Earth-Sim_Escapades in Planetary Management

by Jade Kerrion

  “It’s not that cryptic,” Jem said.

  “That’s because you believe in God. I don’t,” Kir said.

  “You don’t?”

  “No, I don’t, but that’s hardly the point. Are you both telling me that something else is playing ‘God’ on this planet, and that we have no idea who or what it is? It’s invisible to the central command system, and all we can see are its effects?”

  Jem looked at SimOne. SimOne looked back at Jem. Jem nodded. “That about sums it up.”

  “Damn it,” Kir said. “I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t either. According to SimOne, it’s happening all over the universe. Small and unexplainable things are happening at a level at which most of us in the class wouldn’t bother to notice. It’s sneaking by right under our noses.”

  “But it’s taking place at the level that really matters,” Kir said quietly. “With individual people…”

  “Right,” Jem agreed, her voice as soft as his. “This anomaly is directly targeting individuals while we manipulate the planet on a macro level. It could be undoing everything that we’re doing. Our decisions could have had no impact, and we wouldn’t understand why unless we dug deep into the analysis of individual humans.”

  “There are three hundred and fifty million humans, and this is after we lost half of them in the plague. We don’t have the time to dig that deep,” Kir said.

  “I could, but there’s no purpose to it,” SimOne said. “It would only confirm the presence of the anomaly. Without knowing who or what it is, you can only attempt to outmaneuver it, not stop it.”

  “So what can we do?” Kir asked.

  Jem shrugged. “Hope and pray for the best? It doesn’t seem hostile,” she added when she saw Kir’s mouth twist into a frown. “Humans have typically painted their interactions with the anomaly in a benevolent light.”

  “Humanity’s God.” Kir gritted his teeth. “It’s enough to make me feel unappreciated, considering how much time and work we’ve put into trying to keep their little planet going. At least we’re doing it for a grade. I don’t see how anyone would want to take on this headache for free.” He was silent for a while. “All right, let’s get started. How are we going to kick start this planet again?”

  “Together.” Jem smiled. “We don’t have the attention span or the patience of the anomaly, so we can only target a few individuals.”

  “I suppose you have a list.”

  “I know what we need to accomplish through them. SimOne can select possible candidates based on their genetic makeup and social access. The rest we have to manipulate—upbringing, access to education and other opportunities, motivational pep talks, stuff like that.”

  “Nature versus nurture?” Kir asked.

  “It takes both, by the way. It was scientifically proven years ago.”

  “All right. SimOne, you should slow down the revolutions if we’re to have any chance at all of getting this right.”

  “Done,” the android said.

  “Where do we start?” Kir asked.

  Jem looked down at her astral workstation. “With a little boy called Leon Battista Alberti.”

  Jem and Kir regrouped three days later in Kav’s hospital room with the results of their latest well-intentioned interference with the humans of their planet. Kav was asleep, and Jem curled on the couch. Kir sat next to her, reviewing the reports that SimOne had generated.

  Jem chewed on her lower lip, feeling like she was on trial.

  “This is working a little better than I’d hoped,” Kir said finally.

  The heavy pressure against her chest eased. “I was hoping for a more enthusiastic response from you,” Jem said.

  “What did you want me to say? You are right?”

  She nodded, her natural verve returning now that she was certain that Kir was content with the results. “It would be a good start.”

  “All right, fine.” He startled her by wrapping an arm around her neck, tugging her close, and planting a kiss on the top of her head. “You were right.”

  She froze and then tugged away.

  “You’re twitchy,” he said and tweaked her nose.

  It was like an electric shock. She wrinkled her nose. Her snub nose took on a distinctly up tilted angle.

  “Wow.” He grinned. “You are twitchy.

  She brought both hands up to cover her nose. “Leave my nose alone.”

  “I’ll have to remember to not do that. It’s irresistible. All right, so where are we?”

  “I can’t say we’ve managed to get all of them to acknowledge that the planet revolves around the star, but we’re a lot closer.” Jem opened her astral workstation and reached for her notes. She nodded in a perfunctory way at SimOne’s astral image as it appeared next to her, but she continued talking to Kir. “Two of the humans we identified were positively brilliant. I didn’t even prod them all that much. They put out all the right theories, including the evidence to support their theories. The religious institutions aren’t buying it, but they’ll get there eventually. We’ll have scientific progress even if we have to drag the humans there kicking and screaming.”

  “I think your idea of focusing our efforts was right,” Kir conceded. “I can’t believe we’ve made all this progress by focusing on six people and their corresponding influence on others.”

  Jem shrugged. “You know what they say: a rising tide floats all boats.”

  “I’ll admit, I had my concerns with the artists, but considering the amount of mathematics and engineering acumen that had to go into architecture, they were the right people. Their buildings will stand for centuries.”

  Jem nodded. “The key was choosing polymaths—people who would know a great deal across many fields, not unlike how students were ostensibly chosen for this class.”

  Kir choked back a snort of laughter. “Ostensibly?”

  “Next to the humans who have made so much difference in so few planetary years, I’m starting to feel like a blithering idiot.”

  He reached out to ruffle her hair. “Isn’t it a bit late in the game to be developing an insecurity complex?”

  “Look, I’m edging toward an undergraduate degree in Biology and Philosophy. You’ve got a degree in Business. What are we compared to some of the humans on the planet? This guy here, Leonardo da Vinci, is a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His brilliance is astounding, and he’s just one of the six that we’ve chosen to take our planet into the next phase of growth. What are our qualifications for guiding them? I feel like an idiot parent with a genius child.”

  Kir arched his eyebrows. “The Jem of four months ago would have said that it is a simulation and the humans on the planet didn’t actually matter.”

  Her mouth twisted. “Don’t remind me. Sometimes, I think that if this planet succeeds, it would have been in spite of us.”

  Kir chuckled. “Now that’s depressing. You’ve been spending so much time on my side of the world, trying to get it up to par. How’s your empire doing?”

  “They went exploring.”

  “Exploring?”

  “Yes. They built massive ships, and I mean massive. All these little ships out on this side of the world are about as big as the rudder on those ships they’re building over there.”

  “What’s in the ships?” Kir asked.

  “Treasure.”

  “They’re collecting treasure?”

  “Nope. They’re giving it away.”

  “What?”

  Jem shrugged. “They’re showing off the glorious riches of their empire. It’s also known as ‘unchecked God complex.’”

  Kir laughed softly. “Exploring is a good idea, though.”

  “Hmm?”

  He glanced at the astral image of their planet. “The countries are getting…squished, for lack of a better word. Their populations are expanding, and sooner or later, they’ll start hankering for more la
nd. It’s just the way life works. The nations can fight each other and undo all the work we’ve done, or they can explore and go conquer other places out there in the world.”

  Jem’s eyes narrowed. “Like my empire?”

  “It hadn’t even crossed my mind.” Kir spun the astral image of the planet on its axis. “There’s more land in the west and to the south. Who’s out there?”

  “Who’s out there, SimOne?” Jem redirected the question to the android’s astral image.

  “Indigenous humans.”

  “That doesn’t sound particularly advanced,” Jem said.

  “They are primitive compared to the development of other civilizations,” SimOne confirmed.

  “Shall we do it? Shall we spread the good news?” Kir asked.

  Jem snorted. “You mean bring over our guns, germs, and steel?”

  Kir chuckled. “It sounds about right. We might as well get our humans out there, exploring. I don’t think they realize how big their world is.”

  Jem arched an eyebrow at him.

  Kir had the good grace to concede her unspoken observation. “Yes, I know the planet is tiny compared to other planets, but it’s large to our humans.”

  “Kir!” Kav screamed, suddenly waking up. His brown eyes were wide with panic. “Kir! Kir!”

  “Shhhh, it’s all right.” Kir jumped to his feet and raced through his astral workstation to wrap his arms around his brother. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

  “Mama…I want Mama.”

  “Mama’s not here anymore, Kav, but I’m here.”

  “I want Mama!” Kav’s screams intensified as he pushed his brother away. “I want Mama to hold me.”

  Jem reached out and touched his hand gently. “Kav, I can hold you.”

  “Jem? Jem…” He threw his little arms around her neck and buried his face against her.

  Another little boy had once clung to her with the same desperate fear and the same earnest belief that she would keep him safe. Jem pressed her lips together and braced against the rush of her memories. “I’ve got him.” Jem eased herself onto the bed, pulling Kav down with her. “He’s feverish,” she mouthed the words at Kir.

  “I’ll get the doctor,” Kir said and quietly left the room.

  Jem held the sobbing child and stroked his hair.

  “I miss my Mama,” Kav said softly, hiccupping as he spoke.

  “I know. I’m so sorry, baby.” Kav was only five. He was far too young to have suffered so much loss. Her heart ached, although she could not tell if it was for Kav, or if she was hurting for Lukas too.

  He burrowed his little face into the side of her neck. “I miss her cuddles.”

  She held him tighter.

  Kav had been asleep for about ten minutes when Kir returned with the doctor. Jem carefully eased back for the doctor to examine the little boy. She glanced up; Kir’s face was stricken. Against her better judgment, she reached for his cold hand.

  He did not pull his hand away. He did not let her go.

  “Kav is all right,” the doctor confirmed finally. “He’s doing much better. It’s natural to run slightly warm after a nap. We should be able to discharge him in two days.”

  After the doctor left the room, Kir sank into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “Kav was in the transporter accident with my parents. They were killed instantly, I think, but he was stuck in the transporter with them for several hours while the emergency personnel tried to cut him loose. I was out of the country, traveling, and it took several days for the hospital to track me down. He was alone the whole time.”

  “That must have been really rough on him,” Jem said softly.

  “It was. When I got back, he didn’t let go of me physically for weeks. I’ve just managed to get him back into his own bed.” Kir sighed. “Thank you for helping with him. Sometimes, I don’t know what else I can do for him.”

  “I think you’re doing everything he needs.”

  “It doesn’t seem enough.”

  She shrugged, the motion slow. “It never does.”

  He looked up at her, his dark gaze searching. “You seem to know what you’re talking about.”

  She shrugged. Now was not the time to talk about it. “Will Kav be okay when he’s discharged from the hospital? Who’s going to stay with him?”

  “Well, I’ll be with him when I can, and when I’m in class, he’ll be at the daycare center.”

  She looked down at her interlaced fingers. “He…uh…seems to be okay with me. Did you want me to stay with him when you can’t be there?”

  Kir looked sharply at her. “I can’t ask that.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m offering.”

  “But you have classes too.”

  Jem glanced at SimOne’s astral image. “SimOne, can you do a quick comparison of my and Kir’s schedules?”

  “The only overlap in your schedules is in SIM-709. There are no other times when you are both in class at the same time.”

  Jem smiled as if the matter were already settled. “I’m sure we can find a way to hand Kav off between the two of us. We can try it out for a few days, and once he’s better, you can move him back to his regular schedule.”

  Kir hesitated and then nodded slowly. “Thank you. I’m very grateful.”

  “He’s important to me too,” she said, and she meant it.

  11

  The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic, and cultural conditions of the times. It began in Britain, then subsequently spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the world.

  – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

  * * *

  “And then the teacher said that my train looked super cool. It’s the fastest train in the whole world.”

  Jem nodded. “That’s great, Kav.”

  “Here, take it.” Kav pressed a button on his astral screen to transfer the image to Jem’s personal device. “I can draw another one for Kir.”

  “Very nice.” She cocked her head to the side as she studied the image. The crooked lines of the train looked charming. “Finish up your sandwich, Kav. We have to get to class. Your brother will be waiting.”

  “Okay.” Kav took another big bite of his sandwich. “See, I’m eating. Can I have my fruit drink now?”

  She pushed it across the table to him.

  Another five minutes passed before Kav was ready to leave. His mouth stuffed full of his sandwich, he trotted alongside Jem, deliberately kicking up snow as they made their way from Levering Hall to the Simulation Center.

  SimOne was already waiting by the planet when they arrived. “Good afternoon, Kav,” she said, smiling at him.

  “Where’s Kir?” Kav asked.

  “He went to talk to the Shixar.”

  Jem looked up sharply. “What?”

  “We found a damaged Shixar probe drifting in the asteroid belt.”

  Jem cast a cynical glance at the space debris. “At least that pile of rock is good for something. When did Kir leave?”

  “Ten minutes and twenty-two seconds ago.”

  “I wonder if I should go after him.”

  “Kav will be safe with me,” the android said.

  Jem took that to mean “yes.” She did not bother warning Kav not to touch the planet. The boy knew better; he had been following them to class for over a month and had witnessed the stunning transformation of their planet as science, technology, philosophy, and the arts sprouted and spread around the world. Humans had become acquisitive, and in the process, they discovered distant reaches of their planet. “Where are the Shixar hanging out, SimOne?”

  Jem looked down at her personal device as it flashed, providing a map and detailed directions through the universe. “Thanks.”

  She passed through a series of solar systems, each one seemingly more beautiful than the previou
s one. The universe was stunning. She had seen a minuscule fraction of it. I need to get out more. Did her excessive focus on her planet keep her from grasping the fact that there was far more at play than immediate survival?

  If the simulated universe had a purpose, she wasn’t aware of it. That kind of ignorance, she knew, could be fatal.

  The sound of a heated debate cracked the serene silence of the universe. It wasn’t only Kir who had an apparent falling out with the Shixar Imperium. Ten or twelve other students were there, clustered around Abek Ovan and Vidi Gubri, the managers of the Shixar Imperium.

  “If it were real, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion,” Abek said to all present with a sneer on his face. “If it were real, the life forms on your planet would be scrambling around like headless, leaderless chickens.”

  “If it were real, you’d have a war on your hands right now,” Ric Gavn from Riva retorted. “Lira is trying to calm things down, but if she doesn’t succeed, you’ll have Rivan cruisers closing in on your precious Imperium.”

  Yup, Jem thought. And if we could haul our little Earth-bound butts into space, we’d be pounding on your doors too. Our little humans have itchy feet and greedy hands.

  “We had an agreement, Abek,” Kir said, his voice tight with anger. “You agreed to leave our planet alone.”

  “That agreement was struck thousands of star revolutions ago.”

  “That was two months ago.”

  “A lot has changed in two months. We are on track to win this simulation, and we’re not going to let old agreements struck in a moment of weakness hold us back.”

  Kir nodded, his face grim. “So you’ve decided to sacrifice real-life relationships for a game.”

  “A game with real-life consequences,” Abek said. “The Academy—”

  “That’s exactly the point you’re missing,” Jem spoke up. “There are real-life consequences, for the life forms on all our planets and for all of us here. No one really knows what it takes to make good planetary management decisions. A semester in SIM-709 isn’t going to endow us magically with the ability to understand the scale and the direction of the ripples emerging from the stones we cast. You guys have fun while you can because the consequences are going to come back around and bite you in the ass one day.”