Among the many systems studied by the virtual beings to prevent death, the most effective is definitely a backup of the individual, generated every two days. It is kept safely in a certified institute and ready to be activated in case of death. Nevertheless this is not absolutely safe. It is sufficient to recall the terrorist attack against the population of Net Heaven and its backups carried out a few years ago. Luckily, cases like this are rare. Most of the souls introduced into Net in the last two hundred years, are still alive and many of them will be until a distant future, maybe for millennia.
Human death does not represent the drama it used to be. However it remains a moment of physical and psychological pain. For this reason, the population is gradually educated, instilling the conviction that death is only a transition. So children learn they will keep on living in a new world, the ‘heaven’, and the old are comforted by the idea of meeting children and grandchildren again in the virtual reality.
The rebirth is a shock too, especially when death arrives suddenly. Most people, with the psychologists' help, the new companions' solidarity and the relatives’ visits, sooner or later adapt themselves to the new situation, but in a few cases the recovery is never achieved. For these wretches the magnificent gift of eternity turns into a punishment and Net becomes their hell.
Arthur Barnard, 2298, “The new species”.
CONFIDENCES
@
In the digital world there are hiding-places connected to Net only for the short time necessary for the transfers. They are inhabited by those who refuse the rules of society or are hunted by Security. In one of these live the Elects.
Victoria is sitting by Eve, on a boulder. They gaze at the waters of an underground lake ten meters below. An expanse like oil, getting lost in the darkness of the gorges. The faint light of their hideout transforms the rocks into ghosts emerging from the shadows.
She throws a stone into the lake. A dull splash. Concentric circles lighting up with blue reflections. She turns towards Eve. The woman herself who saved her, opening her home without asking anything. She presented her friends, and always worries that Victoria feels at ease. She has not asked any more about James. And now she is treating her like her best friend…
Why? And what is this world, a dream?
Silence, broken only by the continual dripping.
“What do you think of it?” asks Eve.
“Enchanting.”
“Very safe, too. I created it.”
It is here Victoria meets Eve, at the beginning only sporadically, but now almost every day, frittering their time away, but not only. Between them, there are complicity and naturalness; an unusual fact considering how long they have known each other. And how they met.
Victoria begins: “I have never told you about my death.”
The other nods, staring at the dark expanse.
“It happened at the seaside, when I was fifteen years old. James was with me, we met every summer.”
A surreal atmosphere, a lot of peace. An invitation to continue. “The beach was deserted and the late afternoon breeze brought relief after a torrid day. The sea was boiling with foam after three days of storm, and we were walking along the shore picking up shells for my collection every now and then. The water was still warm. The right moment to bathe. We undressed and threw ourselves into the big waves.”
Her voice becomes excited: “When I was about to get my breath back, a breaker arrived, sucking me into a whirlpool. The water was full of sand. I tried to resurface, in vain. The currents were too strong. But I was not frightened: I had already faced such an awkward situation. I had to keep cool and hold my breath, letting the currents take me towards a zone of more moderate sea.”
Eve turns. She raises her voice: “You are troubled. Stop it!”
But Victoria must follow the thread of her memories, more and more vivid: “I was about to resurface, when another breaking wave pushed me under. I opened my mouth. The water penetrated my lungs! I transmitted a signal from my localizer before plunging into darkness...” She closes her eyes. “I was told the rest. The rescue team arrived ten minutes later. They found me on the seabed; I was carried to the shore. All in vain.”
“James watched the scene, I imagine.”
“He rushed to help me, but when he arrived, I had already disappeared underwater. He followed the attempt to bring me back to life. When I was put on board the ovoid, he got into it too, and during the entire flight repeated that he would never abandon me. He continued standing nearby when my parents arrived and attended my funeral.”
“A terrible experience.”
“After digitization, the virtual reality meetings with relatives and psychologists began. At my parents' first visit, all of us were weeping. I met James the following time. We embraced each other all the time, without saying a word. The recovery was slow, but I got over the shock.”
She turns towards Eve. “It’s your turn now.”
“It happened during the worst period in my life. I was coming back from a meeting with the president of the Certification Committee. I was investigated for bribery. All the evidence pointed to my guilt. He was afraid my presence could discredit the committee and asked me to resign. I explained I was innocent, but I accepted his request.”
Eve frowns. “All the evidence was fabricated. But nobody believed me. One day I got my car. I climbed to the cliff of Long Cape. Clear sky. The sluggish movement of the sea, twenty meters below. I felt it was the right moment. I closed my eyes. The melody of the undertow entered me. Only three steps. The wind held me in velvet embrace… No suffering. But I was seen. Deep coma, for a week. In Net, I met a psychologist, only once. I was too disgusted by the world.”
“Why did they frame you?”
“I backed up innovative products that could have damaged the industry.”
“You have found friends here!”
“Certainly, and now I am calm.”
They stand up and start walking hand in hand towards the light.
FIRST TIME
@
Eve is in a discussion with a few companions. When Victoria arrives, Eve indicates that she should wait.
The girl leans against the wall and observes them. Only two weeks have passed, but she feels as if she had known them for a long time. They treat her like one of them, with respect and friendship. Illusion, perhaps. But in her heart she feels it is all true.
And then the most recent experience, just two days before. Eve took her hand. “Come with me.”
Like other times, they set out along a tunnel. Progressively the rocks dissolved and the semi-darkness was replaced by a uniform glimmer.
They entered a limitless space walking in the void. From all directions, diaphanous creatures approached with such harmonious movements that they looked as if they were dancing.
Eve stopped. “Let me introduce my friends to you.”
Phantoms with undefined profiles, on which little golden flames were flickering. Victoria felt their warmth. She couldn’t see their eyes, but she knew they were looking at her.
“Where are we?”
“In the first of the inner rings.”
A spot inaccessible to humans, because time runs too fast. She had never been there, being too attracted by the Earth. Used by the intelligences to reflect upon the material world. The source of their most farsighted projects, admired and envied by the humans.
A short experience, just a second, which seemed to her to be hours long. A sign of great friendship.
Without wanting to, she finds herself thinking about James. Remorse, but also the uncontainable power of a shared childhood.
Eve takes leave of her friends and comes to her. “Excuse me if I kept you waiting, but we were dealing with a new being's birth.”
Victoria is wide-eyed. “When will it take place?”
“This afternoon.” Eve has an amused smile. “Why don’t you join us?”
The girl gives a start. “Are you joking?”
“I
asked the Council. They agree.”
“I don’t feel like doing that. For me it would be the first time. It’s too early.”
They start walking along the tunnel.
“Victoria, you are too tied to your human origin. But now you are in Net. And sooner or later you must face this experience.”
It’s all so natural, so easy. It is sufficient to say yes. After all, this is her world, more and more.
“Our community attaches much importance to procreation,” goes on Eve. “We must transmit our best characteristics to our progeny, if we want to survive. And this is the reason why before the rite all of us are subjected to a test, in order to select the genes to transmit. I will have the honor of carrying the new creature.”
“And what will happen to me?”
“You will attend the ceremony like the others. Here you are among friends. This is the right moment, believe me. What’s your decision, then?”
Victoria nods, not completely convinced.
Eve takes her by the hand. “Come with me!”
They walk through the tunnel to a door, which opens at their arrival, revealing the room where Victoria was subjected to the memory analysis. Eve indicates the shining steel board. “Undress and lie down.”
Victoria makes her clothes and human looks vanish, revealing her real nature, a luminous mist. She lies down on the cold surface. Eve opens a small bottle. An iridescent fluid comes out and spreads all over the girl as if it were alive.
“When goes into, you will feel a strong pain. That’s normal. It will take the fingerprint of your genetic code.”
Reddish flashes run along Victoria’s body.
Eve holds out her arm, Victoria grips it. “I am burning!”
“Be brave! It will last only a few moments.”
When the pain vanishes, Victoria feels exhausted. The substance resurfaces, forms a small growth that leaps back into the bottle. Eve casts a glance at the fluid tossing incessantly, then puts the bottle on a table.
“Your test has finished. Now I need another piece of information.”
Victoria gives Eve an imploring look.
“No need to worry. I thought that choosing the appearance of the new creature would make you happy. The Council agrees. Who do you want him to look like?”
SEDUCTION
@
The followers with pointed hoods, descend a winding staircase lit up by torches along the walls. They pass through a corridor and come out in the crypt, a room with eight columns supporting a low vault. They arrange themselves in a circle and keep silent. There are twenty of them in all. Victoria is among them. She looks around, wondering what is going to happen. The air is fragrant with spices and the musical background transmits a sensation of peace.
Eve arrives with a white tunic opened to her hips, a veil on her head. The circle opens and she goes to the center. When the music stops, she lets the veil slide to her shoulders and begins: “Over two years have passed since we lost one of us, killed while he was defending our community. Today, coming out of mourning, we celebrate the birth of a new being who will receive our best features. In him we will find a devoted and respectful son as well as a wise and attentive father.”
She turns towards the girl. “Victoria is participating in the ceremony.”
The music begins again, and Eve drops her tunic. Her pale body is finely sculpted under her skin as smooth as porcelain. The group does likewise. Victoria hesitates, then heaves a sigh and follows suit.
Eve stretches out her arms towards a black. The man, who has a sinewy body, moves away from the group. He comes to the woman, lying down at her feet. She stretches herself out above him. Victoria watches the scene carefully, but now the two are wrapped by a cocoon of light hiding them completely. According to Eve, such stirring sensations can be experienced, that someone can become addicted. Prolonged whispers echo in the crypt like those of the wind finding its way through a dense forest. The companions raise their arms, start waving, strike up an excited song... Now they are as restless as waves in a stormy sea, their voices making guttural sounds.
When, after a few minutes, the voices slacken, the brightness fades away and the couple’s features reappear. Propping herself up with her arms, Eve sits on the man. Then she breaks away in a flash. He rejoins the group. Eve turns towards Victoria, stretching out her arms. “It’s your turn now.”
All the eyes are turned towards the girl, but she pays no attention. Gazing into space, she walks towards the center with measured steps. Eve, who now is lying on the floor, makes a sign to join her. Charmed, Victoria bends down, but just before lying down, closes her eyes. She gives a start in contact with Eve’s soft skin, and smiles as she is filled with a heady feeling of tenderness. Now they are isolated in a cocoon of light, pressed one against the other. Eve’s warm breath, her fleshy lips... Victoria hears a caressing voice speaking to her mind: "Kiss me."
She lets herself go in a tender and passionate act.
"I am starting the genetic code extraction," continues Eve. "To soothe your pain, I will stimulate the pleasure centers."
A fire ball spreads through Victoria’s stomach, runs through her thorax up to her head, leaving her stunned. A violent but sweet presence takes possession of her. Invisible lashes whip her inside. Unable to think, she pants and trembles, smiles and groans, while waves of pleasure shake every fiber of her body. Breathless, she opens her whole self to the turmoil of passion.
Peace. As in a dream, she finds herself over the rippling surface of a cobalt sea. A flock of seagulls glides down towards an expanse of sea bubbling with silvery reflections. The breeze pushes her over cliffs dominated by a bright green forest. She wakes up bathed in sweat.
Eve is smiling a few centimeters away. "How did it go?"
"I’m shaken."
"Pay attention to the giddiness, when you stand up. A normal reaction, especially the first time. It will last only a few minutes. A companion will help you."
Victoria is projected by an invisible hand towards one of the group. Leaning on his arm, she reaches her place. There she remains motionless, shocked by emotions, while the next participants follow one another on Eve’s body.
At the end, a dazzling light streams from the eyes of the Master of the Elects.
“Tomorrow I will introduce our son,” she announces. Then she turns towards the girl. “I thank all of you, but especially Victoria, for her precious contribution.”
The music starts again loudly. The feminine figure vanishes, followed by the other beings. Finally shadows swallow the room.
PRESENTATION
@
“I am Adam, your son.”
Victoria’s heart skips a beat. The young man has James’ imposing height, his marked features and thick hair she loves so much.
“Your memories are engraved in me,” he continues. “I lacked only this moment to know you completely.”
She rests her head against Adam’s chest. The tenderness of his skin... He really looks like the man she still longs for so much that she wants to see him in a son, but from whom she is becoming separated from more and more…
Shortly after Eve arrives with a parcel. “We bought it before your birth.”
Adam unwraps the gift. A suit! He hugs his two mothers.
A few hours later, the official presentation. Excited atmosphere, as for great events. Adam is in the middle of the crypt, surrounded by his parents who are competing to speak to him. A black man with a statuesque figure comes in.
“Excuse me,” says the young man. And without adding anything else, he walks towards the newcomer. The two meet halfway and embrace each other.
“Your life is an example for me,” says Adam.
“You have an exceptional mother, don’t forget: Eve is unique.”
The two draw aside and start telling their stories, with the familiarity of two friends who meet again after a long time.
“Who’s that man?” Victoria asks Eve.
“A person who did not hes
itate to sacrifice his life for Civil Rights, and who is continuing his battle in Net. An example to us all, a dear friend: Martin Wing.”
Victoria is struck dumb. She has had a son from one of the most famous men in the solar system, a myth for those, like her, who believe in equality.
DIFFERENCES
In the virtual world, as in the human one, you can meet men, women and children. Be careful: their appearance is deceiving. It is only a covering that Net beings change at will. Under such varied looks, very similar individuals live.
No sexual differences exist among them. Procreation can be achieved with anybody else, and several individuals can give their contribution simultaneously, sometimes in dozens, as it happens in certain begetting meetings.
Physical and intellectual development is very fast. During conception, the new being receives part of the parents’ culture and memories. At birth, he posses most of the maturity and experience of the grown-ups, and is linked by a close bond of affection with the preceding generations. Growth takes place in the time needed for the installation of programs, as for both intellectual and physical characteristics. Learning is obtained in the same way. Therefore a few days after procreation, the new being enters the world of the adults.
As a consequence, the family as known to humans, a small and stable environment able to guide the children along the road towards autonomy, does not exist in Net. Instead blood ties are so strong that immediately after birth, the new being feels an intense desire to meet his predecessors. For this reason relatives often form communities of hundreds of individuals.