Luminous Rose

By Julia Petrisor

Can a society truly know peace if the individual is not free?

 

Rose wakes up one morning in her Intellicity-12 cube in Novum Mundi, the unified mega-world made up of all the former nations on Earth, to a dissenting thought: I don't want to get my OC-TAT.

 

The OC-TAT? A mandatory tracking implant installed in all citizens of Novum Mundi on their 16th birthday.

 

Influenced by this mysterious thought, Rose embarks on a journey to free the citizens from Imperium, the Novum Mundi government, and particularly it's post-human President, the stunningly beautiful and charismatic V. Along the way, Rose receives the help of Greta and Eli, two mystical elders Rose feels inexplicably connected to. Little does Rose realize that the genesis of this connection, indeed, this mission, was a singular event that happened 70 years in the past.  

 

Moving backwards in time over a 70-year period, Luminous Rose asks the questions of whether or not humans can truly be free in a completely controlled surveillance state—and just how much free will any individual really has.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julia Petrisor
• Release date: Jul 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201663766

Julia Petrisor

Julia Petrisor is a writer and certified hypnotist (NGH and Quantum Healing Hypnosis). She is author of the self-published The Brave Diary: Hearing Your Voice Through Your Words.  She is obsessed with the intersection of money and technology and how they are tools for both liberation and control. A generalist with many interests, spiritual seeker, nature lover and open water swimmer, Julia prefers to live offline as much as possible. Luminous Rose is her first novel.   

Book preview

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

- Albert Camus

––––––––

You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.

- Malcolm X

Prologue

Past

Charging down the long, tree-lined laneway were two young girls, eight years old and the best of friends, each clutching a fistful of roses.

Earlier that day, The Botanist had given both girls nicknames. The blonde girl, quiet and pensive, was dubbed, The Mystic, while her pal, already a sturdy, vital girl with a thick head of rich honey-coloured hair, was called The Scientist.

The Mystic and The Scientist reveled in their new names, shouting to each other as they ran down the lane.

Ouch! Scientist! I’ve done it again! The Mystic called out.

Don’t touch the thorns, silly! The Scientist laughed. She dropped her roses by the side of the lane and veered off into the ditch.

The Mystic did the same, dropping her roses beside her friend’s. She followed her pal, tumbling down the grassy ditch, landing by a creek.

The Scientist bravely reached into the creek and pulled out a crayfish. The Mystic, blue eyes wide, leaned her head on The Scientist’s shoulder. The girls marvelled at the crayfish, their still tiny bodies appearing even smaller next to the enormous oak tree beside the creek.

Look at its eyes! The Scientist said, her bright green eyes examining the crayfish on all sides.

It’s dead, The Mystic said, poking its lifeless body with a stick.

The Scientist knocked the stick away. It isn’t! It’s alive! See? She held up the crayfish and wiggled it, desperately hoping to see any sign of life. It rolled over limply in her hands.

The sound of a car in the distance surprised the girls.

Daddy! Mommy! The Scientist shouted with excitement. She gently covered the crayfish with her other hand and ran along the ditch in the direction of the car.

Help us! Voices, faint and barely perceptible, permeated The Mystic’s mind. She glanced up at the road.

Oh no!  The Mystic dashed up to the road towards the roses she had dropped. As she leaned down to pick them up, she glanced up to see the car was heading straight towards her.

The Mystic closed her eyes tightly and extended her hand, reaching for the roses.

The moment her fingers connected with the thorns, the car swerved to miss her. In a squeal, the car veered off the road, down the ditch and straight into the oak tree.

The Scientist, standing only feet away, watched as the car nearly hit The Mystic before careening into the tree.

Daddy! The Scientist cried out. She tried to run towards the car, but something held her back. She was paralysed, held in place by an invisible force.

The engine burst into flames, drowning out her screams. The Scientist collapsed to the ground, wailing uncontrollably as the car burned behind her.

The crayfish, dead, fell out of her hands.

The Mystic stood on the laneway, still grasping the roses, her fingers bloodied from thorns. 

Part 1: Rose

Far Future

Chapter 1

I’m going to count from one to 10 and on the count of 10 we’re diving in – all the way down. Got it?

WildRose2080, half-girl, half-bear, clad in an all-chrome exoskeleton and chrome helmet, stood on the edge of a tall cliff, poised to dive. She tapped her helmet and a timer began the countdown. She glanced back at her ally, BlueBeaconz5, a blue half-boy, half-wolf with almond-shaped eyes, still several metres behind her.

I can barely see you! One! WildRose2080 peered over the edge. She looked back and could just make out BlueBeaconz5 approaching.

Two! Come on!

BlueBeaconz5 ran as fast as he could.

Three! WildRose2080 looked again—Chompers. A whole fleet of them. Black dogs with wheels for legs, slashing blades for mouths. There was no way she could take them.

Faster, BlueBeac! Four!

WildRose2080 pulled her goggles over her helmet. She tapped her helmet once more and an exoskeleton shield began to form around her body.  

Five!

BlueBeaconz5, only a few metres from the edge, tripped.  Ow! Wait!

Six! We can’t wait! Get up! Get up!

WildRose2080’s shield was almost completely around her. BlueBeaconz5 got up just before a Chomper could clamp its blades down on his foot. Seven!

WildRose2080, now fully shielded by a second exoskeleton, put her body into diving position. Come on, Blue, she said under her breath. She didn’t bother looking back.

Eight! She flicked a panel inside her helmet and got a glimpse of BlueBeaconz5 now right behind her. Nine! Shake that Chomper, Blue!

No sound from BlueBeaconz5. WildRose2080 couldn’t look back. She took a breath.

Here goes nothing. 10!

WildRose2080 dove off the cliff just as a Chomper opened its mouth. The blade crunched together as WildRose2080 soared in the air.

She moved her arms into position and prepared for impact. She dove cleanly into the rollicking waters. The force of her dive and the distance gave her momentum, sending her body swiftly and strongly to the bottom of the water. She landed gently on the ocean floor.

WildRose2080 didn’t waste a minute. She tapped a panel on her forearm and the shield dissipated. Next she tapped her helmet. BlueBeaconz5?

She looked up to see BlueBeaconz5 crashing through the water, floundering and struggling. Change yourself!

I’m trying! BlueBeaconz5 yelled. There’s something wrong with my controls.

WildRose2080 had already re-suited her exoskeleton to underwater mode. She floated above the bottom of the ocean, now in a slick purple wetsuit, the bear fur on her arms and legs changed to fins. She set her goggles lens to adjust for the darkness and went over to help BlueBeaconz5.

I told you not to use Wolf today, WildRose2080 admonished BlueBeaconz5.

I haven’t made it this far, BlueBeaconz5 said. I didn’t know the Citadel was under water. 

Tell me you have swim capabilities, WildRose2080 said. She peered around for enemies. She knew Chompers wouldn’t make it down here, but she also knew Aqua-tanks might appear at any moment, invincible fortified cthulu-like creatures that always meant certain death when encountered.

BlueBeaconz5 transformed out of half-wolf into a full boy. A new exoskeleton, similar to WildRose2080’s but without the fins, formed around him. 

Not sure that’s any better, WildRose2080 commented. Come on, let’s get out of here. She pushed a button on her control pad.

I don’t know if I’m ready for this, Rose, BlueBeaconz5 sounded worried. Plus we’ve already spent too long in here. We’ll get kicked out any minute now.

No way. Besides, that’s not true and you know it. They just say that to scare us. Come on. We got this. We have one thing to do: blow up the Citadel. I know how to get there. But we gotta be quick. WildRose2080 took off, swimming. She flicked on a spotlight so BlueBeaconz5 could follow.

BlueBeaconz5 swam up beside WildRose2080 and shone his light on a cave. Let’s go this way – short cut.

WildRose2080 peered into the cave. I don’t know, Blue...

BlueBeaconz5 was already in the cave before WildRose2080 could finish her thought. She heard a shriek. BlueBeaconz5’s voice was in her ear in a flash. Don’t follow me!

WildRose2080 swam above the entry to the cave. Get out of there! BlueBeaconz5 came out of the cave forcefully, as if being flushed out. Oh shit, WildRose2080 said. A dozen Aqua-tanks came charging out, teeth gnashing.

WildRose2080 swam as fast as she could, hugging the top of the cave. BlueBeaconz5 narrowly missed an Aqua-tank. You gotta do it, BlueBeaconz5 panted. I’m toast.

You have to be kidding me, WildRose2080 thought. You sure?

Do it! BlueBeaconz5 vanished. WildRose2080 tapped her helmet and bolted through the water. She reached the Citadel quickly.

The Citadel glowed underwater ahead of WildRose2080. Multi-coloured fish and fantastical creatures of all kinds buzzed around the golden spires that emerged from the top. A trail of bubbles arose from the centre, indicating life other than underwater creatures. A team of Aqua-tanks patrolled the perimeter. WildRose2080 hovered in the water, staring at the golden city, looking for a way in. It’s so beautiful, she murmured, but BlueBeaconz5 was long gone.

WildRose2080 followed a beam of golden light and swam towards it. As she reached the light, it pulled her in magnetically. She quickly emerged in the centre of the Citadel.

Shit, WildRose2080 looked at her control panel. No map. Where the hell do I drop the bomb? BlueBeaconz5? Blue!

WildRose2080’s panel started flashing and a long beep sounded.

Not now! WildRose2080 tried to get out of the Citadel but all communications were

scrambled.

The world went black.

WildRose2080’s body transformed into a million pixels and dissolved into the darkness as the beep morphed into an announcement chime: Vee-Vee Longeviteeeee! It’s for you, and it’s for meeeee!

For crying out loud!

Seated at her desk, Rose dropped the hand controller and angrily clicked the side of her Smart-specs but there was no bringing the screen back; the game was reset. Annoyed, she tapped the Smart-specs once more and brought up the general comms lens.

Flo? You still in there? No response.  

The ad stopped as swiftly as it began, and the image of V, the stunning, vital, abnormally young-looking businesswoman behind the highly profitable ViVi Longevity Solutions, appeared in Rose’s Smart-specs. Rose clicked the side again, trying to switch lenses but coverage of V had taken over. Stupid announcements, Rose sighed.

An announcement for citizens of Novum Mundi, V began. Her teeth shone brightly, perfect and white, her face remarkably wrinkle-free. Her hair, long, magical, honey-coloured locks, gathered in a bun that sat on top of her head. She smiled out at the world.

It is with my sincerest pleasure that I now announce to you all that the choice has been made. I am, officially, the second President of Imperium, and the first female President of Novum Mundi. It is all thanks to you, citizens of the Organized Cities. You have made the choice for vital, continuous leadership. I wish you all a long and healthy life. All ViVi Longevity Solutions will be half-price all week to honour this momentous occasion. Stock up while you can! Live long and live well, citizens of Novum Mundi.

Rose listened, not really caring. She was impatient, eager to get back to her game. She was just about to bomb the Citadel! It was unheard of. It would have given her more points than anyone else. This announcement was a nuisance. An interruption that had little to no relevance to Rose’s 15-year-old life in Intellicity-12.

Or so she thought.

Chapter 2

Rose tapped the side of her Smart-specs. The lens lifted and tucked itself back into the flat square top of the glasses and a clear lens dropped down in its place. On it Rose saw a notification from her best pal, Florian, aka BlueBeaconz5.

I bailed out and then the announcement hit. You back in? It’ll take me a while to get back to that level.

Rose tapped the notification, and quickly replied using voice command: I’m out. Call you later.

She pulled off her sensor sleeve and glove and tossed them on the nearby desk. She took off the Smart-specs, putting them in the breast pocket of her XBV, the exo-biovest most kids her age wore, then turned off the vest sensors on the chest and shoulders. A good XBV had functionality both inside and outside of Intellicities, giving constant connection to the Intellicity-12 grid and acting as a navigational sensor, among other things, outside of the grid. Rose flicked off the remaining XBV sensors she had activated during her game, then buttoned up the grey mechanic’s jumpsuit she wore, an old one of her father’s, the same jumpsuit she wore every day, covering the vest.    

She got up and stretched for a moment. The sheer blind on the glass window was on its daytime setting and as Rose looked out she saw a group of young girls walking by. They were about her age, 15, each one as unique as the next; a girl with black skin and bright blue eyes, another with hooded eyes, fair skin and blonde hair. The third girl, a mess of red curly hair, skin a light brown-olive mix. Thanks to rampant commingling before and after the Redistribution, no two individuals were alike in skin colour. The uniqueness of their skin, hair, eyes, bodies was tempered by their conformity, each of them dressed in clean, pressed white shirts and shiny white leggings. Rose noticed they were all also wearing the latest release of the XBV, the one with clear panels instead of muddy brown panels like Rose’s. The girls giggled as they walked by, no doubt engaged in the shopping mall Virtual World, even though citizens were repeatedly advised not to be in the Virtual Worlds—casually referred to as VRs—while walking around Intellicity-12, with the risk of losing Provided Funds if caught.

Rose let her focus pull back and caught her own reflection in the window. She knew she was different than those girls, and not just because her own skin was a blend of white, black and olive.

Even though individual expression was encouraged, albeit limited to a person’s choice of clothing and accessories, the lure of conformity, especially among citizens of the Organized Cities—the 1000 Intellicities and 100 Mass Tiered Cities scattered over Novum Mundi—ensured a level of uniformity in choice and behaviour. Rose, however, had always wanted to be different. She felt a need to stand apart, even if she couldn’t explain it. So she did what she could to distinguish herself. In this case, while most girls her age chose to wear their hair long, Rose preferred to keep her straight, jet-black hair short. She shaved it into a spiral pattern in the back and over her right ear, leaving some hanging over the left side.

Rose was classified as a girl, labelled as such across all of her data, but she more often felt like a boy. Her skin was clear, her body lean and strong while still soft, her curves just beginning to develop. She knew she could change her gender classification at any time, but she also knew her mother might be upset at the thought of losing her daughter.

Her mother, Lizbet, was an anomaly, though, because nobody cared about gender in the Intellicities. Clothes were all unisex, made for both men and women, there were no distinctions, no blue for boys, pink for girls like Rose’s parents had been exposed to. The classifications were only another piece of data that rounded out a citizen profile in the Novum Mundi Organized Cities. She only ever thought about it herself once in a while. She knew she was pretty, but she wanted to be handsome. Maybe this was why she loved wearing her father’s old jumpsuit. It was huge, made of a thick, grey cotton, with Rod written on a badge on the right pocket. He used to wear it when he worked as a mechanic, before all engine-run cars were made obsolete. Well, all but the trucks her father continued to work on from time to time, the last of their kind, used to ship meat from the Meat Factories to the Organized Cities. Rose wore the old jumpsuit daily, sleeves and ankles rolled up, running shoes on her feet instead of the shiny, narrow, heeled boots girls her age favoured. Swimming in the jumpsuit, Rose often looked more like a boy than a girl and that suited her just fine.

Rose, like all the other Intellicity-12 kids her age, had healthy self-esteem; almost too healthy. Hyper-concerned parents coddled her generation much like Imperium coddled its citizens, giving them everything they possibly could, treating them like princes and princesses. It resulted in high self-esteem and an even greater sense of entitlement. Thanks to her father being adamant he would raise kids who were confident but not useless, like so many of these entitled children were, Rose’s confidence was grounded, something that also made her unique among her peers.

Rose not only enjoyed a higher sense of self-esteem than was typical of her peers, she also had an innate sense of love for herself, even if it was somewhat superficial. What she loved most about herself were her deep, dark brown eyes, so brown they were almost black; two ponds of midnight. She knew no one could ever tell what she was thinking; her eyes retained all of her secrets. Not like those giggling girls outside, shallow, vapid, entitled, every one of them. Destined for lives of servitude and submission. Lives of total control, control even beyond the confines of the Organized City systems.

Not Rose. She was not like them.

Stop looking at us, one of the girls’ voices intruded into Rose’s thoughts. Rose pulled out her Smart-specs and clicked the side. Stupid Cog-trans and its stupid auto-setting, she thought to herself, not for the first time. She hated how the Cog-trans, the cognitive thought transmitter installed in every pair of Smart-specs, always reset itself and she had no control over it. She turned it off. She looked out the window and saw the redhead looking back at her, scowling. Rose smiled back at the girl, casually flipping the middle finger of her right hand, a gesture her father had taught her. 

Rose wandered out of her room and through the family cube to the kitchen in search of a snack. The television in the main living room blared loudly, as it usually did until Bedtime settings turned on. Her brother Teddy, 10 years old, sat watching it.

The solution for a longer life. Try ViVi today! rang out yet another commercial for ViVi Longevity Solutions. Rose hated those ads. She thought V looked fake, with her perfectly clear skin and thick, luscious hair, a unique red-blonde-brown colour—a colour Rose’s mom called honey which meant nothing to Rose—with no trace of grey. She had heard rumours that V was actually 80, but she certainly didn’t look it. Rose had also inherited her father’s skepticism about the longevity products that ViVi Longevity Solutions, V’s company, pushed.

Post-human shyster, Rose would hear her father say under his breath every time V came on the screen.

V’s white teeth practically lit up the room from the screen, her laugh tinkling like a crystal waterfall. Mingle in ViVi’s exclusive world on VR 99 today! Scan your OC-TAT and use code VVNow for access.

Arti-F, lower volume, Rose commanded. The television volume lowered. Teddy turned around, scowling.

Arti-F, raise volume! Teddy shouted.

Didn’t you hear the announcement? Every channel is going to have President crap on it. I guarantee it. Arti-F—

Arti-F, raise volume! Teddy shouted above Rose. She gave up the fight. Her little brother annoyed her, like most little brothers did. Apart from his skin, which was darker than Rose’s, he looked more like their mom than their dad, an uncontrolled mess of curly blond hair atop his little 10-year-old head, bright blue eyes that noticed everything. He also acted more like their mom; conservative, rule-abiding. Rose and her dad were the rabble-rousers in the family.

Rose ignored her brother and the loud television, a television that never stopped. Televisions were required to be on at all times in every Intellicity. They were designed to run perpetually and it was impossible to turn them off. At night, the television offered low-volume autonomous sensory meridian response videos on one channel, perpetual entertainment on all the rest. It wasn’t uncommon for people to watch television around the clock, especially anyone who wasn’t a student or otherwise occupied in the VRs. The VRs or virtual reality worlds housed everything citizens needed, from school to shopping to a few select jobs, not to mention a plethora of games, casinos, entertainment. It was impossible to turn it down when an Imperium message was being broadcast, which seemed to be almost every six hours most days. Considering the world was united and there was only one government, war had been eradicated, and everyone received the same amount of money via Provided Funds from Imperium, did they really need so many announcements?

Rose found her mother in the kitchen, swiping her tablet and listening to the kitchen television broadcast every detail of the appointment of the new President of Novum Mundi. Her light brown hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Sometimes when Rose looked at her mother, with her pink cheeks and wholesome face, she couldn’t believe they were related, they looked so different.

The kitchen in Rose’s family cube, as in all other Intellicity Living Cubes, was a compact square of stainless-steel counters and white cabinets. Two deep sinks and a wide oven with six rings on the stove top rounded out the cooking area. A round steel table was bolted to the floor in the middle of the room, where the family was required to eat. If they took food out of the kitchen, Arti-F sounded an alert, a feature Lizbet programmed. Rose’s friend Florian’s mother let them eat anywhere in the cube. Not so, Lizbet. She was adamant she would raise her children sane and healthy, as she reminded Rose regularly, and that included eating all meals together as a family.

Hi, mom, Rose pushed a button on the tall stainless-steel fridge. The fridge opened and a bottle of water came forward on a tray. She opened the bottle and took a sip. Did you hear the announcement?

Of course! Exciting, isn’t it? Her mother beamed.

I guess so.

The beam faded. Lizbet sighed. I know you’ve had everything handed to you so far in your short life but let me tell you, I never thought I’d live to see the day a woman would become president. And not just President of a single nation, President of Novum Mundi! Lizbet lit up again. I’m definitely pleased. This is a victory for every feminist there ever was.

Rose took another swig. She knew about feminism and the Suffragette movement, having learned it in History Module 6 the year before. But she had no real sense of what it felt like to be discriminated against. No one under age 20 who lived in an Intellicity did. After the Redistribution, all nations of Earth joined together. The new world created out of this unification was named, aptly even if rather on the nose, Novum Mundi, its consolidated government called Imperium. Order and conformity make a peaceful population, or so Rose had been told for as long as she could remember.

Lizbet continued swiping her tablet. She paused a moment, then gently pressed her wrist against the tablet. A bell chimed. She tapped the tablet and a holograph image of a book appeared in three dimensions on top of the glass surface.

What are you buying?

A new cookbook! I thought I’d change it up. New ways to cook protein loaf might be nice, right? Lizbet flipped through the book, flicking her wrist in the air to turn the pages.

She glanced up from her new cookbook and scrutinized her daughter. Oh, Rose. Why do you wear that old jumpsuit all the time?

What? I like it.

Let me buy you something nice. Something that might make you look like a fifteen-year-old girl instead of some oddly female version of your father when he was a teen.

Mom, I don’t want to look like everyone else.

I don’t know what you’ve got against being like the rest of us. Conformity unites! Conformity is what allows us to live peacefully. Don’t take it for granted. Rose rolled her eyes. Come here, take a look, Lizbet collapsed the hologram book with a pinch of her fingers. She opened a new tab and another hologram popped up. The avatars of young girls and their mothers strolled through a virtual shopping mall, surrounded by stores and kiosks. Or maybe you want to go into VR 24 with me one day? We can go shopping at all of the stores girls your age like. Look— Lizbet widened her fingers over the hologram and a shop with dresses appeared. These look nice. What do you think?

No thanks, Rose sighed and took a swig of her juice. Out of the 500 VRs, VR 24 was the least cool and the last place Rose wanted to spend time. It was noisy and full of uninspired avatars, avatars that nearly always looked exactly like the young girls and frantic mothers outside of the VR. The least people could do is use inspired avatars, Rose thought.  

It might be nice to have a dress for your Installation Ceremony. I saw some lovely ceremony dresses on VR 24 last week. I thought of buying one for you. Let me see if I can find it... Lizbet collapsed the hologram and started scrolling. Would you like that?

No, Mom! A dress! Rose cringed. Could her mother not hear her?

Lizbet ignored Rose’s frustration. I’ll make us a date, she put on her Smart-specs and clicked the side. A lens popped down with a calendar on it. She tapped the front of the Smart-specs, then pushed the small button on the top of the right frame. Done. You’re invited. You and me. VR 24 tomorrow.

Rose heard her Smart-specs ping in her vest pocket. Whatever. She picked up her juice and headed out of the kitchen. Where’s dad?

Out back. Counting his useless dollars, Lizbet glanced up at the television and stared at V waving from the top of Mass Tiered City 4 on the screen. She momentarily became entranced, pulled in by V’s charisma and beauty.

Order. Conformity. Control. All thanks to our efforts as a collective, we have utilized these elements to establish a peaceful world. Indeed, our Novum Mundi and Imperium have now created not only the most peaceful time period the Earth has known for centuries but the longest lasting peace. You have my word as your President that peace through order will remain top of my agenda. Indeed, peace through order is my legacy.

Lizbet turned back to Rose. Imagine, Rose. That could be you one day! V has truly paved the way for women. Lizbet swooned over V, watching her admiringly. And look at her! Did you know she’s actually 80? Doesn’t look a day over 30. Truly a miracle. Aren’t we lucky?

Rose smirked at her mom. As if. Mom, you know that’s just a rumour, right?

Lizbet waved Rose off and watched V a moment longer before returning to her recipes, oblivious of Rose’s disdain for her suggested mother-daughter activity and the television’s relentless push of V. She’s President. Great, thought Rose, unable to see how it would make any difference in her life. She headed to the door in search of her father.  

Side kitchen door is open, Arti-F alerted as Rose opened the glass door to the backyard. Rose shut the door.

She strolled outside to the tiny patch of concrete yard behind their cube. Her father lay on a mat, eyes closed, face towards the sky. Several stacks of bound hundred-dollar bills sat beside him. Rose’s dad, Rod, loved going to the nearest Cashtown, squatter-filled abandoned cities where people still traded in paper currencies. Once in a while, he’d go out there and fix an old car someone managed to get running. When this happened, he’d be paid in dollars.

Rod also made dollars doing odd jobs for the Ring, a circle of hackers who hid out in Cashtown and the Outerlands. Rod had grown up with Graeber, the head of the Ring, an overly talented, overly paranoid, hacker who refused to participate in Imperium. Rod told Rose once that Graeber and the Ring were the last remaining anarchists in the world. When Rose later learned what an anarchist was, however – according to Graeber’s definition—she began to wonder if perhaps she wasn’t one herself.

Lizbet was always frustrated when Rod came home clutching a fist full of dollars, however, because they were useless in the Provided Fund system. In the Organized Cities, otherwise known as the Intellicities and Mass Tiered Cities, when a citizen turns 16, they are implanted with an OC-TAT. The OC-TAT itself resembled a high-tech tattoo; a rectangular silver bar that was stamped into the underside of every citizen’s right wrist. Once attached to its new host, the bar connects to the DNA of that host itself. Everything that is quantifiable about a citizens’ existence turns into data that flows to both Imperium and OneBank, the only bank in Novum Mundi. After a month living in its new host, the OC-TAT itself becomes a pulsing signal, constantly monitoring and tracking every single thing, from a person’s vital statistics to their location to their spending. The screen of the OC-TAT is dormant for the most part, but quick to light up with alerts, notifications as necessary. Some people like to set their OC-TATs to have an image of their family roll across the screen; most people left it to itself, as if by doing so they can somehow avoid its existence.

Most importantly, however, it is through the OC-TAT that citizens of the Organized Cities receive their first allotment of PFs, Provided Funds, a basic income of 5000 omnis. When all of the banks merged into OneBank a new, centralized digital currency, the omni, was introduced. During the Redistribution, all individual national currencies were dissolved and traded for omnis. At the same time, all debt