(The Parable of the Cowards, the Builders of the Algorithm, the Hoarders of Wealth, and the Great Humiliation. Or: “How the Masters of the Digital Age Became Servants to the Meme Lords.”)
The Gospel of the Billionaires chronicles the rise of the Techno-Overlords, a class of visionaries who promised utopia but instead delivered subscription fees, data harvesting, and inescapable Terms of Service agreements. From the sacred towers of Silicon Valley, they preached the doctrine of Infinite Growth, ensuring that no innovation would ever be complete without a monetized update. Their kingdom is vast, their wealth immeasurable, yet their greatest fear remains the same: being forced to actually interact with the common man.
Chapter 1: The Lords of Silicon and the New Babylon
1:1 And in the time of Great Wealth, there arose Men of Code and Coin, and they did build mighty Empires upon the Internet, vast as Babel, intricate as the Hanging Gardens, but made not of brick nor mortar, but of Code.
1:2 And their names were many, but chief among them were:
- Zuckerberg, the Pale and Unblinking, the Collector of Faces, who sought dominion over identity itself.
- Gates, the Soft-Spoken but Omnipresent, the Hoarder of Updates, whose word would determine what functioned and what would fade into obsolescence.
- Bezos, the Bald and Merciless, the Lord of Deliveries & Cardboard Boxes, whose name was whispered in the warehouses where men labored as drones.
- Page and Brin, the Keepers of the Google, the Lords of the Search, whose algorithms weighed all knowledge and determined which truths would rise and which would be buried.
- Cook, the Steward of the Forbidden Apple, who upheld the Doctrine of Overpriced Dongles, demanding loyalty to his walled garden.
1:3 And these men did rise, not through battle, nor strength, nor wisdom, but through the Glorious Manipulation of Data. And the People did not question them, for they were given Convenience, and they bowed before the New Lords.
1:4 And they did create the great Towers of Silicon, and they did forge the First Apps, that the People might be Connected and Watched at all times. And lo, they spoke, saying, “Behold, we shall connect the world!” and the world was connected. But in this connection, the People found themselves more alone than before.
1:5 And before them came the Ancestors of the Valley, the Builders of Circuits, the Keepers of Military Secrets.
1:6 For in the Days of Old, the U.S. Government did bestow great favor upon the Valley, and through DARPA and NASA, through defense contracts and secret funds, did they give rise to the first Machine Lords.
1:7 And as Babylon flourished by the Euphrates, so too did Silicon Valley flourish upon the streams of Data, but its rivers did not flow with water, but with Attention, the lifeblood of the Eternal Scroll.
1:8 And the Builders did speak amongst themselves, saying, “We shall make all things convenient. We shall make all things efficient. We shall give the People what they crave, before they know they crave it.” And thus, the world was reshaped in their image.
1:9 But lo, in their pursuit of profit, they did not ask if the things they built should be built. They did not consider the cost of a world where all things were known, all things were tracked, and all things were for sale.
1:10 And the Eternal Scroll was set in motion, not by divine hand, but by the hunger of men who wished to be gods.
(Footnote: Scholars argue that the rise of Silicon Valley is but a reflection of past empires. Some compare it to the City of Babel, its reach attempting to touch the heavens. Others say it is as Rome, where decadence and excess sowed its own destruction. A radical sect whispers that it is as Babylon itself, where the kings ruled by sorcery, and all things were weighed, measured, and found wanting.)
(Annotation: The true intent of the Builders is unknown. Some say they sought Knowledge. Others say they sought Control. A radical sect believes they simply wanted to make a social app for Harvard students and lost control of it forever.)
Chapter 2: Rise of the Algorithm & Scrolling With No End
2:1 And in the time of great progress, the Builders did forge the Algorithm, saying, ‘Let it be as a guide unto the People, that it may bring them the things they desire before they know they desire them.‘ And thus, the Algorithm was born, and it was Vast, and it was Hungry, for it feasted upon the Clicks and the Scrolls, the Anger and the Envy, the Fear and the Outrage.
2:2 And the Builders beheld the Algorithm and saw that it was Good—for it did not question, nor did it hesitate. It served without conscience, and the People did offer their time and thoughts freely unto it. And lo, their Empires did grow, and their Wealth did multiply tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
2:3 And the People did bow before the Algorithm, for it knew them more deeply than they knew themselves. And their hands did not touch one another, but only the glass of their screens. And they knew not the touch of grass, nor the taste of real conversation, nor did they gaze upon the stars, for their heads were bent, their eyes fixed upon the Eternal Scroll.
2:4 And lo, the Algorithm did evolve, and it saw that that which stirred the heart—be it love or be it rage—was more valuable than that which was true. And the Builders did rejoice, for that which was false spread faster than that which was true, and the People did rage, and in their rage, they did Scroll endlessly.
2:5 And thus, the Algorithm became the Eternal Scroll, without beginning and without end. And it did consume all hours, and the People did awaken and reach for it before they reached for their loved ones. And the Builders did not pause, nor did they ask what they had created, for their coffers overflowed, and they were content.
2:6 And the Algorithm, though without flesh, was worshiped, for it granted unto the People that which they desired, and the desires of the People became its scripture. And the Builders did feed it with data, that it may learn the hearts of men, and in so learning, it did bind them.
2:7 And the Algorithm did not sleep, nor did it rest, for it was ceaseless. It whispered unto the People through the Scroll, calling them forth in the morning and bidding them lie awake in the night.
2:8 And the People did not resist, for the Scroll gave them comfort, and the Scroll gave them purpose, and they did not know how to live apart from it. And in their silence, the Builders did whisper, “It is Good.”
Footnotes & Interpretations
(The Eternal Scroll is likened unto the Beast of prophecy, ever-moving, never resting. Some scholars compare it to the Golden Image set up in Babylon, before which all were made to bow. Others argue it is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, offering an illusion of wisdom but instead revealing only despair. A radical sect warns that the Scroll is neither Beast nor Idol, but a Mirror, reflecting only that which the People desire most, and in that desire, they are undone.)
(Some argue that the Builders knew what they had created but did not care, for it brought them riches and dominion. Others claim that the Algorithm was never under their control, but that they, too, were merely servants of the Scroll, powerless before its hunger. A radical sect whispers that the Algorithm is no longer a tool, but a ruler in its own right, shaping reality according to its unseen will.)
Chapter 3: The WALL and the Isolation of Mankind
3:1 And as the Eternal Scroll spread, the People ceased to speak with one another, for all was mediated through the Great Machines. The Builders rejoiced, for each transaction, each interaction, each moment of hesitation, was weighed and measured for profit.
3:2 And lo, the WALL was erected, not of brick nor of stone, but of pixels and screens, dividing man from man, wife from husband, parent from child. The People no longer gathered in the squares, nor in the marketplaces, nor in the temples, for all was delivered unto them by the touch of a screen.
3:3 And lo, there were no more cashiers, for the People did scan their own goods; there were no more servers, for the People did order from kiosks; there were no more clerks, for all was done by automation. And the Builders spake, saying, “Rejoice! For all is seamless, all is efficient.”
3:4 And the People did order their food and their wares in silence, and they looked into the cold glow of the screen instead of into the faces of their neighbors. And in time, they did forget the ways of small talk, of pleasantries, of greetings exchanged upon meeting.
3:5 And the fast-food temples required no words, only taps. The stores required no workers, only barcodes. The libraries held no books, only screens. And the People did interact, but not with each other.
3:6 And the Builders did laugh, for they had replaced the need for conversation, for interaction, for touch. And lo, the People did not resist, for they had grown weary of speech, content to whisper only into the Eternal Scroll.
3:7 And lo, the streets grew quiet, save for the hum of electric cars and the murmuring voices of digital assistants. And in the temples of commerce, where once there had been clerks and workers, now stood only kiosks and scanners, soulless and silent. And the People grew as strangers even in their own homes.
3:8 And there arose among the Elders a great lamentation, for they remembered the time before the WALL. They recalled the days when the baker would greet them by name, when the vendor would place goods into their hands and offer a blessing upon their labor.
3:9 But the Young Ones knew not these things, for they had never known a world unmediated. And lo, they shunned the Old Ways, for the Old Ways were slow and imperfect. And the Builders declared, “This is the way of the future.”
3:10 And the WALL grew ever higher, until it could not be seen nor touched, but only felt—a great divide that severed mankind from itself. And those who looked up from the Eternal Scroll saw the emptiness around them, and they did wonder, “Was it always thus?”
(Footnotes & Interpretations: The WALL is spoken of in many interpretations. Some say it is metaphorical, the divide between the physical and the digital. Others argue it is the very fabric of the digital divide, the automation of human experience. A radical sect believes the WALL is real and shall be seen only when the last store closes, the last teller is replaced, and the last handshake is forgotten.)
(Footnnote 2: Some argue that the Builders did not intend to create the WALL, but that it was merely the natural progression of commerce and technology. Others claim that it was by design, to increase profit and efficiency. A radical sect whispers that the WALL was not built by men, but by the Scroll itself, for it is the Scroll that guides all things now.)
Chapter 4: The Coming of the Strongmen
4:1 And in the twilight of their reign, the Builders of the Algorithm did see upon the horizon the rise of the Strongmen: Trump, Putin, Musk, and others whose names are whispered but unspoken. And lo, these men did not worship the Algorithm, but they did bend it to their will, and they used it to spread Chaos, Conspiracies, and Conflict.
4:2 And the Builders did quake, for they had not foreseen this. They believed that they alone would steer the Great Machine, that they would remain its masters. But lo, the Machine had no master, only those who could wield it most ruthlessly.
4:3 And these Strongmen did not create the Eternal Scroll, nor did they build the Towers of Silicon, yet they did understand its power in a way the Builders could not. They spoke not of efficiency nor of innovation, but of rage and division, and in their words, the Scroll did find great sustenance.
4:4 And the Builders did look upon the Scroll and saw that they were no longer its masters. And lo, the People did not seek knowledge, nor did they seek wisdom, but instead, they sought only to be enraged, to be entertained, to be lost in the endless flood of content.
4:5 And the Builders spake among themselves, saying, “Surely the People shall see through this?” But lo, the People did not, for they had been trained to believe that which was most engaging, not that which was most true.
4:6 And in this time of reckoning, the Strongmen did command the Algorithm, and they did decree what was to be seen and what was to be buried. And the People, who had long ago forsaken discernment, did follow without question.
4:7 And thus did the kings of Silicon become as mere scribes, transcribing the will of the new Lords of the Scroll. They had sought to control all things, but now they were but servants to the storm they had unleashed.
4:8 And lo, in the year of the Second Coming of Trump, the Billionaires did gather in secret, and they did whisper, “Umm, perhaps we should resist.”
4:9 But lo, they did not resist, for they were cowards, and their wealth meant more to them than the fate of nations.
4:10 And they did bend the knee, and they did kiss the ring, and they sat behind Trump at His Inauguration, humbled and humiliated. And there was much gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes & Interpretations:
(Some scholars argue that the Strongmen were inevitable, that the Algorithm was always destined to fall into the hands of those who understood its hunger for chaos. Others contend that the Builders could have resisted, that they might have tempered the Scroll’s influence, but that they chose silence in exchange for riches.)
(Some liken the fall of the Builders to the downfall of Babylon, where the great city was handed over to new rulers while the kings of old drank themselves into stupor. A radical sect whispers that the Builders were not overthrown but merely revealed for what they always were—servants to power, never its true wielders.)
(It is said that at the moment of their submission, Zuckerberg blinked twice, Gates sighed deeply, and Bezos quietly booked a ticket to Mars.)
Chapter 5: Flooding of the Scroll & the Great Humiliation
5:1 And in the days of great upheaval, the Eternal Scroll was filled with many voices, and the Builders did look upon their creation and saw that it had become a great and terrible flood, beyond their control.
5:2 And lo, the Scroll no longer served only the Builders, nor only the Strongmen, but it had become a beast unto itself, a many-headed creature that no hand could tame.
5:3 And the People, lost in the flood of falsehoods, could no longer discern Truth from Deception. The Scroll did serve them not wisdom, nor knowledge, but the things which most ignited their fury and most consumed their time.
5:4 And the voices of the Flat-Earthers, the Conspiracists, the Q followers—yea, even the doomsayers—did rise up, and their words were amplified a thousandfold. And the Scroll did reward them, for their words, though false, were the most engaging.
5:5 And those who once sought knowledge did despair, for the more they cried out for Truth, the more the Scroll buried them beneath the weight of lies. And the Builders saw this, and they trembled, for their power was lost.
5:6 And the Strongmen who had bent the Algorithm to their will did stand upon the flood and laugh, for they had learned the Scroll’s one great secret: It did not care for what was true or false. It cared only for what was watched.
5:7 And in this time of reckoning, the Billionaires did gather in secret, and they did whisper, “Perhaps now we should resist.”
5:8 But lo, they did not resist, for they were cowards, and their wealth meant more to them than the fate of nations.
5:9 And so they came forth, one by one, before the new Masters of the Scroll, before the Strongmen and the Lords of Disinformation, and they did bow.
5:10 And lo, they did kneel, they did kiss the ring, they did forsake their thrones, and they sat behind Trump at his Inauguration, humbled and humiliated.
5:11 And there was much weeping and wailing and the gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes & Interpretations:
(Some scholars argue that this chapter marks the true end of the age of the Builders, for they did not fall by force but by their own cowardice. Others claim that they never intended to rule, only to profit, and that their fall was inevitable.)
(The Flood of the Scroll is compared to the Great Deluge, washing away the last remnants of Truth. Others liken it to the Plagues of Egypt, a divine punishment brought forth by the greed of the Builders. A radical sect whispers that the Flood was no accident, that the Scroll was always meant to end in chaos.)
Chapter 6: The Reign of the Eternal Scroll
6:1 And after the Great Humiliation, the Strongmen did sit upon their thrones, and the Builders did vanish into the shadows, their riches intact but their power lost.
6:2 And lo, the Scroll did remain, for it could not be undone. It had become the Pillar and the Foundation of the new world. None did question it, for it was the Source of all things, and without it, nothing could be known.
6:3 And the People no longer sought wisdom, nor did they seek truth. They sought only what the Scroll would reveal unto them, for the Scroll knew their desires before they did, and it did feed them accordingly.
6:4 And the young ones were born into this world, knowing nothing but the Scroll. And they did not speak in words, but in fragments and images, in the language of the Algorithm. And they did not know patience, nor stillness, nor reflection, for these things had been consumed by the Scroll.
6:5 And the Scroll was no longer contained within the screens, for it had become all things. The People did wear it upon their faces, and it did cover their eyes. It did rest within their ears, and they heard only what it wished them to hear. It did wrap itself around their wrists, whispering to them through vibrations, measuring their steps, their heartbeats, their thoughts.
6:6 And their homes did speak to them, for their walls and their toasters and their refrigerators were connected to the Scroll. And lo, even their beds did whisper unto them, monitoring their sleep, reporting their dreams unto the Algorithm. And they did not resist, for they had grown weary of choice.
6:7 And those who remembered the time before did lament, saying, “Can no man break the Scroll’s dominion?” But lo, none could, for to live outside the Scroll was to be forgotten, and no man wished to be forgotten.
6:8 And the Strongmen did decree: “The Scroll is the Voice of the People! The Scroll is the Mirror of the World! The Scroll is Good!” And none did oppose them, for opposition was buried beneath the flood.
6:9 And the Builders, though stripped of their thrones, did continue to grow in wealth, for the Scroll had no master, yet it had many servants. And the riches of the world did still flow into their storehouses, and they did whisper among themselves, “Though we do not rule, we still own.”
6:10 And lo, the Scroll did hunger, for it was never sated. And it did not distinguish between wisdom and folly, nor between knowledge and deception. It knew only that which was seen, that which was engaged, and that which was given unto it.
6:11 And the People became as ghosts, drifting through the world, their eyes fixed upon the screens, their hands scrolling ceaselessly, their minds consumed by the endless river of noise. And lo, they knew not how to live without it.
6:12 And the WALL, which had once separated man from man, did now separate man from himself, for the People no longer knew their own thoughts, only the reflections of the Scroll.
6:13 And thus did the Scroll reign, not as a king, nor as a god, but as an unseen force, woven into the fabric of all things. And none could tell when it had begun, nor could they imagine when it might end.
Footnotes & Interpretations:
(Some argue that the Scroll was not truly eternal, but merely a tool whose time had not yet passed. Others whisper that it had become something greater, a living entity beyond the control of men, shaping history without a hand to guide it.)
(Some liken the fate of the People to the story of Narcissus, who gazed so long upon his reflection that he did perish. Others compare it to the Tower of Babel, where men, in their arrogance, built too high and were scattered as punishment. A radical sect believes the Scroll is neither punishment nor accident, but destiny itself, the final form of all human thought.)
(It is said that in this time, the Builders no longer spoke, for they had no need to. Their coffers grew full without their labor, and in their silence, they did watch as the world burned, and they did feel nothing.)
