by Jim Stark
The UN launched an international program called “The Big Repair” in January, 2037. Its purpose was to remedy all of the human-caused problems on our home planet. That involved a compelling array of financial disincentives and rewards to ensure that for the next four generations at least, couples (on average) would produce only one child, which would have the effect of reducing the population of Earth by half four times in a row over a period of about 120 years, bringing it from ten billion down to about one billion (after which ZPG will be reinstated, giving population stability on the basis of an average two children per couple). Not unexpectedly, a legally sanctioned trade in reproductive rights emerged between those who didn't want any children and those who wanted more than one. In conjunction with this population-reduction program, two thirds of the “occupied” landmass of Earth is slated for a return to the wild, set aside for nature to do with as she pleases. (Eventually, human occupation, except for certain limited recreational uses, will have to be restricted to designated enclaves.) And of course the Big Repair also involves a 100-year plan to reverse the effects of pollution on the air and seas and soil, in the hope that global warming can be reversed, and Earth won't end up resembling Mars, thanks to human stupidity.
As a lifestyle and economic model, Evolution peaked at about thirty-four percent of world citizens in 2043. Capitalism took some hard knocks because of its all-too-cozy relationship with the WDA, but it bounced back vigorously. People found ways to merge a high “consciousness,” called by whatever name, with the ethic of a system that excels in producing goods and services efficiently, and for profit. The phase 2 economic model of Evolutionism faded significantly as all the different levels of government accepted a lot more responsibility for the care of those whose lives were shriveled by their lack of ability, lack of character or lack of opportunity. To put it in more precise terms, the SST programs continued, but at an average level of twenty-three percent of an Evolutionary's on-going (net) savings—a far more modest but still very useful and helpful effort.
Unexpectedly, Christianity (and other religions as well) went through something of a revival in the late 2030s, partly as a result of the monks’ “fortuitous” tunneling activities, partly as a result of the phase 2 economic model that Evolutionaries had adopted as a response to the economic war that the WDA had inflicted upon them, and of course partly because of the LieDeck itself. Virtually all “verified” Christians now live as phase 2 Evolutionaries, giving the full fifty percent of their on-going savings to the SSTs so that their material relations conform to the non-negotiable admonition of the second Great Commandment (Matthew 22: 37-40). Most Christians believe that the Holy Spirit guided Victor Helliwell in his construction of the phase 2 economic model and guided all the devout monks of Jesus-E in their construction of the hardrock tunnel. Whatever the case, the LieDeck continues to beep false prophets into oblivion, and LieDeck-verifiable belief in God has grown in the past two decades. In fact, most Christians and other “believers” happily use their LieDecks to confirm the sincerity of their faith, to see if their conduct is such that they at least believe themselves to be following in the footsteps of Jesus ... or Mohammed, or whomever. (Also of some importance, people who don't believe in any god now respect those who do—except insofar as some believers continue to try to press their beliefs on others, and insofar as some beliefs are demonstrably false ... or harmful ... or malicious.)
New technology continues to amaze and liberate humankind, but history (as it was once known) has finally stopped lurching people about. An easy equilibrium has finally settled between and among human beings, their machines, their social structures, and the natural world. National borders, which were in the past a basis of deadly conflict, are now relatively congruent with the world's ethnic and/or cultural realities, a development that inevitably led to a huge proliferation of nations (where there were only 160 in the mid-20th century, and 246 in 2033, there are now 2,794). Power, in terms of ego or military might, is now a matter of disinterest to most Human Twos and all Human Threes, since very few conflicts get as far as fisticuffs, let alone war.
As for the ultimate impact of the LieDeck, all people—Human Twos and Human Threes—have been forced to accept life without duplicity. No one can lie any more, not even to themselves, and this new reality has not only reduced religion to a political rump, it has also almost emptied the waiting rooms of psychiatrists. People now have no choice but to deal with reality.
And with self-deception (if not myth) finally out of the way, the transition of adults to what Helliwell dubbed “Human Three Consciousness” has become almost as automatic and inevitable as the acquisition of Human Two Consciousness by children (who start out life as full-tilt Human Ones). Most parents (and literally all Evolutionary clanspersons) now see this as a necessary and normal element of the natural growing-up process, not as anything special ... or unusual ... or optional. Those few individuals who suffer arrested development in the Human One stage (mostly males) are restricted in their movements, and are monitored 24/7, for their own safety as well as that of society. The twenty percent (approximately) of adults who suffer from arrested development in the sense that they are stuck in the Human Two stage are always welcome to spend time in an Evolutionary clan ... so they can get over it. And those who take advantage of this open invitation (which is about 14% of this subgroup) really do get over it, which makes one wonder about the rest of them ... what they could be thinking.
Historians, to the extent that such a profession is still relevant, perceive the road taken from the first upright steps of Homo erectus to the early 21st century as an embarrassing and tragic legacy, analogous to the rap-sheet of a teenager who couldn't have started his or her life in any worse way or with less effective personal and social skills. In a very real sense, the LieDeck forced our species out of its “juvenile delinquency,” where the gang mentality and the supremacy of force led to dynamics that discouraged the development of anything remotely resembling Human Three Consciousness. In the Human Two world, power gravitated to those who were least qualified to use it wisely; it was the “survival of the meanest,” where charismatic autolatry (the worship of the self—always undeserved) was the fastest and arguably the only route to the very top of anything. Now, the horribly troubled adolescence of Homo sapiens is thankfully over, and for the remaining millions of years of our species’ existence on Earth, the doors of possibility are open to anything reasonable that we may wish to accomplish ... or be.
* * * *
Glossary of terms used in 2033
bioDad—biological father (similarly; bioMom)
bioID—one's biological identity, as seen in one's DNA
bioID slot—a finger-slot in an MIU which sucks off a few molecules of dead skin and confirms (or not) the identity of the user with absolute certainty blind Netlink (or blind Netface)—a connection on the SuperNet where one can be heard but not seen, sometimes used with the additional aspect of voice distortion bubble—an air-supported structure, from several acres to ten acres in size, made of a new material called Pliesterine
Bubble Street—a street found in every Evolutionary clan (and some other places) where all the structures on the street are small or mid-sized Pliesterine bubbles (for specific uses)
Callaway #6—a small Evolutionary clan about twenty miles down Highway 148, east of Victor-E, near Luskville, Québec chatroom—a Netsite (full color video plus sound; like a video conference call) where the screen is divided into up to 25 spaces, one per participant in the interaction (9 spaces is as many as one would normally want to use, since people “chat” on small-screened Sniffers as well as large-screened MIUs, and too many chatters can spoil the fun)
chatters—participants in a SuperNet chatroom clan—a group of people, almost always Evolutionaries, who live together in a group, share many facilities, and share a mini-culture (or “clan culture")
clansite—the property or site where a clan is located, the buildings and the surrounding land; almost
always rural clansperson—a member of an Evolutionary clan clan network—a collectivity of related clans (sometimes only a few, sometimes hundreds or even thousands) who share the same clan culture (or have similar clan cultures)
Control (or Control Upper America)—a high military position within the WDA, whose responsibility was the policing (using LieDeck-verification) of everyone living between the Panama Canal and the North Pole.
CQ—stands for “consciousness quotient,” like IQ for “intelligence quotient,” except CQ refers to one's level of consciousness; similar range to IQ; a CQ of 100 is average for Human Twos; 60 is so low as to be problematic; 40 or less is virtually Human One; 150 or more is a healthy transition level (well on the way to becoming Human Three); 200 or more is solid Human Three territory; 250 is the highest score possible
CQ assist—help in raising one's consciousness quotient, or in getting from Human Two to Human Three Consciousness (theoretically, it could also mean assisting someone from H1C to H2C, but there are few Human Ones alive any more, and those who do exist are incarcerated as mental defectives)
CQ assistant—a person who helps you evaluate and raise your consciousness quotient, or the process by which that goal is achieved (see “transition guide")
CQ Center—what used to be called the C.Q.E.S. (Consciousness Quotient Evaluation Service), before the aspect of help for transition (from Human Two to Human Three Consciousness) was added to the service (those who offered the service in a CQ Center assumed that those calling in did so not just out of some idle curiosity as to their level of consciousness, but because they wanted to evolve and needed guidance or assistance)
C.Q.E.S. or C.Q.E. service—an Evolutionary clans’ “Consciousness Quotient Evaluation Service,” meant to measure and analyze one's level of consciousness (or CQ); C.Q.E.S.s are operated over the SuperNet by Victor-E and many other Evolutionary clans; this type of service is always run as a commercial enterprise
C.S.E.—the Central Stock Exchange in New York, which is the only stock exchange in the world in 2033
cyberbuddy—(or cyberfriend, cyberboyfriend or cybergirlfriend)—someone you know and connect with over the Net cyberlife—the vast quantities of human interaction and social intercourse that take place on or over the Net (as opposed to “warmlife,” which refers to direct social interaction, “in person” contact)
cyberjunkie—a person who is addicted to Netlife to the exclusion of almost everything else, including and especially warmlife cybermom—an interactive female digital construct on the Net, used principally to explain things to children in a way they can relate to (similarly, “cyberdad")
cybername—a fake name ("hook,” “handle,” “moniker") that some people prefer using in their cyberlife cybertingle—a sexual feeling or experience, not necessarily including orgasm, which is had over the Net with another person (or persons)
E-Store—a “big box,” multi-purpose store run by Evolutionaries; they try to maintain the same prices as their capitalist competitors, but they place an incomparably high emphasis on personalized customer service, and every November 3, every E-Store customer is sent a check amounting to three percent of their purchases in the previous twelve months
E-tery—the name given to the restaurants run by Evolutionary clans
Evolution—an international movement of 230 million, living in clans of 100 to 500 individuals; members share many facilities and do volunteer work within their clans; all this is designed to get the cost-of-living for the members down to one third of what it would be if they lived as “Normals” (those who do not live in a clan); under the “phase 1” Evolutionary economic model, adult members all work if they are able, and each member must save 40% of his or her income, which is then invested in absolutely safe financial instruments (such as government-backed savings bonds); by this strategy, any Evolutionary can retire securely (if he or she continues to live in a clan, with its reduced cost-of-living) after working for only 13 or 14 years face—as a verb, to “face” someone (or to face with someone) means “to interface” with that person on the SuperNet; as a noun, a “face” refers to the archived message left on an MIU (like a phone message, except with visuals as well as audio)
fuss-group—an Evolutionary system of mediation, where as much time as needed is spent trying to iron out any intra-clan or inter-clan conflicts
General Assembly—the main body of the WDA, which is now populated with actual military generals, unlike the case of the former United Nations, which had diplomats, all of whom were civilians
Great Hall of Order—the General Assembly (of the WDA, in New York) as it is formally known when it is in session groupface—a verb, meaning to face with several other people at once, like a telephone conference call (the MIU or Sniffer screen is split into an appropriate number of squares; the people involved in the groupface are each assigned one box; always the format in chatrooms on the Net)
hand-dancing—like dancing, but done only with the hands (usually considered very sexual, and involving many different moves; sometimes hand-dancers use lubricants)
Happy Hookah chatroom—one of the thousands of so-designated chatrooms on the SuperNet, where participants (usually Evolutionaries) smoke marijuana or hashish as a regular part of their participation; because of the drug use, all Happy Hookah chatrooms are designated “adults only” for participants (although anyone can “audit” any chatroom)
hard mail—same as “snail mail,” letters, postcards, packages, etc., communications that aren't on the Net
Human One—same as an animal; a human who is ruled by emotions and impulse, with the brain acting only as the servant of instinct (the term is used as a noun or an adjective)
Human One Consciousness—the consciousness of a Human One (short form “H1C")
Human Three—a new (and perhaps the final) evolutionary state of humankind; a person who is both rational and instinctive (emotional), but who is always sure of which aspect is dominating, and who is never in danger of acting impulsively when rationality is called for (the term is used as a noun or an adjective)
Human Three Consciousness—the consciousness of a Human Three (short form “H3C")
Human Two—so-called “rational man,” a person who is both rational and instinctive (emotional), and who is never quite sure of which aspect is dominating, and who is always in danger of acting impulsively when rationality is called for (the term is used as a noun or an adjective)
Human Two Consciousness—the consciousness of a Human Two (short form “H2C")
InfoBank—an extremely secure digital archiving facility maintained in Connecticut by the WDA for the sole use of agents over the Net; it has vast storage capabilities
InterBank—the WDA's digitized documenting of bioID-verified financial records and transfers (bills or coins are still in use in 2033, but mostly for small purchases, or by the poor, whose finances are often or permanently in the red)
Jesus-E—an Evolutionary clan of 100+ Christian monks who live in the decommissioned underground “Diefenbunker” just outside Carp, Ontario (across the Ottawa River from the Quyon/Shawville area); they raise grapes in bubbles and make fine wines, and their “hobby” is to dig a long tunnel under the surface of the Earth, ostensibly to find Satan and kill him; these monks take no names, never shave, almost never speak, and wear mediaeval robes with hoods; they believe, for reasons never quite explained to the outside world, that Victor Helliwell is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Jesus-Eer—a monk who is a member of the Jesus-E clan
Last Holocaust—term used to describe the events of April 29, 2014, when Bucharest, Romania was H-bombed by the Russians, and Leningrad, Russia was H-bombed by the USA (actually by General George Brampton, the renegade American general who was at that time the leader of the World Democratic Alliance, the precursor of the World Democratic Authority)
LieDeck—the revolutionary device built by Victor Helliwell, which detects lies by analyzing voice patterns (in 2033, and ever since t
he establishment of the WDA in 2014, the use of LieDecks is restricted to the WDA)
LieDeck-verification—the use of the LieDeck device by WDA agents to verify the truth (or not) of a spoken statement (for crime detection and prevention)
LieDeck-verify—a verb; to apply LieDeck-verification life-base—the main living area (may include some work areas) of a clan, almost always a large Pliesterine bubble with detached sleeperies plus a public restaurant life profile—one's life story, in the form of audio, audio-video, or written words, usually put together for the benefit of one's family, and future family members
Living Terminal—part of a “phase 2” Evolutionary clan's physical set-up, in Pliesterine bubbles or sleeperies; all areas where non-work activities take place, like sleeping, eating, bathing, entertainment, fun, intimacy, sports, etc.
LV—shorthand way of saying “LieDeck-verification” (used as a verb; to “LV” someone, or to be “LVed")
Mainspoke—the enclosed wooden walkway that runs from the E-tery to the main bubble in the Victor-E clan's life-base
MGA—a Member of the (WDA's) General Assembly, always a general in the military of the nation that he or she represents
MIU—Master Interface Unit; the main device through which people access the SuperNet; it has a keyboard, but is generally voice-commanded; it is used to contact Netsites, as a source of entertainment (as with TV, except Netshows can be called up at any time), and as a videophone for personal telecommunications or chatrooms; the screen is large (from one foot square to wall-sized); the picture is in color (with satellite units, or Sniffers, the picture is in black-and-white); MIUs can also have bioID slots as a security system (a Sniffer does not have a bioID slot)