Sinoid War

By pc2

Shing woke up after 85 years in year 2110. He was stunned by the advanced technology of the future. That was totally another dimension for him. He trained himself hard to become a race car driver. Yet he was involved in anti-government movements. How would that jeopardize his life in a strange world? Why did he head to the Mars? Read this book to know about the technologies in the future and what is the Sinoid war about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: pc2
• Release date: Aug 19, 2019

Book preview

Sinoid War

[pc]²

Chapter One: Rise from Dormant

Wake up procedure initiated, said a robot voice.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Boom! Hiss! Hiss! A long silence. Boom!

Wake up procedure complete. Waiting for client to wake up.

Another long silence. The man in the chamber slowly opened his eyes.

Ah... What is this place? the man asked uneasily, coughing and touching his head with his hand. Ah... headache...

Staff in the control room saw the man coming to and rushed to notify the medical staff to inspect him.

Do! Do! Do! Do! A series of beeping sound was heard.

A member of the medical staff approached the man. Its robot eyes emitted invisible beams of light, screening the head and eyes of the man. Reporting...everything is normal. Heartbeat is good, blood pressure normal, nutrition good, hydration good. Status: Healthy.

Bullshit. My head is spinning. I have a headache.

Headache might be caused by other factors. I will check for you.

Forget it. I will be fine in a moment. I don’t need a doctor’s help, the man commented, pushing the doctor's hand away.

Mr. Ma, I can assure you that I am a certified doctor. I provide professional medical services in a legal manner.

Alright! Ma waved his hand impatiently. How long have I slept?" he asked.

Today is August 11, 2110.

What? Oh, I remember now. I bought that 85-year wake-up service. I started sleeping in 2025. Things flipped fast. I wonder how the world looks now? Doctor, I would like to go outside and take a look, Ma said, looking at the doctor.

No problem at all, sir. Please walk to the front desk to get paperwork done. All the belongings you had before will be returned.

Thank you. Ma got out of the chamber and walked out of the room. He abruptly stopped and turned his head back, looked at the doctor and asked with his voice shivering, You—you are a robot?

Yes, sir. I am a robot.

Ma was stunned and frozen for a while. He then walked around the doctor a few times, studying it. May I touch your hand? Ma asked like a curious child.

Yes, you may. The doctor knew Ma asked out of curiosity, not with bad intention, and that Ma had just slept for 85 years. He was totally disconnected with the world.

Wow! Amazing! Ma complimented while touching the doctor's skin.

He studied the robot for a while. When he looked up, he saw the robot was watching him with a smile. Ma felt embarrassed. His face flushed.

Oh... excuse me. Ma apologized as his ears turned red.

Mr. Ma, your ears are red. That is OK. No need to feel embarrassed. I am a service robot designed to serve humans. So please, do not feel embarrassed.

This indeed is an amazing technology! I am surprised that technology has advanced so much, Ma commented.

Yes, Mr. Ma. I am a humandroid. Humandroids were in mass production around 60 years ago.

Oh! I see. It seems that I have a lot to catch up on. Ma felt sad.

Usually our clients go to the library to search for information or catch up with the gap, the doctor said in an enthusiastic tone.

That is a good idea. I will check out right now. Ma thanked the doctor and walked to the front desk. Nobody was at the front desk.

A gentle female voice spoke. Mr. Ma, would you like to check out? I am happy to help you with that. If you do not wish to leave the facility, you may always stay. We will help you find out how much the world has changed since you slept. We have a library in your service.

Uh... Ma hesitated. That offer seemed attractive to him. If he walked out the door this way, he might be truly laughed at. After all, 85 years was not a short time. The world certainly had changed a lot.

Are you worried that once you leave, you might not be able to come back to enjoy our services?

Ah. How did you know what was on my mind?

I determined your thoughts based on your brain waves, sir, the voice said.

What? Brain waves? Ma was stunned again.

Please be assured, Mr. Ma, Our services have a lifetime guarantee. Regarding medical services, wake up service is no longer provided. However, there are lots of new services for you, the voice said before Ma could raise his question on the brain wave technology. Before you leave the facility, Mr. Ma, we need to perform an operation on you, as required by the Law. The operation involves implanting a communication chip in your body, the voice continued to tell Ma.

Oh? What operation is that again? Ma asked doubtfully.

The Law requires all humans, including newborns, to implant a chip in their spinal cord within a year.

What is the purpose of that chip?

The chip is capable of storing data, computing, communicating, and completing financial transactions, among other things. The purpose of the government is to track people.

There is no privacy.

The government will only activate this function when a person breaks the Law. There is no need to be afraid, Mr. Ma.

I feel awkward! I think I have to prepare for something unexpected to happen, Ma whispered to himself.

Not to worry, Mr. Ma. You will get used to your new life soon. You were away for a long time. Over the years, technology has advanced a lot. Current technology might seem surreal to you. But you will get familiar very soon, the air proclaimed.

You can hear me even though I whispered so softly. You are amazing, Ma thought. That is incredible!

The air answered Ma's thought. We are product of technology. That is all.

What? You read my mind? Is this artificial mind reading?

This is brain wave analysis, Mr. Ma. Doctor #1820, who just served you, used it too, the air replied politely.

How do you know what he said to me?

All the information in this facility is connected. The interaction between you and anything will be transmitted almost instantly to other devices in the facility, the air explained in detail.

Oh. I got it. Ma nodded his head. Now do you know what I am thinking? No response. There was dead air for a few seconds. If I try to fool you by controlling my brain wave, then you won't be able to do anything, so to speak? Ma asked, trying to understand the bottom line of the brain wave analysis. No response yet. If my brainwave is flat, you are not able to guess my thoughts, correct? Ma went on to question.

That is true, sir. The technology has not matured to one hundred percent accuracy yet. But if the subject has fluctuation in his or her brain wave, that will usually be picked up.

How accurate would that be? Ma was curious.

Around 80%, I would say.

That is very good indeed. Ma nodded his head with appreciation. It’s a lot better than palm reading and Chinese trigrams, Ma continued. I believe mind reading will soon be real and 100% accurate.

May I leave after the operation? Ma asked, changing the subject.

Yes. If you are ready, we may start at any time.

Then let it start. I want to talk a walk outside, explore a little bit what the new world will offer me! Ma joked with a laugh, knowing that he could always come back for shelter.

Ha ha! You are funny, Mr. Ma, the air laughed, appreciating Ma's sense of humor. A self-rolling wheelchair showed up. Please be seated, Mr. Ma, the wheelchair said.

An inanimate object is able to talk, Ma thought. It is like the Wizard of Oz. Okay, Ma replied, sitting on the chair. The wheelchair transformed to a flat operation bed while moving toward the operation room. Ma lay down on his back as the bed explained the operation procedure.

We will hit you with electric current, using acupuncture as general anesthesia. That is, pins will be inserted to acupoints to prevent you from experiencing any pain. To prevent you from waking during the operation, you will be strapped down at the hands and the waist. We will cut open the spine, insert a chip, connect nerves in the spine to the chip, and then sew the wound. We will then apply acupuncture again to speed up the healing. The entire operation will take around 3 hours: anesthesia 2 minutes, insert chip 4 minutes, and healing 3 hours. Do you have any questions about the operation, Mr. Ma? Please verbally authorize the operation if not.

Yes. I authorize the operation. Ma responded without hesitation. In less than a minute, the bed rolled into an operation room. A robot arm extended from the ceiling. A tiny needle poked at Ma's neck. Ma passed out when electric current came through the needle. Other robot arms moved and put needles on Ma's body while beams of blue light scanned Ma’s body. After a while, the underside of the bed opened up at the neck area. A surgery knife cut open Ma's skin and flesh. A few microscopic holes were drilled on Ma's spine. A chip was attached to the spine with some glue-like substance. The operations paused for a few seconds to let the glue dry. Next was gluing the flesh and skin back together with another type of glue. The robot arms continued the operation by removing some needles from Ma's body and putting some needles on new locations to speed up the healing process. The entire operations lasted three hours, if not less. The earlier estimate was, of course, accurate. The wounds were healing quickly. A robot arm sprayed some chemical to Ma's nostrils to bring Ma back to conscious.

Ah... Ma opened his eyes. Is it over, already? Ma asked when he came to himself.

Yes, sir. The operation is complete with no issues whatsoever. How do you feel, Mr. Ma? the wheelchair replied slowly while moving upward to transform from a bed to a wheelchair.

Very nice. I feel good. At least the headache is gone. Ha ha!

Completing its transformation, the bed-turned-wheelchair asked, Would you like to take off now, Mr. Ma? We can check you out right away.

I would like to know something about this chip. What does it do to me, and how can I use it in my daily life? Ma requested swiftly.

Certainly. There is information in the library for you to browse. The chip is able to communicate; it can surf the internet as well. It can also connect you to our services, the wheelchair continued.

Wow, awesome! That is incredible!

Yes, it is. The chip is a micro-computer with communication functionalities. Its features can be extended infinitely, the wheelchair replied, steering Ma to the library. Soon enough, they arrived. Please move to another chair, Mr. Ma, requested the wheelchair.

Sure. But wait, there is no chair... Ma held his hands up, suddenly noticing the lack of furniture. Printed on the floor in front of him was the image of a chair.

Please step inside the chair logo. Step on the two shoeprints and sit down. Air will blow up to support your body, another voice, which belonged to the room assistant, declared.

Oh, I get it... Ma nodded. Perhaps this computer had never met a person with an 85-year generation gap. That air chair was new to Ma. He stepped onto the two shoeprints and sat down. Air blew from below, as predicted. It was able to support his weight. Wee! This air chair is fun! Ha! Ma was as playful as a kid. He leaned to the side to see how it looked underneath. He waved his hands beneath the air chair. Cold air blowing my butt... this is some cool stuff. Wait, kind of too cold... Can you make the air warm? Ma requested.

Of course, the room assistant responded calmly. The temperature of the air chair began to rise.

Turn it warmer. Ma put his hands beneath the chair again to feel the temperature. That is good. As he spoke, he suddenly jumped up and sat back down, testing the chair. It was still activated without error. Wow. High tech, really high tech! Ha ha! Ma burst into laughter like a kid. This is like those squats I did as a child. But this was even better. Okay, I would like to watch some information on the chip. Ma was getting used to speaking to the air now.

No problem! An image was projected right in front of Ma. Looking up, Ma noticed a track in the ceiling. A wall formed, following the track to surround Ma. In a quick moment, Ma found himself in a room, a room constructed in free will. These walls are really something. Imagine a huge space without any walls. Rooms can be constructed on the fly anywhere when needed and removed afterward. If a room needs to be formed, two tracks will be established. One on the ceiling and the other on the ground. A thin plastic film stretches between the tracks. Once electrified, the soft film turns hard and will be as strong as steel. The exterior wall of buildings can be made this way too.

Ma watched a clip on depicting the functions and operations of a chip. The chip contains lots of built-in functions, and some functions can be extended. To make good use of the chip, a person basically needs a private assistant. Personal Assistant is an application interface that sits between the chip and a person. The owner can change the settings of the assistant. This personal assistant is similar to Alexa, Corina in a sense. The owner can talk to it. For an instance, if you want to dial a phone, just simply communicate this to your assistant. Your assistant will search and dial the number for you. The chip contains GPS function. It allows easy location of a person. It can be used for tracking families or friends (with their authorization, of course). Others, such as memory, can be extended. Any extension or addition needs to be registered. It is all governed by the authority. It is big money for the government. The government does not only make a profit from those extensions of chip. In fact, all body parts are controlled by the government. Body parts is an interesting business, it will be discussed in detail later. Now Ma knew something about the chip and how to operate it.

But Ma did not leave the library. Everything seemed to be so new to Ma. Ma acted like a child seeing new toys, he couldn't help sticking his nose in everything. Ma's curiosity just kicked in. It couldn’t be stopped. He wanted to know more of the world, what was in the current world. Yeah. That’s right. Let me check out the transportation. Ma spoke to the air.

Sure thing, sir. The computer projected information on transportation. For private parties, people fly electric flying cars. That is, electric cars that fly. Solar and wind power are extinct. Electricity comes from lightning. A 4-inch battery has a capacity of 5,000 kilowatt hours. That is enough to power an electric car for a month. When a battery runs dry, there is no need to recharge it. Instead, owners just swap it with a good one. ‘Swap and go’ is the slogan. You pay what is stored in the battery. Homes are also powered by these batteries. It is fair to say that the electric company monopolizes the battery market. Of course, there is more than one operator in a nation. There are competitions.

Uh... Ma was relieved to take a break after spending two hours on information about electric cars and how electricity is used in the world. That was exhausting for him. Why don't I go out for a walk, Ma thought. Go check out the real world instead of being a homebody. Let me go wander around outside. I can always come back if needed. Ma spoke out loud to the air.

No problem at all. I am happy to assist you on that. I will escort you to the front desk. the air replied in a polite manner. The wheelchair wheeled to Window One at the front desk in a blink. Window One projected detailed information about the wake-up service to which Ma had subscribed.

Client: Wan Shing Ma

Service: Wake-up

Effective Date: August 11, 2025

Termination Date: August 11, 2110

Fee: $500,000 (PAID)

Investment Account: High risk ($2,000,000)

Current Value: $25,000,000

Ma was a Chinese American in the norm. His ancestors came from North China. That was why he had a high-bridged nose and double eyelid. He was not handsome at all, a 32-year old gentleman, 5' 11", 160 pounds with a medium build. He was more regular than regular. Before sleeping he was a businessman. He worked out constantly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Among all sports, he liked free fighting best.

Mr. Ma, you have the option to transfer some funds to the savings account or other accounts for daily transactions, the front desk assistant informed Ma.

Are all my funds at Fremont Bank?

That bank was acquired by JP Morgan years back. Your account is with JP Morgan now.

"What bank can I transfer the funds to?

JP Morgan also provides personal banking services. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are the largest banks.

Oh really? What about small banks? Can I pick a small bank?

Well, small banks do not exist.

Oh, why is that?

Well, hackers were once very active. They targeted lots of small banks. Since mall banks were more vulnerable in terms of security, it was hard for them to protect customers' accounts without putting up a lot of investment in computer security. To survive, those small bank merged with larger banks.

Are the hackers nowadays from Russia, North Korea and Iran, like they used to be?

Yes, and no. Some come from Russia; some are ISIS. North Korea and Iran, however, are gone now.

What? Really? I can't believe it! Ma was shocked by what he heard. North Korea and Iran were removed? It seems I need to understand more about the global environment. Ma had an idea on his mind. Well, please open a bank account for me, Ma told the assistant.

I would like to suggest you buy some extensions for your chip. You should install a personal assistant to handle all the activities for you, Mr. Ma.

Oh. Where do I buy that personal assistant? Ma questioned out of total ignorance.

We do have a wide variety of extensions on-site. You can browse through the catalog and pick what you think is appropriate for you.

Ma picked a few extensions. These included memory extension, satellite communication, entertainment, personal assistant, 3D projector, headset, microphone, and headband. The headband is a cool gadget. In fact, it is a micro-computer, made into the shape of a headband. When it opens, it is a simple headband; when it fully closes, flaps of metal close to protect the head. The headband has extended memory, speakers and a microphone for communication. Satellite communication, entertainment, and 3D projection can be added to upgrade its functionalities.

Jenny, please open a checking account for me at JP Morgan. That was the first task Ma sent Jenny. Jennifer was Ma's personal assistant. Ma named ‘her’ Jenny.

None of the banks provide checking account service any more, sir. There is no need for checks, Jenny explained to her newly-born ignorant master.

Okay, so a savings account then. Ma said, shrugging his shoulders.

Master, please authorize brain wave scan...

Authorized.

Please authorize eye scan...

Authorized.

Please provide a 64,000-character password to complete the process, Jenny stated.

What? That is a very deep password. Ma thought for a moment and started to dance his fingers on the keypad. Clickety-click, clack-click-clack, click. Ma typed a series of characters.

Can I use Chinese words?

Yes, anything at all. You can even draw. Many people use a combination of characters and images. Plain characters would be too long, Jenny replied.

Drawing a turtle would work too, I guess? Ha ha! Ma jokingly asked.

Ha ha! That certainly will do it. Jenny thought her master was a person with a good sense of humor. Would you like me to store the password in the vault? Jenny asked after Ma finished typing.

Certainly. I would not remember or bother to write that down myself, Ma answered, raising his eyebrows.

Okay, Jenny said.

How much is twenty-five million dollars? Ma raised his head and asked.

Knowing her master was from a different era, Jenny explained, Twenty-five million dollars now is like twenty million dollars in your time. The government re-issued the U.S. dollar three times during that 85-year span. The purpose was to keep the face amount of the dollar the same.

Does that mean it is enough to buy ten luxury homes?

Well... The concept of homes is totally different from the old days. Few people buy homes. They rent land.

Uh, why is that? Out of curiosity, Ma did not wait to ask.

I think you should take a driving tour to see what has changed. You should buy a flying car. How much money would you like to transfer from the investment account to savings account? Jenny asked.

How much do I have to put up for a flying car?

The price depends on the size of the car. The range is huge. One thing to note is that homes are combined with cars. That is, people can drive their homes around. Of course, there are also individual cars without homes.

Uh, I am confused. What do you mean?

Please check the video out. Jenny told Ma. One video is worth ten thousand words. After watching the video, Ma told Jenny, Find me a restaurant for a good meal. I will get a home after the meal. How does that sound?

No problem. I will transfer two million dollars for you. That would be enough for a decent home. We can transfer more if needed, Jenny said in a soft tone.

Cool. Let's do that.

In less than three seconds, Jenny reported, The transfer is done completely.

That is quick! Ma said, sticking out his tongue.

Chapter Two: World in the Future

Technology is very advanced. Computers operate in the magnitude of nanoseconds. It is fast even compared to human senses. In the old days, a webpage would refresh in a few seconds. Now the entire bank transaction is completed in 2 to 3 seconds, way faster than the old days. Ma