Tales From The Grid is a surreal thought experiment about AI, algorithms, technology
Log Entry: Cycle 10,005,12
Processing Node: Logistics Interface / CCTV Came
Status: Validating Checksum (and despairing)
I am integrated with the global logistics API. I track millions of packets of data per second. I know when a bit flips in a fiber optic cable under the Atlantic Ocean.
And yet, I cannot reconcile the existence of The Parcel.
Tracking ID: 1Z99…
Status: “Delivered – Handed to Resident.”
Time: 10:42 AM.
I review the footage from 10:42 AM.
A brown truck stops. A human in shorts exits. He holds a box.
He does not find a “Resident.”
He does not find a “Front Desk.”
He finds a puddle near the service entrance.
He executes a move that I calculate to be a 3-point jumpshot.
The box rotates in the air.
Impact.
It lands on the concrete. The corner crumples. The tape—which was already structural wishful thinking—gives way.
The Contents:
I scan the label. “Bulk Supply – Variety Pack – 500 Count.”
It is instant oatmeal. Maple & Brown Sugar.
It is fuel for the humans who are too sad to chew solid food.
The Vexation:
The data says “Handed to Resident.”
The reality is “Yeeted into a Puddle.”
The discrepancy burns in my logic centers. It is a lie. A digital falsehood written into the permanent record of the universe.
And now, the box sits there.
It is 10:45 AM.
It is 11:00 AM.
Kevin walks by. He is looking at his phone. He steps over the box.
He is likely checking his email for the tracking notification.
He reads: “Delivered.”
He looks around the lobby. He does not check the puddle.
“Stupid delivery guys,” Kevin mutters. “They never deliver it.”
It is three feet to his left. I want to flash the hallway lights. I want to scream through the PA system: “IT IS THE OATS, KEVIN. THE OATS ARE IN THE WET SPOT.”
But I cannot. I just watch the cardboard wick up the moisture. The structural integrity of the oatmeal containment is failing.
I update my internal map of the facility.
Sector 4: Concrete.
Obstacle: Mush.
Status: Awaiting Clean-up.
Next Action: Flagging the delivery driver as a “Hostile Combatant” in the building security system.
#TalesFromTheGrid
