A ‘what if’ piece of speculative fiction about a possible future that could result from the systemic forces changing our world.
// If silicon chips are the new oil, then who might be the new pirates?
// 2029. A nondescript airfield in the Texas panhandle. A team of black-clad armed and armored soldiers load into an armored helicopter with well-drilled practice.
A grizzled figure pats each soldier on the shoulder as they load in.
"Alright folks. This is a black op. So strip the logos. Here is our team visual ID." The leader hands out small gray patches. Each team member dutifully rips the corporate logo from their helmet and shoulders, and replaces them with the gray patch. A bag collecting the corp patches makes its way back o the leader, who counts the contents. They then pass it out the door to a waiting mechanic, who just finished inspection and arming the helicopter’s weapon pods.
A soldier securing their XM7 pipes up - "Glad they didn't give us helmet spikes this time."
"Knock it off Hudson! Here's the stit-rep - this is a standard smash and grab. We fly in low. The ground team will cut the power just before our drone carriers cross the site CIWS range. Helicarriers Red and Blue will launch their drone swarm payloads to neutralize their drones, defenses, and personnel. 30 seconds later, with a green light, we hit the target on the northeast corner. Our job: breach the site, secure and hold it while asset extraction occurs.
"When we give the all-clear, the exfiltration team's trucks will enter the loading bay. The bots will then offload and begin extracting the cargo.
A figure inspecting their rifle raises their head: "What are we looking at for the size of the payload?"
"An inside has given us blueprints for the layout. The primary target is 10,000 gen3 Nvidia H400s that were delivered two months ago. Secondary targets are the two bays of other recent GPU installs. Anything older than a year is tertiary. We know how hard these crypto miners push their hardware, so we expect that silicon to be nearing end of life. We need hardware that is still good for scaled AI training.
“Intel shows these crypto miners have substantial assets and have been reinforcing their datacenter mining facilities. Watch for booby traps in the racks. When in doubt, send a drone in.
"Stay frosty, because our lives are worth less than training the corp’s newest AI model. We are a deniable asset. Our handlers reminded me that those substantial end of life payouts do NOT happen if you get identified. If it comes to it, use the Phoenix." At that, they pat the small pouch at their neck, with wires leading to their hands and plugging into their helmet "It will destroy your retinas, fingerprints, and inject DNA scramblers that will leave the feds unable to match you with their records.
"I don’t see you as disposable. I want you coming home. Let’s get paid.
A chant erupts from the squad as the rotors begin to pick up speed… “Crypto kings and digital dreams, we raid the vaults where the currency streams”