Mobile phones in the hands of totalitarian regimes? They were supposed to bring freedom and knowledge.

In Russia, things are a bit strange, as always – and since September 2025, every new phone must have the MAX app linked to VK (VKontakte). This new MAX is a purely Russian messenger (internally controlled by Russian services) and also a comprehensive integrator of services, ranging from access to government apps and Russian passports to electronic signatures, banking services, and children’s school records. In general, it is something far beyond what we have on our phones – you can imagine it as a massive extension of mObywatel integrated with the only correct communication platform, of course, under the slogan that it is more convenient, friendlier, and safer. Something obvious in China – the WeChat app and Chinese apps that completely control the lives of citizens and at the same time completely cut off life in China from the rest of the world (without a Chinese smartphone with these apps, it is impossible to live in Shanghai and other cities). MAX Russian, in practice, closes the loop of Russian surveillance and, like WeChat, will soon provide the only correct tool for transmitting information, MAX VK. The lives of Russians will ultimately be organized and fully controlled. It could also be done differently, similar to the movie “Kingsmen: The First Agent,” not by top-down orders, but commercially. “Trumps” – Trump’s organization (currently managed by his children – a kind of financial and investment conglomerate) has just announced a new mobile brand and a great offer ($499) – a phone and services ($47.45 per month). Already in August, the new T1 phone, manufactured exclusively from domestic components and in US factories, will be available. It is to be expected that if it does not become an immediate business success, further government regulations and government apps for the T1 will soon encourage the widespread adoption of the new platform or perhaps even follow the well-trodden path of market monopolisation. Admittedly, it has happened quickly. Great inventions introduced in the 1980s, such as the internet and mobile phones, were intended to change the world and connect everyone, ensuring access to the unrestricted exchange of information and the treasures of actual knowledge. Less than 50 years later, it is the basis for the spread of ignorance and conspiracy theories, a tool for propaganda and brainwashing, and above all, a perfect leash for a totalitarian regime, giving it unlimited control. At the same time, “1984” reads like an adventure book for children. Welcome to the new world, and I’m already afraid to open mObywatel 😊

Energy like politics in the matrix?

Reading the official explanations for the blackout in Spain, we slowly feel like we’re in the matrix or a parody of “Controlled Conversations” with the text “So who turned who off now?” The official report blames the transmission operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), for poor planning and then holds the power companies accountable for their poor performance. The operator immediately responds that it did everything right and that the power companies acted poorly, who in turn claim that they did everything correctly and according to the agreements. Everyone at least agrees that it started with the shutdown of a large solar farm, but it was not a cyberattack. However, it is not known why it shut down. The explanatory report is, therefore, an excellent tool for obscuring the facts and saying that everything is fine, although, of course, no expert understands who is actually to blame. We know what is going on: the Spanish government is collapsing (corruption allegations) and is doing everything it can to stay afloat, so it is releasing an explanatory (obfuscating) report. However, there is no need to worry, as times are generally uncertain, and a new war is just beginning (Israel-Iran).

Nevertheless, we have a temporary break to replenish our ammunition supplies and bring in reinforcements. The break is referred to as last-chance peace talks, and Act II, with more actors and bombers, is expected to commence in a few days or hours. “The ancient world is coming to an end – everything that lived in it is decaying, disintegrating and going mad – gods and men are going mad” – this is a quote from Krasiński’s poem Irydion, which was set in the interesting times of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus (among all the madmen of ancient times, Heliogabalus is undoubtedly in the top three). Therefore, we should treat both energy and political information with greater calm, given that all of this has already happened either in history or in the movies.

Binoculars in the banker’s eye in Monopoly… and key existential questions

Everyone has surely played Monopoly at some point. There are many versions of this game adapted for different countries, but certain characters remain standardised across them. One of them is the wealthy banker on the Chance cards, wearing a tailcoat and top hat. This character is called Rich Uncle Pennybags. Now, think about the game for a moment and remember one essential thing: did the banker have a monocle in one eye? Suppose you think so (I do!). In that case, it means that we have succumbed to the so-called Mandela effect – a phenomenon where many people (probably millions around the world) mistakenly remember a detail or information about something that never happened (the Mandela effect – many people mistakenly claim to remember that Mandela, the freedom fighter in South Africa, died in prison). Our flashback with the banker’s monocle is explained by the overlapping of other associations (a banker must have a monocle or other images of bankers in the pictures) and a kind of collective, repetitive error, an error that millions or perhaps billions of people succumb to. But there is also another, less optimistic explanation that touches on key questions of metaphysics. According to this theory, our life is akin to a computer game (and all our feelings are virtual), a game that sometimes needs to be reset or recovered from the last saved version. Not everything is remembered exactly, and there may be virtual glitches (like the monocle) that our world has not recreated in the new, restarted and now replayed version. So, if you ever find a Monopoly card with a picture of a banker with a black eye, it means you have proven the conspiracy theory of history. (Hasbro, the current owner of the game, claims that this does not exist.) This is also a very bitter theory that our lives are a matrix fiction. Our friends, families, objects, and all of history, and above all, ourselves, are like characters in a vast game that is an extension of SimCity and Civilisation, with a perfect imitation of all the sensations of the six senses. None of our actions, therefore, are a choice of free will but rather an alternative story of a character from the game, which can be recreated from a copy and reset. However, even in such a world, there are advantages – all the evil, absurdities, lies, and injustices around us are also virtual and did not happen, so we should not worry about them, and therefore all entries in this episode of SKNET can be reset.