Initially the project concentrated on the most serious genetic defects. However, as reassuring results were arriving and consent was increasing, it was widened to other objectives. This process came to an end many years later, in 2064, when the principle that all the citizens were entitled to genetic improvements, was inserted into the Constitution of the advanced countries. Since then the modifications, considered mankind’s heritage, have been extended almost to all the world population. Exceptions are the objectors - in a large number in the 21st century, before religions updated their approach to semi-immortality, but reduced today to negligible minorities - and a few underdeveloped populations.
The progress of the human race in the last centuries has been amazing. The Earth has become a kind of Garden of Eden, the genetic code has been reprogrammed to reach thousands of years and hard work is entrusted to machines and robots. With the mind digitization, man has taken possession of the afterlife, shifting real death to an indeterminate future. Definitely, he owns what he was dreaming of for thousands of years.
But this is also a moment of reflection. The body is unsuited to future challenges because it has been built by natural selection for quite different purposes. Genetic engineering, the artificial prosthesis and the integration with Net can be very helpful, but it is clear that the biological component, even if substantially modified and limited to the bare minimum by the progressive transformation of man into cyborg, is going to remain a weakness.
Men both admire and envy the virtual beings. They feel inferior and very angry. Certainly, after death, that technology has definitely not canceled, but postponed to an undetermined future, they will join the digital community, but meanwhile they must face their own limits and confront those who seem to have none.
The relationship between the two races became embittered during the 22nd century, when man refused the request of virtual people to share the material world. It was evident that Net people would rapidly take possession of the power and privileges of the human race. Tension grew to such an extent that a war with ruinous effects, became a possibility.
The losers were going to be the humans for sure, as shown by some outrages against Net. In a few hours, the digital beings identified the culprits, seized some Police’s advanced fight androids and wiped out the attackers. Everything while the humans were just starting their investigations. Since then the crimes against Net have decrease sharply, thanks to the effective work of prevention and repression by the digital beings, that do not hesitate to take possession of war equipment every time they deem necessary. The humans’ impotence in front of these seizures, make think that the whole information system of the Earth and consequently almost everything Man owns, is actually mastered by Net, and that this last is ready to use them in case of aggression.
Humans and virtual beings entrusted the search for a solution to a committee which after a year, suggested handing over Mars to the digital creatures, in exchange for the waiver of rights over the Earth. Although aware of the difficulties - Mars is not a favorable environment even for androids and robots - the virtual beings agreed to the proposal, obtaining in addition considerable autonomy.
Right after, they started the colonization. But the main objective, even if not declared, remained the Earth. They knew time was in their favor. In about a century, increasing in number and economic strength, they would turn the political balance to their advantage. The more and more numerous souls would speed up the process, opening breaches in the terrestrial party, thanks to their strong ties. Inevitably, Net people would take possession of the Earth, without any resistance.
But in the second half of the 23rd century, the digital beings started questioning if it really made sense to seize the Earth, according to ethical considerations - the respect for diversity and their own origins - but most of all because their objectives were changing.
During the Martian experiment, a real success, they developed the technologies and the expertise necessary for the extraterrestrial environments, but above all acquired the self-confidence indispensable for a further step: the colonization of other star systems. The scale of the project did not worry its supporters because during their existence, destined to last for thousands of years, they could follow its realization to a great extent. In 2290, with the presentation of the Alpha Centauri project to the federal government, the Martians gave up the idea of expanding on the Earth.
Today peace is a reality. But man is not happy. He is no longer the driving force of progress. For sure he cannot compete with the superintelligences. And he cannot benefit from most of the achievements of the virtual people, because they are unsuitable for the human race.
For him, result of millions of years of evolution on the Earth, the space colonization will be hard mainly for his biological component. Space is clearly destined to superintelligences. Unavoidably Man will end up secluded on the Earth, as in a wildlife reserve, this is almost certain. But most of all Man is dissatisfied with his own nature: why spend thousands of years in such an imperfect body, when it would be possible to live the entire existence with almost no limits?
An emergent movement maintains that the law permitting the mind digitization only after death, is incompatible with free will and self-fulfillment, and proposes its abrogation.
According to its supporters, the justification of the law - families deprived of affection and means of support, society itself deprived of resources fundamental to its development – is no longer valid. The souls could live in the real world with their loved ones, in androids so perfect as to be indistinguishable from the originals. The virtual reality would allow even more effective relationships than the traditional ones.
The proposal meets with strong opposition. The truth is that the problem is no longer technical, but only a matter of will. Now more than ever, humans fear the consequences of the spread of the digital people on Earth. They are aware of the fundamental differences between the two races, their incompatibilities and clash of interests, often because they have experienced them personally. Inevitably cohabitation would increase tension to a danger point.
Nevertheless a solution exists. A drastic but final one: the digitization of all the humans, with the exception of the conscientious objectors. No more differences between races, no more friction. But also the end of mankind. The transformation would be taken on by the state, and would be executed in the shortest time, to avoid discrimination and conflicts.
This idea has deeply divided the population. Some have no doubts: giving up one’s own humanity is an act against nature that must be forbidden. Others wonder if digitization belongs to a divine plan. A large part of the population focuses only on the practical aspects.
Contrary to the past, the end of the humans depends today only on a decision of mankind. Maybe the moment when a whole race will converge in long lines at the digitization centers, is nearer than expected.
0101 010101001 “The new species” (2298)
VENICE CARNIVAL
@
They find themselves at the end of an alley flanked with medieval houses. Victoria takes her feet out of a smelly puddle. She has a quick look at her costume: a full length yellow damask skirt to her ankles and a lace-bordered corset finishing with a revealing neck line. The cold makes her shiver, she covers her shoulders with a short golden cloak. Adam is a few meters away. Dark knee-length trousers and socks, a velvet jacket. He arranges his wig, puts on an ostrich-plumed hat and starts looking around. From a half-closed door, comes a caterwauling. A thin and ruffled kitten darts between his legs and disappears into a nauseating heap of garbage. The man walks a few steps up to a street plaque. “We have ended up in the right place.”
Victoria wears her mask. “Let’s go!”
Walking arm in arm, they come out into a square, where ladies and gentlemen in fancy dress are dancing before four musicians. They pass by a doughnut seller. A stench of burnt fat.
Adam strides to a flaking main door. “The appointment with our guide
is at ten o’clock.”
They walk through a corridor, where an acrobat surrounded by a dozen spectators, is performing contortions. The people clap. In a corner, three men chat while smoking long pipes.
A person with a white mask leaves the group and makes for them. In front of the couple, he takes off his hat and bows. “Good morning. I am your guide.”
Adam checks his identification code. “We can go.”
The three go into the street, plunging into the historical reconstruction of the Carnival of Venice.
“Pay attention to the maskers,” warns the Venetian. “They hide pickpockets and prostitutes, in a few cases even criminals. A problem that the state hardly curbs.”
They pass by two policemen. “Whoever is found in possession of a weapon is sent straight to jail. Even honest citizens go inside.”
The small group walks alongside a palace with triple lancet windows. “A card room, one of the few places, together with churches and convents, where masks are forbidden.”
They admire a row of Renaissance buildings. “These palaces are deserted. The rich moved to mainland villas or have fallen into disgrace.”
A beggar kneeling at a street corner, holds out his hat trembling. The guide drops in a penny. “You have heard about the Doge, I imagine.”
“The first authority of the town!” exclaims Victoria.
“Once the nobles resorted to corruption to be elected. Today instead the Doge has no power anymore. The theatres are full of shows ridiculing him. The aristocrats don’t allow him to go out of the Doge’s Palace without an escort. If he gives up his mandate, he risks the confiscation of his property and even his life. And he cannot hope that one day this gilded prison will end: his assignment is for life! Inevitably, the best elements keep away from this position.”
“Do you know Giacomo Casanova?” asks Victoria.
“A few years ago he was imprisoned not far from here, in Piombi prison, on a witchcraft charge. Only a swindler! In his life, he has never got anything together. He had himself expelled from a seminary for immoral behavior. In Rome, he was fired by a cardinal. Another scandal! In Venice, he ended up in prison. Then, a year ago, his jailbreak.”
“At least ladies enjoy his escape…” sighs Victoria.
“They would lose enthusiasm if they knew about his affairs with men!”
They continue walking for ten minutes. Then the guide stops short in the middle of the street. “The Flight of the Angel, in San Marco square!”
“What’s it about?” asks Adam.
“The most important Carnival celebration, held on the last Thursday before Lent.”
The three enter a labyrinth of alleys and after a quarter of an hour, come out in a wide paved area, surrounded on three sides by Renaissance palaces and opposite by a Gothic-Byzantine basilica, with five entrances and with the same number of domes.
“San Marco square, the largest in the city,” announces the Venetian proudly. “An immense hall in the open air, that everybody envies us. The only space in the city which is called ‘square’. The others are named ‘fields’.”
A peal of bells interrupts him. “Noon! The show is starting.”
They run through an arcade, where taverns and shops alternate, among masked people. At the end, they cut across the square, along the façade of the church adorned with mosaics. A flock of pearl gray pigeons alights a few meters from them. Meanwhile the bell ringing continues. Victoria turns back. On the terrace of the building behind, two automatons are sounding a big bell with their clubs.
“The Moors,” explains the guide. “Part of a mechanical clock, together with the astronomical quadrant you see below, and a procession of the Magi.”
They enter another square. On the right, a bell tower with a spire soars into the sky. In front, the placid waters of the lagoon spread out. On the left, next to the basilica, is a marble structure with an arcade dominated by a loggia. The façade is a succession of stone carvings like lace, giving harmony and lightness to the imposing building.
The guide opens his arms with a theatrical gesture. “The Doge’s Palace: residence of the first authority, seat of the government and Court House!”
Now the two squares are overflowing with people. They are all turned towards a tightrope walker with false wings, who is going gently along a rope between the bell tower and the balcony of the Doge’s palace, where important people are waiting for him.
“The Doge is the one with the horn-shaped hat,” explains the guide. “Members of the government and nobles are gathered around him. The guests with exotic clothes are foreign ambassadors.”
When the acrobat arrives, he bows before the Doge who welcomes him with a bunch of daisies. The crowd bursts into a flood of applause.
Adam turns towards Victoria. “Dinner time!” He leads his mother by the hand, pushing his way through the crowd, up to the Doge’s Palace. At the entrance, the three pass by two rows of armed guards standing to attention. Sparkling armor, long halberds.
“I'll be waiting the end of the dinner in the yard, together with my colleagues,” says the guide.
In the huge reception room, Victoria stops spellbound in front of the frescos.
“Tintoretto’s work,” explains Adam turning towards a black man discussing with the Doge. “Martin has arrived!”
Victoria looks around. “Eve must be somewhere.”
An Arab wrapped in precious fabrics and with a mushroom-like turban, tries to draw a young lady’s attention. The woman seems uninterested in him, looking insistently around, nervously waving her fan. Her glance stops on Victoria; she takes the mask off, and winks at her. Eve!
The three meet. They chat animatedly.
When the bell rings, the guests go to the tables. Wing and Eve sit by the Doge, Adam and Victoria among the guests of honor. The Doge, after a short speech, opens the dinner. Swarms of servants pour into the hall with gold trays. The place becomes incredibly noisy.
A bang. Some throw themselves down, others take flight. The armed guards crowd round the Doge, Wing is bent over the table with his head in the soup. A dark figure is running towards the exit. Eve dashes in the pursuit, Victoria pulls her skirt up and rushes forward. When they are a few meters behind, the fugitive turns. He aims, then fires.
MURDER
@ Net tunnel.
A shooting pain in her head. Thin fingers touch her temple lightly. “Don’t move. You have been shot.”
Victoria opens her eyes. She is lying on the ground, her head on a soft cloth scented with violet: Eve’s cloak. Her friend is nearby with a loving look. She is dressing her wound with delicate and careful movements.
“It will clear up in a few days,” announces Eve. “Now you can stand up.”
Victoria gets to her feet. They are in the tunnel she walked along a few days before with Eve, to reach a small beach hidden among the lake ravines.
“After answering the fire, I transported all of us here,” explains Eve. “If I had been a single instant later, the armed guards would have caught us.”
Five meters away, is a dark figure lying. Adam is nearby.
“How is Martin?”
Her son answers with a sad look: “Dead. The Council entrusted him with tracing Nihil. He was going to report the results tomorrow.”
They gather around the corpse. In the center of his forehead, a tiny purple hole. His face is serene, he didn’t have time to realize.
Eve kneels down and caresses his hair. She takes a small box out of her pocket and starts sliding it back and forth on the man’s head.
Victoria and Adam are standing by her in silence.
“Some brain areas are still in good condition,” murmurs Eve. “Perhaps I can extract his memories…”
She continues for half a minute. When Eve stands up, she looks anguished. “Now I know where Nihil is.”
They turn towards the man in dark clothes, lying on his back along a boulder, his arms wide. The dark velvet jacket, with a badge of Lion of St.Mark, h
angs loosely on each side. His shirt has a large rent in the middle, from the stomach to the breastbone. His organs are reduced to slush. A brown liquid is dripping from the wound.
“It’s him…” whispers Adam.
“Who?” asks Eve.
“The guide.”
“The guide?”
“Yes. Or rather, the one who replaced him.”
Eve kneels down and lifts the Venetian’s mask with the tips of her fingers. Then she stops.
Security General Headquarters.
“I have just received the report from Venice,” announces C573Y’s assistant stepping into the room. “Wing’s murderer is the Wonderful Islands killer! The real guide was found shot dead in an alley.”
C573Y takes the text and leafs through. “According to the Secret Service Wing belonged to the Elects too.”
“More than a suspicion. Eve Dirac was there. She tried to stop Nihil's killer.”
The images of the murder flow in their mind.
C573Y stretches back in his seat and crosses his fingers on the nape. “Eve Dirac sided against Nihil.”
“Internal struggles, clearly.”
“This could come in useful.”
“Unfortunately we don’t know their purpose.”
“Wing is not a criminal anyway!”
Puzzled, they look each other in the eyes.
PLOT
@ Council room, 7 AM.
The ten councilors dressed in white are sitting in a ring.
“Nihil knows well Martin’s killer,” begins Eve.
Everyone holds his breath.
“Are you sure?”
“The two were friends.”
“How possible?” asks a councilor.
“Perhaps we have seen the killer...” says another.
“I will show you.”
In the middle, appears the hologram of a man with a dark complexion.
“He was here!” shouts out a councilor.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Nihil killed Linh and Widman, too,” adds another.
“Didn’t you suspect anything?” asks Victoria.