Software was written by computers, which were built by robots, so even the high-tech jobs had dwindled away. Surgeons were replaced by Surgibeds, doctors by NetMed, lawyers by NetLaw. Entertainment was a popular profession but paid very little because of the plethora of self-promoted entertainers, and the decreasing interest in live music.
Another dilemma was that faith, by whatever definition you give it, was dying a quick death. Religious fanatics over the decades had given spirituality a bad name, and the assembling together in prayer was viewed as a possible threat to security. Eventually, the American government implemented a tax on churches and faith-based schools that they claimed did not conflict with the Constitution, and this started a similar reaction worldwide. The number of churches in the USA dropped over fifty percent in the first five years alone, and nothing was replacing them. Spiritual things were just not necessary.
Yet another issue was the fact that the human diet in many parts of the world had fallen victim to the powerful lobbies representing the giant food companies. They were mass-producing the cheapest possible products in favor of greater profits, with little attention to nutrition. Political compromise allowed these companies to monopolize the common food market, giving lower-income people no choice and no purchasing power. Food that was still natural was far too expensive for the everyday person. The result was a drop in the physical and intellectual capability of the masses, but it crept into society so slowly it was barely noticed.
Society as a whole was circling the drain. People were fed up, not only with the hardship of life but the stupidity of it. Stupid decisions were being made by ineffective leaders, and it became more and more difficult to find a student or worker that really cared about government at all. Government was the enemy. Drug abuse was rampant and dangerous, and much of the product sold on the street was made by amateurs and was deadly. The quality of labor and service that still existed had diminished, apathy had become the rule, and dishonesty was a corporate strategy.
Commercial advertising became a subliminal science, designed to brainwash the public through psychotechnology. With every ad, people’s minds were injected with messages of how well the world was doing, and why this product or idea will make it even better. Politics was everywhere, and people shut down. They simply stopped watching, stopped listening. It was better to be poor and unattached than to be part of the subordinate bullshit mentality, as it came to be known.
The elite upper class became less and less visible to the commoners, living behind beautiful gated communities, in high rises, and aboard the earliest orbiting residential space stations. They traveled in skycars instead of on freeways, they didn’t shop in public, and it seemed to many that the rest of humanity was basically on its own.
Around the globe, countries were failing, and as a result, many dropped their borders and merged together for strength. People lived on the World Welfare Act that gave every eligible adult a small monthly paycheck, courtesy of governments and highly taxed corporations, who were not complaining. It was considered humanitarian, and certainly a lot easier than helping people by getting involved with them and revising policies.
The government of the United States of America was given a swift reprimand at the polls in November of 2056, when a movement that swept through social media compelled an overwhelming majority of Americans to vote for write-in candidate Yogi Bear for President. Yes, Yogi Bear, a fictitious cartoon character that stole picnic baskets, which many joked would be an excellent way to make a living at the time.
Then it began, January 1, 2057, in front of the White House in Washington DC. Two thousand and fifty-seven people (by design) assembled at the fence with a fleet of camera drones overhead, to document an event that would spark a worldwide revolution. Using Extreme Taser Devices, they killed themselves at the same instant, leaving behind a manifesto written by Audrey Destiny, the famous singer, who was the leader and organizer of the event.
Her call for action started a string of occurrences that changed the planet forever. She called out to Everyman to rebel against the system that had oppressed the entire world, not just the United States. Her hit song, “Stop, Just Stop” was an anthem for the masses, calling on everyone to stop whatever they were doing that was feeding the elite.
Stop paying taxes, stop buying electricity, stop driving cars and buying biofuel, stop purchasing products made by the ruling corporations, or whose ads appeared on government television. Stop sending your kids to school, stop turning on the TV and going to the movies, stop everything. And if you can’t stop, then stop your life. Mass suicide events took place for the next several years. The first year alone, 2057, recorded over thirty-seven million self-inflicted dead worldwide. The markets tumbled, conflicts erupted everywhere, cities became refugee camps, and space exploration died.
For several years the mayhem and the suicides continued, reaching a boiling point in 2064 when two nuclear bombs were discharged at the same instant over the city of London, England. The sheer terror of this unthinkable act brought the world to a standstill, and political and corporate leaders began talking a different game about the future. Rebellion was going to destroy everything if something wasn’t done.
Change did begin to happen, slowly at first. Corporations had to be coerced by massive boycotts, but they did begin to hire people and turn off the machines. And they did it in great numbers. People were being hired and trained by the tens of thousands every single day. Big business got the message and began investing in schools at every level. Procter and Gamble University was the first of its kind, and highly successful. The Apple/Microsoft Unified World School District was born, and a wave of highly trained, well-paid teachers was the result.
A new philosophy was emerging and gaining traction quickly. It became socially unacceptable to have an excess amount of personal money, which was an unprecedented ideal. No laws were passed regarding this; there was no move toward communism or socialism as a political structure. It was simply uncool to be super-rich, and people who did hoard money did their best to keep it hidden. The voluntary distribution of wealth became a driving force for improving society. Generosity meant image, and image was power.
Social media was being steered by those who were moving the masses to make the world a better place. Kindness became society’s mantra, and religions, though still thriving, were not preaching traditional dogma. They were embracing a new train of thought: look to the future, not the past.
The power of prayer and meditation became a message preached in the media everywhere, all the time, and people were responding. Using q-dimensional physics, scientists had finally proven that simultaneous prayer by large groups of people, mentally focused on a specific outcome, could restructure space/time and even matter at the subatomic level. Massive crowds gathered all over the world to pray. Not a day went by where there wasn’t a prayer event somewhere in the world that made headlines. With prayer and a renewed confidence in people, came hope and change.
When the trinitium asteroid was arrested in 2087, the world was finally ready for it. Energy was now obtainable at minimal cost, and energy companies were making sure that everyone benefited from that. Trade between countries was at an all-time high, bringing the nations even closer together. The world economy experienced growth as it had never seen, with space exploration leading the way, thanks to faster travel speeds that could not be attained before trinitium.
People became intrigued with the prospect of leaving Earth in search of land elsewhere, where they could start over with a new life, a sense of adventure, of purpose, much like the western expansion of America centuries ago.
Because of the invention of the climate shield, terraforming companies sprouted and flourished with the exploration and colonization of Moon and Mars, and set their sights on other areas of the solar system as well. Their motive was not excessive profit, however. Because of the cultural shift away from greed, developers were offering off-world housing at very affordable prices, and space expansion boome
d. This period would later be called the New Birth.
Cardigan thought about the possible effect on the solsys if people began to panic over the approach of the Foon. Could a mass paranoia plunge humanity into another period of chaos? That is how his day ended, but his eyes did eventually close.
14
THE PLAN
“Hey you,” Reena’s sleepy voice beckoned Corey’s ears, being streamed in from his wrist. It was a recording; Corey had set his PT to sleep. “You mind if I come down to the club tonight? Let me know, mister kak singer boy...” Melt.
He wasn’t sure if he did want her to come. These last several nights had been good, but tense, and with Ari so steamed up about everything he was afraid there might be an ugly scene. They did need to meet though, the four of them, and they needed to do it soon. He lifted his wrist.
“Hey!” Reena was happy to hear Corey’s voice.
“Hey you…um.” He sighed. She knew.
“You don’t want me to come tonight,” her voice lowered.
“Um, listen, of course I want you to come, but-”
“Buuuut….?”
“Ari. I’m afraid he’ll shut down.”
“Or blow up! What, are you afraid of him?” she yelled.
“Huh?”
“Listen to me, mister, you’d better choose between him and me right now! I’m NOT going to sit around, while you-”
“Whoa, Reena, what?”
“What do I have to do to convince you? How long have I known you, Corey?” she screamed.
“Reena, slow down!” He heard a noise...was she crying? Maker me, she’s psycho.
Reena burst out laughing, not holding back.
“Got you!!” She kept laughing.
“You did NOT!” Corey was relieved. “You will pay, girl! Oh, it’s on! I’m gonna mank your crane, and then I’m gonna spank your nasty bottom!” he yelled.
“Oooooh, really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“Really.” She let out a sigh.
“Really.”
“Ok then. Guess I’ll be thinking about that.”
“And I’m going to miss you at the club tonight.”
“Well, bring your nasty bottom here, afterward. We need to meet, so bring Pel and I’ll call Jim right now. Smack?”
“Hard smack! I’ll see you tonight! Oh and by the way, you’re psycho.”
* * *
The Rochaus was a surprise again that night. It should have been a terrible gig, with an unhappy incumbent band and a fear of the Foon among the patrons. In truth, the opposite took place. People came out that had not been there in years. They needed an escape, and The Cosmotix had been getting publicity all over Zubrin and the surrounding area.
The club was packed and both floors were completely full, as well as all the attractions in the rear of the main room. An entire row of mindbenders was occupied all night by a group from Callisto, and the Zubrin Crossers skyball team took over the banquet room. Extra security had to be brought in, just in case things got a little too fun.
In the meantime, Pel was putting on a one-man comedy show. He had decided earlier to head down to Tech Shack and pick up a PD to use in tonight’s performance. Personal Drones weren’t popular anymore, but Pel was killing the crowd with it. This one was round and made to look like the Death Star from the original Star Wars series. Pel was running apps out of it all night; it was dancing around his head, changing into various shapes, telling old one-liners between songs, and projecting people’s faces into the air. At one point the drone turned into the helmet of the Zubrin Crossers skyball team, and the place erupted in cheers. That brought a smile even to Ari’s face, who was doing his best to endure these final shows. One more and it would be over.
Ari wasn’t really angry anymore, just sad. His old crush and his new bandmate were making flames, and this gig he had looked forward to was ending. He didn’t know what he was going to do now. The brothers may only be gone a short while, but Ari didn’t really want to wait around to find out. Maybe, he thought, it was for the best that they split up. Having Reena back in his life could prove to be complicated. He knew he could find another band and keep going, maybe if something came up on Mars or Earth. He was starting to pay more attention to current events and was developing his own ideas about the Foon and what was happening.
After the closing time breakdown, Corey and Pel took a Muver to Reena’s. Jim needed to do a few things before he could shut down and leave. The outside air was warm with a zesty auto- breeze, and Saturn was amazingly bright. The boys decided to take a longer route so they could go by the methane lakes on the outskirts of the city. The lakes were unshielded, and they had heard the view was spectacular from the American Point Overlook. Corey asked the driver if they could get out and look at the view for a few minutes when they got there. The driver, a regular patron at the Rochaus, was happy to comply.
The car wound its way through a hilly area to the east of the city, and the boys took in every sight, every tree, rock, waterfall, occasional home. Terraforming had been very thorough in this area of Shangri-La County; it was almost as if they were driving through the Colorado foothills on Earth at night. Of course, the majestic Saturn was hanging overhead, brightening the landscape. As they rounded a darker turn to the left, the driver announced, “Ok, get ready, check this…”
The rock columns on either side of the road opened like a theatre curtain, and a breathtaking view of the North American Valley unfolded before their eyes. It was a spectacular, expansive panorama of blue-green ocean, with never-ending sand dunes to one side, mountains to the other, and a light fog dusting the surface here and there. A break in the nitrogen layer caused by the climate shield over nearby Lorenzi revealed stars hanging low on the horizon, and it was hard to tell where the lakes left off and the night sky began. The boys stepped out of the car, staring ahead as they walked to the edge of the precipice.
“Incredible,” whispered Corey.
“Like a holo show.”
“Like a painting!”
“I think I’m going to miss this place.”
A bright meteor streaked over the horizon, burning a bright green through the thick nitrogen atmosphere.
“Whoooaaah!” they both exclaimed at once.
Minutes passed.
“Pel, are we doing the right thing?”
“The right thing is to get home for mom, after that we’re on God’s good time.”
“Yeah…”
At the door, Reena greeted the boys herself, dressed in very fancy workout clothes. It was the kind of outfit that looks like one is going to the gym but they don’t really go to the gym, they just look sexy. Her hair was pulled to one side, and her smile was radiant, and Corey immediately grabbed her face in one hand and laid a big juicy kiss on her lips. Pel did exactly the same.
“What the kruk, brother?” said Corey, with a fake scold.
Reena laughed, “Pel, I had no idea!”
“Feeling particularly saucy this eve, Ms. Coolie.”
“Pel was the star of the show tonight,” said Corey, and he went on to give Reena the rundown on the night’s events.
“Can I get you guys something to drink?” asked Reena.
“I’ll take a beer if you have it,” said Pel.
Corey chimed in, “Make it two.”
“Quite the place you have here, Reena,” said Pel.
“Thanks, it’s home! You can jet around if you want, I have no secrets!”
“No skeletons of ex-boyfriends under the floor anywhere? I heard you’re a psychocrane,” said Pel, smiling at his brother.
“No, but there’s always a first time!”
“Yeah, I told him about the phone call,” said Corey.
“Epic performance, I might add,” said Reena.
Corey saw Reena’s luggage against a wall. “Going somewhere, princess?”
“I thought I’d go explore a fake asteroid in the first perimeter,” smiled Reena.
Pel decided to let
them cozy up, and he walked around the house a bit and out the back door. She had a beautiful view of Zubrin from her back porch, and the night lights shimmered under the climate shield and the glow of Saturn. There was a trilite fountain on one side of the yard, and a good-sized fish pond surrounding it, glowing a light blue. Exotic ocean fish swam lazily about, including a miniature humpback whale that Pel was fascinated with. Well-groomed grass and plants, a couple rabbits running about, birds...an extraordinary back yard.
Pel couldn’t resist testing the garage door to see if it was open, and it was. Inside was a sexy red Tesla Skycar Primus convertible, tricked out with gold accouterments. Love to take that for a spin... He was about to shut the door and start back for the house when he noticed some expensive stage equipment stacked against the wall, including Staler anti-gravs, new JBL quad-cross speaker drones and a double rack of trilites. Should’ve met her sooner. As he opened the back door, he heard conversation.
“Is this where the ‘Save The Earth Society’ meeting is?” said Jim with his bellowing voice.
“Come in, Jim, welcome,” said Reena. “Let me take your jacket.”
“There he is, Comedy Central!” said Jim, referring to Pel’s evening.
“Hey Jim! Pretty good, huh?”
“Yeah, well don’t quit your day job,” said Jim.
“Apparently that’s what I am doing,” said Pel. “Reena, I demand a ride in the Tesla,” with a wink at Corey. “Girl’s got car, tude.”
“Girl’s got skills, too,” from Corey.
“Girl’s got a crazy-ass idea,” from Reena.
“Girl’s got beer?” from Jim.
“Girl’s got beer.” Reena already had a Coors Martian Amber in hand, Jim’s favorite.
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