Who could have envisioned this back on 9/11? We’ve come a long way, sadly.
Talk about the abuse of power.
A.I. Is Actively Watching and Listening
Maybe this new religion isn’t the promise of paradise after all. Some promoting A.I. are evangelists, and some of them offer a new Promised Land. But some of the very movers and shakers of the artificial intelligence industry are sounding serious warnings.
And this is not the wave of the future today, as it is all being employed now! Outfits like Google have every bit of information on us they need. They have all our vitals and can weaponize such information in this age of A.I. Google admits that they want to be like the mind of God and suggests they will be “godlike” as they grab bundles of data from us. It is watching us and listening to us.
There is a “home invasion” going on by the world of technology and A.I. If you think you have any privacy, think again. To say we are being monitored is not sensationalism. It is not kooky conspiracy language. Don’t brush this off as silliness. Welcome to the brave new world.
Who Needs God in an Age of Artificial Intelligence?
Young people are particularly drawn to artificial intelligence. Some of them will tell you that they can get an answer more quickly from a search engine or Alexa than they can get from God. Who needs God in an age of artificial intelligence? A.I. is almost all-knowing. And these technologies will tell you what you want to hear in technicolor, 3-D, and in an instant.
Very likely, A.I. will manage the Antichrist agenda, such as all buying and selling. Mankind will almost become a useful idiot of this kind of last days’ technology. People will think God has been outsmarted. Deception will rule. All of this gives new meaning to the term “big brother.”
Younger people are cheering for these technological advancements. They are falling into a terrible trap if they do not have a biblical worldview. They are welcoming evil with open arms. Once they figure this out, it will be too late.
A.I. Is Fearfully Fraudulent
But remember, A.I. cannot speak anything into existence or give anyone eternal life. It cannot give anyone comfort, guidance, or offer anyone peace or hope. It cannot still the wind or calm the sea. It is more like Frankenstein than like God. It is trying to be like God but will fall far short! We are fearfully and wonderfully made. A.I. is fearfully fraudulent.
Another End Times Accelerant
There is no way a computer can do anything but copy what it has been taught, and there is something about the human spirit that can never be created by a machine. Yet, I agree with Dr. Mark Hitchcock, who says that artificial intelligence is a major “end times accelerant.”
Like the re-birth of Israel, it is a profound end-time marker. It would behoove every Christian to better understand it and its last days role. We can’t stop this train. We can pray for the rapture of believers, which will remove us from this Alice in Wonderland, bizarre, invasive world.
Stay ahead of the game and become informed. Events of the Tribulation are casting a shadow today. The shout and the trumpet are close. He is coming soon!
When the Wisdom of the Creator Rules!
God sits in the Heavens and laughs at these people (Psalm 2). He has the final say. He has the last word! The Bible says God will crush the agenda of the Antichrist and rule the world from Jerusalem for one thousand years. During that time, there will be no need for artificial intelligence. We will have the wisdom of the creator of the universe in charge.
content writer/graphic designer & solver of shitty problems
mostly unpublished - hopenfully not for eternity - novelist (some in #my writing)
member of the A Sign in Space community, where I launched Human Message/Symbiosis, a theoretical project exploring mutual interaction with animal species through adaptive artificial intelligence (some in #A Sign in Space)
recently, learning cybernetics (some in #Cybernetics)
This is me rambling about something that's been bugging me for a while now.
Please bear with me for the following, this isn't really all that well structured but I need to get it out:
Aight, so something that's been bugging me for the past couple of months now has got to be how it seems like a significant portion of the fanbase still seem to be 100% sure The Solver is an AI.
Like, I get believing that back before episode 5. But after both episodes 5 AND 6 the AI thought process is really iffy now.
Let me explain.
Episode 2 showed that something was up with DD cores, and the Solverpede was quite obviously NOT J, but hey, there's been weirder AI's out there in fiction, something that screws around with what looks like biomechanics isn't THAT far-fetched, especially what with the use of Nanites that DD's have. And yeah, the telekinesis was kinda
But 5 kinda soft-debunked the AI thing when the Solver gave it's full name, and episode 6 DEFINTELY debunked that.
In 5 it calls itself "The Solver of the Absolute Fabric, the Void, the Exponential End."
I don't know about you, but that sounds less like the name of some homicidal toaster with delusions of grandeur and more like the name of some unholy fucking THING that crawled out of the Space Between Stars and decided to make it everyone's problem.
And then there's Episode 6.
And how the Solver turned Earth and at least 2 other planets (and probably more judging by Tessa's patch on her arm) into chunks of rubble orbiting what looks like a BLACK FUCKING HOLE.
Then there's the other bits how it manifests in damaged Drone AI, which DEFINITELY shouldn't happen if it were an AI.
And finally, there's how I'm pretty sure the the Corpse Spires, the Black Hole that shows up in N's flashback in ep4, and this image from episode 6 are all connected:
I'm not gonna mince words so I'm just going to put it simply: the corpse spires are for the Solver to trigger it's version of a goddamn Convergence Event.
said Convergence Event being those giant black holes.
I've got this whole theory behind this but this is the simple version, so whatever.
Point is, at first it was cool to think the Solver is just an AI, but by now it's quite frankly insane to think the planet devouring abomination that causes deactivated robots to come back from the dead, and inevitably turn into something that looks like the end result of a necromorph fucking a Macintosh 128K is MERELY an Artificial Intelligence gone nutty. Instead of what I believe it truly is:
An Eldritch Abomination using Drone Cores as an entryway into this universe to devour planets for a reason that we still don't know.
...Oh yeah also, Cyn isn't the Solver, can't believe some of you people still believe that.
She's just another poor bastard that was roped into this shit and ended up becoming a literal puppet for some sort of Eldritch Horror from Lovecraft's nightmares.
Nagode Tyjani (Codename: Warlock)- A young Paranormal Entity with telepathic and telekinetic abilities. He is an official member of the Paratroopers. His mind is brimming with psychic energy. This remained unbeknownst to him until he attempted suicide at 20 years old. Warlock activated his abilities after attempting suicide. He jumped from the top floor of his apartment building, but caught himself with his telekinesis.
He is capable of telepathically communicating with other minds and reading immediate thoughts. However, if others are conscious of his telepathic abilities and refuse him, then he is incapable of reading their thoughts. He must concentrate on an individual to use this ability. He can telepathically communicate with familiar individuals over vast distances.
He can mentally manipulate morphium, a strong and malleable material imbued with psychic energy that he can transform into whatever shapes he can imagine; he usually carries the substance in the form of several armbands on his forearms. The more kinetic energy his power requires, the less easily he can control it.
He carries enough morphium on his person to temporarily levitate up to twenty feet in the air. He can generate defensive shields with his telekinetic abilities, rendering him impervious to heavy damage from gunfire and other lethal attacks.
When his Psychic State is activated in situations of extreme duress, his telekinetic abilities are greatly augmented. This makes him capable of biological manipulation and controlling all states of matter, but the Psychic State exhausts him very quickly.
He was recruited by the Department of Paranormal Activity shortly after his powers activated. He’s the newest member of the team.
He is a tall, skinny 24-year-old man. He weighs 170 pounds and is 6’1” tall. He dresses comfortably, trying not to draw attention to himself. He has a big Afro and wears glasses. He looks like a geek. His go-to outfit is a graphic t-shirt, some sweatpants, and always the same pair of reliable sneakers.
Kè Lóng (Codename: Battalion)- A Paranormal Entity and agent of the Department of Paranormal Activity. He is commander-in-chief of The Paratroopers and the Department’s most skilled operative. The Department dubbed him “Battalion” because he is a one-man army. As a result of dangerous experiments conducted by the Department on siphonophores mutated by psychic energy, Battalion possesses a collective consciousness and the ability to clone himself at will.
The Department created Battalion from the somatic cells of its director, Liu Chiang (Codename: Voyager). His consciousness is incredibly complex and each of his clones share a single hive-mind. Each clone is able to respond instantaneously to whatever signal Battalion sends through his hive-mind. He feels the experience of every single clone simultaneously. All of his clones must eventually die and they possess no other paranormal abilities beyond colonial consciousness and self-replication. He needs to be naked to generate a clone. He is extremely skilled in combat and exceptionally intelligent, using his clones to learn various skills at a rapid pace. He is also practically immortal thanks to the clones the Department keeps in artificial hibernation for him.
He is a brilliant problem solver whose unique ability allows him to generate a multitude of clones that perform different tasks. He is a special forces officer, spy, doctor, lawyer, engineer, cybersecurity professional, chief financial officer, investment banker, financial consultant, and humanitarian aid worker. He usually goes into combat situations with twelve heavily armored clones.
He eventually uses one of his clones to escape the Department’s supervision and lead a secret life. This clone will do all the things Kè Lóng never could before: get a regular job, a girlfriend, an apartment, a dog, etc. Things will end tragically for this clone.
When his powers fully evolve, he is capable of controlling entire armies and even his own society.
He is an impeccably muscular 26-year-old man. He weighs 180 pounds and is 6’0” tall. He has a neat haircut and is very attractive. He looks like a giga-chad. His go-to outfit is a uniform or formal wear. He looks like a younger version of Director Liu.
Siddhartha Khan (Codename: Gadget)- A young Paranormal Entity with supernatural intelligence. He is an official member of the Paratroopers. Gadget is a child prodigy who enrolled in college at ten years old. He went on to receive a P.H.D. in neuroscience from Minerva University at sixteen years old. He would devote his life to the study of cognitive science, seeking to enhance his intelligence to even greater heights so that he could better help those around him. Psychic energy drastically increased his number of glial cells per neuron, thus increasing the number of connections between his neurons, making his brain infinitely more complex and powerful.
He usually isn’t deployed in combat.
He has many inventions such as:
Robots possessing computational intelligence
E-guns: Electrical assault weapons with infinite ammunition.
Force Fields
Hoverboards
Siphons: A type of adhesive device that can suffocate an opponent to death.
The Cacophony: A device that produces lethal ultrasonic vibrations, which he contains with a Force Field.
Medicells: Devices that induce a type of stem cell regeneration that enables subjects to regenerate at a slightly faster rate, their bodies using stem cells to seal their wounds; given enough time one is able to regenerate even limbs because the stem cells transform into the cell types needed based on where they are in the body. They can’t work when injuries or diseases are too extreme, nor can they prevent death.
Explosives
The Indomitable: A nearly indestructible suit of armor made of metal imbued by psychic energy with a physics-warping effect that allows the strong nuclear force to apply at molecular rather than nuclear distance, making it virtually invincible, having the hardness of neutron star material. It’s propelled by matter-antimatter annihilation. He can only use it briefly.
He independently discovered the existence of the Department of Paranormal Activity and volunteered his services for the intellectual challenge.
He is a slender 25-year-old man with an athletic runner’s build. He weighs 165 pounds and is 5’11” tall. He has a regular haircut and wears glasses. He looks like a nerd. His go-to outfit is preppy casual wear, like a hot professor.
Maya Makari (Codename: Blindspot)- A Paranormal agent of the Department of Paranormal Activity. She is an official member of the Paratroopers. Masquerade is a stealthy, lethally skilled Paranormal Entity with clairvoyance and the ability to turn invisible. Her consciousness is possessed by the extra-dimensional entity, Vanisher, from the Psychic Realm.
She can make herself and others she touches invisible at will, psychically interrupting the interaction of light with atoms. However, she can still be detected by thermal scanners and other forms of enhanced detection.
Unfortunately, she must be physically blind when using her invisibility and blind others when turning them invisible. This is because her invisibility prevents modified photons from interacting with the eyes, traveling along optic nerves, and being received by the brain's vision centers. However, Blindspot can supernaturally perceive information about the world through her clairvoyance. She also has superhuman agility and strength.
When she vanishes, it feels like using a mental muscle, so she must somewhat concentrate to use her invisibility.
She uses combat knives forged from various steels and a bow and arrow for stealth attacks. She also uses firearms. She essentially never misses her target.
She is a 27-year-old woman with the slender, muscular body of a gymnast. She weighs 130 pounds and is 5’04” tall. She wears braids and has purely golden eyes. She looks like a ninja. Her go-to outfit is a black stealth suit and matching boots.
The Department of Paranormal Activity: A global peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations Security Council and tasked with covertly monitoring paranormal activity across the globe. Its current director is Liu Chiang. They are a shady, utilitarian organization that will make morally dubious decisions to secure the best outcome for the greatest amount of people. Its resources and equipment are vast.
Special Equipment:
Cybernetic exoskeletons
Drones
Cybertank- The world's first exascale supercomputer. It is the world's fastest supercomputer.
Nuclear Weapons
Director Liu Chiang (Codename: Voyager)- Director of the Department of Paranormal Activity and creator/father to Battalion.
Dante Esposito (Codename: Spartan)- A super-soldier and the Paratroopers’ current target, he is a calculating adversary. Dante (a.k.a. Spartan) is the founder and CEO of Atlas. He works alongside the American government in creating and covering up Atlas’ Biokinetics Procedure: a top-secret conspiracy that could radically change the world as we know it.
The procedure is a top-secret medical operation that uses psychic energy to create biokinetic superhumans with extreme strength/durability, regenerative abilities, and reduced pain reception. Ability varies from subject to subject. An unfortunate side effect of the procedure is that the superhumans’ lifespans are drastically reduced, with each subject living for another three to four years on average post-procedure.
Dante is the only exception because he is the source of the procedure. He is the most powerful biokinetic in existence. He heals from damage much faster than it can be delivered and his physiology adapts to harmful stimuli. He also possesses decelerated aging, granting him an extraordinary lifespan. This stems from his body gradually aging more slowly the longer he lives. This allows him to retain his health, vitality, conditioning, performance, and youthful appearance for much longer than a normal human. Spartan could live for centuries and still remain in his prime.
Atlas is currently contracting biokinetic super-soldiers to serve the United Republic of Corinthia’s genocidal military campaign against the island nation of Ujamaa.
Summary: When you were ten, Taehyung adopted you and gave you a home. Now that you’re eighteen, the sudden change in your scent perplexes and confounds him.
Pairing: wolf hybrid!tae x human!reader (all bts members are hybrids)
Warnings: smut | talk of ownership (reader is tae’s pet human) | (eventual) daddy long legs syndrome | masturbation (m) | tae is conflicted | OC is underage when they meet, although there is no sexual attraction until after she is an adult
Word count: 10.5k
A/N: here it is!! I hope you enjoy it and tell me what you think; I was really unsure about writing this, especially at the beginning. Edit: I will not be doing a taglist, so please don't ask. Thank you!
Series index
“Hyung –” Taehyung whined as he sulked on the couch of the dorm.
Yoongi sighed, looking over at his team member. “What is it, Taehyung-ie?”
“I’m bored,” Taehyung replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he slid down on the couch, his usually perky ears drooping.
The snow leopard hybrid just grunted, flicking one of his ears in irritation. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Hyung, come play with me, please?”
Namjoon, who was lying on the adjacent couch, stifled a snicker. Taehyung had been more needy than usual in the past few weeks, and he was working Yoongi’s last nerve. The older man had inherited his animal counterpart’s solitary tendencies, and while he was, for the most part, happy to socialize and hang out with the rest of them, Taehyung had been cutting into his alone time a little too much lately with his neediness, and the grey-haired hybrid was Not Happy.
Jin, their resident spotted hyena hybrid, laughed, a sound very reminiscent of his animal counterpart’s trademark sound. “Yoongi, just play with him. He’s lonely.”
Yoongi scowled. “Why do I have to do it?! Isn’t this why you got a pet in the first place, to keep you company?”
Taehyung’s frown deepened. “It is, but as you can clearly see,” he bit out, upset now, “Yeontan isn’t here.”
Hoseok, seeing the snow leopard hybrid taking in a deep breath to begin ranting, cut into the conversation to save the wolf hybrid from a scolding. “Hyung, you know how Tae is. He misses the company, is all.”
“Why don’t you just get another pet, then?” Yoongi asked.
“Because the same thing would happen, hyung,” Taehyung responded drolly, unable to hide his irritation at what he clearly thought was a ridiculous suggestion. “I don’t want to get attached to another pet, and then have to palm it off onto my parents again.”
Namjoon, ever the problem solver, lit up in that way that happened only when he had a eureka moment. “Get a human, then!”
The rest of them gawked at him. “A human?!” Jin asked skeptically.
“Yah, if he didn’t have time for a dog, how’s he going to care for a human baby? They’re even more high maintenance, and for way longer!” Yoongi snapped.
Namjoon made a rude noise. “Don’t get a baby, then! There’s lots of children and adolescents in shelters that need good homes. You can get one of those; they’re more self-sufficient.”
Taehyung’s mouth dropped open in shock. “That’s genius!”
Jungkook and Jimin, who had until now remained out of the conversation, immediately leapt up excitedly. “Yes, yes, can we adopt a human, pleaaaase,” Jimin pleaded. The black-footed cat hybrid, already small in stature and adorable because of his animal genes, opened his eyes wider and pouted up at the others.
Taehyung and Jungkook, seeing him, followed suit, and before long, the other members conceded, and they’d agreed to get a human pet. Taehyung, excited now that he was going to have a new little pack member to take care of and keep him company, immediately ran to get his laptop so he could research human shelters in Seoul.
Two hundred years ago, humans created hybrids in science labs. Splicing human genes with animals was supposed to create the perfect servant, companion and soldier – with the intelligence and capacity for emotional connection of humans and the superior physical capabilities of other animals, these new creations were supposed to make life better for humans.
What the scientists hadn’t realized, in their hubris, was that it was extraordinarily likely that the hybrids wouldn’t be content merely taking orders and serving the whims of humans, who were, after all, genetically inferior to their artificial perfection. A revolution and reordering of society occurred, and now humans were the pets, bred for the sole purpose of being the best possible companions for their hybrid owners.
You understood this history well enough, thanks to the kindly old hybrid who adopted you as a baby to soothe her empty nest syndrome after her grown-up children moved out and began their own lives, and her husband sadly passed away. She’d given you far more than she was obliged to as an owner, even ensuring that you had a basic education.
It had been a couple of years since she’d unfortunately passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack, landing you in a shelter when none of her family members wanted to take you in. Now that you were ten, you understood that the likelihood of you staying in the shelter for the rest of your childhood grew exponentially each day, as most families wanted babies or toddlers that would be more attached to their adopted families.
Plus, everyone loves babies.
You sighed as you pushed the covers off yourself. You’d finally managed to get a coveted bottom bunk bed after one of the girls in your room was adopted out, and you felt like you should be happier about it.
If only it wasn’t so sad to be happy about getting a bottom bunk in a shelter, after years of waiting your turn. You hoped against all hope that you wouldn’t spend much time in this bunk, that you’d be going home with another family soon, and you promised yourself there and then that if you ever got adopted, you’d do whatever it took to make your new family happy for saving you from this drudgery.
As you made your way to the cafeteria for breakfast, you noticed that there seemed to be a lot more… buzzing than usual. You shrugged it off – you’d been here long enough to know that it just meant a high-profile visit was scheduled for the day, and all of the children were told to dress up and be on their best behavior.
Picking up a tray and lining up for your breakfast, you held in a sigh. Most people are looking for babies and toddlers, and it’s rare that anyone wants to adopt at a shelter. Even when they do, they go for younger children, who are still cute and cuddly.
Well, not that you weren’t cuddly. It was literally in your genetic makeup to crave physical affection because hybrids like to snuggle with their pets, but you’d lost that cute doe-eyed helplessness that hybrid clients like in their pets. With a sigh, you took your tray and sat in a corner to eat, unwilling to listen to the excited chatter of the younger children. You weren’t that hopeful anymore, and it hurt too much after the first few times to get all excited and put in effort, only to not be chosen at the end of the day.
Finishing your breakfast, the same porridge with kimchi and laver that you have every morning, you went back to your room to wait. It’s standard procedure – every child has to remain by their bed in their room when the prospective client arrives and takes a tour to find the child they want to bring home.
With a sigh, you sat on your bed, propping the pillow up against the metal frame of your bunk bed, to continue reading the book you’d begged off from one of the caretakers. Most of the human children couldn’t read, because it wasn’t mandatory to teach them and many of them were rescued off the streets, but the grandmother who owned you before had taught you the basics.
You were still engrossed in the story – a classic from hundreds of years ago about a boy who found out he was a wizard and went to a school called Hogwarts – when Taehyung arrives, flanked by Namjoon on one side and Jimin on the other. The leader had accompanied Taehyung to restrain him and keep him from getting every child in the shelter, and Jimin had just wanted to see cute human children and give his two cents’ worth on the human they eventually adopted.
Because, as he said, he was Taehyung’s best friend so a pet Taehyung adopted would naturally be his business. The others didn’t quite buy it, but Taehyung seemed okay with him tagging along, so he cleared his schedule and came.
The matronly caretaker at the shelter, a middle-aged dog hybrid, came out to greet them excitedly when they arrived, gushing about all the cute children they had in the shelter, and how she hoped they would find their perfect match today.
They nodded and listened politely as she ushered them into her office, where she went over the ground rules for today. No pictures, no yelling, disturbing the children, et cetera. If there was a child they were interested in, they had to ask for permission before they were allowed to approach the child, and at all times children’s safety was paramount – if they indicated that they were uncomfortable, they could be removed from the situation without any repercussions. It was all aimed at ensuring that the humans were prioritized and felt safe in their home, and this was why Taehyung had chosen to support this shelter.
Namjoon, ever the responsible one, and Taehyung, who was dedicated to becoming a good pet owner, listened carefully as the hybrid caretaker explained what the challenges were in taking care of a human child, especially one that had lived in the shelter. Older children would be harder to train, she said, less malleable, and depending on what their circumstances had been before coming to live in the shelter, may have trauma or other psychological scars.
Jimin impatiently bounced around, aware that this was important stuff, but just excited to see some cute children and hopefully take one home today. When they finally stood up to leave the office and go to the dorm rooms where the children were waiting, Jimin could hardly keep the wide grin splitting his face under control, and Taehyung was similarly excited, the muscles under his shirt periodically tensing up as he resisted the urge to bounce along behind the caretaker. She was hardly likely to be impressed with him if he couldn’t demonstrate that he was a mature adult able to take care of a human child.
Because Taehyung had made it clear that he wanted an older, more self-sufficient human pet, the caretaker skipped the first two rooms, where the young children were, and the nursery, heading straight to your room. You were still reading your book, and she tutted as she saw you sitting there.
“Y/N, sweetie, would you like to come say hello to these nice hybrids?” she asked patiently, and you looked up from your story, surprised to see that there were indeed three men clustered behind her. Most hybrids decided on the child they wanted to bring home after seeing the younger children, so it was uncommon for you to see visitors.
You were tempted to reject the offer, but remembered your earlier promise to yourself, and smiled graciously, putting your bookmark back in and leaving your book on the bed. “Yes, ma’am,” you said sweetly, standing up and brushing imaginary lint off your skirt. “Good morning, sirs. My name is Y/N. I’m ten years old, and I’m very pleased to meet you,” you recited dutifully, remembering the spiel they taught all the children to say to visitors.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Y/N-ah,” the tall wolf hybrid said, kneeling down so he could look you in the eye. His ears twitched slightly as he looked up at you slightly, and you smiled back. He had such a friendly demeanor that you couldn’t help but feel comfortable around him immediately. “My name is Taehyung, and these are my friends Jimin and Namjoon,” he said, pointing at the other two hybrids. You weren’t certain what kind they were, although you deduced that Namjoon was some kind of canine hybrid and Jimin, based on the cute rounded ears on top of his head, was a large cat.
“It’s a pleasure you meet you all,” you said politely, looking up at them. Your speech was crisp, delicate and refined from years of being the prized companion of a wealthy old lady.
“Likewise,” Namjoon said with a nod, and Jimin said nothing, but smiled so widely that his eyes all but disappeared. You smiled back, liking them already, and hoping that they would choose you to go home with them.
“What are you reading, Y/N-ah?” Taehyung asked, and you took his hand excitedly, bringing him to the bed where you’d left your book. He trailed after you, looking back at the other two members with a wide grin. It was so cute, how you lit up when he expressed interest in what you were reading, and how at ease you seemed to be, even initiating contact with him. You didn’t seem aware of who they were, which he supposed was to be expected, since he didn’t think humans really kept up with pop culture, and it wasn’t like you were walking around the streets of Seoul where BTS music was playing all over and their photos were plastered on every available surface in the city.
Sitting down next to you, he listened, his chin in his hand, as you chattered away excitedly about the book. Namjoon and Jimin came to squat on either side of you, and you basked in the undivided attention that you hadn’t had since your previous owner passed away.
“Who taught you how to read, Y/N-ah?” Namjoon asked when you wound down, his ears sticking out of the black hair on his head flicking slightly.
“My previous owner,” you replied.
“She seems nice,” Jimin said carefully, and young as you were, you picked up the unspoken question.
“She was,” was all you said, a little quietly and sadly. You missed her, the woman who’d asked you to call her ‘mom’ and really had acted like a mother to you.
At least, you think so – you were bred by a breeder to be a pet, and you didn’t remember your own mother, having been too young when you were separated from her.
After talking for a little while more, they excused themselves and you smiled as graciously as you knew how, returning to your book as they left the room to go back to the office to discuss things further.
“Hyung, she’s so precious,” Taehyung fairly sang, spinning around in circles with his arms spread out wide.
Namjoon was more reserved, but he agreed internally. She wasn’t rambunctious in the way that Yeontan was, but adorable all the same, in the way she’d lit up while talking about her book and how easily she’d accepted their touch, clearly happy to have the physical affection.
Jimin, way more exuberant than Namjoon, grabbed Taehyung’s hands and bounced around with him. “We’re getting a human!” he cried out in excitement as they jumped like children up and down.
The wild dog hybrid just shook his head at his two younger bandmates, before leading the way into the caretaker’s office to settle the adoption paperwork.
You returned home with them that day, to your surprise and pleasure. You hadn’t allowed yourself to hope until the caretaker came back to let you know to pack your meagre possessions, and sends you off with them. Taehyung gives you a hug when you walk out of the building with your bag to join them, and straps you safely into his car before they take off, back to his apartment.
As you were travelling there, they chattered away, filling you in on what their home will be like. You found out that they were part of a boyband that live together, and you would be moving in with all seven of them. Apart from the three hybrids in the car with you – Taehyung, who bought you, the wolf hybrid; Namjoon, the serious-looking African wild dog; and Jimin, the adorable-looking black footed cat who was sitting in the back with you – there were another four. They were all predator hybrids, something Taehyung noted with some pride, beaming at your reflection in the rearview mirror.
You smiled back uncertainly at him, apprehensive about how different the new arrangement was from your previous one but still certain that no matter what, it would still be better than living at the shelter. It hadn’t been awful – it wasn’t like you’d been abused or anything while you were there – but with how stretched thin the resources at the shelter were, it had been impossible for you to get the care and attention that you required to be emotionally and mentally healthy after all this time.
Carrying yourself as stiffly as you could, in order to leave the best first impression possible, you hugged your bag tightly to your chest and stood ramrod straight in the elevator, resisting the urge to look around curiously. Your previous owner had been wealthy, but she hadn’t been this wealthy, and you’d never been in a lift that was so opulent before.
Taehyung tugged the bag out of your arms insistently, and you relinquished it after a brief struggle for control over it. You didn’t want to put him out, feeling that he’s already done enough, adopting you and giving you what looked like it would be an amazing home, but he was stronger than you and you were also concerned that he would think you were too stubborn or headstrong if you continued fighting him, so you let it go.
When they ushered you into your new home, though, your jaw dropped and you couldn’t hold back your reaction that time. The apartment was so nice and spacious, worlds away from the shared room you’d lived in at the shelter. Taehyung laughed at your expression and whisked you off to his bedroom, which was now a shared bedroom for the two of you, showing you where everything you would need was. After getting you settled in, he led you back out by the hand to the living room, where the other boys were gathered, eagerly waiting to meet you.
And that’s how you became part of the BTS family.
Your new home was very different from the one you had spent your early childhood in. Living with seven young and energetic hybrid men meant you suddenly had companions and playmates to indulge your more rambunctious impulses, whereas before you’d always had to be calm and docile, since there was no way your previous owner would have been able to keep up with a screaming and running child on the playground. It wasn’t like it had been bad – you were naturally a quieter child, but all children need space to run and play, to expend their excess energy, and as hard as she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to offer you that.
On the other hand, you played so much with your new family that you were completely exhausted every night, and Taehyung had to prod you to get ready for bed properly, instead of just collapsing in whatever you were wearing. He didn’t mind, though, pleased that you were having so much fun every day. Besides, having you around to dote on made all of them happy, especially Taehyung, who missed his young cousins and was still slightly bitter about how much of his siblings’ and cousins’ childhoods he hadn’t been around for, and later, his nieces and nephews.
And so you spent your adolescence in their company, making a home for yourself. It wasn’t just BTS that seemed to have adopted you – Big Hit as a whole did. The stylist noonas were utterly thrilled to finally have a little girl around on the regular, and treated you alternately like a little sister and a doll, dressing you up in all the cute girlish trends they privately sighed over but couldn’t experiment with.
Another benefit of having a human as a pet was that it was far easier to transport a person – humans were allowed on planes and buses, so you could travel with the boys. Your calming presence helped soothe frayed nerves and mediated fights, and ARMY loved watching the tender interactions between the boys, who were all predator hybrids, and the wide-eyed human child, claiming that it showed how nurturing the boys were despite their natural inclination, and how they would be good fathers someday. You even had your own little fanclub, like Yeontan had before you.
Speaking of Yeontan – the little dog had gone to live with Taehyung’s parents, so you didn’t get to see each other that often, but when you did, the two of you got along like a house on fire. Taehyung had to keep an eye on you at mealtimes to make sure most of the food on your plate wasn’t finding its way down to Yeontan, who lay casually across your feet at the dining table, while the dog was so excited to see you that he basically ignored Taehyung whenever the both of you arrived together.
The vlive of you and Yeontan taking a nap on the couch after Chuseok dinner with his family, curled up together as you whined about your tummy hurting while Taehyung, behind the camera, laughed as he teased you about being such a glutton but then went to rub your aching belly, became the most watched vlive ever, spawning a million GIFs.
It also became common for you to be somewhere in the background of Namjoon’s vlives, reading a book on his couch, while he chatted with fans. After many requests for you to appear on Eat Jin, you did eventually do an episode with him, although he spent the whole time comparing the food to meals he’d cooked for you in the past.
One might think that growing up the lone female around seven men might be awkward at times, especially with you going through adolescence and getting your period and all that, but they made it normal. Hybrids were far more open about normal bodily functions than human societies had been, and it would have been stranger for them to get squeamish about their pet’s bodily functions. There was no hiding from them when you got your period or anything like that, but they were so nonchalant about it that you were too, even warning you beforehand when you were going to start because they could smell the changes in your scent.
It was all fine – at least, until the boys went to the military.
All of them enlisted together when you were sixteen, and you went to live with Taehyung’s parents while they were serving. Living in Geochang was a change of pace from Seoul, but it was nice nevertheless. You helped out at his parents’ farm, got to play a lot more with Yeontan and the other animals running around, and had a lot more freedom since his parents were too busy to micromanage you.
During this time, you really grew into your own – enrolling in an online GED course, using the Internet and the enormous resources at your disposal to figure your personal style out, even finding human friends and a boyfriend. Who would have thought that Geochang had such a thriving human community?
Needless to say, by the time the two years had passed and you went back to live with Taehyung, you were a vastly different person, in both temperament and appearance, than you’d been the day he dropped you off.
Still, you’d missed being in Seoul with him, and you were excited to go with his parents to pick him up from the military base. You’d never been to visit him when his family members went, because they’d needed someone to stay home and tend to the crops and take care of the animals, and ever eager to please, you’d volunteered to do it even though you really wanted to see Taehyung too.
This time, though, you had to go, because everyone was going to Seoul to spend the night, and then you would stay with Taehyung. Although you hadn’t seen each other in two years, you’d kept in contact via text messages and video calls whenever he was free, and you knew that he’d decided to move into an apartment in Seoul without the other boys. It was about time – Seokjin was pushing thirty and planning to propose to his longtime girlfriend, and it was a little weird for seven men in their thirties to be living together anyway.
So you packed your things and prepared to move out of Geochang and back to Seoul. It wasn’t difficult – with technology it was easy for you to keep in contact with your friends in Geochang, and you’d broken up with your boyfriend a couple months ago on amicable terms. The most difficult thing for you had been saying goodbye to Tannie, who was getting on in years now and had relied on you more and more each day.
But move out you did, and you bounced in your seat all the way to the military base where Taehyung had been living for the past two years. When you first saw him walk out of the compound, still in his uniform, your excitement got the better of you and you flew towards him, perhaps uncharacteristically for you given how taken aback his parents were, but you didn’t care.
“Taehyung-oppa!” you screamed as you ran. To his credit, he didn’t waste any time processing the missile currently hurtling towards him, and just opened his arms for you to leap into.
“Hello, Y/N,” he laughed as he hugged you close. He’d missed you too, his cute little human, and after so long away from him, you didn’t smell anything like him anymore, something he was determined to change as he started rubbing his cheek on the top of your head. Used to it after living with him for so many years, you just stood still and let him do it.
Fansite photographers and more zealous fans who’d come to see him cooed and sighed at the cute picture you two made. You were still tucked under his arm, clinging to his shirt, as he greeted the people who were gathered, thanking them for coming all this way, and thanking his commanding officers and platoon mates for being there for him for the past few years.
Then it was over, and he was in the van with his family for a more private reunion. You were still clinging to him, not that he minded as he stroked your hair softly as he chatted with his family. He’d seen them when they’d come to visit, or during his breaks – it was just you that hadn’t had the chance to see him since he’d gone away.
During the drive back to Seoul, you tucked your face into his neck and took a nap, tired from all the excitement. While you were asleep, Taehyung asked his mother how you’d been. “Did she give you a lot of trouble?” he asked.
She chuckled. “No, she was an absolute angel. So good with the children and the animals, always eager to help out.”
He smiled. “Yeah? That tracks. The lady at the shelter told me she has an amazing pedigree.”
“It was a real joy having her, Taehyung-ah. You’re lucky to have such a sweet human in your life.”
“I am. I hope she had a good time in Geochang, too.”
Taehyung’s mother laughed at that. “Oh, did she ever!”
His curiosity piqued, his ears perked. “Sounds like you have some good stories to share.”
“The girl had the time of her life these past two years,” his mother snickered. “She had a lot more freedom in Geochang than in Seoul because it’s smaller and safer, so we let her go out on her own a lot more, and she’s really sociable. She even found a boyfriend.”
He raised a brow. “She did? Sounds like she had lots of fun in Geochang, then.”
He wanted to find out more about what you’d been up to, but since they were arriving in Seoul and would be at the restaurant for dinner, he couldn’t, instead waking you up since you always took a little while to be functional.
You untangled yourself from him sleepily and almost fell out of the car as you tried to get out, and it was only his father’s superior hybrid reflexes that saved you from eating asphalt as he caught you and put you back on your feet. Murmuring your thanks, you waited for Taehyung to climb out of the van and lead you into the restaurant by the hand.
Tonight, you were dining at a Korean barbeque restaurant, which was always a winner for the hybrid wolf family. Usually they just ate meat, not even bothering with lettuce wraps, but they were still nice enough to order some vegetables and king oyster mushrooms for you. You were in charge of grilling, of course, not that you minded, and hearing the praise from everyone else at the table made you glow a little every time.
Taehyung was the center of attention that evening, of course, as he regaled his family with tales of his time in the military. He was the first member of BTS to be discharged, although since they’d all enlisted at around the same time, the others were due to be discharged in the coming few months, so unfortunately there weren’t funny stories of his bandmates coming to visit him, but Bang PD had, and so had some stylist noonas.
There were also stories about silly punishments and shenanigans, water parades, being made to hold the wall and shout, “Help, help! The wall is falling,” because he’d been caught leaning against it once, that made everyone crack up and you almost drop the tongs right on the grill.
Eventually, though, he started asking about how everyone had been, which turned, perhaps inevitably, into everyone ganging up on you and trying to tell the most embarrassing story they could think of. You sighed and whined as one by one, they all took turns rehashing your various mishaps to Taehyung – you trying to climb a tree and getting stuck like a cat, your various fashion disasters as you tried to ‘find yourself’ – complete with pictures, of course, and worst of all, your theatrics when your GED certificate came in the mail.
Well, you were really proud of that last one, but did they really have to describe your joyful outburst as helpless histrionics?
Still, though, the way Taehyung squeezed your hand as he told you how proud he was of you made everything better.
Soon enough, dinner was over and all of you piled back into the van to go to Taehyung’s new apartment. It had already been set up by the multitude of assistants that BigHit had, with some input from his parents, so it was basically already liveable. With so many people helping, it wasn’t long before all your things were moved into the apartment too, and then the two of you were left alone, for the first time in two years.
Since you had so much spare room in the apartment, you had your own bedroom, and it was beautifully decorated just how you’d pictured it, with a very pretty queen-sized bed in one corner with a white cushioned headboard and pink-and-grey patterned sheets, a reading nook in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with an overstuffed chair and foot rest, a lamp, and a large bookshelf with a ladder occupying the adjacent wall, and a little coffee table with a scented candle already on it next to the chair. Fluffy rugs were strewn across the room, and a wooden dressing table sat on the opposite side of the room. It was beautiful and comfortable, everything you’d dreamed of, but when you got ready for bed, you found yourself missing Taehyung.
Which led to you in your pajamas, all scrubbed down and ready for bed, knocking plaintively on Taehyung’s bedroom door. He seemed to know that you would be there even before opening the door, which he probably had, with his enhanced senses (and the fact that there was no one else in the apartment).
When he opened the door for you, clad in just his pajama pants, all you had to do was pout up at him and he was standing aside to let you in. Generally, he indulged your every whim, because according to his life philosophy, why have pets if you weren’t going to spoil them rotten? Making a beeline for his bed, you made yourself comfortable by burrowing under his sheets and fluffing up one of his pillows.
Shaking his head at you, Taehyung followed you back to the bed, getting into the other side with an indulgent huff. “You know, I paid a lot of money for your bedroom,” he said drolly. Ignoring his remark, you cuddled close to him and shut your eyes stubbornly, and he capitulated with a sigh, stroking your head as you drifted off to sleep.
Somehow, you smelled different than he remembered. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and it wasn’t bad by any means, but it was just… different. And he didn’t quite know what to do about it.
For some reason he’d been reluctant to ask his parents, even though they’d been the ones living with you for the past two years, if they’d sensed anything different about you. He’d rationalized it to himself at the point – since they’d been with you every day it was likely that they wouldn’t notice anything different if your scent had changed gradually, and if it had been sudden and enough to cause worry, they would already have let him know about it.
Still, his mind wouldn’t stop racing with the possibilities as he leaned in closer to take a good whiff. He could still smell the base notes of your scent, which had always been somewhat citrusy, but now it was slightly… earthier, with a musky, deeper aroma threaded through it. Was it vanilla? Perhaps cinnamon?
Whatever it was, it was nice, and he shut his eyes to allow himself to drift off after deciding to do research on humans’ scent changes tomorrow. He didn’t think it was anything to worry about – any illness would definitely have a sharper, less pleasant scent – but he didn’t know why your scent would suddenly change again. It had changed gradually once before, as you went through puberty, but based on what he’d read about humans, it shouldn’t change again for many years yet.
No harm finding out more about what could be causing it, he thought as he slipped after you into slumber. Maybe he would take you to a doctor, too, if it became necessary.
Morning dawned, and Taehyung woke up leisurely for the first time in too long, slowly blinking his eyes against the morning sunlight streaming in from the windows. As he slowly became conscious of his surroundings, he became aware that he was the most comfortable he’d ever been, probably in his life, and he nuzzled closer behind your ear.
Wait a minute. A second later, he drew back. He didn’t remember going to sleep with a lover, and he definitely hadn’t had a girlfriend since his last one broke up with him while he was in the army. So who was he currently wrapped around…?
When it dawned on him, he recoiled in horror, and almost crab scuttled away from you. Thankfully, you were still asleep and hadn’t noticed his morning boner pressed against you, because it was beyond inappropriate for him to feel that way about you, his pet.
Unfortunately, his abrupt movements pulled on the duvet that you were sharing, and jostled you awake. He froze, wide-eyed, as you stirred. “Taehyung-oppa?” you said, voice raspy with sleep.
“Shh, I’m just going to pee,” he lied. “Go back to sleep, sweetie, it’s still early.”
You hummed wordlessly as you burrowed back into the covers, and despite his own inner turmoil, he smiled at you as he straightened the duvet over you before he left the bedroom.
He darted into the bathroom, where he sat on the edge of the tub, his head in his hands. God, what the hell was wrong with him? You weren’t a hybrid, and he didn’t understand how this could have happened. In that moment before he’d woken up fully and realized what was happening, his instinct had been to treat you like a… lover. He shuddered at the thought.
Okay, he thought, getting up. He was going to take a shower, rub one out, and then pretend like everything was fine. This was an aberration, just a weird fluke. You were warm and in his bed, and it had been a really long time since he had any action, since military service tended to inhibit such activities.
He just needed to get laid, and get used to your new scent, and then everything would be fine. No one would need to know about this embarrassing little slip-up.
With renewed determination, he started stripping off his clothes to get into the shower. All soaped up, he started sliding a hand down his body to grasp his erection firmly, which had never really gone away. Biting his lip, he started stroking it slowly, running his thumb over the head on the upstroke. His mind, however, remained unfocused, flitting between various memories and porn he’d watched, never able to focus on anything long enough to immerse himself.
That is, until his enhanced wolf hearing picked up the rustling sounds in the bedroom. He could hear, even over the sound of the shower, so clearly what you were doing that his mind had no problem filling in the blanks. The rustle of the sheets meant you were pushing the covers back; the soft thud on the ground meant you’d sat up and put your feet down. Then you stretched, and he definitely had no problem imagining it – or an overly erotic version of what actually transpired. Your soft moan of satisfaction as you cracked your spine sent a shiver running through him.
After that, it was basically a race to the finish line, as he fisted himself as hard as he could, leaning forward to brace his free hand against the wall in front of him. Usually it took a little longer, and he would play with his balls more, but it wasn’t going to be necessary this time, he could feel it. Remembering how good you’d smelled this morning was enough to push him over the edge, and he muffled his groan in his shoulder as he came all over the wall of his shower, the hand on the wall curling into a fist.
“Fuck,” he panted as he washed the cum off himself and the wall. Needless to say, he didn’t feel any cleaner after that shower.
When he came out of the shower, you were already getting breakfast ready. Another perk of having a team of assistants dedicated to making your life easier – the fridge came fully stocked. You’d washed up and pulled a sweatshirt on over the cami and pajama pants, and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw that it was a BTS merchandise from several years ago.
“Good morning,” you chirped, flipping the bacon. “I didn’t know what you wanted for breakfast, but I remember how much you love bacon, so I figured this would be safe.”
He leaned his elbows on the island and watched you warily from a distance. “Are you sure you should be cooking?”
“I got better,” you shot back defensively. “You shouldn’t have let me take cooking lessons from Namjoon-oppa in the first place.”
“No, I really shouldn’t have,” he agreed absently. You really had improved in your cooking, he thought, watching how easily you moved around the kitchen. It wasn’t long before a giant helping of bacon was sitting in front of him, with a more modest, human-sized portion on your plate, and some toast.
“You really should have let me make you breakfast,” he sighed, even as he started to tuck in. “I miss spoiling you.”
You shot him a cheeky grin. “Not to worry, you spoiled me plenty while you were in the military,” you sassed him.
He huffed out a laugh. “I know, I saw the credit card statements.”
Giggling, you eat another bite of your breakfast and smile at him with your cheeks stuffed, and his heart clenches with fondness. How could someone so plainly adorable drive him so crazy this morning? It must have been a fluke; his instincts misfiring. He just needed to get laid, and then everything would be fine.
Update: everything was not fine.
Things got progressively worse over the next couple of weeks, until Taehyung was honestly filled with dread every night when you came into his room and slid under the sheets on the side of the bed you’d claimed as yours.
It was getting to the point that all you had to do was sidle up to him for some cuddles and he would start getting sidetracked from having your scent invading his personal space. And yet it wasn’t like he could ask you to dial it back – it was in your nature to be physically affectionate and needy; it was literally what you’d been bred for. What could he possibly say, anyway? “Sorry, but can you stop touching me, it turns me on”? You’d be horrified, and rightly so. You trusted him, he could see it every time you smiled up at him like the sun, looked at him with complete adoration in your eyes, came to sit on his lap for cuddles. His reaction was a complete betrayal of that trust.
There was definitely something wrong with him. It was sick for a hybrid to be thinking about his human pet in this way. Maybe he should be the one to see a doctor, but he’d probably be arrested.
Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, if it guaranteed your safety from him.
Amidst all the angst and worrying about whether he was a danger to his own pet human, there were some bright moments. All of his brothers were discharged from the military, and after Jungkook, the last to be discharged, was released, they’d all gone for a massive reunion/celebration. You’d wanted to join, but he’d said no, knowing that there would definitely be plenty of alcohol that night, which meant that firstly, he wouldn’t be in any position to look after you and/or resist your charms, and secondly, your underage self was definitely not going to see how depraved your precious oppas were going to get.
The night started off well enough, with a nice dinner at an exclusive new restaurant in Seoul. The wine flowed freely, and by the time they were done, everyone was more than a little tipsy. They then moved to a club – again, exclusive and new – where they were automatically ushered to the mezzanine. A bottle of whisky was brought to their table, but soon enough, several of them had left to hit the dance floor – Jungkook, that brat, was of course looking for someone to spend the night with, and Hoseok and Jimin just wanted to tear up the dance floor.
“How have you been spending your time off?” Namjoon asked. Taehyung had been a little off all night, quieter than usual and when he thought no one was watching, he had a little frown perpetually affixed to his face.
Taehyung forced a nonchalant shrug – or at least, what he hoped passed for nonchalance. “Just hanging around,” he said vaguely, hoping to fend off any more probing into his life. “What about you?”
Namjoon looked amused. “Tae, I was discharged three days ago. I spent it sleeping and fixing up my apartment.”
“Right, right,” he said, staring studiously into his glass of whisky as if the amber-coloured liquid could tell him the secrets of life.
“How’s Y/N?” Yoongi piped up. Of course, he would be the one to bring you up first. For all his bitching and moaning when Taehyung adopted you, he quickly grew the most attached, and the feeling was mutual. He was your very favourite oppa after Taehyung, and sometimes – like when Taehyung has no choice but to discipline you – he was pretty sure Yoongi was your favourite.
“She’s fine,” Taehyung said, aiming for the innocent enthusiasm he used to have when talking about you, but from the way Namjoon’s eyebrow went up, he knew he’d failed.
“Is everything okay?” Namjoon asked slowly.
Taehyung gulped. The jig was up. Curse his inability to hide his feelings. Well, no matter. If pretending like everything was okay at home wasn’t going to work, there was always good old avoidance.
“Yes, everything’s fine!” he exclaimed a little manically, knocking back the rest of his drink in one gulp. “I’m going to hit the dance floor,” he said, making his escape quickly.
The others, a little surprised, didn’t react, letting him leave, although they exchanged suspicious glances. Something was up with Taehyung; he’d made that obvious enough.
Stepping onto the dance floor, he saw Jungkook in one corner getting hot and heavy against a wall with his chosen companion for the night, and he sighed enviously. He wished he could still do that. It wasn’t that they were afraid someone would go to the press – this club really was exclusive, and only celebrities and the ultra-wealthy (read: chaebol relatives) could even enter the club, so discretion would be guaranteed by both parties.
Instead, it seemed that as his attraction for you grew, his ability to find other, more suitable hybrid women attractive… diminished. Which was another pretty significant part of the problem that he didn’t even know how to address. He’d tried hooking up with hybrids over the past couple of weeks, but none of them ever smelled right. There was always something that felt a little bit off that prevented him from taking things further with them, no matter how much he might want to.
He was going crazy, he was sure of it. How could his sexual attraction be focused completely on one human woman? There was no way that this was okay.
He just had to hide it from others. He didn’t know what he was going to do about it yet, and it wasn’t like he didn’t trust his brothers, but this was a little different, and as much as he wouldn’t blame them, he couldn’t imagine the judging or pitying looks they would direct at him if he told them what was going on with his life.
No, better to keep it to himself for the time being.
His resolve seemed, unfortunately, alcohol-soluble. When the night ended, Taehyung returned to his apartment, saw that his bed was empty and immediately turned around to go to your room, where you’d settled in for the night since you weren’t sure what time he would come back, if he came back at all – hey, you weren’t one to judge. Spotting the human-shaped lump under the covers of your bed in the darkness, he stumbled over to the bed and lifted the covers to slide in.
It was then that Taehyung discovered that those cute camis and pajama pants that shouldn’t drive him crazy but did were you dressing more modestly than usual for bed, out of consideration for him. Because tonight, you weren’t wearing pants.
His brain seemed to short-circuit as he stared at your panty-clad ass, but he must have lifted the covers for too long because the cold started to make you stir as you turned over, patting the area around you looking for the blanket. Not finding anything to grab on to, your eyes opened slowly, and you squinted up at Taehyung.
“Oppa?” you croaked. “You’re back.” Clearing your throat, you reached for your phone on the bedside table. “What time is it?”
He groaned as he watched the way your body stretched out as you turned away from him. “You smell so good,” he whined, flopping down on the other side of the bed, and squirming close to you.
You allowed him to press himself against you, knowing that he was a needy drunk. This wasn’t exactly new for you – Taehyung didn’t get drunk as often as his other members did, but he still did occasionally, and you’d been with him for so many years now that you had a routine by now.
“Oppa… are you still dressed?” you whined as your bare skin came into contact with his jeans. You hissed in displeasure as the cold metal on his belt buckle pressed against your thigh.
“…No,” he said unconvincingly after a moment.
You squirmed out of his grasp, and he let out a forlorn whine that reminded you of his animal half. “Come on, you should get changed at least, you won’t sleep well in your clothes. I’ll go get your pajamas, okay?”
“Nooo,” he made grabby hands at you. “Don’t leave.” He pulled you back into his embrace, pressing his face into your throat. “You smell so good,” he slurred, rubbing his face against you.
You giggled at the ticklish sensation, resisting the urge to push him away. “At least take your pants off, okay?” you negotiated. “I have some water here, you should have some before you go to sleep…” Your voice trailed off as you reached for the bottle you always kept on your bedside table, and his head fell to the pillow with a soft thump as you pulled away. His eyesight was far better than yours, and he took the opportunity to stare at you while you weren’t able to notice it.
While he drank, you wriggled yourself back into the bed, blinking sleepily in the dark as you listened to the rhythmic sound of him gulping down the water. When he’d had enough, he started to lay down, and you quickly intervened. “No, you can’t sleep in your clothes!”
He laughed in response. “You’re very eager to take my pants off, love,” he teased.
Your whole body flushed with heat and you drew back, sulking. “Fine, sleep in your clothes, then. Just don’t complain in the morning,” you snapped, turning over to go to sleep.
Instead of doing the same, Taehyung scooched closer and threw an arm around you. “Don’t be like that, baby,” he purred. “I was just teasing. I’ll take off whatever you want me to,” he promised.
Hearing him speak to you in that tone, though, had you all kinds of worked up. It wasn’t unusual for him to call you baby – he’d always used that pet name on you, and Yeontan and all his other pets as well. It was just the way he’d said it… it reminded you of the way your ex back in Geochang used to talk to you when he was horny. And you found, to your shame, that you’d reacted to it with a small shiver.
That couldn’t be right, though. Humans and hybrids weren’t compatible in that way. You’d just been reminded of Jong-in in that moment – even though you’d broken up, it had been amicable, and you’d always enjoyed physical intimacy with him; it was a natural reaction.
While you were busy rationalizing it to yourself, though, the scent of your arousal hit Taehyung and he pressed himself closer with a groan. “Why do you smell so amazing, Y/N-ie?” he asked, pushing his nose insistently into the crook behind your ear. Unfortunately, his belt buckle pressed into the strip of skin on your lower back exposed by the way your camisole rode up.
“Agh,” you cried out in displeasure, squirming away from him. “It’s cold!”
“What? What’s cold, baby?”
“Your belt,” you heaved out, and his hands immediately went to it.
“Okay, it’s going,” Taehyung responded placatingly, undoing it and throwing it onto the ground beside the bed. Now that he’d gotten started, his pants were quick to follow, being scrunched into the corner of the bed under the covers where he’d kicked them, and his button-down shirt. Finally, clad in just his boxers and undershirt, he relaxed into the mattress, and you cuddled close, satisfied now.
“Good night, oppa,” you murmured as you slotted yourself into your usual spot in his side, your eyes drifting shut as you clutched his shirt in your fist.
He mumbled something indistinct in response, but you could feel his hand resting on your back, and you went to sleep peacefully.
(line break)
Taehyung woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own, half-dressed, and was confused for a moment, wracking his brain for memories of last night. Had he finally managed to get some?
Rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, he propped himself up on his elbow and peered around, realizing that it was your room. So he hadn’t broken his dry spell, then. Damn.
Pushing the covers away, he meandered out of your bedroom to the kitchen, where you were already working on some hangover breakfast for him. “Good morning,” you chirped, turning away from the stove to point at the glass of water and hybrid painkillers you’d laid out for him. “In case you feel bad,” you explained.
He sat down and downed the water, ignoring the painkillers – he didn’t feel that bad – as he took you in. You’d put some pants on, and a cardigan over the camisole you’d worn to bed, and tied your hair back in a messy ponytail. As a hybrid, he naturally ran warmer than you, so during winters you made sure to pile the layers on to remain warm.
This line of thinking triggered a memory of you squealing in protest at the cold metal of his belt buckle touching your skin last night, and he paled as he remembered how inappropriately he’d acted with you. He watched you carefully, but you seemed the same as always, and he wasn’t sure if he should just pretend it never happened or apologize for it.
When you deemed the yukgaejang ready and took it off the stove to serve together with two bowls of freshly cooked rice, his guilt at how boorishly he’d treated you last night overwhelmed him and he blurted, “About last night – ”
You looked up from the drawer where you were picking the utensils out. “Yeah?”
“Um… about what I said…” he trailed off awkwardly.
“Oh, you mean the scent thing? Don’t worry, I get it,” you laughed it off, waving a hand in the air dismissively. “It’s because of the pack bond, right?”
“The what?” Completely confused, he just stared at you as you poured some soup into your rice.
“The pack bond? I read about it, that some hybrids can form pack bonds with the people around them. Like you did with the other members, or your pets, I guess,” you said, shrugging.
Instead of responding immediately, Taehyung chose to shovel a huge mouthful of stew and rice into his mouth to give him more time to think about how to respond. You’d given him the perfect cop-out for any overly affectionate behavior he might display. He was sure you didn’t know enough about hybrid pack behaviours to actually call him out on his lies.
“Y- yeah, that’s it,” he said, the visible relief on his face making you smile at him cheerily, your triumph at guessing correctly written all over your face.
As you both went back to eating, you felt something that had tensed up inside you last night unclench. It was just the pack bond. You could stop thinking about it, and you wouldn’t misinterpret anything anymore.
Returning to the studio to work on their comeback was a relief for Taehyung. For one thing, it meant that he would be spending most of his time away from you and your maddening scent. For another, he’d worried (perhaps needlessly, given the outpouring of support and congratulations on their social media when they were each discharged) that they wouldn’t be relevant anymore and he would be out of a job.
He’d also really missed his brothers, and was excited to work with them again.
However, what he hadn’t anticipated was that they’d missed you just as much as him, and you felt the same way. Every evening when he came home you were there, waiting for fun stories about the other members, and they pestered him incessantly for updates about you or, better yet, pictures or videos, or best of all, bringing you to the studio.
Since you basically begged for the same thing, he’d pretty much had no choice.
You chattered on excitedly from the front seat of his car as he drove to the studio. It was unbearably early, but that didn’t seem to deter you. Most mornings you were the one who woke him up anyway, since you were by far the most patient out of the members and producers. Even without you being there most days, the members knew that any time Taehyung showed up for practice on time and awake it was because of your efforts.
You fairly skipped from the carpark all the way to the studio where the boys were supposed to be working today, dragging Taehyung along in your wake. You knew the building like the back of your hand by now, having spent much of the time you’d been with Taehyung here. Even the boys from TXT knew you, and often kept snacks and things in their studios for you when you dropped by.
Reaching the corridor where the studio was located, you ran down it and burst into the studio, a ball of almost frenzied energy. “Hi!” you cried exuberantly, causing the current occupants of the room to look up at you. Almost all the members were there, sans Yoongi and, of course, Taehyung, who was following you at a more sedate pace, and they grinned at you.
“Y/N!” Jungkook leapt up from his seat and rushed over to you, and as you hugged him he picked you clean off the floor to swing you around, giggling. The tiger hybrid’s ears flicked excitedly as he took you in. “Don’t you look pretty today?” he cooed, rubbing his cheek over the top of your head. You stood still to let him, used to all the members attempting to scent you since it was basically an affectionate gesture.
“Thank you, Kookie-oppa,” you said politely, smiling up at him.
“You’re such a polite girl,” Seokjin complimented you, pulling a Tupperware of your favourite spicy baby octopus out of his bag. When Taehyung had texted them last night that you would be coming today, he’d immediately gotten to work preparing some of your favourite snacks.
“Ooh, thank you, Seokjin-oppa!” you sang as you stood to take it from him – with both hands, of course, and accompanied by a deep bow.
“Don’t you mean Seokjin-samchoon?” Jungkook ribbed, causing the hyena hybrid to snarl at him.
By the time Taehyung entered the room, you were sandwiched between Namjoon and Jimin, happily sharing your food with them, while Jungkook and Seokjin were playfighting, Hoseok egging both of them on. He sighed as he headed to the last empty couch and dropped down on it heavily, used to the chaos of his members.
You shrugged. “Probably still in bed,” you responded to the amusement of everyone in the room.
Unfortunately for you, the man in question walked through the doors just in time to hear your remark, and he scowled. “For your information,” he bit out acerbically, “I was in my studio. I’m not Jimin,” he said, rolling his eyes, even as he bent down in front of you and opened his mouth for the proffered mouthful of food you were holding in your chopsticks for him.
“Hey!” Jimin protested. “I thought we were past that.”
“Never,” Taehyung promised, and you giggled. To ease the sting of his members teasing him, Jimin aggressively scented you, and you leaned into him to facilitate it.
Taehyung, observing your interaction with the other hybrid, tried not to show his irritation on his face, mostly because he knew it was ridiculous to feel that way. When you’d first come to live with them, the others had been cautious about getting their scents on you, just in case it was something that bothered him, but he’d made sure to assure them that he didn’t mind. After all, all of them were pack. It made sense for them to smell like each other, and it had even comforted him sometimes when you came to him drenched in the scents of his members.
Now that your scent was different, though, he didn’t like it as much when the other members rubbed up against you. It was a shameful, terrible feeling to be possessive over you like that, and he noted somewhat wryly that he could add it to the list. He really hadn’t been a paragon of virtue when it came to you recently.
When the boys started working, you pulled out the book you were currently reading and settled in. By now, you knew how to entertain yourself when at the studio, and tuned them out for the most part. As a result, you didn’t notice the way Taehyung’s attention would drift over to you instead of his members, but Namjoon did.
The older man raised his brow as Taehyung stared at you, sitting on a couch in the corner of the studio, instead of listening to the melody that Yoongi had just been working on. This was uncharacteristic of Taehyung, to say the least, and though as a leader he was somewhat annoyed at Taehyung’s inattention, he was also worried, remembering how strangely the wolf hybrid had acted the other night. He was still watching Taehyung out of his peripheral vision when he saw Taehyung catch himself staring, shake his head and frown.
He followed Taehyung’s gaze to you, wondering what it was that had captured Taehyung’s attention. You seemed unaware of it, turning the page on your book and continuing to read with a soft, relaxed expression, eagerly devouring the page. He couldn’t detect any differences, either – aside from the fact that you’d grown a little and carried yourself differently, you were much the same as you were when they’d left for the army.
Still, there must be some explanation for Taehyung’s sudden change in behavior, and he ran his eyes over your face more closely, watching for any hints.
Unfortunately, Taehyung, looking up from his notes, saw Namjoon staring at you, and before he could stop it, he growled at the wild dog hybrid. A second later, he realized what he’d just done, and shame flooded him. He got up so suddenly that the chair he was sitting in rolled away, bumping against the studio board, and fled the room.
Immediately, you put your book down and got up, ready to follow him to ask what had gotten him so upset, but Namjoon stopped you. “I’ll go talk to him,” he assured you, and looking up at the serious set of his jaw, you nodded, knowing that Taehyung was in good hands.
Namjoon found Taehyung in the restroom, bracing himself against the sinks with his head bowed. Hearing the door open and able to identify his leader by his scent, Taehyung’s hands tightened.
“You doing okay?” Namjoon asked mildly, leaning against the restroom door.
“Go away,” Taehyung grumped without moving.
“Tae, I’m worried about you. You’ve been acting weird since we came back from the military. Tell me what’s going on, please?”
“Nothing’s going on, everything’s fine,” Taehyung denied, his voice becoming increasingly whiny.
“Tae, come on. We’re brothers, you can tell me what’s up.” Namjoon went over to the wolf hybrid and rested his hand on his shoulder.
Resolutely, Taehyung stayed silent.
Left with no other recourse, Namjoon started guessing. “Is it because your heat is coming soon?”
Taehyung’s head shot up, and he stared at Namjoon in the mirror. “My what?”
Namjoon quirked his brow at the younger man. “Your heat?” he prompted. “The one you’ve had once a year for about ten years now?”
Taehyung paled. With all that had been going on with you, he’d totally forgotten about it. Fuck. He was not going to get through this heat alive.
the main character of my untitled scifi based original work for @oc-october! full bio below the cut!
Full Name: Oriana Albright
What’s the meaning of their name? Nothing intentional, I just liked the name Oriana. Her last name carries a lot of weight in the world I’m building because she’s heiress to a giant tech company.
Why did you name them this? I just really liked the name Oriana, and the Albright was something that just kind of happened.
Nickname: Ori
Why is this their nickname? Just a shortened version of her full name!
Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 19
Sexuality: Hetero
Birthday: December 1st
Occupation: Heiress
What time period do they live in? Future century, not set yet.
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian/European
Height: 5′6
Build: Average, lithe, toned.
Hair Color & Style: Dark blonde/light brown, generally long and loosely flowing.
Eye Color: Blue.
Do they wear glasses/contacts? A singular contact; most of the population does.
Skin Color: Fair.
What’s their most striking feature? One that isn’t visible - an artificial heart.
What do people notice immediately upon looking at them? She’s very well known, so likely her entire face to compare with tabloid photos.
Clothing Style: High fashion, trendy, the typical sort for those who are well off in her era.
Free space for more detailed description: In my head, I’ve been basing her appearance off Sarah Bolger.
Extrovert or Introvert? Extrovert who would prefer to be introverted.
Optimist or Pessimist? Hesitant optimist.
Strengths: Math and physics, technology.
Weaknesses: High exertion activities.
Fears: Dying.
What’s a song that describes them? Believer - Imagine Dragons
What words would they use to describe themselves? Intelligent, problem solver, kind.
What words would their friends/loved ones use to describe them? Vapid, selfish, egotistical.
D&D Alignment: True neutral, though she cycles through several others through the course of the story.
Mother: Nova Albright, current head of Albright Industries
Father: Carlisle Albright, deceased.
Siblings: None.
Children (if any): None.
Do they have a good relationship with their family? Oriana was closest to her father, and she flourished in his attention. Her relationship with her mother is tense, but not uncomfortable - they don’t see eye to eye.
Color: Silver
Song/Artist: Classical.
Snack: Cheese. All of it.
Candy: Cotton Candy/Candy floss
Drink: Lemonade
Mode of transportation: Hovercar
Time of day: Night
Holiday: Her birthday
Book: Any of the typical classics.
Are they single? Yes
If so: why? Dating is hard for her; she struggles to find any emotional attachment.
What are their religious beliefs? None.
Can they sing? She thinks she can. In the shower.
Can they play an instrument? Violin.
Do they speak with an accent? No.
Can they speak any other languages? If computer coding/script counts, yes.
What are their hobbies? Learning. Oriana is a sponge and loves to absorb new information, particularly anything related to technology, computers, etc.
Do they have any dreams/goals? Yes.
If so, what are they? To help the world, as her father did.
Would they consider themselves to be “the main character?” Not on purpose; to most she would be because she’s the daughter of the man who literally shaped the century, but that’s neither here nor there.
Do they prefer tea or coffee? Or neither? Neither. She doesn’t do caffeine.
Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang is famous for his plan to implement a universal basic income to help Americans who lose their jobs to robots. And that isn’t the only place tech innovation takes center stage in his platform. He also advocates that your online data be treated as personal property that you can choose (or not) to sell to companies like Facebook. In a Yang presidency, election results would be verified through blockchain (an encryption system best known for shoring up cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin), quantum computing research would be better funded, and a Legion of Builders and Destroyers would have the power to overrule local zoning and land-use decisions for the greater infrastructure good. He is definitely the only presidential candidate talking seriously about fighting climate change with giant space mirrors.
But while the Yang platform can occasionally appear to drift toward a bid for a Hugo Award, experts who study the history and sociology of tech say his enthusiasm for and belief in the promise of technology is actually in step with the way most Americans (and the Democratic party, in particular) approach innovation. To the extent that Yang, a political novice whose credentials are largely built on his history as a successful tech entrepreneur, is polling above people like Kirsten Gillibrand and Bill de Blasio, it could be because he’s done such a good job of speaking to a defining aspect of the American psyche: one that both loves and fears tech. If anything, despite the sci-fi trappings of his policies, some experts said Yang might be a little behind the curve — playing to a vision of the future already looks a little retro in its belief that Silicon Valley hype will match reality.
The American relationship with technology is a complicated one. Research suggests that a majority of Americans — 59 percent in a 2014 Pew Research Center poll — have faith that technological advancements will make our lives better in the future. In 2016, the same organization found that 52 percent of us think technology has already had a largely positive effect on society. Those beliefs have long-standing precedent, said Lee Vinsel, a professor of science, technology and society at Virginia Tech, stretching back to the cults of personality built up around 19th century inventors like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. “There’s an emphasis on technology and how it grows the economy as an unvarnished good,” Vinsel said.
But those top-line numbers can mask some underlying discomfort with the technological tools we allow into our lives. The same polls that show a majority of Americans looking forward to a tech-enabled future also show a distinct lack of enthusiasm for technologies closer to our fingertips. We may expect unspecified “technology” to make our lives better down the road, but 63 percent of us think opening U.S. airspace to drones will make life worse; 65 percent of us don’t like the idea of robots caring for the sick and elderly; and 78 percent of us would not eat meat grown in a lab if someone set it on our plates.
That’s because cycles of techno-hype and disillusionment are a major part of American culture and public policy, said Taylor Dotson, a professor of social sciences at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Usually, politicians and the public see a social problem and decide technology will solve it; then, they discover that the solution comes with a whole new set of issues — which they often expect future technology to solve. It’s like the old Simpsons joke describing alcohol as the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems. “Oh, yeah. We see technology in a similar way to that,” Dotson said.
And experts said Yang’s platform taps right into the current American zeitgeist — for example, in the way he is simultaneously grappling with the risks artificial intelligence poses to some job markets, while proposing it as a replacement for other human jobs in other areas. But they also said he’s hardly the first political candidate to look to technology for the answers to societal ills. In fact, the Democratic Party has long considered itself the standard-bearer of scientific expertise, adopting an almost utopian vision of technological innovation since at least the Kennedy years, Vinsel said.
Practically, this means that Democrats have made technology a bigger part of their image over the years. In the 1980s, for instance, “Atari Democrats” wore fancy watches and promoted Silicon Valley boosterism as an alternative to courting labor unions, said Marc Aidinoff, a history doctoral candidate at MIT who has also worked as a junior policy advisor to Joe Biden. That trend continued under Barack Obama, said Mary Ebeling, a professor of sociology at Drexel University. Obama’s technology advisors were heavily recruited from Silicon Valley and many returned there after serving in his administration. And now, it’s not just the Democratic Party pushing tech-based solutions, Vinsel said. At this point, the ideas of technological innovation and economic growth are so linked in the American mind that neither party can step away from tech as a common good without seeming like they are anti-growth.
But Democrats’ tendency to seek solutions in technology for social problems has not always served them well. Ebeling is currently working on a project that explores how adopting electronic health records as part of the Affordable Care Act affected both patients and workers in the medical industry. The electronic records were pushed as a solution to deep-seated problems that weren’t really about technology — boosters promised they’d make healthcare cheaper and solve problems with patient access to consistent medical care. Instead, Ebeling is finding that we spent billions effectively favoring an industry that could never produce the returns it promised. “And lo and behold, by 2019, you have Kaiser Health News reporting on how much harm electronic health records have caused. Literally the death of patients because of medical errors,” she said.
When our faith and enthusiasm in the power of technology hits a wall, the collision happens with all the force of a coyote riding a jetpack. Aidinoff, the former political consultant, thinks we’re in a cultural moment when our belief in the promises of technology are meeting a crushing reality. Since the Cold War, Americans have been assured that the internet and communication networks would serve as liberalizing forces, or as tools to draw repressed countries toward democracy. But since the early 2000s, there have been a string of prominent situations where that ideal wasn’t realized. In the wake of the 2016 election, social media networks have been seen as tools of misinformation and political manipulation. But that wasn’t the first time tech failed us. For instance, dozens of internet cafes were opened in Iraq after the U.S. overthrew Saddam Hussein, and the internet was seen as being instrumental in the democratization of the country. But, Aidinoff said, that same internet access later ended up being a recruitment tool for extremist groups such as ISIS. Hilary Clinton once spoke about the potential of the internet as akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall. “But freedom didn’t happen the way it was supposed to,” Aidinoff said.
That’s a problem for a candidate like Yang — and a problem for any party that wants to view technology as a solution to social ills. Someone framing a campaign around technology as a problem solver and powerful force for good is, in some ways, a few years out of date — as anachronistic as Mark Zuckerberg floating a presidential run. In the end, what’s odd about Yang’s platform might be less that it’s calling for cloud seeding or AI social workers — and more that it’s calling for those things at a time when the relationship between Americans and tech could best be described as “it’s complicated.”
