Infoquake

by David Louis Edelman

  The work caused a firestorm of controversy in the academic world, with many educators denouncing Surina as a heretic bent on causing another Autonomous Revolt. Within a decade, Surina had crafted the first working bio/logic program: HeartMonitor 1.0, which could make rational decisions about cardiological treatment on the fly. Using this and several other successful prototypes, Surina raised funds for the first bio/logic corporations. His investments in these firms eventually made him and many of his proteges phenomenally wealthy. One of his disciples, Henry Osterman, founder of the OCHRE Corporation, would be a lifelong collaborator (and sometime competitor).

  Surina's growing fame and influence began to upset the balance of power among the fragile nation-states. Many of these states owed their survival to delicate anti-technology treaties designed to prevent another Autonomous Revolt. During the years 35 to 37, Surina became the target of numerous assassination plots hatched by the splinter East and West Texan governments. These threats largely ended with the overthrow of the West Texan regime in 37.

  In the years that followed, Sheldon Surina had a hand in nearly every major technology to come down the pike. He created or co-created the key tools and practices of the bio/logic programming industry (including MindSpace and bio/logic programming bars). He made important contributions to the development of the multi network, and with Henry Osterman sat on the board of the original Dr. Plugenpatch company.

  Growing fear of the power of bio/logic corporations led to the creation of the Prime Committee in the waning years of the Reawakening's first century. Sheldon Surina decried the Prime Committee as an "insidious evil" and became the world's leading opponent of centralized governmental authority. (Surina and Osterman had widely diver gent views on this issue and eventually ended their friendship over the formation of the Defense and Wellness Council.)

  Surina spent the opening years of the second century railing against the Council and the Committee and seeking their dissolution. A firm believer in individual empowerment and unbridled personal freedom, Surina believed that any centralized authority (no matter how limited) would lead to totalitarianism. The majority of public sentiment was against him, however, and in his last years Surina even began to advocate open rebellion and violence. He died in 116, a bitter man with waning political influence.

  PRENGAL SURINA (80-185)

  Prengal Surina was never as tempestuous a figure as his grandfather Sheldon, but many have argued that his influence on modern society was even greater.

  Because of the family's vast bio/logic fortune, Prengal was raised with great wealth and privilege in India. He followed in Sheldon's footsteps by attending the Gandhi University at Andra Pradesh, and eventually attained a permanent post on the faculty. Prengal tended to shy away from politics, however, despite the increasingly desperate urging of his grandfather and other anti-Prime Committee forces. Upon Sheldon's death, Prengal and his companion Ladaru organized Creed Surina in his honor, but disappointed many by insisting that the group be strictly apolitical.

  At the age of 42, Prengal published what many consider to be the most significant scientific breakthrough of humanity since antiquity: the Universal Law of Physics. Prengal's theorem neatly tied together the previously disparate fields of quantum and classical mechanics. By revealing the ways in which matter and energy are intimately connected throughout the universe-in ways that transcend space and time-Prengal made possible the fields of teleportation and anti-grav itation. Without the Universal Law of Physics, multi projecting over great distances would be impossible.

  Prengal Surina's breakthrough was poorly understood for many years. Unlike his grandfather, Prengal was not a charismatic figure who trumpeted his own accomplishments. As his work grew in stature and importance, however, the system began to view him with an almost mystical reverence.

  When he did become involved in the political arena, it was only at the urging of his old friend, High Executive Toradicus. In direct contrast to his grandfather's beliefs, Prengal Surina became a spokesperson for centralizing power in the Prime Committee. The current system of L-PRACGs pledging support for the oversight of the Prime Committee largely owes its existence to the lobbying of Prengal Surina and the hard-nosed politics of Toradicus.

  Prengal lived the last decades of his life in quiet seclusion at Andra Pradesh, remaining neutral in the great battles between big business and government during the term of High Executive Par Padron. He died in year 185 of the Reawakening.

  MARCUS SURINA (247-313)

  Unlike his predecessors, Marcus Surina did not seek a life of scientific achievement. He spent much of his youth disavowing the wealth and "decadence" of the Surinas in Andra Pradesh and the creed that was his ancestor's namesake. Marcus became a drifter and adventurer out in the orbital colonies, where records were scarce. He had much wider experience in the world than either Sheldon or Marcus, and in his time he gambled, piloted starships, formed L-PRACGs, and ran a number of reputable and disreputable companies.

  Marcus originally entered the science of teleportation as an investor. TeleCo was one of many pet projects he funded with Surina money. He had very little scientific training and only became involved in the development of the science after several of the principal players resigned from the project over frustrations with his management.

  It was at that point that Marcus Surina experienced an epiphany of sorts and devoted himself to perfecting the science of teleportation. He made up for lost time by delving into the research and development processes with more single-mindedness than any of his predecessors. By the end of the century, Marcus had transformed himself from a playboy and dilettante to the leading scientist and entrepreneur of his age. His passion for teleportation fueled the fortunes of TeleCo and, indeed, the entire economy.

  Marcus spent the last decade of his life in a feverish struggle to perfect teleportation. He became a public spokesperson and pitchman, not only for his own technology, but for the bio/logics industry in general. He engaged in a great public struggle with Len Borda, the newly appointed high executive of the Defense and Wellness Council, over the dangers of the project. Their dispute remained unresolved, however, when Marcus died suddenly (along with many of his top advisors) in a shuttle accident in the orbital colonies.

  Rumor and innuendo attributed hundreds of illegitimate children to Marcus, who allegedly was an incessant womanizer. Whatever the truth of those claims, he left only one legitimate child and heir, a daughter, Margaret.

  MARGARET SURINA (301-)

  The only child of Marcus Surina, Margaret has assumed the family mantle as Bodhisattva of Creed Surina; the professorial chair at the Gandhi University held by every Surina since Sheldon; and head of the various family investments. She also founded the Surina Perfection Memecorp, but its aims and goals remain unknown at the present time.

  APPENDIX E

  ON THE

  MULTI NETWORK

  Society has experimented with any number of virtual communities, from the primitive text environments of the World Wide Web to the sophisticated pleasure worlds of the Sigh. But none has achieved such widespread acceptance as the multi network.

  A multi projection is a virtual body that "exists" in real space. While the multied body is only an illusion created by neural manipulation, it can interact with real ("meat") bodies in a way almost indistinguishable from physical human interaction. In order to achieve such verisimilitude, however, the architects of the multi network have had to limit many of the freedoms taken for granted in other virtual communities.

  HOW IT WORKS

  The multi network depends on two key components: (1) the trillions of microscopic bots that process and relay sensory information to the network, and (2) neural OCHREs that manipulate the mind into "seeing" the sights, "hearing" the sounds, and "feeling" the sensations of the network.

  Similarly, those who interact with multi projections allow neural manipulation to trick the mind into believing the virtual bodies are present. Participation in the multi netw
ork is not optional in civilized society. Even unconnectibles such as Islanders and Pharisees are required to wear so-called "connectible collars" so they can interact with multi projections.

  Thanks to the advances in nanotechnology that have occurred since Henry Osterman's time, multi bots are lighter than air and only molecules thick. They carpet most of the earth and populated colonies in concentrations high enough to provide sensory information almost anywhere a user would want to go, but still diffuse enough that their presence is undetectable to the naked eye.

  Developments in subaether transmission have enabled multi to follow humanity to the moon, Mars and the orbital colonies.

  THE PHYSICS OF MULTI INTERACTION

  Because multied bodies are merely illusions of the mind and do not have physical substance, their interactions with the physical world are governed by a strict set of unbreakable rules. Some rules simply repeat the constraints of nature (e.g., a real person cannot climb on top of a virtual body). Other rules are arbitrary decisions that have been hammered out over the years by a succession of governmental agencies.

  The guiding principle of multi/meat interactions is that they should be as "real" as possible. In an ideal multi experience, it would be impossible to determine whether the user was present in the flesh or in multi. The multi network, unlike other networks, does not allow for any "improvements" on the human experience. Thus, a multied body contains all the warts and blemishes the actual human body does; multied bodies cannot fly, change shapes, or perform feats of inhuman strength; and they are clothed in the same garments as their real bodies.

  Occasionally, things happen in the "real" world that cannot be reconciled in a virtual environment. One can throw a stone "through" a multi projection without incident. Larger discrepancies typically result in the automatic cutting of a multi connection.

  As the ubiquity of the multi network has grown, society has largely adapted. Most doors and windows are capable of accepting and responding to multi commands. Auditoriums and meeting spaces generally have amenities for both types of audiences.

  The verisimilitude of the multi network is what has kept it safe during the decades it has been in widespread use. The network has built-in safeguards that will automatically cut a connection in cases of extreme pain or duress. Because its rules are so rigid and the chance for mishap so small, the Defense and Wellness Council has fiercely blocked any attempts to liberalize the network rules or allow other virtual networks to participate in public space.

  ENTERING AND EXITING THE NETWORK

  Because of the high potential for danger in letting multi projections connect anywhere on the network, the network's governing bodies insisted early in its existence that entry points on the network be restricted.

  Entrances must occur in specially designated "gateway zones." This is to prevent users from projecting to unauthorized locations, into the middle of a wall, or into some other obstruction. Most homes, businesses and public places these days are equipped with gateway zones that allow apparition onto the multi network, but it is not uncommon for restricted or sensitive locations to limit gateway zones to a central location.

  A user must be standing on a specially designated red tile square to enter the network. If that physical contact is interrupted, the connection is immediately cut. Given the obvious security risk of leaving one's body unattended, multi squares typically occur only in private residences or in heavily guarded public locations (multi facilities).

  One can exit the multi network instantaneously from any spatial coordinate. Under pressure from the Prime Committee, the network administrators also developed a special device called a "disruptor" to allow authorities to cut multi connections. The Defense and Wellness Council later augmented the basic disruptor design to allow certain bio/logic code to flow into a multi projection.

  MULTI AND COMPUTING POWER

  Multi technology relies on the fact that complete verisimilitude of experience is not necessary. Often the network can take advantage of common experiences stored within the brain and from them compile a representative sample. Take the example of a multied user walking barefoot on a field of grass. The network does not take up unnecessary bandwidth and computing power determining the position of each blade of grass and calculating its effects on the user's foot; it is deemed sufficient for the network to provide a reasonable facsimile of the sensation. Randomness algorithms ensure that the simulated sensations do not feel repetitious or calculated.

  The network also maintains fluency and transmission speed by taking a number of practical shortcuts. For instance, the multi network does not relay visual information for anything the user is not focusing on.

  Users of the multi network understand that their experience is only a simulation, and that occasionally the simulation will differ from reality in its details. As the technology has progressed, these differences have become smaller and smaller, to the point where the typical user cannot reliably distinguish between virtual environments and reality.

  APPENDIX F

  ON THE

  FIEFCORP SYSTEM

  Rarely in the history of human enterprise has there been a more controversial entity than the fiefcorp. Conceived as a means to empower workers, many now complain that it has become an instrument of social ills.

  HISTORY

  Fiefcorps were made possible by the actions of Par Padron, who spent most of his tenure as Council High Executive battling big business. Padron believed that governmental regulations and tax structures had come to favor larger companies, creating a climate in which smaller entrepreneurs could not succeed. Over the years, he succeeded in leveling the playing field among businesses and in democratizing the Prime Committee.

  It was this latter action that triggered a populist resurgence on the Committee several decades later, and the subsequent votes to approve the business structure known as the fiefcorp. In order to spur innovation, fiefcorps were given substantial tax breaks during their initial decade of existence. In order to spur employment, the fiefcorp structure was modeled after the feudal master-and-apprentice relationship of ancient times.

  Although the beginnings of the system were chaotic, the rapid formation, innovation and dissolution of fiefcorps soon contributed to a beneficial effect known as "carbonization economics."

  CARBONIZATION ECONOMICS

  The short time window of reduced taxation, combined with low startup costs, made fiefcorps a hotbed of innovation. Small companies were encouraged to come up with new ideas and bring them to market quickly. A fiefcorp master could bring in a number of apprentices, pay them only room and board to start, turn a very good profit in a few years, and then sell off his assets before taxes increased and start again. If the master needed additional funding to get the company off the ground, he could seek that money from the secondary market of capitalmen at relatively low interest rates.

  With hundreds of thousands of fiefcorps formed, an economy based on efficiency and powerful ideas moved quickly. Pundits likened the effect to that of carbonized soda water, where bubbles quickly form, burst and are replenished.

  The rewards of running a successful fiefcorp were considerable. Profits from the greatest fiefcorps were extensive, and often allowed wily fiefcorp masters to leap into the more lucrative realm of real estate. But even in failure, the fiefcorp structure proved beneficial, because the labor market was constantly running a deficit of fresh talent. It was not unusual for people to found two or three failed companies before finding a winning formula.

  ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF THE FIEFCORP

  The biggest problem of a laissez-faire structure such as the fiefcorp system was its rampant lawlessness. Zest for profit often trumped rules of government, creed, and community. It was originally hoped that the low penalties for failure in a fiefcorp would discourage rule breaking, but this proved not to be true.

  In an attempt to rein in the lawlessness of the fiefcorp sector, many in the industry turned to the Meme Cooperative. The Cooperative, founded a hund
red years earlier by big business as a buffer to Par Padron's populist reforms, had since become mostly a lobbying organization to the Prime Committee and the L-PRACGs. Fiefcorps voluntarily ceded strict authority to the Cooperative to regulate their industry and act as a watchdog organization. Few believe that the Meme Cooperative has been successful in its mission, however.

  Another third-party organization, Primo's, arose to provide an overseeing capacity to the fiefcorps. Founded by the fervent libertarian Lucco Primo in 291, the company's objective rating system has acted as a huge deterrent to fraudulent programming practices.

  Still, many consider the problem of fiefcorp ethics a problem to this day. As a result, grumbling consumers typically turn to the LPRACGs and the drudges for redress.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The author would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to this book: Lou Anders, Cindy Blank-Edelman, Bruce Bortz, Jerome Edelman, J.D. Landis, Philip Mansour, and Anne Smith.

  Most of all, the author would like to thank Victoria Blakeway Edelman, who made him take out Ferris.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DAVID L O U I S E D E L M A N was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1971 and grew up in Orange County, California. He received a B.A. in creative writing and journalism from the Writing Seminars program at The Johns Hopkins University in 1993.

  He has worked as a web programmer for the U.S. Army and the FBI, a computer trainer to the U.S. Congress and the World Bank, and a marketing director for biometric and e-commerce companies.