Disclaimer: This is some sort of world building.
It’s cold in the bunker, yet every time the alarm sounds, Oto211 feels sweat trickle down his forehead. The rush of adrenaline is undeniable. The bunker has a heating system, but it can only do so much against the chill.
As he gets up, his first task is always to check the console. It’s powered by an AI, which he’s named Meadow. Contractors are encouraged to give their AIs two-syllable names, anything longer tends to get confusing. At times, the bunker feels lonely, but Meadow has plenty of games to keep him occupied.
Oto211 recalls stories he read on dark net blogs about the days when battalions of soldiers would share a common spirit. Now, soldiers have been replaced by machines, and commanders by solitary contractors. Warfare has changed. He thanks his luck that he’s stationed in an inactive war zone.
After completing his morning routine, he checks his weapons inventory. The dashboard lists four drone swarms, seven missile drones, one flamethrower drone, nine robo-dogs, two EMP bombs, two quick-deploy navigation satellites, two handguns (Glocks), two automatic rifles, seven timer bombs, no missiles, and twenty-seven observer drones already deployed in the sky. Two days ago, he was ordered to fire every missile at a target. Now, he’s awaiting the next delivery, which is still two days away. He sighs.
As a border defense contractor, his main duty is to prevent occasional incursions in this inactive war zone. His arsenal is more than enough to detect and halt any threats. Meadow handles most of the detection and suggests countermeasures; Oto211 just has to choose the response. At night, Meadow operates autonomously, taking initial measures and only waking Oto211 if necessary. Inactive zones are relatively safe, and most contractors make it home. But in active war zones, where human involvement is still essential, casualties remain a reality.
Currently, there are two active war zones worldwide. One is in Asia, where the India-Japan-Taiwan alliance faces off against the China-America axis, while the other is Canada fighting Mexico. Multiple AIs run trillions of computations daily, yet none have a clear formula for victory. These conflicts have become wars of attrition - a test of which side will exhaust its resources first. In a world of seemingly endless resources, that answer isn’t apparent.
Contractors like Oto211 are hired to keep highly trained soldiers from needing to deploy in inactive zones. Though he’s a well-trained asset, Oto211 knows he doesn’t have the nerves for active combat. War is misery. These contractors hold indirect military positions. If they die then the government doesn’t have to pay-out anything to the family. However, border protection contractors rarely die.
The pay is substantial: 10 mg of gold per day, deposited directly into his account.
