United Earth 2252

By Malek Nazemi, M.D.

Humans inherently seek control, and this book demonstrates how the leadership in the future will resort to science in order to achieve an absolute power. All those control methods are in simple terms explained in the text. Not only the leadership but also the scientists must shoulder the guilt. The leadership justifies its action by claiming that humans have misunderstood and therefore indiscriminately abused their freedom, fomenting irreconcilable conflicts. In the world of 2252, family as a manifestation of free will is forbidden. Only genetically selected and modified individuals are used for reproduction. A Medulla control (Medcon), a Vibrotector (a nano transducer at the base of the skull) and an Emotector, positioned at the mamilothalamic tract, are at birth implanted into newborn brains, enabling the Central Computer to constantly monitor all citizens' locations, their speech, and their emotional state. Medcon can also inflict three intensities of reprimand (pain, seizures, and death). Eventually, the scientists, too, fall victim. They organize the doomed Eurasus Revolution. Ultimately, only several determined people are left whose human spirit is never permitted to fail them. In contrast to other dystopian literature, this book is based only on applied science and is not imaginary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781639854875

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Map

Chapter 1: The Newborn

Chapter 2: The Science Cadets

Chapter 3: The Great Conspiracy

Chapter 4: Medulla Control Base

Chapter 5: The World of 2251

Chapter 6: Tinnet

Chapter 7: The Revolutionary Centcom

Chapter 8: Human Mass Reproduction on the Eve of United Earth

Chapter 9: The Normal Human Female

Chapter 10: The Operation Human Sacrifice

Chapter 11: Intricacies of Love

Chapter 12: The Massacre of Azuk

Chapter 13: The Mi Wau

Chapter 14: The Human Experiment Branches

Chapter 15: Wishful

Chapter 16: The Operation Reverse Stimulus

Chapter 17: Return to the Inner Zones

Chapter 18: The Battle of Warsaw

Chapter 19: Volove

Chapter 20: The Third List

Chapter 21: The Ambush

Chapter 22: The Battle of Kinsk

Chapter 23: The Last Journey

Chapter 24: In the Eagle's Nest

Chapter 25: The New Earth Year

Chapter 26: What's a Mother?

The Aftermath

About the Author

cover.jpg

United Earth 2252

Malek Nazemi, M.D.

Copyright © 2023 Malek Nazemi, M.D.

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

ISBN 979-8-88505-219-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63985-487-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to Mariam, Bettina, Tanya, Fareed, Cyrus, Sina, Ladan, David, Paris, Nikki, and Ava.

Map

…those who denied the lessons of history were ignored, ignored history.

Chapter 1

The Newborn

April 8, 2232, early in the afternoon

After an exceptionally heavy winter, the snow still covered a vast span of land spreading from the Tibetan Plateau to as far west as the Caspian Sea and beyond. Six hundred kilometers east of the Aral Sea, in the Turanian Plain, in a hazy sunlight, the city of Kashgar basked peacefully along the winding banks of Chu River.

The nuclear war of 2139 had ravaged many industrialized sites in Eurasus Union as well as Americas Continents. After the war, Kashgar was one of the many cities rebuilt at a different site from the original city. The infant city was not much different from the other large urban developments within the wide boundaries of Eurasus Union. In its eastern outskirts, on a gentle hill overlooking the river, the Regional Electronic Biocontrol Division dominated the landscape: A large central building stood like a giant hub of a wheel embraced by a dozen smaller structures.

The entire laboratory complex on the forty-eighth floor of the central building belonged to the head of the Regional (Electronic) Biocontrol Division, where he conducted his research.

On that afternoon, the researches on the new depot polyglycin neohormone project and the gamma antipole equipment had reached their final phases, and the division head had decided to personally supervise their first field test.

The large amphitheater-like operating room belonged to the no. 18 laboratory complex. Its quadruple-tiered walls overlooked a narrow, roughly oval central platform and an operating table. The walls and even part of the high ceiling were plastered with a variety of mostly electronic instruments. Each of the four rows was staffed with three to six personnel wearing the light-green uniform of the Biocontrol Division. The jackets were closed in the front and brass-buttoned on the left from shoulder down to a dark-gray belt. The shoulders carried silver rank insignia. Two of the personnel also carried service decorations below their identification tags on the right chest. They all wore tight-fitting, light-blue trousers that were tucked into shiny, dark-brown half-boots. No one talked. Some threw an occasional glance at the large clock above the entrance; a few checked and rechecked their instruments, and all remained waiting. Only a lulling, monotonous murmur from several pieces of equipment and an occasional squeaking sound of a newborn punctuated the stagnant silence. A tense calm, as if in the eye of a storm.

On the green operating table, a newborn lay on its abdomen with face turned to the side. On and off, the puffy eyes briefly opened and looked aimlessly at the strange surroundings. A narrow stream of light-brown amniotic fluid ran across its pink cheek and continued down along the tiny nose toward the upper lip. For the most part, the fluid had already dried into tiny red-brown flakes, some glistening under the strong light. The upper lip repeatedly opened for an intended cry, but instead, it draped over the lower lip and settled for a succession of suckling movements. Two attendants stood at the table.

Not far away, in fact just outside the operating room in the upper tier gangway, a tall man stood motionless in front of a large window with one leg anchored in the low ledge below the glass and a golden baton of honor tightly tucked under his arm. He kept staring at the austere landscape in the distance; for ten minutes, he had remained in that position and said nothing. A few steps behind him two guards from Security and a level I science assistant stood at attention—and waited.

Suddenly, he turned around and said, In any society, commendable goals can only be reached by dependable citizens.

There was no response from his small audience.

He went on, A united Earth, the ultimate dream of all mankind…the destruction of America's continents…

Again, he fell into a brooding silence, but not for long. He pressed his baton on the science assistant's chest and said, Poloven, do you know how those utmost goals are realized?

He did not wait long for an answer and went on, "By devotion to our ideals and, yes, changes, lots of changes. After what I have done, the Union must finally heed my advice. The Viability Rate for a refined breed of United Terrans must be revised…and those traitors—there are still many unyielding, treasonous nuclei within the heart of our great society. Those malignant cells must be excised and disposed of." There was another long silence.

Finally, Poloven said, Sir, forgive me, but today, you have a late evening meeting at the capital city and—

Yes, yes, what else is on my schedule?

First, a brief supervision of the latest depot polyglycin neohormone implant and the initial field test on the recently designed gamma antipole device. Second, a forty-five-minute introductory lecture to the newly inducted science cadets. Finally, you have the flight to Caucasus Center.

I can't be late to the Capital City. So let's get on with this.

As the door slid open, the two Security personnel at both sides of the upper-tier entrance to the operating room raised their right arm to the customary hand-to-chest salute of Eurasus Union. For a few seconds, he stayed at the threshold and surveyed the operating room, while his white glove caressed the head of the golden baton, which he still held tightly under his arm.

Zartos was in his late thirties, tall with a clean-shaven, narrow face and noticeably beady-bright, deep-sunken eyes, which were unusually focused and lit like two brilliant torches under the high forehead. A graying lock of hair covered a portion of the forehead, touching the wide, hardly-at-all-arching brows. Between the prominent cheeks, he exhibited an exceptionally high-arched, narrow nose, towering above a pair of thin lips. His straight upper body narrowed to a pair of exceptionally long legs that carried him swiftly to his private workstation that was separated from the rest of the room like an oversized lodge in a theatre. As usual, he was followed by Dr. Poloven, who took a seat next to him at another instrument panel.

After throwing a glance at his silent audience, he mumbled, Hail the Union.

The dampened Hail the Union response came back in unison. The newborn on the table began to wriggle.

Proceed.

Poloven entered a few instructions into his keyboard before announcing that all procedures were routine except for the research projects no. 4484, the depot polyglycin neohormone implant, and no. 4489, the advanced gamma antipole device that had been developed in Dr. Zartos's own laboratories. The operating room personnel, who had been carrying out the same Medcon implant procedure for thousands of times, instantly began their work. After observing the personnel for a few minutes and noticing the manner they did the repetitive movements, Zartos suspected that they were only performing a series of manual routines in an automatic way and without truly paying attention to their tasks. He disliked what he saw. Next, he struck his baton at the base of the microphone and declared that complacency was poisonous to the mind and that it had to be erased from the fabric of Eurasus society. The first most effective antidote to that insidious poison was speed, and the second was an undeterred focus on the objective. Yes, sustained speed and sharp focus were imperative for accomplishing more tasks more efficiently and in less time in order to attain more S Scores, thus achieving a higher Functional Scale. From that moment on, that was to become an inviolable rule in the entire Eurasus Union. He gave the personnel exactly ten minutes—and no second longer—to complete all the objectives for that session. To stress his deadline, the baton once again noisily landed next to the microphone. The personnel looked at the clock and pushed on.

After receiving his baton of honor ten days earlier, he had become even more suspicious of all the people around him; he even demanded that always two Security guards followed him everywhere. Why? The rumors had it that he had been promoted to a very sensitive position at the Capital City. And then this golden baton… In Eurasus Union, only a handful of top officials were privileged to carry the Golden Baton of Honor that was an attribute of power and achievement in the line of duty; it was a symbol of great authority, and now, for the first time, he had been seen carrying one. Always, a personal emissary of the High Chairman of Eurasus Union bestowed the Golden Baton of Honor upon a citizen. The vast majority of citizens had only heard of the golden baton or had rarely seen it on the audio-video (A-V) public broadcasting and communication system—it was almost unheard of that the ordinary citizens saw in person someone actually carrying it. But now, why did he hold it? What was his exceptional achievement that deserved such honor? Why was that achievement never publicly announced?

During the following five minutes, the Medulla Control and the depot neohormone capsule were implanted into the newborn, all the reprimand carrier and the Zeta-X1 Waves subfrequencies at all the three intensities were received from the Central Computer and programmed into the implanted Medulla Control unit and finally confirmed for accuracy. At his workstation for the first time, Poloven seemed a little relaxed and even had a chance to take out a tissue and dab his forehead—although he was not to remain relaxed for long. Just next to him, Zartos kept fumbling on his keyboard and checking and rechecking some readings on his screens. He began mumbling, at first mostly to himself and then, In the name of shriveled Mercury…I'm not getting this…what on Jupiter have you done, Poloven? Zartos shouted.

Sir, it's…I mean it isn't interfaced…I mean not yet… Poloven kept working convulsively on his instrument panel then said, Sir, the new gamma antipole isn't actually yet interfaced with the rest of the systems, and so it doesn't show on the controls…yet.

"What? Speak up, man. Did you just say that the new component is not yet interfaced? What damn black hole were you being sucked into since this morning that you totally failed to interface the new instrument?"

Time or, rather, lack of it was the main reason, sir. This morning, at 1100 hours, you ordered to field-test the new device before your departure to Caucasus Center so that its success could be in time recorded and registered under your name. We only had ninety minutes, and therefore we were unable to plunge into all the essential preparations. There was no time left to interface the equipment, sir.

Then where were you and what have you been squandering your time on since this morning?

Well, sir, forgive me, I was ordered to be at your side all this time, sir.

Outrageous! That is clearly an immeasurable incompetence, making it inexplicable how you could have possibly gained such a high Functional Scale to reach a first assistant position to become a member of the Literad Class. That mistake must be rectified. You shall receive negative S Scores.

Sir, please, I beg of you, the mistake will be minimized. Please, I will need only five to six more minutes to—

I don't have any tolerance for such deplorable ineptness. We are in the twenty-third century, and now you have forced us into such an absurd position to use the primitive methods of the twentieth century.

He stood up and bent toward the first tier. "You people down there at the table, proceed with the gamma antipole test and continually make oral reports. You only have three and three-quarters minutes left to complete your task."

Poloven kept frantically issuing orders into the pen microphone in front of his face, at the same time entering new instructions into the keyboard, on and off standing half-upright and not unlike a symphony conductor pointing a hand, a few fingers, and even occasionally a fist at the personnel in the lower tiers.

Zartos turned in his swivel chair and faced the lower tiers. "Technology never fails people. It's the people who always fail the technology. In our disciplined society, each and every one of you must bear the responsibility for any shortcoming."

A minute later, he asked for the Viability Rate.

It's 81.2 percent, sir.

Such a miserably low Viability Rate! That is a great waste of our valuable resources. That, too, will have to be revised. In this society, there is no room for physically and intellectually inferior citizens. He threw a glance at the clock and said, You people in the lower tier, report your progress. Your time will run out in thirty-eight seconds.

The female personnel at the table reported, Subject unsuitable for any reproductive purpose with a grading index of 2.7. Identification mark in progress, sir.

She pulled the newborn toward the head of the table and placed a small instrument on the upper chest. Two seconds later, it was removed, leaving behind a dark-brown identification mark on the skin.

"Personnel at the table, make oral report. Report now!"

Task completed, sir.

The female personnel at the table anxiously looked at her male coworker, and then both threw a glance at the gamma antipole operator across his work station on the first tier. The three of them had just now come to share a grim secret; it was perhaps the most dreadful secret in the entire Eurasus Union, something they would not even dare to think of, much less to whisper about. The female personnel slowly turned her face down toward the newborn and gaped at it in disbelief. She mumbled, Welcome to Eurasus Union, Tinnet 281 Delta 50! I wonder what'll become of you in the end…

Chapter 2

The Science Cadets

The Science Cadet Academy encompassed the first four floors of the central building at the Kashgar Regional Biocontrol Division. This particular training center was the largest in the East European Sector, training the young cadets in several applied and theoretical disciplines; just as important, the Academy also prepared the cadets for the compulsory combat duties.

The six years of arduous training began at the age of seventeen. Same as all other citizens in Eurasus Union, the trainees at the Academy were closely monitored for three major distinguishing traits. First, each individual's attitude toward his or her assigned duties and devotion to the ideals of Eurasus Union were quantitatively measured and expressed in A/D Scores (Attitude and Devotion). The Central Computer used specific criteria to quantitate such intangible qualities. Second, the S Scores (Success) represented the measurement of any citizen's efficiency, motivation, and determination toward successful completion of the assigned tasks. The third was P Score category. The P Scores determined quantitatively the physical health and the psychological profile of an individual. Every person was monitored for presence (or absence) of weariness, emotional or physical weaknesses, signs and symptoms of exhaustions, indecisiveness, irrational behavior, or any abnormal thoughts or physical illnesses, frailties or instabilities. The Central Computer painstakingly collected, recorded, and finally used its findings to reach the P Scores.

In addition to the sum of the A/D, S and P Scores, the Central Computer also looked at their ratio at any given time in order to calculate the Functional Scale on the individual. The Functional Scale could vary from day to day, and over a length of time, it determined the citizen's prestige and standing in the society. A citizen had to maintain each of the three Score categories (and the Functional Scale) above a minimum level (the so-called Critical or Threshold Level) lest he or she would be demoted, at times expelled from the workplace, deprived of certain privileges and, in some cases, even deported to the inhospitable Northern Permafrost Sector.

From the yearly 120 inductees into the Science Academy, at the end, only 24 percent succeeded to complete the program. The cadets were trained for ultimate leadership positions in sciences (the Literad Class membership) or administration (the Administrative Class membership). The chance of any graduate to eventually advance to a prominent position in the capital city Caucasus Center or the Central Electronic Biocontrol Institute (the Institute) was one in nine thousand!

Naturally every Literad's ambitious dream was to someday advance himself or herself to a position at the Institute in Caucasus Center. Then something unexpected happened: That late afternoon, it was officially announced that Dr. Zartos, the head of that Biocontrol Division, had been chosen to become the director of the Institute. That promotion was totally inexplicable. Before his departure for the Capital City, he still had one final task to complete.

Traditionally, every spring, the new cadets were personally welcomed by the head of the Regional Biocontrol Division, who was also the dean of the Science Academy. The welcoming ceremony was simple: The dean gave a brief introductory lecture on the history of the eighty-five-year-old Eurasus Union, its ideology and goals. He would then conclude by emphasizing to his audience the importance of hard work, determination, and self-sacrifice in order to serve their beloved Union with radiant glory. Then the cadets were herded into another room and treated to some cookies and artificial fruit punch. That was all; consequently, the cadets that year had no reason to expect any swift surprises.

A reverent silence wrapped the large lecture hall. The dean was late. Toward the very end of the last row, a cadet whispered something to a fellow cadet sitting next to him without turning his head. When he repeated, all he heard from his neighbor was a cautionary "Shushhh…!" He remained silent for a minute or two before venturing another whisper.

Shut up, Kiven, whispered back the neighbor from the corner of his mouth, still maintaining his upright posture with the eyes fixed to the front. You'll get us all in big trouble if you don't stop jabbering.

This time, he whispered more softly, "I can't help it—I got' go now, you know, to the restroom. What can I do?"

Oh, shit! That was his timely, not-too-helpful remark. I told you to see that crabby woman in the dispensary and get some pills for that nervous diarrhea of yours.

Oh yeah…? You know I can't do that—she'll report me, and that means negative P Scores. They'll kick out my wet butt before I even get started. What do you think I should do now?

The neighbor remained silent, probably thinking. The distressed cadet repeated his plea. Finally came back the consultant's whisper: The way I see this whole thing, right now, you've got only two choices. One, you can shit in your pants and hope that the dean won't walk nearby.

It's disgusting. What's my next choice?

Well, what you got here's a psychogenic diarrhea. Right now, you're just too damn nervous. You can sometimes suppress those jitters simply by concentrating hard on something else. You know, sort of overriding one sort of stress response by focusing on something else, that kind of stuff.

Like focusing on what?

What do I know? You best figure that out for yourself—and be quiet about it.

By Neptune, I can't help it.

Dam' it, we're being monitored. See those sensors in the ceiling right up there on top of us? No, stop looking up there right now, you dimwit. Here they even record a tiny fart, measure it quantitatively in nanograms, then analyze it gas spectrophotometrically, document it thoroughly, and at the end, they score the blasted thing and use it against your Functional Scale.

The distressed cadet remained silent for a while. The method seemed to be working until he said, Now I'm quickly running out of other intense thoughts. Say, please, got any other suggestions?

Very well, think of your Score ratings on the Functional Scale—come to think of it, what were your Scores anyway?

On admission here, P62, S76, A/D 94. Everybody was surprised to see me accepted into the program. I guess my very high Viability Rate of 97.2 and those A/D Scores of 94 must've done it.

"97.2 VR? Wow! That's crazy high. With that kind of Viability Rate, you shouldn't worry a bit about that irritable bowel of yours. You could even go right up there to the front and shit all over that podium and see how Zartos would make his first assistant run behind you and clean up the mess. Now forget what I said and shut up."

Stop making fun of me. Tell me, what was your VR? Kiven was now trying to focus on something else other than his own digestive predicament.

Now you've made me ashamed to even make a hint.

C'mon, it had to be good or else you wouldn't be accepted here, right? Now please tell me.

83.6 Viability Rate. I'm surprised that I even survived the birth and those early years. Yeah, I guess it was those later Scores on the Functional Scale that got me here, P94, S91, and A/D of only 78. Yup, my attitude was always lousy and my devotion even worse—they still are.

Kiven said, You see, I can't figure out why my P and S Scores were so low. I mean, look, with that high Viability Rate at birth, you would expect later in life to see lots of tremendous P Scores. Right? It's just pure luck that the Central Computer pays so much attention to the A/D. I knew that, and so from the beginning, I worked on my Attitude and Devotion Scores. You know, every free hour, I volunteered for something. Every week, I polished every damn flagpole in every stinking junior training camp. I memorized the biography of every High Chairman and a lot of Councilmen too since the Foundation Day, and I quoted them loud every chance I got. I knew almost every victory hymn, went to…why are you giggling? Yeah, I don't have to look at you now—you're again laughing and making fun of me.

Look, you sound dumb as a duck. Do you know how many crazy victory hymns there are? Besides, they change the damn texts and the catchy tunes and add more to them every few days.

Don't say those things. You know I could report you and get myself even a whole lot more of A/D Scores. I won't do it this time because you've helped me so many times before, but please don't talk like that anymore.

Look, don't you think you already got plenty of A/D Scores, besides— He stopped.

The slide door at the end of the hall opened, and Zartos stepped in. He was now, for the first time, wearing his institute director's full uniform. The light-brown fabric of the uniform glistened lustrously under the ceiling light, enhancing the radiant effect of the three golden stripes running parallel from the left shoulder down to the dark gray belt. With three little stars affixed to his standing collar as well as the golden stripes on his uniform, he distinguished himself as the Director of the Institute and the most renowned scientific figure in the world. Two high-ranking members of the Security followed him, but they remained staying at the entrance. Followed by Dr. Poloven, he walked swiftly to the podium without looking at the audience that had, in the meantime, stood up in attention.

Hail the Union. The unison response from the floor was impressively loud.

Be seated, he ordered. You people are uniquely privileged to be present here. During the next six years, you will have to prove to us which few of you will achieve the required qualification to be honored with a junior-level science degree. Don't even for a second assume that it is going to be an easy part of your unworthy existence. Do you understand?

Yess…sir, we understand.

It is customary to introduce you to this program with a brief history of Eurasus Union, he began mechanically and, after clearing his throat, went on, "I will, however, change that tradition and instead will share with you a little about the history of Medulla Control or, as we abbreviate it, the Medcon. During your first year here, you shall learn about the great history of our Eurasus Union, and much of it will be quite new to you. Today, you may take notes. You are also permitted to ask a few pertinent questions at the end of this presentation. Beware that nothing irritates me more than an improper question that can only originate from an asinine mind. Also be aware that from this moment on, every remark you make, any question you ask where you shouldn't have or don't ask where you should have or actions you take or fail to take, absolutely everything you do or don't do, is being constantly monitored, recorded, and evaluated.

"Ours is the most advanced and complex society in the long human history. To anyone who asks us why we saw the need to have the Medcon or why we are so vastly more advanced than any other society in the history of mankind, I will answer in the next several minutes. So pay very, very close attention!

"Perhaps with only a handful of exceptions, the entire human history is littered with garbage. In this huge storehouse of human trash, there are, however, a few discoveries of true scientific value. Those are what I am about to review with you now.

Sometime around the seventeenth century, the natural scientists stopped looking at the human brain as a mysterious, convoluted mass of gray matter. In 1650, someone by the name of Thomas Willis, a scientist from the West European Island Section 38 LK, or what at that time was called England, began in a most primitive way to map out different parts of the human brain. He decided correctly that certain portions of the brain were responsible for certain functions. For example, if he electrically stimulated a tiny area of the precentral gyrus, he could consistently see a movement in the first toe or an arm. So he began mapping the entire brain.

He stopped talking, turned around, and placed the tip of his baton on the head of a cadet. What is leucotomy?

Taken by surprise, the cadet tottered as he stood up and locked his hands behind the back. Sir, my identification is Malan 006 Delta 058. Sir, leucotomy is, it is a…um…a prefrontal lobectomy—that is an operation that requires a surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain in order to interrupt the nerve tracts in that region, sir.

Zartos did not show any reaction to the candidate's answer and kept staring at him for a few seconds as if he had discovered an uncommon insect on a forest floor. He resumed his stroll on the aisle. That was what in 1935 Dr. Egas Munitz did when he applied a surgical incision to the frontal lobe of the brain and caused major changes in the human personality. In the twentieth century, for the first time, a crude nuclear-powered stimulator was constructed that electrically paced an ailing human heart into action. That kind of pacemaker was bulky, unsafe, and unreliable. It also generated a lot of harmful radiation and heat energy. During our Eurasus Union era, we have perfected a safe nuclear technology. We now have miniaturized nuclear-powered stimulators of highest efficiency, accuracy, safety, and durability using nuclear fission as a safe energy source. The Medcon contains one such power source. Within the next thirty-five years, all the units will be powered by a fusion power source.

What is a triangulation? He pushed his baton at the back of a female cadet, who was sitting upright and feverishly taking notes.

Sir, my identification is Minnet 228 Omega 253. Sir, triangulation is present when a given area is divided into a network of triangles. The process was in the past used for surveying purposes, sir.

That is indeed a poor definition. What is your Viability Rate?

Sir, 86.3 percent, sir.

Zartos shook his head in disbelief before he went on. How did this triangulation define a location?

Sir, it used a trigonometric operation for finding a particular location by means of bearings from two fixed points, a known distance apart, sir.

He was now becoming impatient. What other methodologies for pinpointing a particular object in space can you name?

Sir, emission of identifying signals…sound waves, light signals, radioactive isotopes, or—

This is a whole lot of irrelevant nonsense. Sit down! He went on to explain, Transponder-locator instruments play a major role in the development of the Medcon. The history of the transponder-locator also goes far back to the middle of the twentieth century. In those days, their primitive aerial units were called airplanes. Those bizarre-looking machines noisily propelled themselves through the air by means of chemically energized internal combustion engines. Those flying machines frequently lost their bearings in the clouds, at night, or in poor visibility and collided with each other or hit the ground. Finally, the scientists invented a transponder-locator device that emitted a specific electromagnetic wave length that allowed the receivers in other airplanes or on the ground precisely locate that signature on their monitoring screens.

He swung his baton skillfully in the air and lodged it under the other armpit before he continued, As you can see, as early as the twentieth century, all the basic requirements for construction of the Medulla Control were already in place. Our Medcon is a nanotechnological jewel in which we have incorporated a small transponder-locator of the highest imaginable degree of accuracy. Only the citizens of Eurasus Union have been privileged to receive this precious scientific gift. You over there, sitting in the middle of the back row, what is the temporal polarity?

The cadet who was only three seats away from Kiven stood up. "Sir, my identification is Mariden 804 Alpha 111. Sir, the temporal, or ephemeral, polarity is a condition that came about after a series of fierce conflicts in early twenty-second century. Those conflicts divided the planet into two major fronts. In the East, the continents earlier known as Europe, Asia, and Africa united and together made up the Eastern Front, which is now our great Eurasus Union—the union of the North and South American Continents resulted in the Western Front. However, soon, they found other allies in their Pacific Ocean neighbors such as Australia, New Zealand, and other islands in the Eurasian Ocean. All those nations united with the Americas and called themselves Americas Continents—a misnomer, I may add. The two vastly different ideologies in the East and the West define the term polarity, referring to the opposite poles of a magnet. Since this particular polarity can only be a temporary phenomenon and since the West must soon submit to the East in term of ideology—and this is inevitable—the term temporal, or ephemeral, polarity is now recognized as a truism."

Hum…what did you actually mean when you said ‘Soon, they found more allies in their Pacific Ocean neighbors,' and why do you think Australia and those other islands joined the Americas, and why did you once use ‘Pacific Ocean' instead of the official term, Eurasus Ocean?

The cadet thought for a second or two. Sir, that was an unforgivable error on my part, and I do beg for forgiveness. Those Eurasian Ocean dwellers, they…they knew—I mean, they had to know that alone they had no…could not militarily in any way resist the might of our great Eurasus Union. So they united with the West—

"You mindless, misguided imbecile! Those gullible islanders were coerced into a treaty by intimidation and also were threatened with embargo by the West. They were cheated to join the Americas that used trickery and plenty of deceitful promises. How someone so misinformed like you could have been qualified to enter this Academy? I have no doubt that you have had access to illicit and misleading propaganda material from the West. You are a traitor, an agitator, and an agent of the West. Proper investigation must be conducted right away and then appropriate punitive measures be taken. Now get out!"

With shaking hands, the young cadet collected his notebook and swayed out of the lecture hall.

Zartos made himself a brief note before he looked furiously at the audience. Here it must be clear to all that I will not tolerate such woeful ignorance and vicious lies. And now back to our objective. Always keep in mind the glorious words of our Greatest High Chairman Caucasus: ‘Humans are destined to govern a United Earth and rule the known universe beyond.' In order to attain those worthy goals, it is imperative that under the Triangle of Unity, the man remains totally disciplined. To that end, there is only one practical approach: the Medulla Control.

At this time, he stopped pacing and took a remote control from the podium. For the first time, the trainees saw a magnified three-dimensional form of the Medcon materializing in midair in front of the room. He went on, "In the next six years, you will learn much about Medcon. At this time, however, I only wish to briefly introduce this ingenious device to you.

Keep in mind—he hammered his baton on a table and allowed the echo to subside—always keep in mind that from this moment on and for as long as you live, any information in any form you receive on Medcon is strictly classified. As I said earlier, you shall always be monitored, and if it is established or even remotely suspected that you had inadvertently or intentionally divulged any information on the subject to any unauthorized source or individual, then that action shall constitute sufficient ground to immediately terminate your unworthy life and the life of the unauthorized recipient of that information. I repeat, therefore, that it is imperative for each and every one of you here to heed that warning for as long as you live. He waited for a few seconds, looking intensely at his audience and allowing them to absorb the death threat.

When satisfied, he slowly turned to the hologram and continued, This is a Medcon—or Medulla Control. Its purpose is actually quite simple: Throughout a person's life, it monitors that person's location—and in the very near future, it will also monitor his or her emotional state and speech, and it continuously transmits all that information to the Central Computer. If the Central Computer determines that anyone has violated our rules, it will send reprimand commands of different intensities to that individual. Medcon is an ingenious device to ensure that all our citizens at all time conform to our laws. The device is only a six-millimeter-long cylinder, and it is a masterpiece of nanotechnology. The body of the device contains three separate components arranged in sequence. The nuclear reactor, for a lifelong power supply, is located here at the Base. It is followed by the second section, which is the Transponder-Locator, enabling every citizen to be located at any time anywhere on this planet within the solar system and also with the help of amplifiers in all the surrounding outer space quadrants. The third and the most important segment of this device is the neurostimulator component with its five delicate antennae originating at this end and extending into the brain tissue. These stimulators are used in order to deliver reprimands to those individuals who fail to fully appreciate the great privilege of belonging to our great Eurasus Union society.

Zartos, who had originally planned to stop at this time with satisfaction, scanned his bewildered audience and realized that for as long as those cadets lived, they would always remember this introductory session. Consequently, he decided to continue his presentation a few minutes longer.

The cadet over there. He pointed to the front row. "What is the reticular formation?"

"Sir, my identification is Atmen 947 Tau 338. Sir, the reticular formation is a complex structure at the base of the brain—this area is made of closely intermingled gray and white substance. The formation—"

Yes, yes, what's its function?

Sir, it has a regulatory and coordinating function among the vital central nervous system subcortical and cortical centers, sir.

Zartos approvingly nodded. What is your Viability Rate?

Sir, 93.4 percent, sir.

You may now sit.

Zartos walked to the end of the room and stopped there, surveying the cadets from behind. After a while, he said, "At the time of birth, the atlantooccipital ligament at the base of the skull is a very soft and accessible membrane. It stays thin only for a relatively short time after birth until the newborn begins to support its head. As you see in the next hologram, through that thin structure, the Medcon is injected into the skull and implanted in the oblongate medulla, at the base of the brain, well within the earlier-alluded-to reticular formation. In the process, these antennae spread in the desired directions and come to rest at the strategic locations adjacent to the medial lemniscus and the tactospinal tracts."

For the first time, he began to laugh with a scratchy sound but suddenly stopped and repeatedly threw his hands into the air. "What other way was there? I tell you there couldn't have been any other way to bring discipline and order in the everlasting chaos called human history. The savage man! That savage being had to be tamed before he destroyed himself, all the plants and animals around him in addition to the only planet he called home."

He scratched his face for a while before he hammered the cadets with the next series of questions. I want somebody here to make a few S Scores. So listen attentively. You back there, the female who keeps wringing her hands, what is a transducer?

Sir, my identification is Halget 391 Alfa 004. Sir, a transducer, it is…I mean it converts the…I mean it converts one form of energy into another…the transducer.

You have precisely ten seconds to provide an example.

Well, like…a light is produced when…or I mean, a sound can be converted to electromagnetic, I mean…

Sit down, you mumbling cretin! Only one more time of such unacceptable behavior and you are out of this program. The male subject sitting next to this stuttering dimwit, what is a microphone?

Sir, my identification is Millren 229 Kappa 482. Sir, a microphone is an example of a transducer. A microphone transforms one form of energy, which is a sound wave or physical air vibration caused by the sound energy, into another form of energy, which is electric. The varying electric voltages produced by a microphone are copies of the varying air pressure waves, or acoustic vibrations associated with the sound.

Zartos seemed satisfied. "You may sit. Whenever we speak a word, we produce varying air-pressure waves in our larynx and the nearby pharynx or, as the laypeople would say, in our voice box. These pressure waves are of course also transmitted to the adjacent skull bones and cause them to vibrate. Now if a sensitive and specially constructed sensor from the Medcon is advanced and allowed to rest at the base of the skull on the basilar process and a little off the midline, the varying pressure waves and the tiny mechanical vibrations in that bone can now cause copies or an analog of a corresponding electric voltage variations. Those electric impulses are then signaled to the Medcon that amplifies and then transmits them to the Central Computer, where they are converted back to the sound waves that were originally caused in larynx by the spoken words.

"Therefore, at the Central Computer, we can precisely hear every word anyone says at any time. This is called a Vibrotector. In less than five years from now, a Vibrotector will be added into the Medcon and implanted in every newborn. The next generation of Eurasians, regardless where they are within our Solar Empire, cannot ever utter even a single word without being overheard by the Central Computer! That means any revolutionary ideas or speeches will have to be delivered either by sign language or by exchanging written notes! Even so, their emotional state caused by the revolutionary fervor will be picked up by the Emotector of their Medcon and flashed on the Central Computer screens."

For several seconds, he dropped into a tense silence. Slowly his face broadened into a triumphant grin before he yelled, "Who can tell me something about a Command III reprimand? Hum…I see nobody. Very well, what about a Cmd II, or Command II? Then at least, what about a Command I reprimand? I see nobody wants to volunteer. I'm sure you all know perfectly well what I'm talking about but prefer to hear it from me. Am I right? So be it. Through these antennae, the neurostimulator of Medcon can send strong bursts of electrical currents to specific locations within the reticular formation and bring about the desired outcomes. A Command I stimulus, or as we abbreviate, Cmd I reprimand, only causes an excruciating pain in a citizen lasting for only sixty seconds. Normally, a citizen should survive a Cmd I reprimand unless he or she has a low Viability Rate or has some serious underlying health problem—in which case it is obviously more advantageous to the society if that citizen is eliminated anyway. Generally, such intense pains or fear thereof do encourage the citizens to pay closer attention to our rules and perform their duties to the highest degree.

"A Command II, or Cmd II reprimand, on the other hand, causes at first the same pain as the Cmd I, but then it is followed by generalized convulsions that last another sixty seconds. About 45 percent of the reprimanded citizens (we call them reprimandees) and nearly all those in lower Viability Rate range perish in the process.

Finally, of course, there is the Command III reprimand. In this case, the reprimandee experiences sixty seconds of excruciating pain. This pain is also mixed with short episodes of seizure. During those seizures, the reprimanded individual generally should not lose consciousness so that he or she can fully experience the pain component and the deterrent effect of the reprimand. Finally, a continuous seizure—or as we call status epilepticus—follows until death occurs. A Cmd III is the ultimate punishment only deserved by those who are totally unfit to enjoy the privileges of being a part of our great Eurasus society. Now you also ought to understand that all these measures are constantly enforced by the Central Computer in order to ensure that the unbending integrity of our Triangle of Unity is preserved. In our society, the Rulers, the Rules, and the Ruled, or our citizens, constitute the three sides of this Triangle of Unity. The Trianglism guarantees that the inherently savage and uncommonly self-centered mind of man is at first controlled and then guided in the right direction. Any questions?

There were none.

Tell me about karyotyping.

Sir, my identification is Karas 009 upsilon 109. Sir, karyotyping is a methodology for defining chromosomal constitution of an individual or a plant or an animal species, sir.

Well? Zartos said after a few seconds of waiting. The cadet began rolling his eyes without looking up directly at the hovering figure. He was not quite sure what the director was actually waiting to hear.

Darned slow wit, what in the name of blazing Mercury is this karyotyping good for?

Sir, karyotyping is used to establish chromosomal abnormalities. It uses the size, the number, the configuration, and the—

Sit down. Zartos began pacing the floor and said, "Oh, I do despise human history! It only testifies to the savagery of our human ancestors. Stemming from a deplorable ignorance, a few in the recent years have in fact questioned the need for Medulla Control as an instrument to strengthen the Triangle of Unity. They conveniently forget that before our Medcon era, different nations of the world were perpetually at war with one another and, thanks to their inbuilt stupidity, indiscriminately used the nuclear weapons on each other. Those nuclear conflicts resulted in an intense and prolonged worldwide radioactive contamination, which naturally brought about an entire spectrum of chromosomal abnormalities and undesirable mutations in human, plant, and animal genomes. In order to filter out those abnormalities in our society, we began with a thorough karyotyping at the time of birth on every newborn. The defective newborns are immediately eliminated.

"The Viability Rate measurement is one but by far not the only part of this positive as well as negative eugenic process. In this society, we will never face a mutational crisis as it is now the case among 17 percent of the population in Americas Continents. The female cadet at the end of this row, tell me about the Doctrine of Western Extirpation?"

Sir, my identification is Carret 025 Omega 225. Sir, the said doctrine enunciates the five inherent flaws that inevitably mar the inhomogeneous societies in the West and ultimately ought to lead to their total self-annihilation, sir.

The cadet sitting next, what are the five causes for an ultimate internal decay in Americas Continents?

"Sir, my identification is Carmal 852 Alfa 036. Sir, the five causes are:

"Number 1, the sexual instinct to which the population in the West is fatally afflicted. Logically, that instinct finds its practical application in nature for the sole purpose of propagation in the animal and plant kingdoms.

"Number 2, illicit physical pleasures to which the population in the West is addicted and in which they incessantly indulge by using primarily artificial means such as synthetic or natural alkaloids, alcohol, and other chemical agents.

"Number 3, illusive prosperity and material wealth for which the population in the West ceaselessly lust with a deep-seated urge.

"Number 4, chronic corruptions and obscene crimes which the population and the leadership in the West practice in order to satisfy the above numbered causes 1, 2, and 3.

And finally, number 5, democracy and individual freedom in the West, merely cherished delusions fostered by the leadership and the population alike in order to justify (in their blundering logic) their selfish desires to achieve the earlier mentioned numbers 1 through 4 goals that in reality are also fundamental causes of their self-destruction, sir.

"Yes, that is correct. You may now sit. As you all just heard, the first and foremost reason for the ultimate self-destruction in the West is the sexual addiction.

"Ours is an asexual society. Why is that so? The answer to this germane question is as important as that asked about the necessity for the Medulla Control. During the coming years, you will have ample opportunities to thoroughly familiarize yourselves with all the related momentous issues. Because of the time constraint, however, at this time, it should suffice that I superficially touch on only a few pertinent points. Remember, humans did not directly evolve from the apes. Nevertheless, both had branched from one original ancestor, Proavuprimus auctor. Although the hominids and the primates from the start evolved separately and in two parallel lines because of their common ancestry, they remained inescapably related. Some two and a half million years ago, the Homo habilis developed a larger brain and an ability to make stone tools and phylogenetically began to advance, for example, through H. erectus and other stages until the present H. sapiens. In this process, humans did make a giant leap toward an intellectual maturation. While doing so, however, what always had weighted them down in their evolution and indeed prevented them to attain an intellectual excellence were the grievous sexual burden that they had to groan under and their handicap of an animalistic carnal perversion and worldly lust that they had unavoidably inherited from their ape ancestry. For over two million years, the sexual instinct dehumanized man! But now we have finally distinguished ourselves from our animal ancestry. Now we have finally freed ourselves from that deep, hereditary bondage.

"Also remember that any motivation is ultimately energized by certain need that must be satisfied by a drive. Let me explain. If, for example, I am caught in a building with a raging fire, instantly, there is a need evoked in me that causes me a drive to look for an exit and escape to safety. With respect to many of the primate species' and the humans' sexuality, this relationship between the need and its drive was abnormal. Normally, in the animal kingdom there is a need (and subsequent drive) for sexuality only for the purpose of reproduction and transfer of the genes from one generation to the next. Among the humans, on the other hand, this relationship degenerated into a kind of brawling pastime. In other words, among the humans, there had never been a correspondence between sexual need and its drive. Humans always showed an inordinate drive toward and indulgences in an excessive sexual activity without any natural need for reproduction. Feasting on such unrestrained sensual indulgence inevitably resulted in catastrophic consequences in all the past human societies, as we shall now see.

"For eons, the humans' sexual drive led to rapes, murders, criminal activities, wars, incest, illegal abortions, pedophilia, sadomasochism, and quite frequently, fatal diseases of pandemic proportion. It caused emotional disorders, homosexuality, and other bizarre forms of sexual interactions in addition to corruptions and multitude of atrocities and immoralities, the kind of which is unheard of in our cultivated society.

"At this time, our citizens could not possibly imagine what in the past centuries a sexual intercourse actually entailed. Two or more humans of opposite, or even similar, sexes totally possessed by rage and driven by their carnal instinct, joined and wriggled on each other and caused the sexual secretions from their aroused genitals to exude and mix with all other forms of body excretions from the mouth, anus, vagina, penis, and sweat glands and form a malodorous concoction of sweat, saliva, sperms, urine, blood, and feces in addition to intoxicating drugs and alcohol. All of these were smeared all over their perspiring bodies and everywhere else around them. Indeed monstrous and repulsive. How repugnant! Keep in mind that those enormities are still very much in vogue in Americas Continents. Fear not, we will before long shatter that wretched existence in the West!

"It is imperative for you to understand that a human with an intact sexual instinct is nothing other than a vicious animal, a yelping ape, a danger to any civilized society, and a perpetual shame for humanity. It is so because the sexually burdened humans are intellectually inferior, because they are much closer to their animal ancestry, because their instinctual expressions are the same as those found in the wilderness such as the ones found in the apes, goats, and other inferior creatures.

"During the next six years of your training, you will rotate through several intense courses in human biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy to name but a few, all of which will provide you with ample insight into the countless problems all originating from the human sexuality.

"In our society, through a process called sublimation, we have been able to channel all the forces of that sexual instinct in positive and progressive directions. Instead of being addicted to sex for a fleeting pleasure, we rejoice at the contemporary arts, poetry, literature, and music as well as the nature and, of course, scientific endeavors. Yes, we only bask in those profound gratifications and only derive our earth-born pleasures from the aesthetic aspects of existence.

"On the other hand, it is indeed tragic that at this time we still require sexually intact males and females for propagation. You must be certain that within this century, our research will finally enable us to achieve a higher level of scientific evolution with the capability toward a completely asexual form of propagation. We already have achieved soaring success in this particular field. How this is done you will in time also learn during your training.

"At this time, we still screen all the newborns, and among them, we select 0.5 percent of the genetically most suitable males and 8 percent of the females for the sole purpose of reproduction. The two groups are physically separated for life from each other and from unauthorized personnel or any human of opposite gender. The rest of the newborns are sterilized at birth and implanted with long-acting, time-released synthetic neohormone depot. These newly synthesized hormones achieve perfect secondary sexual characteristics such as appropriate hair growth, voice changes, musculoskeletal development, and so on without producing any sort of sexual drive. At first, in the laboratories, we grow human embryos to an advanced stage of development and then implant over a dozen of those in vitro-grown embryos into genetically engineered females with multiple, or multifid, uteri.

I want a female cadet to answer this question. You over there, stand up. What is a duplex and multiplex uterus?

Sir, my identification is—

What was that? Swiftly he turned around as a noise in the back of the hall echoed down. What was that? Zartos repeated. Guard, who was that person just now leaving through the rear exit?

At that moment, the rear door slid open, and a guard stepped in while grabbing someone by the back of his collar and dragging him along with the face down just above the floor. I apprehended this individual in the process of deserting from the scene of duty, sir.

"What?"

He claims he had to use the facility on the ground floor, sir.

Preposterous! Zartos took a few steps toward the guard, bent a little, and curiously looked at the deserter.

The collar had partially constricted Kiven's throat, but he turned up a dark-blue face and succeeded to rasp a few words. Sir, please forgive…it's that, I mean it's an irritable bowel…the diarrhea…

Get this creature out of my sight. Throw him out of the building. This day, he shall be sent to the Permafrost Sector in the North. In course of time, he will either learn how to behave like a true Eurasian and exercise self-control, or he will die as a pathetic figure in the frigid North.

When he turned back and saw the standing female cadet, he had already lost interest to go on and waved her to sit down. Nevertheless, before leaving the hall, he said, I wish to conclude this session with few final words on the subject of the Central Computer, which is responsible for all the Medulla Control activities. The Central Computer is located in the Medulla Control Base, or MCB. The location of the MCB shall always remain unknown to all citizens. Also remember, the founders of our great Union did not wish that our fate be solely decided on by the Central Computer, and therefore, they placed the Central Computer in the capable and caring hands of our Greatest High Chairman and his twelve Councilmen, all of whom constitute the Great Board of High Councilmen. I have been granted the honor and the inestimable privilege of being summoned to Caucasus Center in order to serve directly under the orders of our High Chairman. This evening, I am expected in Caucasus Center, and therefore, I conclude this presentation now. At the end it is customary to entertain a few apt questions from the cadets. Your questions now.

There were no questions. While impatiently tapping fingers on the oversized podium, he waited a few more seconds. Then he said, You are no more than a band of feeble-minded birdbrains!

He waited a few more seconds before he roared, It is an unprecedented honor rarely accorded to any member in the scientific community throughout the world to be permitted to directly address a question to and be privileged to receive a response from the Director of the Central Electronic Biocontrol Institute. Here, on the other hand, you are all sitting around like a cluster of idiots staring in front of you as if hopelessly lost and totally disoriented among the stellar debris in the Oort Clouds. I cannot imagine that anyone here is going to become anything more than a low-level assistant with a lifelong assignment in a remote laboratory in the Northern Permafrost Sector. He tucked his baton under the armpit, ready to leave the podium, when one of the cadets hesitantly stood up. At first, the Director ignored him and continued toward the exit, but suddenly, he stopped and said, Your question?

Sir, my identification is Valanen 381 Gamma 301—

Speak up, what is your question?

Sir, what is the significance of different numbers and the ancient Greek letter attached to each name for identification, sir?

He considered that question totally unimportant and irrelevant to the subjects that were under discussion thus far. Although he did not like the question (a thickening of a vein on top of his forehead always revealed his displeasure with something), he decided to answer it anyway. The first word is the citizen's name. Up to three separate numbers preceding and following a letter from the ancient Greek alphabet follow the name. All female names end in ‘–et,' and 80 percent of male names end in ‘–en.' Our founder and the Greatest High Chairman Caucasus decided on that particular coding system that is to be used by the Central Computer for identification of the citizens.

Sir, my identification is Mazden 069 kappa 090, sir.

Proceed.

Sir, how deep does the Medcon-destined Zeta-X1 Waves penetrate into different media such as a solid mass like the earth crust or a liquid such as a large body of water, sir?

That particular question pleased him a lot (characteristically, when pleased, his lower lip draped his upper lip, and both were pushed upward toward the towering nose). Mazden was certain to receive a few S Scores already on that first day. While nodding with satisfaction, he said, "Yes, yes, over the years that particular issue has been a matter of great research interest to me and a few other prominent researchers. We also encourage any brilliant young researcher to become involved in this line of scientific investigation, then in this field, there is indeed a great potential for highest Functional Scales and promotions.

"The Zeta-X1 Waves carry the reprimand commands from the Central Computer to the Medcon neurostimulator. They are supercharged, ultrashort wavelength rays discovered 85 years ago and since have been vastly improved on. At this time, they penetrate 150 meters into the water and 120 meters into the solid ground—plus or minus 30 meters depending