An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead

Ch 9 - Excitement (Arc 2)

The years flew by. 

Winter chilled his empty wallet. Spring renewed his spirits. Summer kissed his cheeks good luck. Come autumn, he was ready for the promised harvest — and so were QiE-Novel.

The world shifted rapidly around Murpheus, and he struggled to catch up with its flow. If 2020 to 2025 could be classed as “The Advent of AI”, then come 2027 — they had already arrived. 

“Introducing LACIE — Limitless Artificial Creator & Intelligent Editor. The future is right here, on QiE-Novel!”

Having just ended a short mourning workout, Murphy logged on to his dashboard and prepared for the daily grind, only to be greeted by a system advert.

Curious, he clicked for more details.

“Dear creators, we are happy to announce that we’ve partnered with our parent-company to deliver an immense opportunity to you after this Fall’s Soul Contest. 

“LACIE will be paired up with the top 100 contestants and serve as your personal assistant over the next year, helping you edit your work.

“Trained on the vast library of our best web novels, it’s a highly skilled language model that can detect errors, plot holes, and even suggest fixes and trace a road map for your novel!

“We are happy to announce that the results of our hidden tests for the past year have paid off, and we are ready to do a limited roll-out of its features.

“As the best of the best, you will be given the rare opportunity to guide it as it steps up on the stage, bringing QiE-Novel to whole new reaches!”

Not the worst marketing speech to wake up to. It was inspiring, and presented authors with the opportunity of a lifetime, at least on paper.

The truth was far grimmer, however. 

As of 2024, the writers were still on strike across modern cities in the Western world. What started as a localized Hollywood strike against AI soon became widespread, with vocal pyres lit up in each industry.

The people were afraid, and rightfully so. With each small new development in the microchip industry and semiconductor development, AI got cheaper and better. 

It was an undeniable reality at this point. They were out to replace them.

By 2025, the first ever series of quantum supercomputers was released on the market, and that became the final straw.

Companies were roused like bees, outbidding each other in an effort to be the first to nab a device powerful enough to run a cheap intelligence for them.

One by one, month by month, more and more layoffs set in motion a tidal wave that rocked civilization at its core. Before long, it wasn’t just writers on strike, but it was too late.

Fortunately for Murphy, he was in a cult. He didn’t need to question the arrival of the overlords nor have any fears. He had signed a contract that was effective for as long as he continued to write. 

Somewhat ironically, the chains that bound him in the past became the sole way to secure his future in an industry rife with open piracy and an ever-increasing competition. 

“This is exciting,” he beamed as he read through the technical specifications, “With LACIE, I should be able to ramp up my schedule to at least 4 chapters a day!”

While not seeming like a lot, 4 chapters a day entailed work just short of 6000 words. It was sheer insanity, something a traditional writer would scoff at as impossible. 

Not on QiE-Novel, however. Here, each chapter sold like fresh baked baguettes in morning, even as they were only baked with water and salt. It was no premium work, but the readers were accustomed to never skipping a day.

Having lived in Paris for the past decade, Murphy of course wouldn’t slander the French holy bread. The point conveyed, was that simplicity and base tastes were sometimes enough to satisfy someone. Over time, you could even tell yourself it was good. 

It didn’t matter if the work didn’t last under scrutiny and rotted in two days’ time, as long as enough people consumed it and it was profitable, it would become a staple.

In that ecosystem, having LACIE was a welcome expansion in productivity. As someone at the top, Murpheus didn’t need to concern himself with how much the gap would widen between him and the new writers.

In truth, this AI had already become an insurmountable obstacle. While he could pump and dump 4 chapters a day and ensure their quality thanks to its service, your average starter would barely cobble up 700 words a day of the same quality. 

Pair that up with the existing fanbase and promotion on his side, and he could ensure their works never saw the light of day. 

Therein lay the excitement. 

As a top contestant of the Fall Soul contest, he had become infallible. 

« LACIE: Greetings, Morpheus. Congratulations on becoming a BETA tester of our personal editor program. From now on, I will assist you with your work! I will begin by analyzing your current novels, please wait...  »

“Whoa,” he mused as a notification popped on his dashboard, “That was fast.”

“Hey, Lacie,” he typed in response, “Don’t I need to annex a consent form or something?”

« LACIE: According to Clause 4.4 of the contract you’ve signed in 2023, “Party B shall cooperate and participate in any promotional event organized by QiE-Novel or its affiliates, and provide any material for such purpose as required by party A.” »

“That doesn’t sound right,” he scratched his chin, doubtful this fell in that category. Alas, it’s not like he could contest anything his masters said, so he instead typed a thank you.

Over time, he revisited the contract, and found out just why they called it a draconian slave collar and a cult. 

You see… in the QiE-Novel contract there was this little article called “No slander and competition”, though behind its well-rounded 3.3 clause hid the true lock. 

“Both parties undertake not to damage the other party, and shall not publish any statements that may cause others to have a negative impression of, or have any negative effect on the other party.”

If it seems too liberal for one’s liking, then it’s because it was. In essence, QiE-Novel could use any message or complaint an author made about the website, and use it as a means to invoke a breach of contract. 

It effectively muzzled the entirety of their contracted workforce, not too atypical of a Chinese big corp, but unsettling nonetheless. By ensuring they could never say a bad thing about them, they preserved a pristine image, even as underneath lay nothing but a cage.