[ WP ] AI development and automation has lead to a divide . Half the world 's population lives in `` classical zones '' where people work for food , money , etc . The other half live in `` modern zones '' , where AI/automation take care of their needs .

As soon as Owen stepped out of the vehicle, he was greeted again by the scorching African heat. It was a small walk across the exterior lot to access the factory lobby, yet he could feel the high noon sun evaporating his bodily fluids at every step. 
 
 * ” Jesus Christ! I swear, this country is one death trap after another! ” * He remarked while looking back at the electric van with disdain. 
 
 Maraavi couldn ’ t help but chuckle. * ” Seems you ’ re not too fond of dirty handled electric vehicles, are you Sir? ” * 
 
 Owen snorted. “ *No human in their sane mind should be responsible for controlling a speeding ton of solid metal. Tell me you haven ’ t been in any accidents Maraavi. ” * 
 
 * “ I ’ ve been in a couple, nothing serious though. A broken wrist at most. ” * He took a sip from his water bottle. * “ How about you Miss Dana, have you ever been aboard a non self-driving vehicle before? ” * 
 
 Dana didn ’ t look as appalled as Owen. Her tidy presence and graceful step were worthy of the Public Relations director from the world ’ s leading automaton manufacturer. She adjusted her sunglasses and summer hat. * ” Oh no, thank God. I haven ’ t even relied on ground transportation for almost three years since I purchased the Helios Cruiser. The only one here, fond of these relics, is Chris. He has one of those classics, what was it called again? ” * 
 
 An enthusiastic middle aged engineer, walking behind the CEO and the PR director, answered with pride. * ” Model S, from Tesla Motors, in pristine conditions. It still uses an authentic plug-in charger! ” * 
 
 Maraavi whistled in amusement. * ” My grandfather had one of those, passed down from his own grandfather. ” * He entered the factory building and approached the receptionist to get access cards for the three guests. Owen, Dana, and Chris followed, relieved to leave the grueling temperatures at the door. Maraavi handed each one a card and continued. * ” Sadly, it was far from pristine conditions, no longer operational without making a hefty investment. He had it scrapped when I was a small child, maybe 8. Do you still drive that vehicle Mr. Chris? ” * 
 
 Chris sighed. * ” No, I wish I could. I only ever turn it on for the occasional auto show. Dirty handling is outright banned back in the States. I mostly keep it at the Smithsonian as part of the permanent exhibits. ” * 
 
 As Maraavi led them through the main factory offices, Chris and Owen looked around amused at the overwhelming amount of people required to keep the place running. There were offices, cubicles, bathrooms, and common rooms, all filled with people working, talking, or procrastinating. Dana was oblivious to everything, too busy fiddling with her iCard, answering emails, updating the status on a couple of campaigns, and getting the details ready for the next big product launch. 
 
 They finally arrived at the massive assembly floor. Rows upon rows of workers sat back to back beside long mechanical conveyor belts. On one end of the assembly lines, boxes filled with bits and pieces where emptied and carried along the belts, where workers would take them and proceed to do repetitive single-minded tasks. Cut a wire in half, make an indentation on a marked metallic plaque, connect a cable to a small box, etc. Upon reaching the end of the line, a myriad of assembled electronic components where transported to a second conveyor belt, where they would be quality tested by workers, doing repetitive single-minded tasks. The whole process seemed excessively archaic. Owen couldn ’ t help but compare the circus to their US based factories, a fraction of the size, three times as fast, devoid of chaos or filth, and only comprising of automated equipment handling the production. 
 
 * ” Well, this is it. I ’ ve seen it all. ” * He told Dana, making his best effort to hide his discomfort at the inefficiency of the whole thing. * ” People manually assembling parts, that are going to be used for assembling the basic builder automatons, that autonomously assemble the domestic and public use automatons. ” * 
 
 Chris chimed in. * ” Well, the basic building blocks for anything have to come from manual labor, at least for now. When the developing countries advance enough to automate their production queues, we ’ ll still need some labor to get the basic elements, such as copper, gold, silicon, rubber, etc. That is, until we get automatons on those activities too. ” * 
 
 Dana had put away her iCard and was observing the operation with skepticism, entranced by the whole spectacle. It took her a minute to get back into the conversation with Owen and Chris. * ” Honestly, I could care less. But, as long as the consumers back home don ’ t get a whiff on this place, we ’ re gold. The people here… they look just like our products, how do they cope with doing this all day, every day? ” * 
 
 * ” Money ” * Said Maraavi, while successfully hiding his disapproval of Chris ’ and Dana ’ s comments. * ” There aren ’ t that many jobs here, at least not the ones that give stable income, as small as it may be. They work, they get paid, they get to eat and feed their families. There isn ’ t much else to it. ” * 
 
 Maraavi turned in the direction of a young woman approaching the group, produced a smiled and greeted her. * ” There you are! Come, come, our guests are here. ” * He proceeded to introduce the new arrival. * ” Mr. Owen, Ms. Dana, Mr. Chris, this is our chief engineer Sachi. ” * 
 
 She didn ’ t show a hint of shyness or of being intimidated by the three heavyweights from the parent company. * ” Good afternoon, I ’ m pleased to meet you ” *. 
 
 That alone impressed Owen, who took the lead. * ” Miss Sachi, the pleasure is all mine! ” * He paused for a second. * ” There were some… inconvenient details, on the reports that were sent to HQ. I understand you were the author? ” * 
 
 Sachi nodded. * ” Yes Sir, mostly mine. ” * 
 
 * ” Well, let me assure you, we take the contributions of all our employees very seriously. ” * He placed a hand on Chris ’ s back. * ” Let me introduce you to our CTO, Chris Powell, lead developer of the prototypes. He ’ ll personally go over the findings with you. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of this, and resolve the issues in a professional, discreet manner. ” *
