The world he lives in is a ripe place for ambition. Having suffered a cataclysmic Al revolt hundreds of years ago, the world embraced Sheldon Surina and his science of bio/logics. Now, 359 years later, thousands of small software companies-fiefcorps-compete ruthlessly for the right to sell the programs that run the human body. Order is maintained by a patchwork of subscription-based governments called L-PRACGs. Overseeing these governments is the Prime Committee, which uses the Defense and Wellness Council as its police force.
As an orphaned boy in the care of the neural programmer Serr Vigal, Natch is plagued by strange and hallucinatory visions. He learns to use his wits to best his childhood enemies and achieve top scores in his class. His only obstacle is Brone, a boy with an equally cunning intellect and a more charismatic way with people. But Brone is soon dispatched during the boys' initiation by a bear attack that is partly accident, partly fate, and partly Natch's dark vengeance.
With his prospects for financial success dimmed by the Shortest Initiation, Natch turns to a series of low-paying jobs at the bottom of the programming world. Only gradually, after much Machiavellian scheming against enemies such as Captain Bolbund, does Natch climb to the top of his profession. But he hasn't achieved this alone. He's had his childhood friend, Horvil; his mentor, Serr Vigal; and his market analyst, Jara, to aid him.
With Horvil's and Jara's help, he achieves one final coup. Natch arranges a complicated con involving a fake black code attack on the Vault banking system. This con allows Natch's fiefcorp to replace his bitter rivals, the Patel Brothers, at the top of the Primo's bio/logic investment guide rankings. Where Natch was once an outcast, now he is a celebrity.
Furthermore, the scheme brings Natch to the attention of Margaret Surina, heir to her ancestor Sheldon's fortune. She's been working on a technology to create "alternate realities" called MultiReal for decades. But now she fears that Len Borda, the high executive of the Defense and Wellness Council, is preparing to take this technology away from her-and possibly kill her in the process. The Council sees MultiReal as a weapon of potentially apocalyptic proportions, one too dangerous to remain in private hands. It's the same conflict Margaret's father, Marcus, went through with his teleportation technology many years ago, a conflict that ended in a fiery hoverbird accident.
Margaret offers Natch an opportunity to license her new technology. He is to stir up enough trouble to keep Len Borda off balance for the next week; then, after Margaret reveals the existence of MultiReal in a widely publicized speech, Natch needs to quickly put together a prototype to show the world that the technology is real. The fiefcorp master agrees.
Natch goes looking for a source to fund his company's new project, but, partly due to his shady reputation, nobody will support him in this new and undefined venture. Finally, with the help of his new apprentice, Merri, he snags an appointment with the leader of Creed Thassel, an organization dedicated to the power of selfishness. The leader turns out to be none other than Natch's old nemesis Brone. Brone, still smarting from the wounds of the Shortest Initiation, offers Natch a quick loan and foretells a future where the two of them will work together to market MultiReal. The fiefcorp master, seeing no other alternatives, accepts the loan from his old hivemate.
Armed with a new infusion of cash, Natch hires a new appren- tice-Horvil's young cousin Benyamin-and forms a partnership with sales channeler Robby Robby to help market the new product.
The day of Margaret's speech arrives, and with it comes an incursion into the Surina compound at Andra Pradesh by the troops of the Defense and Wellness Council. As Margaret unveils her new technology before hundreds of millions of people, the Data Sea networks explode with a strange new computational disturbance: the infoquake. Thousands die in the tumult, but the Council does not follow through with its implied threat to kill Margaret and seize MultiReal.
Natch gathers the fiefcorp for a meeting the next day, where he informs his colleagues that a frightened Margaret has practically handed over the reins of the company to him and allowed him to rechristen it the Surina/Natch MultiReal Fiefcorp. Furthermore, Natch will get a new apprentice, Quell. A longtime confidant of Margaret's, Quell is an Islander, a member of a society that has spurned all but the most rudimentary forms of bio/logic technology.
For a short time, it appears that Natch has gotten the upper hand. He is on top of the world and has even used his newfound partnership with Margaret to pay back Brone and sever his ties with the Thasselian.
But Natch's expectations are soon dashed when he discovers that his dire enemies the Patel Brothers have also secured a MultiReal licensing agreement with Margaret Surina. Margaret soon reveals that Natch is in fact the third fiefcorp she approached. The first, programmer Pierre Loget, did not understand the import of the technology; the second, the Patels, she suspected of selling out to the Defense and Wellness Council. Only after she despaired of working with the Patels did she turn to Natch, who she knew would never give in to pressure from Len Borda.
Natch immediately goes on the offensive to counter the Patels. Frederic and Petrucio Patel have scheduled a demo in less than a week's time; Natch decides that he's going to hold his demo first, in three days. But after he commands his fiefcorp to prepare a quick-and-dirty demo, a group in black robes ambushes him in the streets of Shenandoah. Natch is hit by their black code darts, falls unconscious, and vanishes.
Meanwhile, unaware that Natch is missing, the fiefcorp goes about preparing for their product demo. Quell and Horvil work to prepare the MultiReal code for its first public appearance; Benyamin works with his mother's assembly-line programming shop to complete all the millions of programming tasks necessary for the program to function in front of hundreds of millions of people; Merri works with the company's sales partner, Robby Robby, to generate excitement about their product; and Jara struggles to put together a presentation that will capture the public imagination.
It's only hours before the demo that the fiefcorp realizes Natch has disappeared. The fiefcorpers frantically attempt to find him before the demo as Len Borda's forces once again march on Andra Pradesh. Jara makes a last-ditch effort to convince Margaret to deliver the product demo in Natch's stead. Margaret refuses, choosing instead to retreat to the top of her private tower as the forces of Len Borda once again invade the compound. Jara decides that she will give the presentation instead. Horvil catches up with her and attempts to dissuade her from making this dangerous presentation, in the process confessing that he has developed deep feelings for her. But Jara will not be deterred.
And then, at the last possible minute, Natch shows up. He had awakened from his black code coma, in his apartment, mere hours before. With him is Len Borda-who, as it turns out, has brought the Council troops to Andra Pradesh at Natch's request, in an effort to scare off any potential black code attack. In exchange for this intervention, Natch has hurriedly promised Borda access to MultiReal.
Natch delivers the product demo to an audience of five hundred million. The demonstration involves using the power of MultiReal to simulate hitting a baseball to all five hundred million spectators simultaneously and goes off swimmingly. The audience reacts more enthusiastically than anyone could have anticipated. (The Patels' demo, meanwhile, is a disaster.)
As Infoquake draws to a close, it occurs to Natch that the attackers in black robes could have been sent by the Defense and Wellness Council as a ploy to get MultiReal under its control. There are, in fact, any number of organizations out there that might be using the black code inside him as leverage to get control of MultiReal. Brone, the Patel Brothers, and even Margaret Surina are listed as potential suspects.
Natch is beginning to feel the deleterious effects of the black code inside of him; but as he tells his mentor, Serr Vigal, he's up for all the challenges ahead. He's come this far against all odds, and he won't back down now.
APPENDIX B
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
For more comprehensive definitions and background articles on some terms, con
sult the Web site at http://www.multireal.net.
APPENDIX C
HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
The chronicling of modern history began with Sheldon Surina's publication of "Towards the Science of Bio/Logics and the New Direction for Humanity." Surina started the Reawakening, which ended the period of the Big Divide that began with the Autonomous Revolt. The publication of Surina's paper is considered to be the Zero Year of the Reawakening (YOR).
APPENDIX D
ON THE CREEDS
The creeds were founded with a noble goal in mind: to promulgate the spread of ethics and responsibility strictly through scientific and rational means.
HISTORY OF THE CREEDS
Organized religion had largely disappeared into the Pharisee Territories with the chaos and destruction promulgated by the crazed prophets known as the Three Jesuses in the early years of the Reawakening. Wanton destruction in the name of God by New Alamo and the subsequent splinter Texan governments contributed to this as well.
But with the rise of Sheldon Surina's science of bio/logics, many began to fear an intellectual imbalance. The great minds of the day traded horrified what-if scenarios about a society devoid of any moral compass. The atmosphere soon became ripe for a return to spirituality.
The cryptic hermit known only as the Bodhisattva filled that gap. He began wandering through Europe and Asia gathering followers in the early 100s, much as the Three Jesuses had done throughout the previous century. But the philosophy he preached about the search for Objective Truth was nonviolent, nonjudgmental, and extremely personal in nature. He allowed an administrative organization to coalesce around him almost as an afterthought.
Other organizations quickly took up the model that the Bodhisattva had put in motion. Some, like Creed Elan and Creed Dao, were old institutions that simply found in creedism a convenient struc ture suitable for modern times; others took inspiration from the Bodhisattva and developed new philosophies that appealed to a wide body of followers.
ROLE OF THE CREEDS COALITION
The Creeds Coalition was founded in 237 as a means of formalizing the interaction between the large (and still growing) number of creed organizations. Most creeds participate in and fund the operations of the Coalition voluntarily. There are a number of creeds who have refused to join the Coalition and are thus not bound by its rules and regulations. But even those creeds that do not officially belong to the Coalition often recognize its authority because of its long history of good deeds.
The major functions of the Coalition are to keep interactions between the creeds civil and to act as a lobbying and advocacy group to the various government bodies. The Coalition also funds a number of minor creeds and engages in various philanthropic enterprises of its own.
To a lesser extent, the Coalition is assigned the duty of enforcing certain creed bylaws (such as the Objectivv truth-telling oath and the Conscientious pledge of resource preservation). However, considering how fearful the Coalition is of favoritism, its oversight is little more than a formality.
Leadership of the Creeds Coalition is an executive committee selected by all participating members, with membership tending toward heavy representation by the major seven (listed below). Chairmanship of the executive committee is a two-year commitment and is currently being held by the bodhisattva of Creed Enlighten.
One important bylaw of the Coalition is that none of its members are allowed to formally restrict devotees from pledging to multiple creed organizations. (In practice, however, some creeds do hold such restrictions.)
MAJOR CREED ORGANIZATIONS
While there are literally tens of thousands of accredited creeds in the Coalition's rolls, the number with any significant amount of influence is relatively small.
Creed Bushido (founding date unknown) was one of the products of the Autonomous Revolt. The creed was initially a martial organization whose aims were to preserve Japanese culture and tradition during a time of great upheaval. As the Reawakening got into full swing and the Creeds Coalition came into existence, the creed softened many of its stances and began incorporating the remnants of many other Eastern cultures into its rituals and traditions.
Creed Conscientious' (founded 322 YOR) goal is to conserve the world's computational resources. The creed is among the newest in the Coalition, and its membership is quite small (around twelve thousand). But increasing concerns about computational resources in recent years have brought the creed an abundance of favorable press and a disproportionate influence on Data Sea policy.
Creed Dao (founding date unknown), like Creed Bushido, also carries the torch of many of the ancient Eastern religious cultures. Some have likened its philosophies of peace, tolerance, and introspection to the teachings of Daoism and Buddhism. The creed tends to be very insular (if not downright secretive) in its beliefs, however, and therefore its tenets are not well understood by the population at large. The creed's color is bronze.
Creed Elan (founded as the Elan Society in 39), among the oldest and most venerable of the creeds, was originally known as one of the most generous and self-effacing. In recent decades, it has largely become the creed of the moneyed elite. And while the organization's critics delight in pointing out the hypocrisy of some of its members, Creed Elan still devotes far more capital to philanthropic endeavors than any other creed. The creed has no single leader, but is run instead by a consortium of major and minor bodhisattvas. Its colors are red and purple.
Creed Objectivv (founded 108) promotes the search for ultimate truth in the universe. Its members take what is known as the Objective truth-telling oath, where they promise not to lie and to devote their lives to seeking truth. Founded by a mystical figure known only as the Bodhisattva-the first creed leader to take that title-the organization continues to be run by a single leader. As of this writing, Objectivv membership runs in the low hundred millions. A good percentage of that number consists of "associate" members who are sympathetic to the creed's aims but do not pledge the truth-telling oath). The symbol of Creed Objectivv is a black-and-white swirl.
Creed Surina (founded 116) was founded by Prengal Surina and his companion Ladaru to honor Sheldon Surina's memory. The creed's official purpose is to promote "spiritual discovery and mutual enlightenment through technology," which most observers interpret as humanizing scientific progress. Some critics contend that such a goal might have been appropriate for the rampant Luddism of the early days of the Reawakening, but has lost its relevance. The creed has maintained a large membership (two billion) largely through the charisma (and money) of the Surinas. Creed Surina's colors are blue and green.
Creed Thassel (founded 268) began as a popular movement dedicated to the "virtues of selfishness" and run by the extreme libertarian philosopher Kordez Thassel. The creed's rituals were believed to be dangerous and mystical for many years, until drudge reporting revealed the mystique as something of a hoax. The Thasselians turned to a more conventional philosophy of hard-core individualism afterward, and the creed has been operating low-key ever since. Creed Thassel keeps its membership rolls private, but the drudges estimate its membership somewhere south of a million. The symbol for Creed Thassel is three parallel vertical lines.
MINOR CREED ORGANIZATIONS
Other creeds with significant membership rolls and some small amount of public influence include Creed Autonomous, Creed Enlighten, Creed Libertas, Creed Sacrificial, and Creed Tzu.
APPENDIX E
ON GOVERNMENT
The whole of humanity has never agreed on a single form of government, but with the so-called L-PRACG system of governance, it can be said that the race has largely agreed on a common framework for government.
THE L-PRACGS
After the collapse of the ancient nation-states during the Big Divide, people turned to locally organized civic groups to provide the basic services of government. Often these ad hoc groups came together to solve a particular issue and ended up taking on matters of security, trade, and justice by def
ault. Basic principles varied wildly from culture to culture and place to place.
Eventually, as civilization built itself back up from the ravages of the Autonomous Revolt, civic groups began to band together. Larger groups had greater collective bargaining power and were able to specialize on certain aspects of governance. Thus was born the Local Political Representative Association of Civic Groups, more colloquially known as the L-PRACG (pronounced ELL [crag).
In modern society, L-PRACGs are responsible for the day-to-day services of government, as well as security, taxation, and regulation. Often L-PRACGs are organized around a central tenet (such as governmentalism or libertarianism), culture (Japanese, West African, Texan) or geographical area (the Shenandoah and Harper L-PRACGs). Other L-PRACGs use formulas or free-market tenets to determine the blend of services they provide. While some L-PRACGs are localized in one particular place, the vast majority are not.
Nothing prohibits citizens from joining more than one government at a time. (This freedom was in fact codified into law by the efforts of High Executive Toradicus in the year 145.) Most people today hold three or four simultaneous citizenships and rotate to new governments every few years. Likewise, in a free-market system, L-PRACGs are constantly shifting their policies and priorities to attract new members for their tax base.
It's not uncommon to subscribe to a local L-PRACG for basic neighborhood services; a vocational L-PRACG to streamline one's work life; and a personal L-PRACG that practices the tenets of one's particular creed or culture.
THE CONGRESS OF L-PRACGS
Founded in 143 through the tireless lobbying efforts of Prengal Surina and High Executive Toradicus, the Congress of L-PRACGs was intended to be an organization that could deal with the Prime Committee as an equal.
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