Jobz

It had begun as a timewasting app, which quickly grew into a fad, and then a phenomenon. Jobz, the app to entertain through dares, had taken the world by storm. Those using the app could issue challenges, either publicly or privately, for others to perform and if the person completed the task, they were paid a sum of money the challenger offered. Others could chip in money as well, increasing the amount and daring someone, anyone, to take on their challenge. Because these “tips” would increase the total prize offered, they often goaded others to take on the challenge, meaning the task would become a frenzy and the first to complete the task and post it would win. Sometimes the tips pushed the prize into lottery levels.

Like most fads, it had begun with childish pranks and semi-dangerous stunts. $20 to pull down a coworker’s pants to embarrass them in the office. Jumping from the roof of a moving train into a creek or river. Stupid, childish humor. When Jobz was released, I never thought I would get on the app and try anything, but eventually it pulled me in. I used to love life more than I do now, and when I tried to win that $100, I ended up breaking my ankle in the process. That cost me $500 for a hospital visit, and I vowed to myself as I was being wheeled out of the hospital that I would never use the app again. It just wasn’t worth it.

After a few months, I noticed that these tasks began to ratchet up in scale and severity. More people were getting hurt in more serious ways. A handful died in the first year of deployment. More committed suicide from the embarrassment that befell them or from the backlash of what they thought was just a little teasing or harmless fun.

Fifteen months after the app was released, other videos began that issued challenges to deface memorials and religious places of worship, which unfortunately, were claimed quite speedily. When the number of suicides reached triple digits worldwide, the pendulum crested and began to oscillate back the other way. The creator of the app was contacted by the leaders of megachurches in Atlanta, Chicago, and Winston-Salem, as well as a Bishop directly under the Pope himself. A collaboration was announced among different social medias to reduce the negativity circulating across Jobz.

Videos began to circulate across the app of people performing acts of kindness for others. People passing out clothes and meals to the homeless. Animals being saved from life-threatening situations. “Random” acts of kindness in a variety of ways. The real icing on the cake that helped this wave of good energy grow was that many times the money people received from these kind and selfless acts was given away in several sequentially released videos.

These follow up videos were normally uploaded to the app by the uploader, to the uploader, as a $0 challenge as yet another way to show that people could be better. This way, the uploader would immediately claim the prize, but tips would occasionally be thrown out for the inspiration of the video and its message.

This wave of greatness and acts that would help the world change for the better grew for three or four months, but as the pendulum of life had swung in one direction, it eventually swung back, falling away from the good and back towards the more wicked nature of man. Just over 19 months after the app was launched, the challenge that would begin the end was issued.

I don’t remember her name off the top of my head. I remember that she was the CEO of a fashion empire, though it was a company I would never have enough fashion sense to purchase anything from, no matter how popular her products appeared. A random article on her life stumbled across my screen years prior to Jobz being released. I remember that she was pretty, and that she wore a gold, heart-shaped locket, and that she quickly rose to her position and was worth somewhere in the ballpark of $90 million when I read that article. She had probably grown her wealth since then.

It was never discovered who had issued the challenge. Popular theories were the CEO at a rival fashion company, or her last ex-husband had issued it, though they had probably used some third party to maintain an alibi. Apparently it worked since the challenger was never discovered.

The anonymous challenge read: “$1,000,000 to whoever brings the locket to the location listed below. I want it doused in her blood.”

Originally reported by news outlets as some sort of sick and twisted prank, it made headlines everywhere. A public declaration that alleged to taking a life, accompanied by a trophy for proof. The details such as her name, title, the name of her company, and the details of what to do with the locket once retrieved were listed in the challenge, and within one day of learning of the challenge, her company issued a message for the world to understand that they take threats against their employees, any employee, with grave seriousness.

One week was given for the challenge, and in five days, a man claimed the prize.

The killer, who was quickly caught and arrested, most likely due to this brandishing of his victory across social media, was found guilty of murder. The trial lasted a fraction of the time of a normal murder case due to the evidence obtained, but the damage had been done. The first blow had been dealt. The app, as well as the minds of the users, had evolved.

Jobz had changed from a stupid pastime of asinine stunts to an open hit list for and on the powerful and wealthy. CEOs of major companies, political officials, lawyers, and even leaders of countries were found on the app before too long with prizes in the millions of dollars placing a bullseye on their backs.

Some of these challenges were foiled, though I do remember seeing a scene unfold during a certain news report. The reporter and cameraman had hidden on a rooftop soon after a challenge was issued to kill the Prime Minister of Spain. The users had actually given up on whatever modicum of subtlety they had begun with and the issuer just challenged anyone by using the word ‘kill’.

The reporter showed a scene within an hour of the challenge going public that the streets had become packed with people, many wielding weapons of some kind, all of them running, toward the Palace of Moncloa, eager to claim their prize. The masses swarmed to the building where the military stood in a line, riot shields and smoke grenade launders spread along to attempt to keep the people at bay. There was so much shouting. The reporter and cameraman ducked down a few times whenever a gunshot would ring out, though they would replace the camera back on the edge of the rooftop to continue informing the viewers.

She spoke on the incident for 20 minutes, commenting on the various weapons she saw and the chaos of it all, but once the line had broken, citizens flooded into the building. Less than 10 minutes later, users were notified that the challenge was completed.

The trend turned to news outlets reporting in on anyone of importance or high status who had been targeted or any challenges that had been completed. The more I watched, the more I felt sick. Thinking about it, I don’t think any of these people deserved to die, though some of them had been caught in morally questionable situations in the past.

Somehow, this insanity was allowed to continue until someone had placed a challenge upon the President of the United States after one of his less popular State of the Union addresses where he rambled on about creating a better world only weeks after being caught in an extra-marital scandal with another woman. Whoever had placed the challenge also felt he was not worth as much as other notable figures with a mere $100,000 offered as a prize.

Despite the deaths and suicides that were already swirling around the app, this was seen as the final straw. A law was passed to ban the app in the U.S. shortly after the challenge went public, and other developed nations around the globe followed closely behind. They all thought that it would destroy the app.

The CEO of the company that created the app was brought before a committee in Washington D.C. to testify on the losses that had accrued because of Jobz, though his team of highly-paid lawyers rebutted with an argument along the lines that despite the people that had died due to the exchanges made using the app, these people could have died and eventually would have died anyway, and even with the tragic and unfortunate loss of life, Jobz had helped to distribute more than $50 million worldwide in under two years. Somehow, this argument won, though the world would comment that the hearing was a circus of fools.

Over the next year, the reported total of challenges that were completed worldwide included four leaders of countries around the world, over thirty politicians, 18 CEOs and presidents of companies, nearly as many celebrities, and over 50 lawyers, including all of those that had defended the pain Jobz had inflicted in Washington D.C.

It took this year to finally pull down the app, but the damage had been done. Because of the widespread chaos, countries enforced lockdowns stricter than anything they had ever established. Some of the countries that had lost leaders by the challenges had even refused to appoint a new single leader for fear of their leadership falling again. Many first world countries felt the pain much more than anyone else due to their pre-existing status as wealthy.

Transportation was cancelled everywhere. Electricity was scarce and because it was unpredictable, most did not venture out when the sun was down. Every country around the world lost their imports. Foods, fuel, people. Nothing was coming or going anymore. Because there was no trade, the economy fell. Money meant nothing anymore. Everyone who had worked so hard, committed those terrible acts on others, for all that money had nothing to buy anymore. Chaos reigns now.

People are going crazy in the streets, at least those that are crazy enough to go out. Bodies are strewn about, and the winds blow the stench everywhere. I stay inside most days. I can’t stand to see it all. I can’t stand to be around anyone else.

Even though Jobz was removed from the internet, there is a rumor that it was remade on the dark web where challenges are still being created. When I can stand to go outside, I see graffiti around stating it is still alive and to contact this user or that user to accomplish your task, but for food or medicine instead of money now.

It hits me every day how much damage was done because of Jobz. There has been so much death and pain. I wanted to write this little tale of my thoughts because I think the pendulum will swing back toward the good again. Life can be better. Life will be better, but change and sacrifices will have to be made.

I’m pouring the last of the vodka I have into a glass as my phone made the first notification I had noticed in some time. It was a notification on Jobz.

It’s me.

People will be coming for me soon. Apparently my life is worth five pounds of groceries, but after the life I have lived I don’t feel like I’m worth even that. I’ve ruined this world enough.

To whoever reads this, please help make the world a better place. Don’t ruin it for money. That’s what I did, when I created Jobz.