Contagium
The Way We Were
By Eric R Kooser
Copyright 2016 Eric R. Kooser
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Chapter 1 Monday Morning
Chapter 2 A Break From the Norm
Chapter 3 The Hawking Dimension
Chapter 4 Contagium
Chapter 5 Departure
Chapter 6 No Turning Back
Chapter 7 Semena Mertvykh
Chapter 8 The Great Compromise
Chapter 9 Worship Me
Chapter 10 A Time to Kill
Chapter 11 The Way We Were
Chapter 1 Monday Morning
Monday morning, Shoab hears a voice in his dream
"Time to get up, would you like to snooze?" Shoab opens his eyes and sends a message to turn off his alarm. Shoab downloaded the new alarm app because it was mind communication compatible. Shoab thought to himself
"This is great; I don't have to move to shut off the alarm." Still lying in bed Shoab started mulling over the list of mundane work waiting for him at DASPA. When he started his career at DASPA, The Defense Advanced Space Project Administration, he loved his work, but over the last couple years was not included in anything that peaked his interest. Shoab smiled as he glanced at his wife Julie, still sleeping peacefully. He leaned over giving her a kiss.
She slowly opened her eyes yawning proceeded by a big stretch "Morning Babe...oh no."
Shoab concerned "What!"
Julie "It's 8 o'clock. The kids are going to be late. Kids it time to get up! You're going to be late for instruction!"
Shoab and Julie heard two little feet hitting the floor down the hall, followed by little footsteps scurrying to their bedroom. Julie and Shoab looked at each other and smiled when a little voice said "Morning mumma, morning dada." Dath, their two-year-old peaked around the bedroom door.
Julie looking over at Dath "Is brother and sis awake?"
"No mamma," Dath said.
Julie yelled again "Lace, Rem, its time to get up! Come on you're going to be late for instruction! We still have to eat breakfast."
Rem yelled back "OKAYEEE MOM!"
Shoab groaned, "I'm going to grab some coffee downstairs."
The Monday morning grind, Shoab and his family wonder downstairs to the kitchen table. As they sit down Julie's face goes blank as she peruses the breakfast downloads available from her Mindcom implant.
Julie breaks the silence "Kids, what do you want for breakfast? Spiced toast or grain cakes?" Rem, their six-year-old boy, and Lacey their eight-year-old daughter yelled grain cakes and spiced toast at the same time. This sets off the usual banter of sibling rivalry.
Lacey complained "We have spiced toast every morning!"
Shoab raised his eyebrows as he looks up from the morning news. "Julie, can't you just get them both what they want?"
Julie tilting her head toward Shoab "Ah…no, you forgot to get more base filler for Ramsey."
Shoab groaned "Sorry hun, I'll order more on my lunch break today."
Julie slightly annoyed "I'll order it after the kids start instruction."
Shoab "Thanks babe."
After Julie orders breakfast, Ramsey, a robotic arm raises from the center of the table and begins printing out spiced toast, and grain cakes from the base filler. As Ramsey was printing breakfast Lacey started cheering leading the two-year-old Dath in the chant
"Grain cakes, grain cakes, grain cakes, grain cakes!"
Rem glared at Lacey "They're so annoying!"
Shoab and Julie made brief eye contact with a small grin. "Rem, be nice buddy. You need to be the man of the house while daddy's gone for the day."
Rem perked up "I will dad." Rem had a big heart but like any six-year-old would let his temper get the best of him.
After a couple minutes Julie glanced over at the clock "Ok, lets hurry up with breakfast, instruction is starting. By this time Shoab was ready to leave for work.
A giant hologram appeared in the living room blaring music with an excited somewhat corny voice "Come on kids! IT'S INSTRUCTION TIME! Get those minds ready! We have a lot of exciting downloads today!" The kids jumped up from the table and ran over to the hologram to begin their instruction. Shoab kissed Julie and stepped out the door.
Shoab walked one block to the loop accelerator terminal. Shoab's 30-minute commute was 500 miles south. The housing was more affordable 500 miles north of the capital city NeWurk, DASPA's main headquarters. As the transport pod reached full speed Shoab rested his head back, gazing out across the land, while kicking off his favorite music channel.
The music channel greeted Shoab "Shoab, welcome back to classic oldies playing over 1,800 years of music!" Shoab kept tabs on the progress of the new DASPA power plant, a one square mile facility that was able to power the entire eastern seaboard.
Over the past 1,000 years Shoab's planet saw great advances in molecular biology, quantum physics, and gene manipulation. Most of these advances came from the invention of logic catalysts, the third generation of what people use to refer to as machine learning. DASPA was accredited with these advancements reshaping the definition of life itself. In a world becoming so interconnected through direct peer to peer mind communication people's value on personal identity became an even more sacred commodity. Food was no longer a necessity. Bodies designed in Shoab's society only required direct energy for nutrients. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, with a few other biological systems were the only native biological components left.
Life spans drastically increased as people were able to transfer between bodies and alter their existing bodies on command. The typical life span lasted 950 years, this nearly flat lined the population of the planet. Since life was extended for such a long time people realized enjoying the moment was more important then getting to the next stage in life.
The biggest social debate of the day was the age at which children were given brain implants, and how long parents were allowed to delay the development speed of their children. Most parents of the day chose to get past the terrible twos then would extend the rest of their childhood for an additional 100 years. Law dictated people could only delay a child's development for 150 years. This limit was directly tied to the amount of livable space as dictated by the WGA World Government Alliance. Conservative advocates argued children shouldn't be allowed self control of any mind altering technologies until they hit the judgement baseline of a traditional 21-year-old. They argued this would allow children and young adults the most natural path to establish their own identities before given the power of mind altering technologies. More liberal advocates argued children should be given these technologies after hitting a judgement baseline as early as 13 years old based on the notion of individual liberties. Society as a whole was very open minded but the quasi Government Corporation of DASPA controlled much of the social discourse always lobbying for a strong space military.