Welcome to the new age of humanity!”
BOOK 3: TRANSFORMATION
10
Four months after Cade’s infamous e-mail caused riots and chaos in many parts of the world, there are signs that the worst may be over. An uneasy calm now reigns in most of the areas which suffered the worst disturbances, as people begin to pick up the threads of their lives. Even the marches of millions of protesters have slowed to a trickle, although some religious groups are still on a rolling series of hunger strikes despite deaths already running into hundreds. Across much of central Africa, where the death toll from the initial paroxysm of fear and fury cannot yet even be estimated, the populace has subsided into resentful bewilderment. Martial law is still in place in many large cities, but is gradually being lifted as life gets back to normal. Only now can we begin to assess the consequences of Cade’s ruthless unilateral action, although the full balance sheet will not become apparent for many years, or even decades.
The most immediate and dramatic consequences are of course a result of the development of the kangasaurs’ “mind-linking” ability. This has affected society at all levels; the most positive outcome being what appears to be the start of a dramatic drop in organised crime due to the impossibility of concealing guilt. In those more law-abiding countries relatively unaffected by the riots and disorder, trials have virtually ceased to happen as the innocent are quickly identified and the guilty know they have no chance of escaping justice. Some previous miscarriages of justice have been identified and reversed on appeal. Face-to-face confidence tricksters have disappeared overnight. Anti-social behaviour has sharply reduced, with those who would previously behave in an inconsiderate fashion being cowed by the collective disgust of law-abiding onlookers.
More generally, there are signs that society is in some respects becoming more sociable, with people more willing to communicate with those strangers they now know are well-meaning. Far more sympathy and help is now being provided to those who are in genuine need. Romance is back in fashion, with people becoming quickly aware of any mutual attraction. A new sense of honesty is sweeping through politics, although many political organisations have agreed amnesties for politicians who have been found to have lied in the past, since there would otherwise be hardly anyone left to govern. It now appears certain that politicians will be required to wear headnets when speaking publicly or being interviewed, as soon as the technology to receive their transmissions has become widely available. Many well-known politicians have indicated that they will not be seeking re-election.
The benefits go beyond mind-linking. The shortage of doctors and nurses has suddenly vanished as people’s self-healing mechanisms and immune systems have dramatically improved in effectiveness. The old standby of the work-shy to “throw a sickie” has disappeared. People are now more conscious of their bodies’ needs and of what harms them; overindulgence in food, alcohol and other drugs has sharply reduced and far more people are discovering the benefits of physical exercise.
There are, of course, disadvantages as well. Past as well as current marital infidelities have been quickly detected, as have those individuals who no longer care for their spouses; much family disruption has occurred as a result. And while there are many examples of mutual understanding developing between those of different backgrounds and beliefs, there are also signs of a reverse effect, with those who firmly hold extreme views banding together and physically separating themselves from the censure of the rest of society. It remains to be seen whether they will attract any new followers, or will literally die out in due course.
Diplomacy is in a crisis, with the “gentlemen sent abroad” no longer able “to lie for their countries”, and the genuine opinions which world leaders hold about each other no longer able to be concealed. So far no wars have resulted, but many international relationships are on hold while new modi vivendi are worked out.
Religions have experienced mixed fortunes; in some cases, the evident faith of certain priests has strengthened their following, while the unmasked insincerity of other religious leaders has had the opposite effect.
At a more trivial level, theatre attendances have plummeted, with the acting profession seemingly in danger of dying out – although music and dance performances have soared in popularity, with the audiences gaining new insights from the emotions of the performers.
It is now clear that not everyone has acquired equal abilities. Some are more sensitive than others to people’s emotions. Only a few – probably no more than one in a thousand – have acquired the ability to heal. Perhaps fortunately, none has so far exhibited anything like the range of capabilities that Cade has demonstrated. Many find a deep mind-link difficult or uncomfortably intimate and prefer to communicate by speech, so the spoken word is unlikely to die out in the foreseeable future.
It is still too early to say how the balance between these pluses and minus will work out; the scales could still tip either way. The benefits in health, fitness and an honest, crime-free society are clear, but critics are beginning to complain about the loss of privacy and the beginning of a stifling new mood of conformity to avoid social censure. They claim that the human personality will be irreversibly changed, with spontaneity and individuality crushed, and that humanity will be much the poorer for it. At the present the main public feeling appears to be one of bewilderment; people have lost the anchors of accepted social behaviour and are trying to find new ways of living together, as evidenced by the presence of so many guides to the “new social etiquette” topping the best-sellers lists.
Before the kangasaur virus was released, the most controversial proposal had been the restriction on fertility. This has now been overshadowed by the effects of mind-linking, but views on this are still deeply divided and are likely to remain so. Broadly speaking, the developed world is in favour except for some religious groups, the poorer countries strongly opposed, although there are signs that women in even the poorest countries are beginning to welcome their control over their own fertility. This has already had an impact on the lexicon; the phrase “chewing grass” has come to mean “getting ready to take serious action”.
What of Cade? Nothing has so far been heard from him, his presumed accomplice (dubbed by some, “Typhoid Freya”), or even the kangasaurs whose technology made this possible. They have obviously considered it advisable to stay out of contact until the world has come to accept the drastic changes they have set in motion. Given the strength of feeling in so many places, they are probably wise.
Some people are already beginning to speak out in their defence; those who have suffered from severe ailments, genetic disorders or addictions now cured, together with their friends and relatives, have been vocal in their support and thanks. Homes for the frail and elderly have been closing down because so many of their rejuvenated residents have been, if not quite leaping out of bed or defenestrating their zimmer frames, at least finding that they can look after themselves once more, to their intense relief. Residents of formerly crime-ridden areas are revelling in their new freedom from fear.