Time Agency

by Aaron Frale

  “Do you think there are any mistakes? Crime detection technology has jumped by leaps and bounds even beyond DNA. Imagine being able to isolate the quantum signature of every person, access to every security feed in existence, nanomachines, time travel… There is no room for doubt.”

  “So why not just stop their hearts with your nanomachines? Why waste time reprogramming?”

  “There you go thinking in barbarian terms again. The only deaths in the future are accidents and suicide. The nanomachines in your body can sustain life indefinitely. I’m 248 years old. People only die when they choose to die.”

  “So how do you handle overpopulation?” I said.

  “Antiquated thinking again. The Earth has a population limit. There is a ratio of humans who can live on the planet without using all the resources. Reproduction is carefully controlled. The nanomachines control pregnancy. There are no accidental births. Suicides are not death. They are a celebration of life.”

  “People have to die to bring new people into the world?”

  “It’s not as bad as you think. Some suicides opt for their genetic code not to live on so others may birth.”

  “That’s not perfection. Not if parents have to kill themselves to have a child.”

  “You said that to me before. Before the memory wipe. Doesn’t a community raise better children? Parents are inherently flawed. One human being could not possibly possess all the knowledge necessary for the success of a child. Parents impart bias.”

  “What if the community doesn’t care about the well-being of the child? The foster system of this time period…”

  “You are comparing outdated social models again. That’s why humans change so slowly; they resist change. But change will happen. You can choose to be a part of it or disappear from the community. Humans are always better off in communities.”

  “Humans spook like a herd. Look at those people who jumped on the subway with me. They were in no danger in the train. There is more danger in the tunnel.”

  “But communities can modify behavior. Look at the global community called the Internet from this time period. Rumor spreads like wildfire, but people work hard to quell the rumor. Rumors don’t last long because the few with awareness inform the rest. Eventually, more and more people become aware. It’s much harder to spread lies to an aware population. The community is smarter. Now imagine having access to that community in your head. Your nanomachines keep you connected and aware.”

  “But what about the individual?”

  “Individuals are greedy, selfish, and in the right position can cause much harm in the pursuit of self-interest. Communities modify the behavior of selfish individuals.”

  “Strong communal cultures work themselves to death. They spend all of their time working for others and leave nothing for themselves.”

  “That’s why we’ve achieved a balance in the future. Everyone chooses his or her own path. If they want to make decisions that affect the population, they must work in a community. If they wish to isolate, then we leave them be. People do what they want so long as there is no harm to others.”

  I didn’t trust her concept of perfection. Perhaps it was the pop culture of this era, and the rhetoric being shoveled on the masses to push the agendas of the few. It seemed that every system had those who would benefit, and those who would not. For people to live in a perfect society, there were always those who would be outcast and did not belong. Those who did not belong would sacrifice their freedoms and rights. I had a feeling I was one of those people.

  Two time agents appeared next to her. They were both wearing a similar style of suit. They both looked ageless as well, not too young and not too old.

  “You captured him,” one of the agents said.

  “Clearly. Now if you quit burdening me with obvious and redundant statements, we can figure out a mystery,” she stared them down.

  “What?” the other agent said.

  “I discovered this on the 07760, and I’m not sure what it does.” She pulled a small spherical glowing object from her pocket.

  “That’s a wide array short-term memory wiper,” the agent said.

  “You’re right,” she said, and the sphere lit up. I closed my eyes and heard two loud thumps. When I opened them again, the time agents were on the ground. Her nanomachine lock on my body loosened up. I almost fell over as I was used to the paralysis and not engaging my muscles.

  Event 1 - J

  Jerry brought subject 07760 into a blank room. The room was completely white. There was no floor, no ceiling, and no sense of up or down. 07760 was shaking and looked like a mess. Jerry couldn’t shake an odd feeling about the case. During the questioning process, 07760 admitted guilt too easily. He confessed about his intention of committing a criminal act, so it was enough to go to reprogramming. It was very rare when a person wanted to go to reprogramming but not impossible. Some people turned themselves in to prevent themselves from committing worse acts.

  “The withdrawals do not last long. A couple of days and you'll be fine.” Jerry was not supposed to feel for the man but felt pity anyway. Agents were not supposed to feel emotion, but Jerry knew the lack of emotion was a well-rehearsed lie. The agents felt emotions. They were simply trained to ignore them. He was always praised for his innovative thinking, and it was because he didn't ignore his emotions like his fellow agents. He just didn't let anyone know he was experiencing the emotions.

  07760 felt the withdrawal symptoms because his nanomachines were inert in his system. They regulated pain, depression, medical conditions, and even high cholesterol. The machines were the best preventative healthcare system on the planet. Human bodies failed, and nanomachines could regulate potential problems before they became failures. Heart disease didn't exist because the nanomachines cleared arteries. The body became dependent on the nanomachines. When the machines were turned off, the body would go into shock much like drug addicts of the past would suffer when they kicked their addiction. If a person would have bipolar disorder because of a chemical imbalance in the brain, they would never be aware of the imbalance because the nanomachines would regulate their brain chemistry. Most people depended on the machines for existence. When they were disconnected, they experienced withdrawal as the body had to regulate on its own for the first time in their life.

  A body regulating its own chemicals was unpredictable, messy, and unnecessary for humans living in the technological age. When most people in the past felt the experience of fear, they’d get a shot of adrenaline in their body. The adrenaline is very useful for experiences like running from a saber-toothed tiger, but humans haven't had to run from predators in a while. Experiencing adrenaline before a presentation at a meeting is counterproductive because it produces nervousness. The nanomachines controlled the fear response. Without control of the machines, fear now can enter the body.

  Jerry knew it was necessary to go through the withdrawal process. For the memory to be truly wiped, the nanomachines needed to cease functioning. When the body is in a state of physical withdrawal, the memory wipe was dangerous. Reprogramming would only take place when the physical symptoms of withdrawal disappeared.

  People were placed in a holding area until they were ready to be processed through the reprogramming. Even once the physical symptoms disappeared, the people had to wait until they were deemed fit to be released. The room was a blank white void to hasten recovery and prevent them from harming themselves. Jerry was about to leave the room, and never come back if it wasn't for what the prisoner said next.

  “She loves you, you know,” 07760 sputtered out.

  Jerry was going to dismiss it as a raving, disconnected rant, but the prisoner mustered all his will to look him in the eye when he said it.

  “What did you say?” Jerry leaned in. 07760 could not control himself. He was shaking and delirious. Jerry touched the prisoner on the shoulder. Nanomachines from Jerry’s body flooded through the pores of 07760. They began to manufacture drugs to lessen the effects o
f the withdrawal symptoms. Jerry programmed the bots to switch off after an hour. If anyone caught him aiding a person during detox, he would be in serious trouble, more because he was showing an emotional response then aiding a prisoner. The last feeling the agency wanted was empathy. Empathy prevented agents from doing their jobs.

  An hour wouldn't hurt, especially because total detoxification wasn't precise. Each person took a different length of time. They would only investigate if the entire process took more than a week. They didn't need to worry about mental detox, only the physical symptoms. While he waited for the drugs to calm the prisoner, he sent a message to Nanette. He told her that he'd be late. Luckily enough, she never seemed to require more information. She was a good mentor because she never forced him to lie by asking for excuses. But he knew that if he abused her good nature, he'd suffer far worse consequences than being caught in a lie.

  07760 threw up and spat. The prisoner’s nanomachines cleaned the mess almost as soon as it came out. He couldn't control his own nanomachines, but they still performed some basic functions. Withdrawal was a painful process, but it didn't need to be filthy. Shielding humans from filth was one of the first uses of nanomachines. People never needed to comb their hair or wash their clothes because nanomachines did the trick. If they wanted a beard, they willed it into existence. The first time anyone time traveled, they always noticed the smell. Humanity lived in disgusting conditions for most of human history by current standards. Even after the invention of soap and showers were made affordable to every class, artificial body care smells, pollution, and other olfactory assaults made time travelers notice the smell before anything else. The nanomachines could neutralize odors and sterilize the hands of time travelers examining a plague victim. Some extreme time travelers would turn off features to open themselves to the smells because they wanted the real experience.

  07760 looked up at his benefactor. “Thanks.”

  “It will make the physical withdrawal last longer,” Jerry noted. “You will feel worse and probably for longer.”

  “Have you ever been disconnected?” the prisoner asked while he recollected his thoughts.

  “The agents are trained to have more control over our bodies than most. We do training exercises where we go without painkillers or run without the nanomachines creating energy for our hearts and lungs, but not full disconnects. Tell me, have you ever been sore after lifting heavy objects?”

  “Like a weight lifter? Historically, people used to train their muscles by lifting heavier and heavier weights.”

  “Their muscles would be sore the next day. Because lifting weights tears the muscles and builds more. I know what it's like to be sore. You may understand that people lift weights to build muscle. And you may intellectualize that they pushed their body to such extremes for vanity, sexual conquest, dominance, etc. But for all your historical knowledge, you do not know what it's like to be sore, or be in pain. Do you truly know about the people you study when you can't feel like them?”

  “If you are trying to prove my ignorance, yes I may be unaware of pain. But you will see that I am a wise man compared to your—”

  Jerry kicked the prisoner in the gut. The nanomachines were pumping drugs to help 07760 with the withdrawal side effects. However, Jerry made sure the nanomachines would not help with pain. 07760 probably never experienced pain in his entire life before this moment. Nanomachines were quick to repair injuries and administer painkillers. Most humans’ experience with pain was a twinge that was over almost before it started. Judging from the way 07760 wheezed, he was certainly experiencing pain.

  “There was a time in human history when people used to do this to each other for sport,” Jerry began.

  “I'm aware of the blood sports arenas.” The prisoner mustered his breath again.

  “But are you aware of how they feel?” Jerry paused to let the lesson take hold. “Please choose your words carefully. I've been doing the job long enough to know insane people will make wild claims to avoid reprogramming. What do you mean by she loves me?”

  “Tell me, for all your talk of pain and denying yourself the nanomachine benefits, how are you sure that the love between you and Nanette is real? Have you experienced it before her, so you have a basis of comparison?”

  Jerry wanted to kick him again, but he refrained. He may still experience emotion, but he was beyond using them for petty reasons. Jerry was clearly in control and didn’t need to establish his dominance. “What do you know about us?”

  “Nothing, other than what I observe. It's as you say, I am intellectually aware from what I've observed, but I've never experienced it. The nanomachines control my sex drive like everybody else. But you are an agent. You've turned them off to experience pain and sore muscles as a part of your training. But you didn't expect to get more than just a sensory experience. There is a feeling that you bury deep. I know what she means to you.”

  Jerry couldn’t believe how much the prisoner knew. Nanette taught him how to shoot during training. Agents didn’t need weapons for people with nanomachines, but they never knew what they would face in the past. Before non-lethal weaponry became more effective than the lethal weapons, people of the past used lethal force, so the agents had to learn how to shoot. During Jerry’s training, he knew that weapons capable of killing a person would cause an adrenaline surge. He wanted to experience it without nanomachines controlling his body chemistry, so he shut them down. What he didn’t factor into the equation was Nanette. He noticed her in a way he never had before. His breath was short, and his body shook. She held his hands to calm him, and her head was close to his as he looked down the sight of the gun. He asked her a question. She turned to look him in the eye. They were close. He didn’t realize she had turned off her nanomachines too.

  “We never spoke of it,” Jerry said.

  “You don’t want to bury it any longer.”

  “Everything is closely monitored. We took a risk. If there ever was any cause to do a full memory scan… but the more important question. How do you know about us?”

  “She told me.”

  “Impossible. I was monitoring your interrogation.”

  “Not the current version of her but one from the future. She said that you would only trust me if I told you to remember Russia.”

  Jerry nodded. The prisoner was making a damn good case for his trust. Agents traveled to the past to learn skills. They would train with a sword by studying with real swordsmen. World War II Russia was a good place for her to take him shooting. With the chaos of the time period, two people practicing shooting wouldn’t raise an eyebrow though they didn’t do any shooting that day. They built a fire in the woods at night. Because their nanomachines were off, they felt the bite of cold. Their bodies kept each other surprisingly warm. He told her later how he enjoyed her warmth, and she laughed at him. Body heat was nice but not as thorough as nanomachine-generated warmth. He never heard her laugh before. It was wonderful. He always remembered the sound of her laugh.

  “She said that she never forgot,” the prisoner offered.

  Their love affair was brief. It only lasted a day, but the memory filled a lifetime. People couldn’t love in a world with a fixed population. People still created friendships and bonds, but nanomachines regulated the body chemistry. It wasn’t an immediate change, but one that slowly took hold. Love threw body chemistry out of balance, so nanomachines would help people feel less nervous when encountering a mate. They would cure the pain of a breakup. The modification of body chemicals would even people out until a complete lack of extremes was normal. Sex drive created unbalanced emotional states so that the nanomachines would restore order. People forgot about sex. For the average citizen, sex was not illegal just an element of the past. For agents who were supposed to be the most balanced members of society, sex was a ticket to reprogramming.

  Jerry and Nanette knew the risks, and she invented a story for her superiors. There were no secrets in the agency. After their night in Russia, they
switched on their nanomachines, and their body chemistry had unmistakable marks of sexual relations. Nanette was brought in for questioning. She said she was experimenting with a new training. She claimed the agents always experience the pain of emotion but never pleasure. She wanted to see how pleasure would affect her trainee. Her superiors told her to reprogram him and wipe the incident. She took him to the chamber and snuck a subroutine into Jerry’s nanomachines. He came out of the chamber, and the memory was still there.

  “Why didn't you meet up again in the past?” 07760 asked.

  “Our agency monitors our body signatures. If I even spoke to her about my memory, they would see the change in body chemistry. They would figure out that she reprogrammed the bots to reinsert the memory after the wipe.”

  “Are they listening to us now?”

  “They can’t listen to everyone at the same time. They will only look at the records when they have a reason,” Jerry explained. Before the fall of the Berlin wall that divided the old country of Germany, the East German government recorded every telephone conversation in the entire country, but they didn't have enough employees to listen to every recording. They only listened when they suspected. Jerry’s superiors could peak into their conversation at any time, but unless he aroused suspicion, the chances of random access were slim.

  If the well-dressed man decided to help the prisoner in any way, his superiors would look at the records of this visit. Nanomachines recorded everything. There wasn’t an ounce of privacy, but Jerry always viewed privacy as an excuse for people to hide illegal activity. He always viewed privacy as a word people used to hide their dark secrets. He always said that he didn’t need privacy because he had nothing to hide. That was until he fell in love. Now a place of privacy for him and his lover was welcomed.

  “I want you to be together,” the prisoner said.

  “Bullshit.”

  “I want everyone to have the choice at the least,” the prisoner said. At first, turning off sex drive was a choice. People who used the nanomachines to regulate their body chemistry discovered when they didn't spend most of their time fulfilling their sex drive, they would spend the time on career and personal goals. It became a popular choice to turn off their sex drive even if people didn’t need to regulate their body chemistry. People would focus on their careers and decide they could always start a family later.