On Sept. 1, 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket owned and operated by billionaire tech guru Elon Musk blew up on its launch pad, which contained an advanced satellite created by facebook’S CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The satellite’s estimated worth was $95 million. Along with the $100 million rocket, we’re left with almost a $200 million colossal failure.

        It has been reported that the satellites primary purpose was to orbit the Earth and beam high speed internet to impoverished regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. What many, if not all mainstream outlets have failed to report is that this satellite would not provide the kind of internet you and I enjoy daily. Zuckerberg’s primary motive was and is not to provide seamless hyper-connectivity to the dreadful places we cannot perceive. No, the content this satellite would provide would be completely contingent on the whims of Facebook, and by that logic, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg is essentially trying to place himself in the position of molding the minds of millions in poverty.

And this isn’t his first attempt at it either. Earlier this year, India refused Zuckerberg’s “altruistic” offer of free internet. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India concluded, however,  that Facebook’s zero-rated initiative Free Basic over which parts of the internet people see, and what they don’t.           

Free Basics is not really “free Internet”. All it really contains is low data apps like Facebook, and others approved by, yes you guessed it, Facebook. And a company like Facebook, critics argue, may have a vested interest in introducing the developing world to the Internet through its own front door.

This is the conclusion of a second world nation. A nation that has been globally criticized in many facets of their governance. Their statements and decision insinuate the nefarious implications of the technology.  Do you really think Zuckerberg’s subsequent move of trying to establish himself in a more destitute region was a mistake?

        Understanding this conceptually only begs more questions. Could the SpaceX explosion truly have just been an accident? Could it really just be a coincidence that this catastrophe, one that has not occurred in this fashion historically at SpaceX, and occurred at the most opportune time, casually thwarting a gargantuan seize of power? If it wasn’t an accident, who made it happen? Was it Elon? Did someone tell Elon to do it? Force him? We’re just plebeians so we’ll never actually know, and even considering the possibilities gets you labeled as crazy. It’s mind boggling.

        Conceptually, what Zuckerberg is attempting isn’t much different than what we Americans experience daily. Special interest groups constantly propel stimuli into our lives to try to incite the need for whatever they’re selling, while also establishing the culture to the proletariat. We call it marketing. What Zuckerberg has figured out is how to streamline this process. With no other source of media stimulation, Zuckerberg can call his mission goodwill and in turn perpetuate whatever information he deems fit to millions of people who haven’t any other choice.

With his capital and influence, he COULD provide real hyper-connectivity to the rest of the world, with the pretense of the expansion of knowledge and influence, evolution even. But he doesn’t stand to garner wealth from that ideal. We live in an era where truth is an act of self-sacrifice, and Zuckerberg knows that all too well.

What this idealized phenomenon would look like is something akin to a neural network- seamless connectivity to every human breathing on this gyrating ball of dirt. Imagine being able to think, feel, and understand every perspective, struggle, whim, dream and desire of everyone around you. There would be no war, famine, disease, or hunger. The world would be the perpetual utopia that everyone talks about in their living rooms. A world in which we’re not living off the suffering of people we can’t perceive. That is not the pretense Zuckerberg has established, despite toting it religiously. And I think as the tension continues to climb, the reality will become clear. Time is relative.