Recipe for a Nation
By “ My name is not important “
I dedicate
this Manual to the human specie , who suffered so much from its self and from
the cruel joke called ‘mother’ nature .
Not being in
control of this web site, I urge you to copy it , safe keep it and spread it to
your loved ones and friends .
For faster
uploads and the Forum go to
Thank you ,
The numbers
in brackets refer to each chapter web index found at the end of the book where
relevant internet links are provided .
Chapter one :
the Campaign of Revelations – pg. 4
Chapter two :
the Start of the Revolution – pg. 22
Chapter three
: the Planning of a Nation – pg. 27
Chapter four
: the Building of a Nation – pg. 57
Chapter five
: the Nano Revolution – pg. 78
Chapter six :
the Watcher’s Job – pg. 92
Chapter seven
: Peace on Earth – pg. 122
Chapter eight
: Preparing to Depart – pg. 156
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sitting on the deck in a warm summer afternoon , looking over my
wild garden , with a Heineken and a cigarette , there is a nation in my mind ,
friends , a family I never had , people I never met … and with a tear in my eye
I was questioning the human specie :
If you
want to change the world for the better , just how much empathy and
determination do you have available ? …
At the Bilderberg conference of the world business elite in
( http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8450
)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
By the year
2014 with the sun at an abnormal high peak of its cycle (30) contributing to
the global warming and ejecting weekly X-class flares disrupting the power
lines world wide , the humankind was immersed in an economic and energy crises
aggravated by the sinking of the Alaskan and Siberian oil pipelines in the
thawing permafrost while Iran has being bombed into the stone age on Purim day
February 28 , 2010 by forces acting outside UN . Seizing the opportunity OPEC
did not increase the oil production and together with
Among the
eastern European countries Romania emerged from communism just over a decade
ago and now was facing the cold reality of the International Monetary Financing
( IMF ) , the rat race and getting a mouthful of capitalism that gave them
indigestion and preparing the nation for another try .
Daniel
Dumitrescu left Romania 32 years ago , lived in three Canadian cities ,
graduated with honours from an electronics college and later became
self-employed and getting to understand the capitalism in an intimate way .
Lonely throughout his life and fighting depression he kept busy spending time
reading science journals on the internet and following the political currents .
That’s how he got involved with the Romanian Independence Forum where over
510,000 people of all walks of life , engineers , doctors , lawyers ,
technicians , nurses or office clerks were looking for ways to better their
lives by peaceful political changes .
After two
years Daniel emerged as an astute mediator and forward thinker that earned him
respect for his honesty and empathy .
Following an
unanimous on-line petition Daniel was finally chosen as chief and asked to
return to
Chapter one : the Campaign of Revelations
With his
luggage on wheels and a shoulder bag Daniel turned around at the front door of
his small bachelor taking one more look at the cage of loneliness and despair
he was about to put behind him .
His eyes wet
thinking of 53 years and nothing to show for but just dreams , a wasted time
filed only by the depression of life’s futility , the 80 years or so of travel
from dust to dust and not a clue of what will happen in between .
He locked the
door and took the old elevator to the lobby while glancing at the wad of $ 20
bills filling his shoulder bag . Yesterday he closed his bank account and
cashed almost $ 14,000 , all of his life savings working as an electronics
technician . Looking at the money his heart didn’t skip a beat , he hated the
stuff , it kept reminding him of his inability to be truly self sustaining ,
instead he had to get money to pay for his shelter and food a thing that his
ancestors would found a shame .
With
depressing memories rushing into his head he left the apartment building and
start walking towards the Mustard Seed Community Services just three blocks
away where he knew there are always homeless people waiting to get in . Sure
enough he saw the long line up and went straight to the last person , grabbed a
pile of 20’s from the bag and hand it to him . Without waiting to hear the
‘Thank you’ Daniel hurried up the line spreading the cash all the way to the
front ending up with only a $ 100 for the taxi . Where he is going he will not
need the money , it was a one way trip , regardless of the outcome Daniel
didn’t plan to come back .
He bowed to
the crowd for the warm comments and cheers , waved a cab , arrived to the
airport , gave the $ 100 bill to the grateful driver and melted into the
building’s traffic thinking that his little deed was just a drop in the bucket
, only a temporary aid and no where near a real solution .
The hour
spend alone in the terminal was boring so Daniel felt relieved to hassle
through the boarding motions while looking at the expressions of people he knew
were caught in the rat race . He made a commitment that once his plan will be
well under way he wanted to see the changes on people’s faces , something that
he considered a reliable indicator for the well being of a society .
He cuddled
comfortable in the seat near the window watching the juggling of luggage
carriers bellow and pondering on the extraordinary turn taken by his life in
the last few month , when a whispering voice came from the isle :
“ Hi ! Sorry
to startle you … I am James McGrath … looks like I’ll be your company for the
flight “ .
“ Hi … nice
to meet you , I am Daniel Dumitrescu … please take a seat “ .
Once James
sat comfortably they did small talk through the commotion of passengers settling
down , until Daniel found out that he was a biochemist and genetician . Daniel
studied Cell Biology as a hobby and in his head , together with nano-technology
he though he can turn the world and move mountains . But looking at James
he noted how plum he was , probably a combination of beer and wrong diet , so
Daniel not being able to fight his borne empathy discretely channelled the
conversation :
“ Since you
are a biochemist you probably heard of lectins … L-E-C-T-I-N (15) “ .
“ I think so
… something to do with agglutination ? “
“ Right ,
it’s a large family of proteins that bind to certain sugar molecules . You , as
a genetician , are probably familiar with the immune system and the blood type
signature on every cell …” .
“ Sure , even
though is not directly in my line of work “ .
“ But you
know those signatures are made of certain sugar strands sticking out of the
surface membrane of every cell in the body “ .
“ Right … ”
“ Well ,
that’s what the lectins agglutinate to … and once attached to the cell surface
they interfere with the cell metabolism and cause cell death , apoptosis in
your jargon … Eating them every day for a life time and loosing cells of all
sorts every day can lead to diabetes , obesity , arthritis , eczema , allergies
, digestive problems and so on … remember , the attachment depends on the type
of the lectin and the type of the sugar strand , in other words it depends on
the food you eat and your blood type … “
“ Oh , I see
the relation … so where do you get those lectins from ? “
“ They are in
all food groups … but if you want to avoid them just read the book ‘ Eat right
for your type ‘ by Dr. Peter D’Adamo … type refers to blood type … I follow it
for a decade and it did miracles without any physical exercise ! “
James turned
to take a closer look but wasn’t able to tell Daniel’s age … maybe 38 to 42 he
thought .
“ By the way
, Genetically Modified Foods or GMOs are very dangerous because they take
lectins , which are natural toxins , from a plant and insert it into another to
form a cocktail that could render that food toxic for all blood types … a
planet of diabetics and so on ” .
“ Thanks a
lot for the tip “ said James and pointing to his enlarged tummy “ I feel like I
need a change , but I hope beer is still on the menu ! “ , both laughed .
As the plane
took off on the 9 hour journey they caught a nap which Daniel badly needed
since at the arrival there will be a reception and a crowd he needed to address
. He fell asleep thinking about changing the eating habits of 25 million people
according to their blood types and turning all the food in organics only … a
tall order never achieved even in the ‘developed’ West . As his tired mind drifted
, he envisioned the simple knowledge that can start revolutions ( 31 ) .
He woke up in
the hush of stewardesses serving food , he choose uncooked veggies and lean
beef strictly following his diet and both eat in silence . When done , James
said while wiping his mouth :
“ Not bad for
airplane food but let me tell you , during my nap I had this strange dream
about walking on stilts among food plates on the floor “ , laughing , “ I bet
it has to do with your heads-up on those lectins … the subconscious trying to
put sense in my head ! “ . Loving science chat and remembering a related research
involving the subconscious Daniel pounced on the subject :
“ Talking
about it, only if we could remember what our parents knew , right ? “
“ I only wish
, my father was an accomplished chemist … “. Daniel bobbed his head :
“ And mine
was a colonel in the state security … Only if the … genes could talk ! “ .
James appreciated the humour and added teacher like :
“ Yet today
we can alter genes at will … it has being done . My interest since a med
student were the personality genes … others people were focused more on the
hype intelligence search . My strategy was that right now , as a global
society , we got decent intelligence but what we need is peace and less
aggression so we can focus human and material resources on more un-monkey
activities “ . Daniel turned
pleasantly surprised :
“ No kidding
! I am on your side more than you think ! “ .
“ Really ?
Daniel , I am not being condescending but in my experience I didn’t run yet
into anybody crying to have their violent or aggressive gene silenced … So , no
, I don’t think that’s something you can explain nor sell to the masses … not
doing it legally at least ” .
“ Not legally
? You mean something like covert massive gene manipulation? Massive fans
spreading around the world retroviruses carrying the anti-aggression gene ? “ .
Both laughed and nodded .
“ Yes ,
something like that “ James agreed . Daniel added mysteriously :
“ Well , you
better put on your seat belt because that’s exactly what I intend to do but in
a legal and orderly fashion … ” .
“ What do you
mean ? “ said James cautiously .
Daniel
saw the stewardess coming with a beverage cart :
“ James ,
would you like a drink ? “
“ Sure , I’ll
have a beer please “ . Each got a Heineken and after a few seeps they felt
content , their tongues itching to digress . James repeated :
“ So how
would you do gene pool cleaning legally ? “ .
“ I am
planning to became the government … I am returning to my native country to run
in the presidential campaign … “ . It took James a few seconds to sink in the
thought than he turned with visible curiosity :
“ Wow , I
never met a politician ! … But you don’t sound like the politicians I’m used to
hear … Well , I wish you good luck with the campaign ! “ . Daniel thanked ,
thinking that luck had nothing to do with winning the hearts of his people . He
turned back to the gene pool cleaning :
“ To
prove the recent research regarding genes that lead to aggression , (12) , we
need an appropriate yet controlled environment … There is nothing more
suitable than prisons … “ . James looked at him in shock . For 25 years
he was struggling with ethics related to genetics , who should be the guinea
pig , under what limitations and so on . It was mesmerizing to think he could
conduct such experiments with the government blessings . ‘ Official gene
pool cleaning ’ he thought smiling , ‘ how brilliant ! ‘ . He rushed to give
his help :
“ Daniel ,
let me assure you that successful experiments to eliminate aggression were done
already , so you shouldn’t doubt the validity of your plan , it will work
guaranteed ! “ . Daniel appreciated the encouragement :
“ Thank you
for the confidence , but my plans are going much further … “ .
“ I am
guessing you are aiming at enhancing intelligence as well , right ? “ .
“ That too
for sure , together with a variety of skills like talking and communicating ,
music , drawing and so on . But those are fine yet insufficient to make justice
to the mess mother nature did on us “ .
“ What do you
mean , Daniel ? “
“ Well , for
starters , the cruel mother nature made us a bacterial douche bag … and than we
die ! “ (16). With a more sombre voice Daniel raged on :
“ I mean is
bad enough that during our lives we have a very hard time find love , see the
rate of divorce , (17) , and of course we suffer if we don’t find it … but if
we do , at the end , we’ll suffer anyways because the loss of our loved ones
when they die … that’s barbaric ! “ .
Suddenly
, thinking of his beloved wife , James got the point :
“ I see ,
looks like your final aim is after all , eternal life , ha ? “ . Daniel was
looking down and smiling sheepishly :
“ Of course I
do , I lived long enough to know better ! … The meaning of life should not be a
journey from dust to dust but an eternal enjoyment of the loved ones because
this is the essence of our existence … and that’s exactly what I intend to do
in my country “ .
A moment of
silence brought James back on the scientific track :
“ That’s a
very tall order Daniel … and I’m not getting into overpopulation and limited
resources but just thinking of actually doing it … I’m perfectly aware of
telomeres , (18) , and that’s an avenue but it’s a long way … “ . Daniel was
prepared :
“ Yes , it
requires focusing of resources … just like my nano-revolution does and I’m
planning to converge both to correct the injustice made by mother nature
. I’ll pioneer the change from the rude natural evolution to the humane
self-evolution , in other worlds I want a better cake and to have the time to
eat it too ! “ . Both laughed bitterly thinking about the miseries and
cruelties of life .
An hour later
they landed and while getting ready to leave the plane they exchange contact
information with promises to keep in touch .
Daniel exited
the customs and looking over the crowd was trying hard to spot Vlad , his right
hand in the party . Vlad Petrescu , the Member of Parliament representing
Bucharest South , was the organizing force and a gold mine of contacts who
managed to bring together with his smooth persuading personality a number of
political factions and keep the spirits focused on the big picture .
Both hugged
and with watery eyes they kissed on each cheek in the eastern tradition ,
nostalgic about their years together in the high school .
Vlad wanted
to bring him up to speed right away :
“ Daniel , I
managed only a 20 minute permit for the speech outside … there are over 400
people in the parking lot and on the lawn … we have CNN , BBC , a Russian crew
and both local stations … here , have a drink “ . Daniel nodded and as they
approached the exit a hive like noise began getting louder . Just as Vlad
pointed “ The podium is on the left “ the doors opened and thunderous cheers
erupted hitting them like a shock wave . Colourful banners and flags were
moving in unison with chantings of
“ Welcome
home freedom ! “ and “ Daniel of the people ! “ .
He climbed to
the make-shift podium feeling dizzy among the continuing commotion , saw the TV
cameras just a few meters away and had a quick drink looking over the people …
He noticed four police cars in the far background and remembered what Vlad said
about the time limit so he raised his hands to politely quiet the crowd and
with a soft voice he let his heart say it all :
“ Dear
friends , dear Family ! “ . The people immediately picked the ‘family’ theme from
his preachings on the
“ Why such a
peaceful nation like ours had to suffer for so long ? Why we , the people , can
not find each other’s hands and as a powerful force set new , more humane rules
of the land ? “ . The crowd responded with ovations .
“ In just one
generation we tasted both communism and capitalism … now that’s one mighty
lesson in socio-economics ! Together with the experience of many other
countries we learned that letting the markets adjust themselves following the
basic rules of capitalism means most of the time lost jobs , insecurity ,
limited benefits if any and the whole life depressing game of being caught in
the rat race ! Well , my friends , under my government I have all the
intentions to put an end to it and free us from the dreaded Rat Race ! “ . He
realized he touched the nerve more than he hoped when the crowd ignited in long
ovations and cheers . He looked discretely at his watch and thought was no way
he’ll have time to make all the points so he continued with a tone of urgency :
“ We learned
that in capitalism is not to our best interests to let private companies decide
what’s good for us … When companies move with impunity to other countries where
the labour is cheaper and less protected, leaving us unemployed , it shows
clearly where their priorities are ! Definitely is not you and your kids , not
even your country … in their eyes we all are just a global pile of labour
and consumers tied down in mortgages and running obediently on the rat race
treadmill ! We can’t trust them so they have no place in Our community !
“ . More and stronger applause showed again they were thinking alike .
“ If global ,
multinational companies can organize themselves at those scales , function and
be profitable , than why can’t we , the people , organize ourselves , run the
country to Our best interests and be successful ? And when I say
successful I don’t mean the money race but living in a country where your job
is secure and you are a share holder , where your kids are safe , where your
food is clean and where you feel at home among strangers because you know we
all are part of the same loving and caring family ! “ . Rising over
the applause he continued :
“ If you
think about your country as you would think about your home than suddenly ,
complicated state decisions became simplified … Do you want to have foreign
military bases in your backyard threatening your peaceful neighbours ? …
“ He didn’t have to say the ‘No’ , the crowd in a thundering shout said
it for him .
“ That’s
right , obviously not , so we took care of that decision … Do you want your job
to be at the mercy of a handful of people who don’t have your interests at
heart ? “ . The people again answered for him .
“ Of course
not , so that’s another easy decision …. Do you want to feed your selves and
your kids food that has being spoiled by pesticides ? “ . Another resounding
‘No’ from the crowd .
“ It’s a
no-brainer so that’s another easy decision … or just think about the pollution issues
, another easy decision . So when we have all the answers and all it takes is a
legal stroke of the pen … what do we need to make it happened ? “ . He didn’t
really expected what the crowd answered since he was hammering at the type of
government :
“ YOU !! We
need You ! “ shouted the crowd waving Daniel’s portrait and all the banners .
Blushing , he put his right hand over his heart and thanked the people
while with the corner of the eye he saw Vlad pointing to the watch and
signalling ‘time over’ .
“ Dear family
, in the next year and a half I’ll be traveling the country so even though my
time here is up , we will meet again and we’ll decide together our path for the
coming future … All I’m asking till then is that you seat down in your own home
, look around and speak aloud of how your country should be … I’ll see you all
soon ! “ .
With a last
wave he scanned the faces to see how motivated they are and he could smell the
revolution . In the back of the parking lot he noticed there were now two more
police cars and three vans while the cops were aligned forming a
cordon looking ready to march forward . As he stepped down from the podium
he got an idea .
“ Vlad ,
please follow me , I though of something “ . Vlad panicked since he pulled a
lot of strings to get the meeting permit in such a touchy location : “ Daniel ,
please , my reputation is on the line , we don’t have any more time and I don’t
want to see our people in handcuffs ! “ . Daniel reassured him “ Trust me on
this one , you’ll like it ! Just make sure to get the name of the police
officer “ . Vlad walking briskly looked at him in wonder “ What police officer
?? “ .
Splitting
the cheering crowd , shaking hands left and right and with the TV crews in tow
Daniel went straight to the police line and what appeared to be the officer in
charge .
“ Hi ! I am
Daniel Dumitrescu “ .
The officer ,
in his mid 50s , looked at him stunned … In his mind not only that famous
Daniel was talking to him but also the glaring TV lenses and the loud crowd
mixed everything in a movie like scene .
“ Hello , I
am the officer in charge , Sorin Negrescu “ .
“ Nice to
meet you Sorin “ and with a lower , softer voice “ I believe that a man in your
position knows about governments more than the average citizen … If you like
what you know than enjoy it further , but if you think there is something
terribly wrong with our government than I kindly ask you to briefly come with
me … I want to show my appreciation for the protection you are giving us “ .
Daniel gently grabbed him by the arm and Sorin still in a semi haze followed
with little hesitation . They reached the podium and Daniel took the mic one
more time :
“ If I can
have again your attention please … While we work for the revolution there are
people who risk their lives to protect us from the evil … while we party and
relax the same people make sure that our neighbourhoods are safe … as you can
see the Revolution needs both of us so please , remember always your protectors
just as the protectors remember they belong to the family ! “ . Like an
inspiration people in the back lines turned around and start hugging the
policeman while the ovations were deafening . The crowd picked up the cops and
with the cameras rolling they body-waved them all the way to the podium looking
more like a event from a football match . Neither Daniel or Sorin knew the
future reverberations of their brief meeting .
From the side
Vlad smiled towards Daniel , now he couldn’t care less what time it was .
Minutes later
, relaxed , with a stale coffee in his hand , Daniel watched from the back of
Vlad’s car the evening scene and the
As
professionals they were used to submit verified and well judged solutions so ,
short of a Power Point presentation , they drew flow-charts and graphs
describing the best policies . From a distance , if you wouldn’t be aware
of their political orientation , you would swear that’s a board room discussion
of a diversified multi national company , but if you would listen closely , the
humane flavour would overwhelm you revealing the true nature of its members .
All their decisions had at heart the wellbeing of every citizen in the country
, definitely not your regular company board meeting .
Late into the
night and after cheering while watching the news showing the policeman at the
airport being carried like sports heroes and after hours of fruitful debates
they left with an unanimous consensus about the overall strategies and how to
solve the main stream problems .
For the next
year Daniel traveled extensively through out the country attending hundreds of
meetings and debates creating a wave of united believers that according to the
polls amounted to over 60 % of the population . Daniel wanted at least 90 % so
he can show to the world that it was the free people that made the choice , he
needed a mandate as strong as his reforms .
As he
attended town-hall meetings with local people in villages , small and large
cities , he encountered the same theme , people not being sure of themselves ,
not being aware of their collective powers , mixed up by the corrupt Media
networks and questioning the motivations offered by Daniel. They wanted
to know what does it mean to be a government “share holder”, how will the
government control everything and all wanted to be reassured he was not talking
about communism .
He saw
the opportunity to make his points to the nation in the televised Presidential
Debate taking place just one month before elections and he geared his campaign
accordingly . After many month of travel and meetings the revelation night was
there founding him in an alley behind the TV studios getting his spirits and
mind ready .
Daniel
stepped out of the car on the warm pavement by the back entrance to the
Romanian Free Press TV station and looked left and right to see if he had the
short privacy he needed . Vlad and the body guards retreated with understanding
. Satisfied he lit a cigarette and watched the new moon rise between the
buildings . His mind wondered back to 1969 when as a kid saw the moon landing
late night on TV … What if , he though , an advanced alien specie would come
near Earth and point a ‘suffering and pain’ meter towards it … probably it
would go off the scale , he sighted , feeling a tight squeeze in his heart . To
the aliens we wouldn’t qualify as approachable , we probably look like
chimpanzees with guns , the scourge of the universe. Extinguishing the smoke ,
he straighten his posture , raised his head and whispering he reassured himself
“ I know I can do it “ . He smiled at the possible alien rendezvous and
whistling the International grabbed Vlad and Marina hurrying to make it in time
to the Hall and his date with destiny .
The bright
studio lights and the applause from the audience greeted the three leaders on
their way to the podium . The large TV amphitheatre with a delicate Greek
architectural flavour , was filed with more than 600 people . When
everyone settled down Ileana Mureseanu , the debate moderator , made the
introductions , explained the rules and invited Vasile Umbraru , the
Conservative leader and country President to have the opening word :
“ Ladies and
Gentleman , we are going through trying times after the damaged did by
communism and now struggling to catch up and join the rest of the world … With all
our efforts is still not easy to break in the depressed international markets ,
we are facing strong and established nations with plenty of experience in
economics so we need leaders who were trained in those matters and who can
foster productive international relations . That’s exactly what my party did in
the last three years bringing the unemployment rate down to 12 % , increasing
aid to the local businesses , helping them secure loans through the
International Monetary Financing , and helping farmers have more access to
quality GMO engineered seeds and pests control for higher productivity … Those
achievements underline our statehood and respect my party earned from the
international community . Further more we worked very hard to secure long term contracts
with the United States so we can have on our soil the protection provided by
not just one but two US military bases . And like many people agreed , we
didn’t just get more security but , at 100 million a year for rent , we are
making good money too … now That’s a smart deal ! “ he culminated looking for
the audience’s approval which came but not in droves .
“ Those
improvements are the reality of the day so I urge all fellow Romanians to not
fall into the easy trap of day dreamers but to stick instead with the hard
reality and with real leaders that can help you built an even better reality
for tomorrow , so God bless ! “ . His supporters did their duties with polite
help from the crowd .
The moderator
pointed to the Liberal leader , “ Mr. Serban Munteanu , please ! “ . He
first looked at the CNN camera with brief intensity and than addressed the
audience :
“ Ladies and
gentleman , fellow Romanians … among so many turbulent events we had to go
through in just one generation none is more important than the coming elections
. Let’s not full ourselves , the world out there is tough and we just can’t
risk the future of our children gambling on fanciful concepts hiding under
their charm old foes like communism . We are no fools , we can see through the
smoke and we can see the dangers it carries with it . Under my government I make a commitment to
keep
Polite
applause responded .
“ I further
promise to increase the number of our police forces and return the streets to
our citizens ! … I also make a strong commitment to our Health System , to
seniors and people in need , to provide them with cheaper and more readily
available pharmaceutical drugs and even buy patents so we can make them locally
and diversify our economy . I will stop at nothing to make our nation stronger
, healthier and a proud member of the international community ! Long live free
“ Mr.
Dumitrescu , please , your turn . “ said the moderator and in her voice there
was something like a kid’s anticipation . Most of the audience rose and start
applauding , chants of “ Daniel and the people ! “ and “ Free at last ! “ were
reverberating covering mediator’s voice calling for calm . Daniel bowed
and started slowly :
“ Dear
friends … dear Family ! “ . Cheers and ovations responded and the world
‘family’ was repeated again across the crowd .
“ The Leader
of the Conservative party said … “ Suddenly Ileana raised her arm and Daniel
stopped to listen :
“ Ladies and
gentleman sorry to interrupt but I’ve just being informed that BBC picked up
the feed and is broadcasting now live … Daniel , sorry , please go ahead “ .
“ No problem
Ileana , in that case I want to welcome our British friends and all around the
world … As I was saying , the leader of the Conservative party wants us
deeper under the ‘protection’ of military organizations like NATO when history
shows that its members engaged before in illegal wars and against the United
Nation mandate . I say in contrary , just like our mothers told us when we were
kids to stay away from hooligan gangs , now , as grownups and defending our
country , we should stay away from any foreign entanglement specially away from
war hungry nations ! “ . The whole crowd raised up applauding with their
hands up . There was no guessing about this audience stand on war . He kept
going :
“ And talking
about the United Nations … the original idea was a global organization of equal
nations … I don’t think that’s the case today since a handful of countries have
the veto power ! What kind of equal organization would allow a few nations to
turn decisions against the will of dozens of free countries based on the silly
veto power ? It is irrational to waste time and resources in such organizations
and under my government I will present an ultimatum to the UN : we escaped
communism to regain our freedom not to find our selves under the influences of
others , so either remove veto or we’ll withdraw and perhaps form another
global organization of free countries but without any veto rights ! I am sick
and tired of seeing the word ‘equal’ being soiled ! “ . The people responded
with dedicated applause and Daniel glimpsing at the watch tried to keep within
the time frame , there was so much to say :
“ The Leader
of the Liberal party wants us to open the doors to foreign companies to come in
and pillage our labour force and keep us enslave in cheap consumerism , to
double their profits while we get less than 25 % of the worth of our work
! I say , No Way ! “ . The work force present in the audience stood up cheering
and like one conscience start singing The International anthem with Daniel
joining in (1) . The mediator didn’t even think of interrupting specially when
to everyone’s surprise the sound track start pouring over the studio speakers
and the whole crowd became one large chorus . To Daniel’s dismay he could see
on the wall size TV a close up of his tears streaming down his cheeks , turned
around embarrassed and used his tie to wipe . He glanced at the mediator
and got the message .
“ Dear family
, for the next 3 hours will touch many vital subjects and I want you to listen
carefully to what all the parties have to say . That’s because you need to
build the confidence that what you decided to do is right … and there is no
turning back ! “ . Among applause Ileana thanked him and asked the
Conservative leader to be the first with a question .
“ Thank you
Ms. Mureseanu , my question goes to Daniel … While your claims stir emotions I
want to keep cool heads and address the real issues because the future of our kids
depends on it . You keep talking about economic reforms but much larger
and powerful countries in the world today suffer through recessions … How could
you expect to get ahead of such powerful nations when even our national
currency is rock bottom ? How can we believe and trust you to change our
established way when we spilled blood to get away from communism ?
Because frankly , what you are describing is communism doesn’t matter how you
twist it ! “ . To his surprise the response from the audience was cool
with only a few voices of approval . People were waiting for Daniel and the
answer and he gladly obliged :
“ Mr. Umbraru
, I respect your caution as a generally wise position , being careful doesn’t
hurt ... but we are so entranced for generations in the status quo that we
don’t even bother questioning it ! You want a good economy for
“ Sure , as
long as it is well managed and as you said , successful … You can’t argue that
a multinational , global company is a bad thing … just look at how many jobs it
creates , the return to the share holders and why not that multinational
be a Romanian company ? “ . He looked around for approval but it didn’t come
and Daniel picked up the thought :
“ Sure , a
good return to share holders , jobs … good things and I agree ! So all I do is
copy-cat an icon of the capitalist system , but with the only difference that I
give the shares to the people ! Do you think that would be bad , Mr.
Umbraru ? “ . Vasile Umbraru was taken aback , he did not expected this turn of
tables so he just moved his body in a neutral stance . Daniel keep hammering :
“ Well I
thought so ! What can be bad with making the whole population share holders ?
Cutting the fat cats ? “ . The crowd laughed and cheered .
“ Today not
even China is a communist country even though it keeps the title … Marx and
Engels would roll in their graves to find a so called communist country
harbouring and protecting multi-billion dollar businesses while most of the
workers live in a polluted hell and underpaid , in other words caught in the rat
race ! This is a laughable and hypocritical communism , a theatrical
attempt to hide personal greed in the government and that’s another reasons we
don’t want to go back to communism … But if you have the right leadership
you can safely follow the company model by removing the selfish factor : take
the multinational structure , make the share holders the people , make the
government the executor body and spread the profits even ! Is this a bad thing
?? “ he shouted . The crowd simply exploded and Daniel didn’t let go :
“ If a
company can achieve so much , than think what a benevolent government can do
having in its power the writing of the law on top of all the other resources
including the military … it’s a power house … and it belongs to the people ! “
. Long standing ovations culminated with synchronized applause . Daniel raised
his voice over the crowd :
“ So to
answer your question Mr. Mureseanu , no , this is not communism ! This is an
intelligent use of resources , is the people building a suitable government to
help us all build a suitable nation ! “ . Intense applause made the point .
“ If private
companies have the right to assemble , organize , function and make profits
than what’s wrong with doing the same thing at the government level and working
as an organization design to benefit all . If people chose to do so than what’s
wrong with the will of the people ? “ . The crowd responded with cheers and
ovations , he was speaking their minds and tonight Daniel was not
disappointing them .
The mediator
took over with a question from the panel of observers :
“ Daniel , I
have another question from the audience … How would your government address the
Health problems in
“ I have two
principles as the foundation : firstly , healthy people do not need doctors and
secondly , doctors who are not paid by the visit have a tendency to keep their
patients healthier in order to cut down the visits ! “ Smiling , “ Really
, for all I am concern the doctors can spend their time with the feet up the
desk and playing video games as long as the population is healthy . But rest
assure that I am not talking chicken-feed salaries neither , the doctors
deserve respect and monetary appreciation so they will have a nice but Fixed
salary …” . People agreed like a shadow of his voice and applauded while Daniel
continued :
“ But on the
other hand the population at large must be diligent about their diets and
exposure to toxins of any sort . That’s why I will educate the people and
implement eating according to your blood type as per doctor’s Peter D’Adamo
book ‘ Eat right for your type ‘ . Matter of fact I promises to erect a statue
of doctor D’Adamo in the capital
“ No , I will
not Force you to do it ! But I’ll explain it to you , show you examples so
you’ll be convinced your selves … Besides education I will help you find your
appropriate food easier by making mandatory that all the food labels will
display the blood type or types that is suitable for … even at supermarkets the
food will be sorted out in section according to the blood type . But at the end
you will make that choice . “ . Ileana wanted to thanks but Daniel waved discretely
:
“ I have one
more point to make please … after watching the courageous movie ‘ Oversize me ‘
and after scientific analysis of the junk food industries , the government in
most countries and here in Romania allow those poisons to be freely advertised
to our children and sold every where more so than fruits and vegetables ! … No
wonder that the West is suffering from such massive numbers of obesity ,
cancers , allergies , diabetes and so on … I promises that under my government
all the food will be Organic , that All junk food companies will be kicked out
of the country and , for the benefit of our children and future generations ,
no one will be allowed to sell us junk food again ! “ . Strong applause brought
the house on its feet , the mediator looked around powerless … there was just
too much unison and solidarity in the crowd to screw around with , in her eyes
the audience took on the feel of an angry giant .
“ And another
thing “ Daniel continued “ besides a healthy , Organic diet we also need
supplements simply because the toxic environment we live in forces our
bodies and immune system to require higher amounts of certain nutrients … Today
in the developed nations are dozens of labels carrying basically the same
product but very few gets to be analysed by the government for quality . That’s
silly ! Under my government We will manufacture the supplements , under our own
control and of a quality to set an example to the world ! “ . Daniel politely
settled the crowd and the Liberal leader took the mic :
“ Daniel ,
you want to exit NATO , to quit UN , not to use the essential IMF … you
basically want to isolate Romania … no country survived in isolationism , not
even North Korea , they receive massive help from the Chinese ! I
am asking every one to be careful when considering cutting foreign relations …
we get our Euros only from abroad , think about the vital exports … and half of
our energy too . It’s inspirational to sing revolutionary songs but it’s a
different thing to put the bread on the table . And keeping friendly and open
international relations is important for the country , for our jobs and the
economy that the Liberal party will defend long and strong ! “ . The liberal
corner of the audience cheered up and Daniel responded :
“ When my
father was a colonel in the State Security he was very busy every day keeping
tabs on suspicious foreigners , intercepting spies and avoiding foreign plots .
That’s right , foreign plots … That’s precisely the reason we have even
today , like any other country , a State Security …. This is not a fantasy but
the necessity to defeat real attempts by foreign governments , never mind
business , to interfere in our way of life for their own personal benefits
. The sad reality is not just that most governments work for businesses
but that the businesses them selves look at us as 20 million consumers , chip
labour and war fodder rolled in one IMF dependent nation ! “ . Ovations rocked
the studio , even the other parties supporter joined in , there was just too
much truth being revealed . Daniel added more gasoline on the revolutionary
fire :
“ And how do
you expect the people of the world to be astute about choosing their
governments ? Does everybody spends two hours a day on the internet reading
what’s new in politics and science to understand what moves our world and what
the main-stream Media is hiding ? Working eight or more hours a day ,
being stuck in traffic for another hour and a half both ways , inhaling the
pollution which adds to the bad mood, coming home exhausted , looking after the
kids , people barely have time for them selves so how can you blame them for
crushing on the sofa at the end of the day with a beer , a fast food plate and
the TV with 300 easy channels of mostly high definition garbage ! “ . The
crowd approved and among applause voices shouting “ The Rat Race ! “ were
coming from every where . Daniel continued to fan the fire :
“ So when a
nation is too exhausted and not in the mood to write and check its politicians
, falling victim to the distorted reality fed by the corrupt Media , the result
is today’s society where thousands of convicted criminals and people wanted by
Interpol where discovered to be actual Directors of companies registered around
the world . No wonder that money laundering , internet fraud , corruption and
dirty money are flowing every where ! “ . Daniel wanted the crowd to keep
hearing the difference so he said :
“ We didn’t
talk about education yet “ . Voices from the crowd agreed .
“ As a
general philosophy I would rather spend the money on more teachers now than
more policing later “ Daniel said and the crowds agreed again .
“ Schooling ,
specially at an early age is half about science and half about the learning of
being a decent member of the society and learning early in life to respect
others , to be responsible and to have the community at heart . Wouldn’t be
wonderful if every one would be brought up to think about their country as they
think about their home ? To be responsible and conscientious enough to realise
that how they personally are is exactly how the whole nation is … Matter of
fact I think this was exactly what JFK hinted when he said ‘ Don’t be concerned
of what the country does for you but rather of what you can do for your country
‘ ! “ .
Between
applause Daniel tried to have a drink when the Liberal leader jumped in :
“ You were
talking earlier about the restructuring of the economy and how you wanted to
copy the big Multinationals … but those companies collapse too on occasion …
you didn’t convinced us that just by making the whole population share holders
you’ll solve the problems “ . Daniel responded gladly :
“ It’s not
just about the big companies , it’s about the system and how it operates . Even
a country with a significant export sector is vulnerable and dependent on
foreign buyers . This means in bad times the people working in exports will
lose their jobs with an effect rippling through out the local economy ...
it’s a false sense of stability and security . That’s why a self-sustaining ,
non-exporting nor importing country is far more sheltered from international
negative events . In other words stay away from what you can not control . But
also think about the capitalistic system by observing it from the point of view
of an alien : they see people live together and form countries which they
defend with their blood but than they live in a rat race, 10 % of them holding
90 % of the wealth (11) .
The
business companies which are designed to provide needed services and products are
fighting each other causing bankruptcies , layoffs and people heartaches ,
while in the same time the companies are polluting and pillaging the planet
! So instead of forming a united country and society , collaborating to
have an economy fine adjusted to their needs and protecting the environment
they breath , the people are divided , fighting each other , hurting each other
and following in life the same philosophy as in business : maximize profits at
any costs . Is this insane or what ? “ he thundered . The audience was on
its feet sending long ovations recognizing that Daniel put it all in a nut
shell .
“ And than
about our independence … The other leaders want to borrow billions more from
the IMF and to enter their chess game without hope of winning . That’s right ,
when the IMF targets a country or government it doesn’t need to send in an army
but lends them money by the bucket and than to pay just the interest most of
the goods including food had to be send abroad to make valuable currency . Guess
what , when the population is deprived of basic necessities , it will revolt ,
execute the leaders as it happened with Ceausescu and turn to capitalism again
… Check mate ! “ .
A
silence descended over the crowd , people realizing the snare they fell in over
the last decades .
“ That’s why
under my leadership there will be no IMF and I will make one economy and one
nation , where the resources will be wisely spend because we will be in full
control up to the smallest detail ! There will be no guessing in
production because when you know all the needs and when you are in full control
including all resources , you can adjust the operations to perfection leading
to a stable economy , without fluctuations and recessions , without
bankruptcies and layoffs . Now that’s peace of mind for everybody and that’s
how I want my people to be ! “ . The Liberal leader though an opportunity so
once the cheering subsided he asked :
“ Than Daniel
, do you intend to close the private businesses ? Communism all over again ? “
. Daniel turned towards him with visible disbelief :
“ Of course
not … Obviously you are still caught in the inertia of the status quo as it was
preached to you since a kid … but people will have a choice where to work and
what to do , they will be free to compare the employment conditions offered by
both private businesses and my government … let them decide ! But I am afraid
Mr. Munteanu that you are forgetting two very important things about my plan .
Firstly you must understand that my government is totally dedicate to each of
our citizens , not just to a handful , in a manner that makes the government a
machinery owned 100 % by the people and dedicated 100 % to the people’s
benefits … It’s like people working for them selves but in a smarter way , united
in one company which oversees all the economic needs and using the giant
government system and it’s ability to write laws and control the army as the
ultimate , people oriented National company . There will be no company on Earth
able to compete with us ! “ . That got the audience on its feet again and
Daniel wanted to give them a hint about his plans for the deep future:
“ And there
is far more to benefit from it … indeed , just as a major prize to our efforts
, a life time prize matter of fact , when we’ll focus our industrial power with
the intensity of a laser beam on certain strategic targets we’ll be rewarded
with the power to alter life to such an extend that … “ he paused and revealed
his ultimate desire for the human species “ … you will never have to say
‘goodbye’ to your loved one ! “ . The audience gasped and it took a moment to
understand how deep and humane that thought was , and this time the applause
were synchronized in a solemn rhythm with the pace of determined people .
Daniel wanted to make sure they understood his secret message about the real
revolution he intended :
“ Our
economic policies combined with focused nano-technology research will make us
self-sustainable , without foreign interference and therefore making us a true sovereign
and free nation ! “ . The crowds chanted
“ Indeed ,
indeed ! “ and Daniel wanted to make a another life-time point :
“ And be
aware … there is far more to nano-technologies than just manufacturing ! It
will not only revolutionize technology but will also shake the foundations of
human civilization as we know it ! As the nano world will flourish under
trusted and peaceful leadership , the true haven and paradise will descend on
us as we can not even dream about ! Today’s steps are just baby walk … when
I’ll be done our society will shine like a precious stone in the entire
Universe ! … There is nothing more beautiful than an independent nations with
people walking down the street smiling , feeling secure and safe about their
future and their jobs , with a roof over their heads, without worries … just
enjoying each other … for Ever !! That’s the
To the end ,
the debate continued with Daniel splashing the dreaded reality over the crowds
and then washing them clean with his wisdom , with kind words and lots of hope
for his plan which in the last two years was spreading and appearing to people
as more and more real .
Three hours
later and exhausted Daniel finally exited the studio with Vlad , Marina and
many other supporters heading to a nearby restaurant owned by a party member
were among drinks and dancing they carried on with the political discussions
until the morning sun became entangled in their conversations and finally put
them to sleep .
While the
celebrations were going on , half across the world in the Oval Office of the
White House , the president of the United States was listening careful to an
unofficial representative of the International Monetary Financing who
respectfully , was standing a meter away from his desk .
“ Mr.
President , furthermore , our protégé is not doing good … I watched the
presidential debate a few hours ago and it is obvious most of the Romanians
will go for Daniel Dumitrescu … He pretends not to be a communist but
everything points out the other way so we , at IMF , are very concerned . He
openly defies our organization and you sir , as a member , I am sure are
equally unease … and for good reasons , not only that we lose 20 million of
consumers and labour force , and the mineral treasures of the Carpathians but
also it goes against capitalism and all that we believe in as free people . He
even wants to get out of NATO and UN ! … and the man is an atheist on top of
all … He’s definitely a danger to our society ... “ . The president nodded
slowly and asked :
“ When did
you say the elections will be ? “ .
“ In just a
month Mr. President , we’re short on time … Oh , by the way of your membership
, I was told to forward the great thanks from the organization and they are
working right now over your annual shares which should be finalized soon , just
in time after all this gets settled … “ . The president looked into the
distance thinking of his dreams of retiring in
“ Oh , yes
please , send my thanks and … tell them not to worry , I’ll take care of the
problem “ . The envoy smiled broadly , bowed and left closing the door behind
him . Alone , the president pondered for a moment recalling the underground web
, it’s powers and its carnage but Tahiti and the housekeeper keep bubbling up
into his conscious pushing aside any morality thoughts . He picked up the white
phone and said in a relaxed voice making a life time mistake : “ Put me through
Special Ops please “ .
Chapter two : the Start of
the Revolution
The election
day found the country in an effervescence and patriotism that emulated in the
days before many televised discussions revealing the growing unified feel
people have for the new revolution .
The day went
chaotic among continous poll updates , listening to radio call-in shows and
walking through streets filled with people waving flags and chanting . Daniel
was exhausted after all the commotions and when the evening came he could
finally rest having a beer and watching TV with his entourage waiting for the
final results . At 11:30 pm the count was announced , 84 % of the Romanian
people decided for the Revolution and the party begun .
The
celebrations carried over to an elegant large restaurant rented for the night
. Inside , mingling in the cosy rustic atmosphere and soft gipsy music ,
at least 500 people were trying to make their tour to Daniel’s table . Outside
on the lawn and in the parking lot more than 600 people were having a good time
eating , drinking and chatting , there were no disturbances of any sort and no
police in site except for Daniel’s escort .
If you
would wonder through the crowds and pick into their conversations you would be
surprised that after so many drinks people were talking about cold fusion ,
nano revolution , genetic therapy and considering political ideas to keep a
firm grip on what they got .
Daniel would
be very happy to hear the intellectual chat since he needed this attitude if to
make the fast progress he planed . At the table , with Vlad by his side , while
empty beer bottles were piling up making him feel the strong buzz of alcohol on
empty stomach , people were talking about the life ahead . One of them asked Daniel
:
“ So , how
come you don’t have any children … are you planning ? “
Vlad reacted
quickly feeling the danger , he made a discrete sign to cut it off and grabbed
Daniel by the hand :
“ Hey , let’s
have a Martini for a change … and where are the steaks ? “ .
But was too
late , Daniel opened the gates :
“ When comes
to having kids I think I was a victim of circumstances … Put your self in my
young shoes coming to Canada after spending my first 21 years of life in
communist Romania . I though , according to rumours , that I’m coming to the
land of milk-and-honey ! … In the next two years I came to the realization that
I left behind free education , free health care with Dental ! “ he underlined “
… eating organic foods , having guaranteed jobs and housing in a drug free
country where the criminal rate was one of the lowest in the world … The
western so called ‘developed’ nations on the other hand …” , laughing
sarcastically , “ you know the story , just read the headlines … “ . His face
became sombre , looking down in his empty plate with a tear start making its
way by the corner of the eye .
“ My
disappointment was so great , my heart was so broken realizing that , if this
is what they consider the best society in the world than we have no hope … so
at 23 I had a vasectomy … I just couldn’t bear the thought of bringing someone
in this kind of world … Really , even the birds set a safe nest before
laying eggs , we too want the best for our loved ones yet our societies are not
ready for them … not yet ” .
Silence
descended over the table and Daniel’s supporter apologised :
“ Sorry
Daniel ... I had no idea … I’m sorry ! “ . Daniel looked up while whipping the
tear off and shook his head “ No , no , don’t worry , you didn’t know …” than
turning to Vlad “ You’re right , where are those steaks , I’ll pass out
soon ! “ . The atmosphere relaxed and Daniel went ahead through the night
with the task of shaking what it felt like a thousand hands .
Later , in
the eyes of the morning sleep , he dreamed of having 10 healthy smart kids ,
with his living room in the middle of a sunny plaza where friendly and smiling
people were roaming around often stopping to ask if he was hungry . The feel of
this universal family caressed his brain and put a wide smile on his sleeping face
…
At the same
late hour but deep inside the State Security building , Sorin Negrescu , the
officer that shook Daniel’s hand at the airport , was going through his fourth
coffee , a half pack of cigarettes and a bunch of files documenting a recent
foreign entry in Romania . The person was flagged because of his connections
with the CIA that were revealed just before the communist leader Nicolaie
Ceausescu was dethroned . Also , according to the computer roster , a day
before his border entry two more foreigners were flagged but because Mafia
connections in the States .
Yesterday
Sorin sent an Interpol enquiry for the two Mafiosi and the CIA man and now was
reading the reports that were printed out just minutes ago . The two Mafiosi
were specialized assassins while the CIA had a history in Special Ops which by
Sorin’s standards meant another assassin but directly tied to the
“ Who’s this
?? “
“ Ion , it’s
me Sorin , I’m calling from the office … sorry to wake you up but it’s very
important … “.
“ Well it
better be to wake me up at … “ looking at the watch “ Christ ! 3 in the morning
!! … what is it ? “ .
Sorin checked
his voice … he didn’t want to sound like a kid in a panic :
“ Ion , I
have 3 assassins on our soil since three days ago … 2 are Mafia the other is
CIA who was involved in Ceausescu’s coupe … I though that I should talk to you
about this … can I come over your place right now ? I’ll bring the files with
me ” . At the other end Ion was rubbing his eyes to make sure he’s not having a
nightmare … As Sorin’s voice keep bringing the news he realized it was much
worse , the nightmare was real .
A half an
hour later both man were dissecting the situation and an hour after that ,
sleep deprived and caffeine pumped , they were presenting the facts to a
commission presided by a four star general . Within just a few minutes the
general picked up the phone and called Vlad . Than he called the director of
State Security and shortly after the whole mechanism start moving .
Vlad arranged
an emergency meeting right away and with the heads of security at the table
Daniel laid the strategy :
“ Let’s turn
this negative into a positive … So far we know the hit men are getting ready
and waiting for my public appearance in the inaugural ceremonies … so we can
set a trap … They need a good shooting angle from a safe location to get away
quickly . Let’s give them what they need … I would like everybody to find a
plaza with two , maximum four good shooting locations so we’ll not spread thin
covering them … Now , we must get those guys alive and in good shape , I mean
very good shape , no scratches …” , with a wide smile , “ I need them to be
able to talk ” .
The top
general had to ask :
“ No worries
, we’ll make them talk but why the pristine condition ? “ .
“ In a nut
shell , I want them to talk on the stage and from the same microphone I’ll use
to deliver the speech … with the international cameras rolling “ , smiling , “ Get the picture ? “ .
Suddenly everyone understood what Daniel was up to .
“ So here is
the whole thing concentrated : we advertise a new location for the speech , we
find the assassins and enter their premises … We’ll change the ammunition they
use for the rifles with far less grain , just enough to make a good bang and
send the bullet a few meters … When they shoot we jump them from the next door
, we give them the truth serum and drive them to the podium where I’ll be
waiting . Since we know one is American I want two things to happen in
coordination : 15 minutes before the speech we must shut down the power to the
American embassy by creating a diversion to force the evacuation of the building
and then , as the CIA guy confesses will be our excuse to have the Security
raid the embassy ... That means we’ll have to be ready around the compound and
be inside within seconds . The bottom line is I want All the paper and
electronic documents ceased and secured with no abuse to the employees” .
Vlad saw the
implications :
“ You realize
that means cutting off the relations with US ? “.
“ Absolutely
… The information we’ll find in the embassy should give us enough lawful
reasons to close their military bases immediately besides the embassy … I am
looking forward to that ! … Also we need to publicise and copy all the
information we get from the raid … I would like it on the internet , newspapers
and also send it to the most reliable media around the world . It will be a
gold mine of revealing information about war , corruption and interventions .
Let it make the history books and be a lesson to the world ! “ . Colonel
Paduraru remembered a detail :
“ I would
like to fine tune the time we have to bring them to the podium so we can get
the most out of the serum … but I am not confident … CIA trains to build
resistance … what if he’ll not talk ? “ The general took over :
“ That’s a
good point … Considering that Putin and the Russian President already send us a
congratulatory telegram I am sure they can provide us with their more potent
version of the truth serum … they will stand to benefit when the thing hits the
fan … So I’ll send a MIG 21 to pick it up , it shouldn’t be more than a few
hours “ . Daniel loved it :
“ Yes ,
that’s a good point , it’s just to much riding on their confession , let’s do
it by the book “ . All voiced their agreement and the meeting ended
sending everyone hurrying to their duties .
Once alone
Daniel said to Vlad :
“ This may be
the break we need … the implications can be far reaching … If we’ll find the
documents that I believe exist in the embassy we may restrict the international
travel plans of the President for the rest of his life … Anyways , at two
o’clock we still have the big meeting to set the skeleton of the reforms so
till then I’ll get busy preparing … let me know of any developments regarding
the assassins please “ . Vlad nodded and they got to work . For all Daniel was
concerned , he couldn’t care less of the planed assassination attempt , the
Revolution was on the way and he didn’t mind becoming the martyr . But what he
really love to do was coming that afternoon , the planning , the details and
the strategies , bouncing ideas with his advisors … that’s what made Daniel
tick and his mind was drooling in anticipation .
It was
difficult to find three Caucasian man among two million people in
In between ,
four surveillance teams were assigned 24/7 to each target learning soon of the
time and locations from were the three shooters were planning to take aim .
Daniel was thrilled and they quickly moved to phase two .
The day
before the ceremonies , while the hit man were briefly away, teams of
specialized infiltrating units broke into their rooms , search them and found
the carrying cases with the high power rifles and ammunition . They appreciated
the exquisite quality of the Austrian made sniper rifles and took a note of the
serial numbers and manufacturer . Next , the teams laser scanned and took
digital pictures of the bullets , weighted them , exited the rooms leaving
behind a clean forensic scene and returned to their covert mobile units painted
as utility vans .
Once inside
they downloaded by secure wi-fi the bullet’s parameters and than waited . At
the other end of the connection high precision CNC machining made an identical
copy of the bullets while a team of explosives specialists formulated the
necessary chemical compound and bringing the weight of the copy to within
milligrams of the originals .
At the end
they painted the tip of the reproductions with a perfectly matching color which
usually designated armour piercing ammunition . After 45 minutes of waiting
finally the radio inside the vans came alive and they got ready to receive the
delivery . 15 minutes later they emerged from the motels and returned to base ,
mission accomplished . Daniel called the general in charge and personally
congratulated him , than sat down and ponder about the huge impact his plan may
have on the international scene. He realized that the circumstances may start
more than one revolution so he called Vlad to arrange an emergency meeting
after the first session with his advisors , he just didn’t like to roll the
dices .
Chapter
three : the Planning of a Nation
With two days
to the inaugural ceremonies and the trap set for the assassins Daniel finally
was about to start his most important meeting yet . He entered the large wood
panelled room with Roman marble statues and old paintings of Romanian leaders .
It was an eclectic mix of smoky old and polished new that invited a
philosophical mood and a historical thought .
A huge oval
table seating 60 sprawled along the whole length of the room crowding the walls
while the people waiting were chatting in low and sombre voices affected by the
latest events . Only two chairs were left , reserved for Daniel and Vlad . When
all the coffees and cookies found their way around and the committee settled
down Daniel pulled the mic closer and started his long awaited party :
“ Dear
friends and family , please pinch me if this is real ! “ . Everybody start
laughing and suddenly they felt grateful that Daniel disarmed the tense
atmosphere .
“ Firstly
let’s put the assassination attempt on the side because so far is under control
and wonderful things may come out of it … we’ll talk about it more tomorrow ,
so let’s continue to keep the secrecy and our heads up “ . People murmured and made a few rude
comments towards the hit men .
“ Lets fully
concentrate on our mission … we have a long and complex task ahead of us …
everyone got their writing pads ready ? “ . Looking over the table to take the
pulse of his top people he could see their determination and enthusiasm, all
was OK .
“ Now ,
before we go into it let’s have the big picture clear : today will discuss the
future using the two projects , tomorrow will talk about the present situation
and how to adjust . Ok , now about the future … There are two vital components
to our plan and we have to address them both in parallel . Generally speaking ,
since they are our top priority , the two projects will receive maximum funding
and military cooperation . By the way “ , he added smiling , “ when I say
maximum funding I don’t mean having to go to IMF , OK ? “ . People laughed
again and the atmosphere finally started to unwind feeling more and more like a
casual engineering discussion . But Adrian Marinescu , the astute treasurer and
banking expert had to answer to his professionalism :
“
Daniel , if you don’t mind , before we go any further lets clarify this subject
… I remember from way back in the Independence Forum you were saying openly
that you will not disclose at that time the financial sources to pay for our
planed expenditures related to development , including the nano project . I
think now is the right time to get a good fix on this issue … what do you say ?
“ . Daniel was happy for being reminded :
“ Oh yes !
Thanks for jogging my memory , you angel of finances ! That’s right , Adrian ,
you know our debt situation , over 1.8 billion US in the hole with IMF , just
paying the interest is back breaking , look at what happened in 1980 when the
interest rates rocketed to 20 % and the debt Trap shut close for many nations
of the world “ , and with a raised voice , “ I wonder if we’ll ever get to
paying the principal ! “ (2) . The members showed their anger too and he
continued with the disclosure :
“ I believe
there is only one way out … not that’s the most prudent for a nation in the
long run under the present economic conditions , but , since all our scientists
are confident in the nano project , I believe too that the risk is worth it “ .
He left a pause because he knew it will not be easy :
“ I am
talking of clearing the country’s gold reserves ! “ .
The people
gasped and Vlad who was hearing this for the first time turned surprised :
“ Daniel ,
I’m not sure how big our gold reserves are … “ but
“ Exactly
3.95 billion Euros , Vlad … and let’s not forget the currency exchange as we
owe US dollars “ .
“ Thanks
Adrian , ya , that’s not bad … but how we’ll be backing up our currency ?
Daniel , you know , one of the conditions of the IMF was that we must hold an
equal amount of gold in reserve to the amount owed . If they find we drain the
gold they will call in the loan and will bankrupt the country overnight ! “ .
Daniel raised a confident hand :
“ I know , I
know … and we also pay hundreds of millions per year in interest … that’s why
what I want to do is … pay the IMF also in full and in gold right away ! “ .
Everyone
gasped again and thought this will be an afternoon of continous surprises .
Daniel explained further :
“ I know is
very unorthodox but will not only save us millions of dollars in interests but
more importantly will free us from the political restrictions imposed by IMF so
we’ll be able to start our reforms much , much sooner .
And the rest
of the gold will be used to pay for our development projects ... Needless to
say , the gold exploration will increase , we know the Carpathians can handle
it , and all purchases using gold will be very discrete so the markets will not
get a whiff of dumping . This is a one time move based on a calculated risk …
if we are successful we’ll not need the gold , we’ll be able to Make the gold
and more ! …
“ After
paying the IMF we’ll be left with a clean two billion Euros for R&D … not
bad at all ! “ .
The rest of
the members chewed the scenario and after a couple of minutes of consultations
across the table they voiced a resounding approval .
“ Ok , “ ,
Daniel joked , “ that was easy ! Now let’s have some fun with the heavy staff !
“ . He seeped some coffee and leaned back in his chair :
“ As I was
saying , there are two main initial projects where most of our resources will
be concentrated … they are vital projects , the backbone of our reforms and the
foundation for an economic and later social revolution. Let’s not forget that
similar research it’s done today around the world but in uncoordinated separate
pockets , individual labs , universities , etc. … but our government will be
the first in the world to focus it in such a massive way ” . He looked quickly
around the table to see the attention he expected and searching for Dumitru
Olteanu , the future science Minister and research coordinator :
“ Ok ,
Dumitru please take notes , this is your baby … the first project is a familiar
one , nano-technologies . The target is autonomous manufacturing using nanobots
. When the project is completed we want to have a bag of dry nanobots which are
re-programmable using radio waves wi-fi to download the instructions , dump the
nanobots in a premixed compound specially formulated for certain applications ,
add water or another solvent, mix and let it ‘cook’ until will be obviously
ready … We are using for decades Computer Added Design , CAD , as an universal
tool to engineer all kinds of parts and also in architecture so any object ,
regardless of its complexity, can be sliced by the computer precisely and at
any point .
So basically
any object can be described by fine slices , atomic thin which when put on top
of each other in the right order and fused together form a real entity . We are
already half there because , for decades , we are describing objects exactly
that way in our engineering projects using CAD . All we need is the universal
nanobots who will be instructed by the CAD program to put together all the
slices , one at a time … “ . Daniel paused to take the pulse of his advisers :
“ Dumitru ,
any questions ? “ .
“ I’ll save
them for the end ! “ Dumitru joked .
“ Ok , just
don’t hesitate to interrupt me please … So , Dumitru , at the nano scale the
basic actions are as follows : the nanobots , which are basically atom and
molecule weavers , pick up from the dissolved solution the exact elements
called by the program and fuse them into the existing structure with atomic
precision location… and so on , one layer at a time till completion … The
solution of dissolved building materials like iron , chromium , titanium ,
plastics , colorants etc. , serve not just as the atomic bricks of the object
but also as an important coolant for the nanobots … Remember , depending on the
object built , we may be talking of an active layer of perhaps billions
of nanobots … fusing the atoms and molecules requires energy and even though it
is minute at the atomic level , it is magnified by the shear number of nanobots
so heat will be generated “ . Daniel stopped and watched for questions but all
were eyes and ears .
“ Let me give
two examples , one very easy and the other far more complex. First think about
manufacturing a simple pen … think of its cross section design , materials and
colors … it’s not hard imagining such a job for the nanobots . But let’s
not forget that the nanobots don’t care how complicated the pattern is so my
next example is an entire house from the foundation , embedded electrical and
fibber optic cables , sewer , the glass and the windows and even the furniture
, yes , even the furniture , all done in one pass , one layer at a time … We can
do even the books on the shelves and the framed paintings hanging on the walls
! Now you can substitute the house example with an airplane , a car or a
spaceship … it doesn’t matter … We design it on CAD , program the nanobots ,
give them the necessary building materials and let them have fun … and of
course , if the nanobots can build anything they surely can build more nanobots
! “ . People start understanding the principle and got excited , Daniel
continued:
“ There is
even more … Look in a garden at the dry soil … it’s a mix of minerals and other
compounds , no life . But put a seed in and dissolve the soil by watering and
the biological machinery inside the seed will take the raw elements and
assemble them in a full plant , chlorophyll , the gorgeous shaped flowers ,
fruits and even beautiful fragrances … all from dirt and water . Do you look at
it as a miracle ? Of course not … we all are surrounded by busy , alive
nanobots but which we call cells … In our nano tech world we’ll have the
nanobots instead of flowers , vegetables or trees , and they will weave the
fruit for us directly , one layer at a time , and all the rest of the food we
need … They will even weave flowers we designed on CAD which we may create for
the birthday of our loved ones and have written on their petals ‘ Maria , I
Love You ! ‘ … That will put an end to agriculture … “ . People were taken
again by surprise , gasping .
“ That’s
right friends , when you’re hungry just go in the backyard , scoop some soil
and feed it to the nanobots , they will make you steak or prunes or a lemonade
as long as the recipe is in the database . Do we have enough soil ? Do we ever
! Just look at the Carpathians , it’s a , well , a mountain of dirt ! “ he said
laughing . “ And think what we can do with the unused agricultural land !
Forests , parks , cities ? … Fantasy ? Not ! Are flowers and fruit-trees
fantasies ? Not ! We are just copying the recipe and do some short-cuts ! “ .
Spontaneous applause burst all around , people getting more and more the
scientific message .
“ So all we
have to design is the versatile nanobots …
“ Yes Daniel
, one billion Euros each , tops ! “ .
“ Very good …
Dumitru , you just heard your budget , Ok ? “ . Dumitru , the top nano
technology researcher in the country , was trying to clear his head of
the buzzing ideas stirred by Daniel’s project , he was in love with it, all
smiles and couldn’t hide it :
“ Daniel ,
it’s not even my birthday yet and you’re showering me with gifts already ,
Thank you … I’ll take the billion and , as you hinted earlier , if everything
will go ahead as I am , sorry , as We are dreaming than , yes , we’ll be able
to Make the darn gold ! “ . Everyone laughed and relaxed because they
knew if Dumitru is up-beat the chances are good and realistic.
Daniel got
down to the team issue :
“ Ok , so
let’s talk teams … Dumitru , how many specialists in nano technology do we have
right now ? “ . Dumitru looked in his notes :
“ We’re not
doing bad … Considering the fresh graduates from the last seven years since the
course opened at the University of Bucharest and the University of Cluj-Napoca
, plus the teachers who studied abroad before , plus the fourth year students
enrolled right now , I have a grand total of 986 able bodies but with only 249
real specialists , I mean people with experience who can lead a team . “
. Daniel bit gently his lower lip thinking :
“ So that
gives us 249 teams each made of at least one specialist and four experienced
assistants … so we have 249 cores which will require a number of support staff
like electricians , chemists , technicians and so on … “ . He paused
entertaining the thought that just occurred to him :
“ You know
guys … it just clicked … do you realize the tonne of jobs that we’re creating
right now ?! It’s amazing … we may be looking at 100% employment rate in a very
short time ! “ . The advisors agreed and everyone thought of the campaign promises
being kept . Daniel continued with a smile :
“ I
feel better and better as we go …
“ Not shabby
, we can allow a bit over four million Euros per team for equipment purchases …
Further more , considering the teams will share the support staff and
some of the more expensive equipment I think we’ll manage to sustain full blown
research for at least five years … don’t forget, we can also use the help of
the Universities and any manufacturing plant that we’ll need “ .
Daniel liked the five years number but he would have preferred a ten or higher
, he was not fooling himself , it was a tough project . He just remembered
another detailed and called Maria Larion , the education advisor and future
Minister :
“ Maria ,
please make a note of the nano project . I would like to have a nano course
started half way through high school just after the chemistry courses ,
and continued in all colleges , I mean regardless of the college profile … I
want this because the more I think about it and the more I snap out of the
status quo , the more I believe that nano technology will became what growing
food used to be , a life saving skill … thank you Maria ! “ . She made
the notes and Daniel returned to the main project :
“ Ok , so we
know the budget , we know the teams and we know the target , the nanobots … The
principle behind having 249 teams is to have as many angles to the target as we
can … 249 different approaches to the problem . But , Dumitru , the strategy is that once a
team makes a decisive discovery, I want all the other teams focused immediately
in that direction and so on , a pattern of consecutive focusing as we make progress
… so basically when a problem arises we’ll have every time 249 ways to
look at it . And another thing Dumitru , as research goes , please make sure
that any fringe discoveries are properly detailed so it can be picked-up later
when we have time … Please underline to the teams specially two applications :
biology and military , which brings me to Mugur … “ . Daniel spotted
Mugur Badea, the five star general who was second in the military command
after him :
“ Mugur
please address all security issues for the research facilities and keep in close
contact with Dumitru so you can pick up on any side discoveries with military
applications . Also while we are at it , Mugur , please ensure security for all
the advisors and scientists , think of it as the Romanian Alamos , thanks ! “
. Mugur and Dumitru nodded at each other filling up the notes and Daniel
carried on :
“ In
terms of resources I think we should use as many of the existing buildings as
possible for the 249 laboratories and keep them bunched together to have common
access to equipment and staff … “ . He looked towards Radu Constantinescu
, the future Minister in charge of infrastructure :
“ Radu ,
please find them suitable accommodations as soon as possible . Dumitru , please
make a list of equipment we need to buy from abroad and work with Adrian to
make the purchases discreetly and immediately . By the way , let’s all take a
minute and recall the need for extreme secrecy ... Ok , one more thing … you
know me , I believe more brains are better than fewer so let’s organize a
national nano competition … design a nanobot , really , you never know ! Plus
it draws people’s interest and we need that … I want the nation to go
nano-crazy ! “ .
Slowly they
start feeling more and more confident , the plan was coming together in a
credible fashion , no science fiction , and the people around the table
straighten their slouchy backs , brought their chins up and felt able to move
planets . It was a collective high , a dynamo of human imagination and hope ,
exactly as Daniel envisioned it , a truly scientific and humane think-tank
working for the benefit of all people .
Maria Larion
, the future Minister of education , known for her warm heart and care for
children , raised her hand :
“ Daniel ,
while we are at the nano project , some time ago you said it will bring not
just economic wonders but also a social revolution … can you tell us now what
you meant ? “ . Daniel waved her a kiss :
“ Oh yes ,
thank you so much Maria for being an astute listener , I was planning on
explaining it because it is very important , thanks for remind me … You see
Maria , my conclusion is that , once the nano technology will be in place as I
envisioned it and as I gave directives today at this table , the whole
manufacturing process will be generally reduced to people seating in front of
computers and using CAD to design what ever they need … from parts to art and
anything in between . It will be a wonderful process of creativity involving
and available to everyone , where you can dream of an object , design it on CAD
, let the computer transfer the program to the nanobots , feed them the
necessary compounds and let them do the work and materialize your dream !
This will be the pinnacle of the nano revolution … “ . Daniel paused to
let the picture sink in , than explained further :
“ With such a
technology , with such an ease of manufacturing at atomic level anything you
can dream of , we will free more time for our selves , we’ll have far more time
to indulge in the true meaning of life which is , at least in my opinion ,
enjoying time with your loved ones besides having pleasure from your friends
and hobbies … Also consider that the quality of our lives, future planning and
our peace of mind are affected by our job security as well … in our case with
an economy which can provide atomic precision parts and equipment we’ll be
leading the world in manufacturing … we’ll have zero competition . So
when the technology enables you to control almost everything , to provide
unbreakable security , easy and stable jobs , to give you anything from food to
shelter , than indeed we’ll have far more time for our selves to enjoy the
people we love , we’ll have a totally different life style and we’ll be
engulfed in a new social revolution … and that’s the gift of properly used nano
technology … “ . After having a drink of water Daniel wanted to add the
final touches :
“ To
appreciate better this new life style I invite you to go through a typical work
day … First of all , where ever possible people will work out of their homes …
Let’s say you are assigned to make parts not to exceed a meter in size and ten
kilos in weight , and those constrains are just because transportation needs
since once made , some one will drive by in zero pollution vehicles to pick
them up … we are not talking science-fiction here since we don’t have
teleportation … yet “ , Daniel said smiling and continue “ The morning
starts by checking your work load , turn on the computer and see what orders
were placed . Let’s say you need to make five items with a certain code number
. You copy the code and paste it in the specialized CAD software … The screen
gives you directions of what materials and size of container you’ll need … You
go and get those items from your storage area and click “continue” . Next the
computer sends the programs via wi-fi to the appropriate number of nanobots
which are stored in a nearby container . When done you dump the nanobots into
the prepared mixture and go away to have fun for the rest of the day unless
more orders arrive … Imagine , that’s a typical work day for someone involved
in manufacturing ! And that’s not all … let’s say you feel like
learning to play piano but you don’t have one . You go on the computer and
search the data base for piano software , you copy it into your computer and
send the program to another bunch of spare nanobots , add the ingredients in a
suitable size vat and in five to seven days you’ll have a perfectly working
replica of a classic grand piano . Or , if you are an artist you can spend a
pleasant afternoon creating on CAD some mesmerizing sculpture with interlacing
fibbers of what appears to be precious stones , raw steel , marbles , glass and
wood . Or just design a new jet engine … not even the imagination is a
limit … The fact is that intelligent people don’t get bored , they always find
something to create and innovate … Imagine the whole nation instead spending
eight hours at the office is using most of that time for sheer creativity …
Suddenly we’ll burst at the seems with innovations , and discoveries will take
place at such a rate that our lives today will appear as stone age ! “ . The
advisors cheered and voiced positive comments , but
“ Don’t take
me wrong , I love it and it makes scientific sense … however , just as Maria
felt the social aspect needed to be address , I also feel that part of it is
the issue of personal incentives … I mean , if I design an outstanding object
related to any field , science or art , why should I place it in the national
database for free ? What are my incentives ? “ .
Daniel
obliged :
“ What you
are describing is the capitalistic model base on money rewards … But even in
the capitalistic countries the concept of Sharing aroused naturally , sometimes
with the flavour of barter , but anyways , today , you can download free
share-ware from many web sites … What we’ll be doing is organize the concept of
Sharing at the country level … So you know that as you’ll contribute to the data
base other will do the same and you’ll have access to it at no cost . It is a
continuation of the Family concept and as you would not charge your relatives ,
specially when you know they are also contributors to the national data base ,
the final change to the society will be the elimination of money … a natural
process “ . People gasped still being suspended in this river of
non-fiction just about to torrent over their lives and Daniel wanted to make
this revolutionary picture even clearer :
“ My point is
that most of the manufacturing will be done in people’s homes improving one’s
quality of life but also , a vital detail , why go shopping for something when
you can copy its design as a general template from our on-line national
database , customize it if you want to and make it in your own home … The
window shopping will be done from your chair .
Think about
it , economy is people exchanging goods and services … But when all the
information about how to make anything is Shared by the community in a national
database and when the concentrated raw materials are provided by the government
in exchange for labour besides being available freely in the soil , what’s
there to exchange ? This is not an economy as we know it ! Further more ,
if we can make most of what we need so cheaply because the bulk of the cost is
the raw material , and in our homes , than , guess what … “ , he pause
theatrically , “ … pretty soon Money will be worthless ! Now , That’s a social
revolution ! “ .
The
implications got people’s attention who found themselves in an uneasy state of
mind , listening to the shocking possibilities , trying hard to believe it’s
not a fantasy specially since all made sense , and trying to soak in the
consequences .
General Mugur
Badea had a flash :
“ Daniel …
what happened if the nanobots , small as they are , fall in foreign hands ? “
. Daniel hit his forehead :
“ You darn
right Mugur , that’s a very important consideration , thanks for bringing it up
… What I had in mind is a restrictive 3-D space … just as in clothing stores
there are Radio Identification passive tags which respond to certain radio
frequencies to prevent theft , I am suggesting a parameter of emitters
around our country borders or any other area . If a nanobot is within ten
meters of such an emitter it will self destruct … not explosively , just to
reduce it self to unrecognizable molecular dust . This way we’ll know
that no nanobot could ever escape “ . General Mugur asked sheepishly
while taking notes :
“ Daniel ,
any chance that I may have some specialized nanobots to send wondering abroad ?
“ . That was just what Daniel wanted :
“ You bet ,
dear ! We’ll have a delightful time fine tuning this nano-spying
technique … believe me , it’s one of my loved mini-projects ! If it will work
as I plan it , we may be in the position to show to other countries what they
really are , including their corrupt governments …“ .
Lily Magyar ,
the future Minister of labour also needed a clarification , and a very
important one for that :
“ Daniel ,
the more I understand the autonomous manufacturing project the more I realize
that one side effect will be massive loss of skills so I have no choice but to
worry about it … “ .
“ I
understand the concern Lily , what we need to do first is to realize we are in
a different circumstantial time frame … We are way too used with the
traditional manufacturing processes , the masters , the apprentice and all that
glory … and we felt protected somehow that in the future those skills will be
preserved and passed along … But what can you pass along in the nano world ?
How to use a CAD software ? How to mix dirt ? How to use your imagination ? And
so Lily , your concern is very valid : what are we going to do in a nano world
if things go wrong and we lose our technology? How we’ll survive and how far
from the stone age would that be ? “ . An uncomfortable silence surrounded the
room . Daniel explained further :
“ The only
way to pass the information in a nano world is if you have that information in
your head and a spare , emergency nanobot set . A Nanobot Emergency Set , or
NEST , is a group of nanobots in an inert capsule inserted under your skin
which can be removed without bleeding … Dumitru and his team will figure out
how to activate them , but once removed , started and provided with just
regular wet soil , those NEST will start manufacturing based on the available
compounds , a complete kit including the mini-computer , screen , installed CAD
software and an updated copy of the national database , in other words is ready
to go in five to seven days doesn’t matter if you are lost in a forest , on a
devastated battle field or on Mars … You can always start fresh with just soil
, water and the NEST under your skin … “ . Lily smiled .
Daniel
thought it was enough material for the first part of the meeting so he
concluded :
“ We’ll be
discussing this survival issue more but till than Mugur and Dumitru please talk
to each other to make sure it is addressed during prototyping … And now , as a
preparation to introduce you to the other main project , let me ask you
all … living in a nanotech world like this , basically paradise on Earth ,
wouldn’t you soon realize that Death remains the only and most disruptive enemy
? “ . The advisors stared at Daniel and slowly smiles emerged . Voices of
approval echoed and the words showed the arrival of a general awakening . Very
pleased Daniel looked at the watch and stood up :
“ Guys ,
let’s have a lunch break please , I’m starved ! We’ll continue with project
number two in one hour , ok ? “ . Everybody was hungry and healthy food
was served right on the table while creative discussions carried on .
An hour and a
half later and seeping on strong coffees while going over notes and still
discussing the philosophical angles to all those changes , everyone was ready
again and Daniel introduced the second project :
“ Before we
get into the second target I want to underline that eventually both of them
will be connected so don’t try to separate them too much in your mind … The
second vital project addresses one of the most cruel facts of life : doesn’t
matter how well we live and how happy we are , at one point in time we’ll be
separated from our loved ones … by death . When in this cruel world the most
important and treasured thing is our loved ones , to see them die is absolutely
unacceptable ! And so , death became our target number two , and genetics
combined with biology and nano technologies will show us how to eradicate this
enemy for ever … “ .
The advisors
looked like they needed more . Magdalena Romanov , the future Minister of
agriculture raised the main concern :
“ I find the
idea exciting and very noble but … how we’ll feed and stabilize the growing
population ? Birth control ? “ .
“ Of course ,
but if you do the math and consider the extended planed life expectancy , even
one child per family is too much after a few generations … But thanks to the
nano technologies , chances are good that after a while we’ll be able to manage
the food supply but the physical size of our country will be the final
limitation . At that time , and well before than , we’ll be appealing to people
who would volunteer to not have children but this is a long and specially
unfair shot in my opinion … In my plan , way into the future and for reasons
far more important and vital than running out of land … we may have to depart
this planet … “ . A hush descended over the room , not even his closest
advisors ever heard him talking about such a sci-fi scenario . They start
worrying about the negative impact on Daniel’s credibility and he felt their
concerns :
“ I
understand , it looks like a movie and I agree that at present is not the best
time to release it to the people … But please think about it … firstly I trust
all of you , I have proof that your intelligence is much higher than average
and I don’t want to hide anything from you , doesn’t matter how off-the-wall it
may appear … But , never the less , the reality may surprise us more than we
dream and I believe we all should keep the space migration in the back of
our minds because there is a very good and vital reason : once we enter
the nano world and conquer life than , naturally , all our attention will be
focused on anything that can disrupt us … You see , it’s a different state of
mind , when time for us virtually stops , the time scale of cosmic events
becomes compressed , there is no difference if our sun will became a red giant
and destroy Earth in 100 million years from now or in 900 million … we will
still be around … So instinctively , just like an animal on the run is looking
for a safe meadow , we’ll also seek a corner of the universe which is quiet ,
away from raging stars , black holes and turbulent galaxies and which we can
call home , relax and love our loved ones for ever … “ .
And than he
added :
“ I want to
make sure you understand my purpose very well … we do all those things , the
life extension , the nanotechnologies , the space search , all for one single
purpose : so tonight when you’ll caress the face of your loved one , you’ll
have no hesitation knowing that’s the way it will be for eternity ! “ .
People were
getting deeper in the realization of all the unexpected consequences and the
comments exchanged over the table start taking a philosophical turn . After a
while the advisors agreed with the principles behind such a very long term plan
and Daniel moved to the heart of the second project :
“ I am
proposing to call this plan ‘ Genesis ‘ in the tradition of new pathways
. As we discussed before , the head of Genesis will be Marina Bunea but the
same concept applied to the nano project will be valid here too so Dumitru and
Mugur will be her partners with full cooperation . The project will have two
parallel objectives : one is stopping the ageing process completely , the other
researching for health improvements to be applied daily by everybody including
gene therapy ... “ . Daniel paused to see if ‘gene therapy’ stirred emotions …
but no , people were just listening with visible intellectual curiosity . Daniel
remembering what James , the genetician he met on the plane , told him about
his encounters with the mass opinion regarding gene manipulations , took a deep
breath of relief and continued :
“ Marina you
already know the budget , what can you tell us about the number of teams we
have available ? “ .
“ Daniel ,
the situation in genetics is much better than in the nano project … We have far
more qualified and marginally qualified personnel , but I was thinking … the
budget split for the nano teams’ equipment worked at slightly over four million
Euros per team … I feel we should keep the same numbers for the genetics
project but with the difference that we’ll have ten times more people per team
, that’s ten times more heads to think about the target “ . Daniel liked that :
“ Sure , it
will simplify the accounting and provide more brain power … I love it , it’s a
deal , make it happen … Ok , while the life extension and health
supplements project is straight forward and has first priority I want to run in
parallel a pet project which I consider very important for our society . I am
talking about the crime rate … “ . The advisors showed their approval of the
subject .
“ While the
crime problem is obvious since recorded history , it’s solution is very fuzzy …
many ways have being tried , we know that … It is also interesting to note that
nations like France under Napoleon , Germany under Hitler or the Mongolians
under Genghis Hun got to dominate millions from the Black Sea to the West
Pacific only to fall back into oblivion … That tells me the aggression gene is
omnipresent in the population and all it takes is an insane leader to incite
the whole nation into war and violence … So my angle is to eliminate the root
that science has established to be a certain gene which is responsible for
human aggression “ . Everyone suddenly quiet down in attention and Daniel
sensed it .
“ No , this
is not Eugenics , we don’t kill or sterilize the subjects but instead we repair
what the cruel nature did to us . So in general here is what we need to do :
first , work out the protein to silence the aggression gene , secondly test it
and finally present it to the people … “ .
“ How it will
be tested , Daniel ? “
“ Quite
simple … think about it , we need subjects which are proven violent … There is
only one place where people like this are concentrated : in jail …” . The
advisors understood what Daniel was hinting at and reacted with caution .
“ I
understand your reservations … and I understand the human rights but here our
purpose is to relieve those people of a birth defect … If you think like me
that non-violent is normal while aggressive is not than it is crystal clear
that we are doing those people a favour … If it works , and it should , at the
end those people may find freedom again because their changed personality . And
I don’t mean making zombies out of them , no , we just remove the aggression
and let the rest as is . It’s a clear win-win situation for both the inmates
and the whole society ...
“ No , Daniel
… matter of fact my feel is that once the aggressive behaviour is removed
, the brain cortex will have more time to spend for normal processing rather
than being busy and interrupted by following negative thought patterns induced
by the aggression gene … What I’m driving at is that I will not be surprised if
the subjects will gain two or four IQ points … it makes perfect sense “ .
Daniel loved it :
“
Exactly … Think about it , how many times did you caught your self in
aggressive thoughts ? Perhaps re-living a situation at work involving your
authoritarian boss or a bitchy employee , or a road-rage incident where you
fantasize of getting out of the car and punching the other driver … it happens
… I experienced it my self many times and every time I said to my self ‘Shame ,
you chimpanzee ! ‘ . That’s why I’ll be among the first to get the
anti-aggression shot specially when I know it will make me smarter ! “ he said
smiling .
“ So here is
the plan : our target is the highest security prison … We’ll chose the inmates
with the most established violent record and we’ll segregate them in two groups
: in one group will inoculate all the members while in the second group will
inject only a minority , perhaps three out of twenty . In this way we’ll be
able to observe the adaptability in both situations , as a group totally devoid
of the aggression gene and also in a hostile environment surrounded by violent
people …
“ No , except
this may lead to a Nobel prize in genetics “ . Daniel returned the smile :
“ That’s the
spirit , so please , make it happen ! … Naturally , the whole process will be
recorded with the final purpose of convincing the people of its benefits … By
the way Marina , regarding your analyses predicting an increased IQ after the
silencing of the aggression gene … let’s incorporate your idea in the programme
and test their IQ before and after … matter of fact Marina , why don’t we test the
IQ of the whole population now and compare it with the test after the
country-wide anti-aggression gene inoculation ? “ .
“ Ok , once
the tests are completed we’ll proceed to mass produce the vaccine and inoculate
the whole population … did we cover everything ? “ . He looked around the table
but the voice came from the back , colonel Victor Dobrescu , one of Daniel’s
favourites dedicated body guards , a tough yet funny and intelligent cookie
collecting medals since a teenage recruit . He had a personal favour to ask :
“ Daniel , I
listen before to your ideas regarding genetic self-evolution and I have a feel
you’ll not stop at he aggression gene … What I’m trying to say is that … I always
wanted to play the piano … “ . A healthy laughter shook the room and people
made funny comments about their own personal short-comings , Victor was
speaking for everybody including Daniel who gladly obliged :
“ You funny
Vic ! … Yet so right … ‘mother’ nature is unfair to us … On one hand it shows
us what a few Mozarts or Teslas can do while on the other hand it makes the
rest of us fail to assemble a kid’s bike … it’s like in your face , you see the
cake but can’t touch it … So Vic , you’re right … we’re going to change that ,
once the population sees the benefits of self-evolution we’ll move quickly to
fix the intelligence genes and add all the skills and talents we’ll get our
hands on … Also , taking a chance of appearing trivial but considering my own
unappealing looks , I plan to include sets of genes which will provide good
looking people for the future generations … The fact of life remains that
physical attraction is part of the pleasure package so why not address it if we
can and eradicate ugliness ? … And I’m not talking about an uniform look , no
way , I am planning a national data base of faces which can not be duplicated
while the original is still alive … Really , if we’ll master the genome to the
extend of increased intelligence and added talents sure enough we’ll be able to
control tissue growth so why not enable parents to design the looks of their
future child ? In just a few generations
we’ll have a handsome population which , I believe , will help change the way
people find mates …” .
“ What do you
mean Daniel ? “ .
“ Well , at
present the universal divorce rate of over 45 % proves that a lot of people are
not good at choosing a long term mate … It’s the sexual attraction that
entangles us at first when young and foolish and maybe again later through life
… Today we are conscientious that only a handful of us are good looking so we
magnify every physical detail to satisfy our sexual need … When most of us can
offer only certain parts of our appearance as being attractive , we get used to
be thankful for having a mate with just beautiful sexy lips , or great legs and
so on … but in our future all of the people will be overall attractive so just
like getting used to an object-de-art , after a while it loses its lustre and
slowly , and with the help of Maria’s school programme in Social Skills
Development , people will start appreciating more the beauty of the soul and
the depth of the thought when selecting mates … So here we have yet another
social ramification of the self-evolution plan ! Another way to look at it is our genetic
enhancement will change humans to have beauty which is also skin deep … “ , he
smiled , leaned back comfortably and listen to the background of chatter trying
to filter the median response .
It was good ,
people were getting used to be showered with the unexpected twists of the
future and the technologies they were pursuing , they found it truly exciting
and it was not an abnormal , euphoric reaction , but that of professional
engineers and scientists who were trained to question anything unusual . Daniel
looked at the clock and remembered the security meeting following next so he
had to cut it a bit short :
“ Ok , we are
running out of time for tonight but we’ll gather again tomorrow to discuss the
solutions for the immediate present … Till than keep in mind the general
direction of our main projects : nano technology for the autonomous
manufacturing project , the genetics programme into life extension and human
enhancement and the pressing aggression gene silencing issue . Those are our
focus for now and I certainly hope that with 249 teams for each project and
four million Euros per team we’ll have the solutions in five years or less …
our future depends on it “ . The advisors slowly got up visibly enjoying
bouncing ideas and discussing a future which not only looked like a jewel with
a myriad of exciting facets but also , most importantly , it start looking
viable .
After the
room cleared and the chatting slowly went away , Daniel and Vlad were left
alone with just the four body guards standing a couple of meters away and
looking alert . Daniel asked them if they needed anything than took a deep
breath and looked at Vlad while the State Security team entered the room right
on time , all four of them, Bogdan Atanasiu , Intelligence colonel , Ion
Paduraru , Army colonel , Mugur Badea , five star general , and Mircea
Antonescu , Bucharest Chief of police . Daniel greeted his protectors with a
tired smile and they understood . More coffee was poured and Daniel got down to
business :
“ Thanks
again for coming … First of all I want to bring up the very sensitive nature of
this operation . If all works to plan we may end up in the possession of documents
that will stir the world and maybe topple governments , not that we needed more
enemies ! “ he said laughing .
“ In contrary
, when the dust settles we may have new friends , new societies with
better standards and perhaps more willing to learn from our example “ . Dunking
a cookie in the fresh coffee he continued :
“ But this is
an uncertainty … till than let’s increase the security and let’s carry on with
the details of our plan . Ion , do we know where the assassins are and do
we have their cribs wired? “ . Colonel Ion Paduraru was more than ready :
“ Mr.
Dumitres … sorry , Daniel , yes , we installed passive laser microphones and
passive optical fibber for HDTV … We know the tint of their underwear and two
important things : so far none of the three detected the switched armour
piercing rounds and we know the time and places they decided to use : four
o’clock , just 15 minutes into the speech and as we predicted , they plan to
take positions in each of the three suitable buildings we made available … That
will put them between 480 to 590 meters away from the podium , that means even
with the small amount of gun powder left in the rounds , the crowds will still
be able to hear the pops “ . He stopped to catch his breath and cautiously
dipped his lips into the steaming coffee :
“ We already
wired the shooting locations and assigned the capture teams , we even have the
bullet pickers in the parking lots below … Yesterday our MIGs brought us a
present from Mr. Putin with a signed photo of him to you … nice , ha ?! …
Anyways , we got gift-wrapped with instructions what I call the Russian Molotov
truth-serum cocktail designed to surprise any CIA trained operative . Naturally
we saved a sample for analyses … “ . General Mugur Badea needed a bit more details
:
“ Anything
special in the instructions ? “ .
Ion briefly
glimpsed at his notes :
“ Not really
… intra-muscular injection … time to effect 13 to 15 minutes … and duration 10
to 15 minutes . Oh ya … also the maximum session is two shots no less than 5 minutes
apart followed by an hour break , if you want the patient not to have a
guaranteed heart attack … “ . Daniel was not thrilled :
“ Ten minutes
is not enough … we’ll need both shots … how can we do it without actually
rolling their sleeves in front of the people and the world ??“ . The answer
came unexpectedly from behind them :
“ My aunt has
diabetes and uses on her belt a Walkman-size portable gadget which injects her
automatically with insulin … “ said Victor . Ion picked up the idea :
“ Yes !
I don’t see why we can’t by-pass the auto delivery signal and trigger it
remotely … the prisoners will be in shackles and dazed … I’m sure will work ,
just watch the time for the best delivery “ . Daniel took
over :
“ Ok , Vlad ,
you’ll have the trigger and just wait for my signal to deliver the second shot
… remember , we are mainly concerned with the CIA guy . The Mafiosi will
probably be knocked-out by the cocktail so we’ll give us more time … “ . Daniel
looked at Mircea Antonescu , the Bucharest Police Chief :
“ Mircea ,
there will be three acts to this show : first bringing the shooters on the
podium with the cameras rolling , secondly my interview starting with the CIA
guy , and thirdly , upon my signal , the storming of the American embassy … “ .
He paused to let them write the notes and carried on looking at Ion :
“ In the
first act I would like to have your brother in law , Sorin Negrescu , in charge
with bringing in the CIA guy and prepping him with the Russian truth serum …
the timing is crucial , he must be on the podium exactly ten minutes after the
injection and with the remote delivery unit attached and functioning … Vlad
will hold the remote control for the second dose to deliver it on my cue . Keep
in mind the large crowds and how to get to the podium in time , will be tricky
so I need some creative ideas … The other two assassins should be hold on the
podium within a earshot … Arrange also for the TV crews to be much closer than
usual so their mikes can pick up the conversation “ . Daniel turned around to
his body guards :
“ Victor ,
please position your self on the podium right behind me with the rest of you
fanned out not to interfere with the camera angles … keep in mind the world
will be watching … We know the three shooters planed to synchronize for the hit
at exactly four o’clock … I’ll do my best to bring the crowd to a silence so we
can hear the three gun pops … Ok , that should be easy … now let’s move to the
final and trickiest part , the American embassy … “ .
He
recollected his thoughts settling in the chair but felt his body quite stiff
after hours of seating … He decided he needed a bit of fresh air and stood up
reaching for the window , parting the curtains and taking a glimpse at the neon
lights and the gorgeous summer night . His hand never made it to the lever ,
Victor surprised him with a lighting move covering the window with his body and
puling back the heavy curtains :
“ Daniel ,
please , I’ll turn up the air conditioning … do you want another coffee or
better yet a fruit tea ? “ . Daniel rested his arm on Victor’s shoulder looking
deep into his warm brown eyes wondering how he’ll ever repay for his devotion
and care . “ Vic , thanks dear , I’ll have a tea , you’re right “ . He sat down
and waited for Victor to came back so he can listen in too . With the cup of
tea in his hand Daniel carried on with the details :
“ This act is
all about timing … remember our purpose : to get all the information out of the
embassy before any of the staff has a chance to destroy it … Here is what I
came up with and please feel free to jump in and improve it . Knowing the
shooters are synchronized for four o’clock , I would like a diversion at 3:45 …
Let’s say they receive a bomb threat , the caller said there is a bomb in the
embassy … One minute later blasts are heard and smoke starts pouring from
somewhere inside … In another minute the fire trucks are on the scene and a bit
later the SAWT vans arrive … Among smoke and sirens the building is evacuated .
I would like the fireman to shout ‘ It will blow !! Get out !! ‘ and to
rush all the embassy staff outside all the way on the sidewalk … I want
the fire chief to escort the American ambassador to his limousine and pretend
talking on the radio about his man finding a bomb on a count-down timer with
five minutes left … like in a movie , you know … Keep in mind , the ambassador
must not have access to live TV or radio , not even a satellite phone … He must
not realize that the CIA operative talked on the podium and divulged all the
incriminating information … after we clean the embassy I don’t care what he
does though … The basic idea is the diversion will prevent the embassy staff
from going through the clean-up procedure “ . Ion jumped in :
“ I can take
care of the inside diversion ! For years we have being collecting insider
information from this janitor who is a Party member … I’m very sure he’ll just
love to land a hand of help … he can set up the smoke grenades … “ . Daniel
look at him with a lots of thanks in his eyes : “ Ion , you just relieved
me of a great worry … that sounds wonderful … please make it happen …” . It was
an unexpected solution to a tough order and it brought even more credibility to
the plan .
“ Great , so
we have inside smoke and bangs … Mircea , you take care of the SWAT teams and
also I want unmarked vans around the corner with dozens of security officers
ready to take over the embassy and clean-up its contents … make sure they have
boxes and flash lights … “ , turning to Ion “ try to have your janitor friend
cut off the emergency generators on cue but without permanently damaging the
cables , we may need to have good lighting to search for hidden vaults …
arrange stand-by technicians ready to fix the connections “ . Daniel aimed at
general Mugur Badea :
“ Mugur ,
once the computers and all the evidence is removed we’ll need to seal and close
down the embassy … from than on it will be returned to Romanian ownership …” ,
he continued smiling , “ I’m thinking of turning it later into a relaxed , hype
coffee bar with framed photocopies of the most revealing documents found in the
raid … Just think of the memories and most important , the lessons it will
carry for generations … ‘ Café a la Americana ‘ , have a brew , chat and be
kept aware of the past threats and conspirators …” . Than he remembered
another detail :
“ Vlad , did
our ambassador and his staff arrived safely ? “ .
“ Yes , they
discretely sanitized our embassy in
“ Ok , so
everybody is safe … Coming back to the US embassy raid … Bogdan , I need to
have all found documents organized by theme , scanned in high resolution ,
stored safely on an army base and than posted on a hacker-proof web site for
the world to see … Also please send electronic copies to Margot for her
MargotBWorldNews.com web site , to Mike Rivero of WhatReallyHappened.com , to
the Truthout.org and other patriotic web sites , I’ll give you a full list by tomorrow
… any questions everybody ? “ . The team seemed content , they stood up
stretching , exchanging comments and just like a big family they hugged and
left to their duties with a strong sentiment of self-fulfilment and a strong
purpose in life to protect the Revolution .
The night
passed quickly and with tomorrow bringing the inaugural ceremonies Daniel found
himself again in front of his 58 advisers and getting started to discuss how to
make the best of what they got before receiving help from the nano project .
They went through the coffee and the home baked cookies made by volunteers ,
settled down with the writing pads ready and Daniel opened the discussions
tackling the toughest part of their plan , the present :
“ Ok ,
everybody … so far we know the gold reserves will pay for the equipment needed
by the two main research projects and will pay in full our debt to IMF … What
we have left is our present government owned operations and the foreign
contracts associated with it , that will ensure some revenue in . But what we
need is to fine focus the entire country operations to eliminate waste ,
duplication and general unproductive time … So I would like a complete
inventory of industries , the parts and materials they use , the labour
required , the available area for expansion if any , the industries dependent
on it and the forecast for diversification … In other words a comprehensive
flowchart of our economy “ . Daniel added one more vital detail :
“ Because all
our processes will be heavily dependent on computers I Must insist on totally
replacing the Microsoft patching job with a decent operating system platform …
Dumitru , as the science Minister this is your baby … I encourage you to make
it a national project and competition , just like the nano project , inviting
students as well as professionals to come up with solutions … We need a safe ,
hacker-proof OS tailored to the needs of government administration , economy
and with a portal to connect in the future to the nano CAD database … “ .
“ Coming back
to the human factor , in terms of working conditions I would like to have the
people taking advantage of the morning Rapid Eye Movement ( RAM ) sleep ,
(20) , for better health , so the general hours of operations for regular
factories and retail should be between 10:00 am to 6:00 pm with an hour for
lunch . Specially the schools should not start earlier than 10:00 am … The
working week will still be five days until the nano technologies will free us
at a much higher degree … We also need to give people at least four weeks
per year for holydays , to have kindergarten facilities located on the job
premises or very close , good air and light so we’ll need new standards , also
an Abuse reporting scheme and an encouragement with money awards for whistleblowers
“ . Daniel thought of another detail and laid his eyes on Carmen Dubosaru , the
Minister of agriculture and food :
“ About food
… Carmen , this is your department , we need an accelerated process to turn
over all the food to organics only . Also we need to organize the food
labelling to address the blood type diet … Needless to say please pass the
Anti-junk food legislation so we can close down those immoral businesses . On
the same line we need new guidelines for nutrition and food preparation …
Please cross links with the Minister of education , Maria Larion , and
establish an early program starting in the elementary school on all aspects of
eating healthy … I don’t want to see in Romania cooking classes students using
frozen dough and dead vegetables to make junk food … “ . Next he looked
at Maria :
“ Maria , in
education we also need to revise the system from ground up … I want a program
design to spot very early talents that kids may have and channel them towards
the respective future jobs . I want programmes against smoking , drinking and
drugs , I would like a cancerous real lung displayed at the entrance of every
elementary , high school , college and University … About general learning … I
would like better strategies of presenting the subjects to students , make it
more attractive , more life related so students can easily see how to apply
sciences to every day life . To do this better we need far smaller classes , my
desire is to aim at having no more than ten students per teacher at all
education levels … “ . He took a deep breath and remembered one
more detail very dear to his heart :
“ Maria , we
were talking earlier about the disturbing 45 % rate of divorce almost world
wide and about the plague of loneliness … We need to drastically reduce it if
not eliminate it completely … at the end I want every one to have a sweetheart
… So , my plan is a free , nation wide dating service as part of the government
social programs … After all is the people through their government helping each
other with a very important issue of their wellbeing . I was thinking about a
free local internet where they can download their profiles and chat ,
government organized single’s parties twice a week , free social skills classes
, hints on dating and also on sexual safety … “ . The advisors gave an
unanimous approval sprinkled with congratulations comments . Andrei Marinescu ,
the finance watchdog , wanted to clarify an itchy issue :
“ Daniel ,
with the massive research and all the rest of job creations , how we’ll pay the
workers ?? “ . Daniel expected this subject sooner or later and looking at Vlad
who already knew , disclosed his unorthodox plan :
“ I believe
that we are too much entranced in the western , capitalistic economic system …
look , even USA is printing its own money like they’re going out of style ! “ .
He realized the unintended pun and laughed with the rest of the crowd :
“ Ok , I
goofed , maybe the American dollar is after all going out of style , that’s why
we deal only in Euros , but what I was getting at is the nonchalant style ,
deliberate and with impunity in which the US and other governments keep
printing money … Now if we detach ourselves from this money system we being
brainwashed since children to accept and obey , we’ll realize that the natural
way in the type of a controlled economy as we plan , is a large circle of
intertwined jobs where every one is performing a bit of what it takes to have
the system running smoothly and manufacture what we need . So , since all our
needs are met internally without imports , if one makes a sofa while someone
else is making a machinery gear or designing a new engine or working retail ,
at the end , the task is completed, all the required products and services were
provided fulfilling all our needs and all this without any money changing hands
! The reason is simple , we all work for ourselves in the same company
following the same plan so at the end of the day it’s very much like family
members who finished their chores and the house-hold needs were satisfied … “
and than he joked : “ I don’t recall my mother charging me for doing the
laundry or me charging her for doing her groceries ! Another way to look
at it is imagining a super factory which has its own raw materials and produces
everything a country needs without imports : inside this company people make
things the greater plan requires but they don’t charge each other for
installing a part or for painting a panel . In other words , internally
and at a very large scale , people make what it takes to satisfy their own
needs as a society working together so using money to pay each other for doing
what they need to do anyways is ridiculous ! …
The
capitalistic system involves money because people are not organized at the
national level like us and this splinter enables ruthless people to use money
as a payment among individuals for services people need anyway and being
performed by people anyhow … it’s like being the middle man between groups of
unorganized people handling their money , with powers to charge interest and
manipulate the money markets leading on occasion to planed recessions …
Fortunately in our case , since we will be self-sufficient and out of the
international markets and their predatory financing loops , we can implement
what ever monetary system works best for us “ . He thought to assure his
advisors :
“ No , I
don’t intend to rock the boat yet and eliminate money , people need more time
to snap out of the old ways … we’ll work with the new generations to make the
transition easier and at the right time . Till than we’ll follow the
American example and print as much money as we need , period “ . Andrei smiled
satisfied , all was cleared to stabilize the economy . Daniel though of another
angle :
“ There
is a big bonus for us … when people realize they work for them selves , their
greater productivity and imagination to improve their lives will lead not only
to better working conditions and peace of mind but to better products as well ,
exceeding the West “ . Once the crowd settled Daniel moved to the next
subject :
“ Let’s talk
about energy … Until nano technologies will give us better ways I would like an
immediate initiative to switch all our energy sources to green and renewable …
The general principle here is transferring the energy production from
concentrated electrical stations to individual house-holds and individual
factories and businesses . I was thinking of mandatory discretely designed wind
turbines installed on every roof besides solar panels … what else can you think
of ? “ he asked the advisors aiming at Dumitru who looked over his notes and
had one suggestion :
“ The
“ In
view of the recent events we all are aware more than ever of the need for
security … Mugur , you are in charge so we’ll need border crossing security ,
internal and personal safety at all levels … we also need to educate the masses
about the dangers posed by foreign interference . One way to deal with this is
to purge the foreigners , after all why should we waste resources policing
strangers knowing that some of them are here to undermine our Revolution …
Naturally we’ll have to do it discretely … I was thinking to slowly shut down
all our resorts via travel agency under the pretext of being over booked ,
under renovations , etc. . I don’t want to make the news in the West on this
subject ... “ . He looked at the watch and noted how late it was , he thought
of the inauguration ceremonies tomorrow afternoon and the sleep he needed :
“ Ok , we are
done for now … I’ll see you all tomorrow ! “ . Slowly the room cleared
out and soon he was watching the late night scene from the back of the security
car .
All night
long he dreamed about being a walking target , being shot and somewhere a
school being named after him .
He spent the
morning going again with the security team over the American embassy coup , all
the fine details including his losing argument with Vlad over wearing a double
safety vest , a Kevlar and ceramic combination which made him sweat and look
fat .
His watch
read 3:38 pm when he stepped on the podium facing the noise , the bright summer
sunshine , ovations , screams , chanting , placards , banners and the TV crews
right against the stage . As far as he could see between the wide boulevards
and buildings , up to the horizon , there were thousands of people , a waving
crowd which brought back his paternal feeling of caring over a nation .
On top of the turmoil he recalled the 4:00 o’clock appointment with more of his
destiny so he got right into it :
“ Dear Family
, dear friends ! … We finally did it ! “ . The large crowd rose again to it’s
feet with cheers .
“ From now on
it’s up to us alone … At last we own the streets , the factories , the land we
step on , nobody can take that away from us ! … We are free now to do what’s
right for all of us and not just for a handful , we have the means and the
know-how to better our lives with our own hands , independent of foreign
markets and the conspiracies of the world ! … Being self-sufficient and
sovereign gives us the power to do what’s best for us and to spread the wealth
evenly while having peace of mind about the prosperity of our future … “ . The
people gave him thorough ovations and applause , he could feel their blessings
like an electric field of trust and confidence mixed in one . Daniel keeping an
eye on the time went for more :
“ So I’m
asking you not to lower you guard , I’m asking you to be vigilant and protective
of our family and our possessions … There are many enemies in the world who by
deceit and aggression would like to have us back in the rat race and have us
enslaved again … Let’s be smart and alert , and not allow this to happen ! “ .
On the other
side of the city , in a comfortable Frank Lloyds designed room, the American
ambassador was watching the inaugural speech on live TV seeping on a Miller
Light and feeling the cool breeze through the opened windows . Last weeks were
very hectic arranging the entrance of three undercover agents , working the
details of the expanding military bases in eastern
“ Sorry ,
what did you say ?? “ . Through the crackling poor connection the voice
repeated :
“ You are
capitalistic pig , you need to die … we put bomb in room … you go to hell !! “
and the phone hanged up . The ambassador put the receiver down and stood in a
daze not believing his luck . Another ring of the phone almost gave him a heart
attack :
“ Yes , what
is it ?? “ .
“ Hello , is
this the American embassy ? Who is this ? “ . The ambassador looked at the call
display … it says ‘ Police ‘ .
“ Hello , yes
, this is the American ambassador , who is this ? “
“ Hi , this
the officer in charge at the city police , we just received a phone call
warning of a bomb placed inside the American embassy … did you have any
problems lately ? “ .
“ Oh well ,
kind of , I just finished talking to someone who said the same thing , that’s a
bomb here somewhere “ .
“ Please
don’t panic , the fire department and the SWAT squad are on the way … till than
we ask you to collaborate and immediately evacuate the building … we were told
of a one tonne bomb … that will flatten the neighbourhood , please don’t take
any chances , leave Now ! “ .
The
ambassador blinked repeatedly thinking of the ‘ one tonne bomb ‘ and tried to grab
his jacket . As he bended forward a massive thump and blast shook the walls
followed by hysterical screams from the floor below . Black dense smoke start
raising in front of his window and the ambassador lost it …
He run down
the stairs like a hurricane passing the yelling secretaries and the thick smoke
and stopped only across the lawn near the entrance and the garages . His
chauffeur was holding a wet towel half way through cleaning the bullet-proof
limo and was staring mesmerized at the chaos . The ambassador jumped in the car
and start looking for the satellite phone. He could hear the fire and ambulance
sirens approaching fast while trying to dial . He was startled again by a tall
fireman knocking heavily on the limo’s window .
“ Sir , we
were just told the huge bomb is on a timer … less than five minutes left … we
have to get the hell out of here right this moment !! “ . The chauffeur went
livid , dropped the cleaning cloth and stormed in the limo , turned it around
and floored it . The car barely missed the secretaries and all the staff
running with just their shirts on their backs while the ambassador was looking
frantic for his cellular and barely hanging in as the car took a sharp corner
and gaining speed . From the front three SWAT vans flew by while he took a
quick glimpse at the watch , it showed 3:59:39.
With seconds
to spare Daniel looked at the large digital display watch hidden under the desk
thinking that he needed to have the crowd completely quiet at four o’clock
sharp . The display showed 3:59:39 . With all the cheering and ovations he
thought he was asking for too much … 3:59:41 … With an eye on the numbers he
tried to silence the crowd one more time :
“ Dear family
, I would like to ask you please for a quiet moment of thoughtful pause …59:45
… Please , for just a moment detach your self from the crowd , and from above
look down towards us and have the feel of belonging to this large family … :55
… please , just listen careful to its friendly heart beat … can you hear it ? ”
he said cupping his ear … Through his mind passed a thought questioning if
he’ll be dead in the next few seconds and trying to remember if he was wearing
clean underwear … 4:00:00 … His chest felt like punched by a hot iron and the
force of the impact threw him backwards straight into Victor’s arms who
instinctively jumped to cover his idol . Laying on his back with Victor on top
, ears ringing from the bullet’s sonic shock wave , Daniel was amazed that he
could smell his body guard cologne and though it was a good sign ... his next
thought was they missed the fourth shooter …
All around
the hell broke lose , people were screaming and kneeling to get out of the way
, his body guards melted in a flash to form a wall , security personal were
shouting in their radios . With his chest on fire Daniel was trying hard to
look over Victor’s body to see Vlad but he was no where in site , all he could
spot was Mugur in his general uniform and medals rushing up the podium stairs ,
red in the face and showing a mix of guilt and anger . Four doctors were
ripping off Daniel’s clothing with Victor watching like a hawk and
screaming instructions to the other body guards over the defining noise from
the crowd . Daniel took a pick down his chest expecting a pool of red mess but
all he could see was the doctor’s white overalls … he couldn’t believe his eyes
. The Kevlar vest had a burned hole in it but underneath the ceramic armour did
its job and , as shatter as it was, it still displayed the flattened bullet
hold between the linings of the fish-like scales . Victor reached and picked up
the metal souvenir :
“ I’ll make
you a necklace for your next birthday ! “ .
Daniel
grabbed his hand and still having a hard time breathing tried to get up . The
doctors rushed to help him when General Mugur made his way in :
“ Daniel ,
I’m sorry , I have no idea what happened , it probably was a fourth shooter …
I’m so sorry ! “ . Daniel start comforting him when he saw Vlad running up the
stairs with a secure police radio in his hand . They hugged and Vlad was
thankful for not seeing any blood :
“ You see , I
told you needed two vests ! … Next time don’t argue with me !“ . Daniel smiled
and , with his chest hurting like hell , pretended to be the humble pupil . The
voice over Vlad’s radio interrupted them announcing that the fourth shooter was
just caught and on his way to the plaza .
Staggering a
bit , walking towards the centre stage and behind a compact wall of security
bodies Daniel enquired about the status of the CIA shooter and Vlad gave him peace
of mind :
“ The three
shooters we knew about were captured according to the plan , no problems … I
just got off the secure radio and all are on the way injected with the serum …
our teams at the embassy are ready for your signal and I have uninterrupted
communication with Sorin and Ion “ , he added smiling “ as we speak smoke
is pouring out of the embassy and all is on track “ . Daniel squeezed Vlad’s
hand :
“ Thanks a
lot dear , you are my lucky star ! … Ok , now for the final act … Vlad , when
the CIA guy says clearly that it was a US government job I want you to
immediately make the call and have the embassy emptied of its contents and
sealed … no body enters unless you and me says so ! “ .
Vlad nodded
and helped Daniel walk to the microphone and address the people . At that
moment Vlad picked up some more info from the security teams and turned to
Mugur and Daniel :
“ Hey ,
listen , the fourth shooter is Romanian !! No wonder that Mugur couldn’t pick
him up ! “ The general was visibly relieved and Daniel hugged him to enforce
their brotherhood feelings .
As the body
guards parted and let Daniel through to the microphones , the entire plaza
exploded in cheers , even the cameraman where raising their hands and
applauding . Daniel pointed to his red chest which was promising a hefty bruise
:
“ I am not
dead thanks to listening to Vlad and wearing a double bullet-proof vest …
Please , let’s all give a generous hand to Vlad for saving my life ! “ .
With the crowds cheering , Vlad was red in the face , embarrassed but glowing
with happiness and Daniel wanted to serve the lesson :
“ You see ,
all it takes is a silent enemy to slow a Revolution , let’s learn and keep a
vigilant eye on our nation ! “ . As he looked far towards the back of the large
crowd he could see a commotion , the mass of people splitting to let through a
convoy of police cars with the sirens and lights glaring . Daniel knew the
party just begun so with the help of the PA system he encourage the crowd to
let the motorcade come in . He looked at Vlad asking how they were doing time
wise , imagining the Russian super truth serum making its way to the cerebrum
cortex and beyond .
Once parked
the police pulled out the four man and lined them up on the podium with the
high power rifles displayed in front while the TV cameras just steps away were
soaking in every moment . Daniel pointed to the CIA operative and the two
police officer pushed him in front of the microphones. Discretely signalling to
Vlad , Daniel took over:
“ Hi , I am
Daniel Dumitrescu … what is your name , sir ? “ . The man looked dazed
with the muscles in his face twitching showing the intense inner concentration
:
“ I’m …. I’m
… Fred … Markovitz “ he said in a low trembling voice .
“ What job do
you have Fred ? “ . It was obvious the man was trying very hard to delay the
answer but to Putin’s delight who was watching it live , he didn’t have a
choice :
“ I work for
the CIA “ . Daniel kept bringing the light on :
“ What’s your
title in the CIA , Fred ? “ .
The man was taking
his time again, his whole training and immune system were fighting the enemy
who gently yet surely was splicing neural connections together guiding the
truth to his lips :
“ Special ops
… “ .
“ For how
long ? “ .
“ … 24 years
“
“ Why are you
here in
Fred’s face was showing the titanic struggle
taking place inside his brain when he whispered the answer :
“ … To kill
you … “ . The crowd gasped as the words were carried amplified by the PA system
. Daniel continued :
“ Who send
you here to kill me ? “ .
Fred again took his time :
“ My
commander “ . Daniel was feeling the crucial moment around the corner and
pushed the microphones closer to Fred :
“ And who is
your commander , Fred ? “
“ …The
President … “ .
“ What
President ? “ .
Fred’s
struggle was again plenty evident but the chemical factor was un-fightable :
“ … The
President of the
As his words
traveled over the plaza and beyond , the crowd’s reaction was first of
confusion and than it start escalating in a torrential rage of anti-American
slogans and swearings that Daniel hoped not too many international viewers
would understand . He turned towards Vlad and was pleased to see him talking on
the secure army phone , there was no turning back now … Daniel took the mic :
“ Everybody ,
please , let’s learn from this and understand why we need such a strong
security to spot the enemy within . “ . Than he asked Fred :
“ Have you
being in
“ … Yes “
“ Did you
kill anyone ? “
“ …Yes “
“ Who and
when ? “
“ … Security
Colonel Andreev … in 1984 “
“ Why ? “
“ … He found
out about me … our plans “
“ What plans
were those Fred ? “ .
He struggled
again .
“ …
Ceausescu’s coup “ .
Daniel was
not expecting that :
“ You mean
you were involved in a plot to overthrow Ceausescu and killed one of his best
security colonels ?? “ .
“ … Yes “ .
A guilty
silence descended over the plaza , people slowly understanding and putting
together a puzzle of history . Daniel thought to comment :
“ No wonder
Ceausescu was so strict when came to state security but obviously in spite of
all of his resources he was not able to survive … That’s yet another lesson for
us to understand the power of foreign intervention ! Never take it lightly ! “
(10) .
Amidst the
cheers , angry voices and general chaos , Vlad approached Daniel :
“ We got the
embassy before they could sanitize it … We found Fred’s CIA file and is on the
way by helicopter ... it looks like the jackpot … By the way, reports are
coming in that people are flooding the streets in all cities across Romania and
there is a mob approaching the American embassy … I think you better get on the
horn ! “ . Daniel smiled back trying hard to ignore his burning chest and
thinking of his plans to turn the embassy in a stylish café :
“ Dear
friends , everybody , I have an important announcement to make …”. The crowd
quiet down in anticipation and Daniel filled them in with the latest
developments :
“ Following
the CIA assassin disclosures on this stage , the Romanian Security forces just
seized the American embassy in
The crowd
first gasped and than start cheering wildly with calls to “ Burn it down ! “ so
Daniel rushed in :
“ Please ,
listen up everybody ! …. Do not touch or damage the American embassy , please
! The building belongs to us , the Romanian people !
I intend to
transform it into a cozy café-bar where we can reminisce one day about what we
went through to get here ! Please , let know every one and do not vandalize the
embassy , thank you very much ! “ .
He remembered
about the Russian truth serum second dosage and looked at Vlad signalling to
use the remote trigger in his pocket . Vlad nodded , reached inside and
squeezed the switch … He watched Fred’ face relaxing , everything was on track
and Daniel continued with the interrogation :
“ Fred , are
there any spies like you on the
“ … Yes “ .
“ How many
spies ? “
“ … over 200
“ . Daniel’s eyes went wide :
“ What ??
Over two hundred ?? “ . He turned abruptly to Vlad who already was on the ball
and whispered to Daniel the latest regarding the military manuvers . Daniel
reached for the mics again and informed the crowd :
“ Vlad just
told me that a number of Romanian battalions are closing on the two US military
bases and my government will give 48 hours notice for their evacuation … As a
consequence of today’s events Romania will sever diplomatic relations with USA
and close its embassy . The number of spies who were active or preparing to
cause damage to our society is another lesson for us and another good reason to
tighten the security belt , every single one of us must turn into a vigilante !
“ . He pointed towards the CIA operative :
“ Fred ,
besides the spies on the military bases , did you recruit any Romanians ? “
“ … Yes “
“ How many ?
“ … over 400
“ . The crowd was in shock and so was Daniel . He asked :
“ Fred , are
other assassins right now in
“ … not right
now … later “ . The crowd gasped again . At this time colonel Mugur
stepped forward and whispered something in Vlad’s ear , both nodded and Vlad
approached Daniel pulling him a bit on the side . They engaged in a brief
heated dispute and a few seconds later Vlad visibly was the winner . Daniel
turned to the TV cameras and the crowd :
“ Dear
family and friends, this ceremony supposed to be our official start of the
Revolution but it also turned to be a lesson in history and what it appears as
an un-welcome matt from foreign powers ... Let’s find inspiration and
motivation in this events and put all our soul and resources to our benefit so
in the near future will be our turn to serve a history lesson to the world but
one with peace at heart ! “ . He added among the ovations :
“ Due
to this circumstances I’ve being asked by the State Security to end my speech
here but I’ll continue in the following days to keep in touch with all of you .
Till then start the party , be strong and diligent … from now on we’re working
for ourselves ! “ . He waved generously one more time and left the stage
surrounded by the security forces .
Once inside
the presidential building he gathered the appropriate advisors and in a few pen
strokes assigned the Romanian Higher Court of Justice to start indicting the
American President for attempted murder , to issue an Interpol bulletin for his
arrest and closed down officially the embassies and the two US military bases .
Than assigned an interrogation team to finish the job with the four assassins
over the next few days , designated a team to organize the information seized
from the embassy raid and than display it on a secure web site .
The
cascading ramifications of the assassination attempt and the classified
More
revealing information from the raid helped the Romanian Security to clean up
the internal traitors and give the Revolution a safe ground for operations . In
the same time the American people were choosing a brand new style of government
dedicated to peace and many other nations followed suit discovering their own
governments entanglement .
Daniel knew
however , the international underground web of conspirators is still mainly
alive and most likely bent on revenge as they recovered before from worse
situations , he badly needed the nano advantage .
In the
following weeks the Romanian government used its gold reserves to paid the IMF
in full and to purchase discreetly millions worth of high-tech research
equipment and spare parts . The plan was coming together and Daniel was getting
ready to start what he dreamed for decades , the building of his nation .
Chapter four :
the Building of a Nation
Two years
passed since the start of the revolution and one sunny day Daniel found himself
in front of TV cameras and a nurse , with the sleeve rolled up and a smile on
his face in anticipation : he was about to receive the anti-aggression gene
inoculation . Marina , just steps away and next in line , was smiling too
feeling the historic importance of the moment .
The prison experiment
was a great success , after ten month the vast majority of the vaccinated
inmates chosen among the most violent ones , displayed a perfectly normal
behaviour , becoming resistant to provocations and gaining on top two IQ points
in average .
They
described their new state of mind like the clearing after a storm , a serenity
in thought and a vastly improved power of concentration that made them normal
in behaviour and wiling to talk to others sharing their mental rebirth . The
handful of inmates , less that 1 % , that did not respond fully to the vaccine
were send to a special research facility where Marina was planning intense
testing to find out why those aberrations occurred .
Immediately
after the experiment the whole prison population was inoculated and twelve
month later great numbers of inmates were released in a widely TV covered
series lead by Marina , explaining the process of gene silencing , it’s effect
of eliminating unprovoked violent behaviour and its ultimate effect of freeing
the mind from the interruptions of useless loops of aggressive thoughts and
hence the IQ gain .
Today Daniel
opened officially the mass inoculation project and on live TV he became the
first to lead the nation on this historical step taken by the human species
towards the long process of self-evolution .
While the
nurse gently squeezed the trigger , Daniel had a flash through his mind , he
felt the time and history warp in a single move in which he stepped from his
sunny deck half around the world , straight into this extraordinary moment when
, for the first time , humans were taking over the natural evolution and
started a march towards what they really wanted to be since homo sapiens
appeared ... the colossal significance of the moment made his hairs stand up.
It took just
one year after the mass vaccination to build a common consensus among people
that the change occurred in their minds was a terrific and an actual
mind-opening experience . Marriages , friendships and relations improved , at
work people found a new atmosphere free of politics and trouble-makers , the
police reported a phenomenal drop in domestic disputes , fights and violent
crimes , while to everyone’s surprise, the army revealed that now
soldiers behave under battle simulations with a new calm and cool mind that
gave them greater self-confidence and performing at such superior levels that
shocked the generals .
The change
was felt in every aspect of life , from work to leisure , from parties to
sporting events and anything else in between , particularly in schools were
students reported a much more productive environment and proving it with
remarkable higher grades across the nation .
For reasons not understood at the beginning ,
the learning curve and memory improved so considerably that curriculums had to
be upgraded . This mystery was solved just a while later when another
unpredicted side effect was reported in particular by children who told their
parents they don’t have nightmares anymore and this brought forward the adults
who noticed the same change . It became clear that the silencing of the
aggression gene not only affected the conscience but also the subconscious ,
freeing the neural circuits to reinforce productive learning patterns
uninterrupted by useless aggressive thoughts . From the brain to the immune
system , the whole body and mind benefited .
To
prove it to themselves scientifically , the population demanded and took the
second IQ test and the results were conclusive showing an average gain of three
points . It was a nice ‘icing’ on the new delicious social cake .
The more
facts were surfacing the clearer the picture was , showing that indeed , nature
wasn’t a ‘mother’ after all and based on the experienced evidence , it was more
of a cruel exploration in insanity and people didn’t want to have anything to
do with it any longer .
The
population start demanding more time dedicated to the genetic improvement and
Daniel obliged in many TV forums discussing the extraordinary possibilities .
The whole
country embraced the mentality of a kid waiting for more candy , the
anticipation grew and bloomed a year later into a mass petition giving Daniel a
clear mandate to pursue all the changes to the human genome that were
beneficial .
For the first
time in the human history a nation voted to consciously modify it self as an
organism . In philosophical terms , natural life evolution as we know it was on
its way to extinction and the Universe was a step closer to find eternal
company …
In the new
serene society life evolved around friendship and love , a thing hard to find
as we all know so it became a main concern for the government which initiated a
system to solve this problem for good .
The newly
created National Dating System brought together an unprecedented number of
people and the government was doing everything possible to make it easier for
couples to be closer , even changing working and living places at no cost .
Daniel was lonely all his life not just because he wasn’t good looking but he
was also shy . Now that he had the power , nothing could stop him to make a
model out of how to find your mate . TV shows , free on-line usage , government
paid events and dancing nights , school classes on how to express yourself ,
dating courses , all it can be done to make it super easy for people to find
each other and find love .
In just
two years you would be hard pressed to spot a lone single at a party . In over
50 years of life he never found a woman to be interested in him , never mind
finding love . And he plenty knew how destructive that can be to one’s peace of
mind , creativity and well being , tears of loneliness soaked pillows stood
testimony . So for him the National Dating System was among first priorities
because , as he liked to say , first you find love than you keep it for ever ,
‘mother’ nature’s planed death was not on the table anymore .
His care for
the people was showing in many other details remembering what he went through
while living in a ‘developed’ Western society .
Since the
government was the main employer by far , and with all its resources , Daniel
made sure no one worried about their job or place to live and he put in place
as a routine , postings on the secured National Network about jobs and close-by
apartments available . If you subscribe , you’ll be notified automatically ,
all at no charge … how can you charge people for giving them peace of mind ,
Daniel saw no national logic into it , in contrary, his all purpose in life was
to make others happy . And now happiness could be heard all around .
There was a
new sound to this society , passing by schools you didn’t hear anymore senseless
screaming and skirmishes , the evenings and weekends on the streets were
missing the drunken brawls and parking lots fighting . There was a new maturity
laying over the entire society , a friendly collaboration and a truly family
atmosphere . And for the first time Daniel could listen and enjoy Louis
Armstrong’s ‘ What a Wonderful Word ‘ without giving the finger .
Yet in the
back of his mind were lurking the images of hungry children and dysfunctional
societies that were still out there … but , at the right time and holding the
right resources , he had a plan for that too .
Daniel was
experiencing a clearer mind after the aggression poison was removed , enjoying
calm thoughts which like a green vine , were climbing unimpeded on the stem of
logic . This new clarity throughout the population started the process of
fixing ancestral dreams into liveable reality giving every one a new view on
life and confidence in their collective long term planning . In the great
ensemble of things it made sense , all they did was to adapt and pick the
best of what other systems had to offer , survivability at work .
With the new
policies meant to secure the country from outside interventions , the people
were more relaxed being surrounded by safety measures including the
purging of foreigners , closing most embassies with the exception of the
Russian and some African countries , not renewing expired international
contracts and effectively cutting Romania off from the rest of the world .
There was just too much risk getting entangled in foreign business and
relations , the modern history is full of examples of how powerful nations used
their leverage to damage other countries ( 10 ) . Having full spectrum of
natural resources and educated people was all Daniel needed to make his country
self-sufficient so all exports and imports were eliminated completely directing
the entire economy with the purpose of satisfying exclusively the needs of his
population . Everyone was patient , conscientious of the final goal and the
bigger picture of their effort so waiting another year to fabricate goods like
a plasma TV was something they can live with considering what future automated
nano manufacturing will give them .
There was a
philosophical departure from thinking ‘money’ , people realizing that was just
a capitalistic tool invented long ago to replace gold in transactions and
allowing the banks to print them at will defying their own economic principles
. Living in an unified society where all was organized and coordinated to
provide every body with an equal high standard of living , having access to the
same resources and goods , it became obvious that money was a waste of time .
Daniel wanted
to make a point and , preparing the nation for the future , eliminated
all cashier jobs , a move which will pay off handsomely in the short future and
from a surprising angle .
In this ‘Trust’ system , the merchandise was
automatically scan by the traditional RFID ( Radio Frequency Identification )
and the total was presented to the shopper . At the cashier stations there was
a tray with money scanned by the system , you put yours in and take the change
. A display showed the till balance , a red number meant the money were short,
at a glance people could tell if someone did or did not paid .
Daniel took
the national balance for all transaction and proved to the nation that every
day the balance was very close to zero , something to brag about and be proud
off specially since the kids were asked by the parents to handle the money . It
was an educational process to brain wash the new generations that thievery was
inexistent and for all intent and purpose was not part of the vocabulary . I
dare you trying a similar experiment in the ‘developed’ country of your choice
but , hey , Hitler was successful in teaching Nazism so why would be a shock
that a benevolent leader could teach a nation the Mother Theresa’s way instead
, minus the doctrine . Specially when you can cheat , like Daniel did , by
trimming the genome and having a head start .
But there was
another aspect to the experiment that Daniel wanted to underline . Pretty soon
people became tired of wasting time at the till and petitions were signed to
have the inconvenience removed . Since in average every one was getting paid about
the same and no one was grabbing more than needed , money lost their
significance and became just a hassle . When the petition reached 18
million names , Daniel , more than gladly , removed money from economy . That
historical day was a celebration bringing more than fire works , but an adult
realisation of how easy is to corrupt nations in being manipulated by money
institutions and completely changing their lives , plunging them into the daily
torrent of people running obedient in the rat race . When you already
experienced that crappy reality , you’d think that’s only natural to count your
blessing in Daniel’s world and that’s exactly what people did , a whole
generation remembering only to vividly stumbling before through two depressing
systems . And that experience was a large component of the cement that now was
holding them together .
The new state
security style was a direct result of the foreign intervening paranoia that
bothered Daniel from day one , so it incorporated neighbourhood militia groups
where people knew each other and the terrain , practicing periodically war
games . The alertness and readiness were very high with everyone storing their
ammo and weapons in locked boxes at home , while the country was tightly
embraced by dense border patrols that looked as busy as Wall Street at noon .
The
assassination attempt of what the country considered its most precious son ,
revealed violently how fragile their society is , having the net effect to
scare the wits out of the population , causing the masses to fuse together and
to understand the sombre reality that all they have in this world is each other
. You couldn’t ask for a stronger bond and motivator in a society and its
effects were present in every detail of life . Think about it , when you are
part of a huge stable organization not dependent on international market
fluctuations and speculations , when your job is 100 % secured for the rest of
your life , when the education and medical are free , living in guaranteed
accommodations , surrounded by a society virtually without crime , no wonder
everybody was relaxed , friendly , enjoying life and looking at their careers
with all the creativity and diligence of a owner while watching like a guard
dog the safety of their nation .
This unification
was also the result of long appearances by Daniel on the Debate TV channel ,
explaining in detail the reasons and the rewards of cooperating and adjusting ,
all because the final target promised them equal benefits of a revolution in
manufacturing that will affect their society in their life time . The
discussions reinforced their believe it can be done and this alone was
sufficient to keep them going . But when they saw the short documentaries
prepared by Dumitru’s Board of Science , portraying a regular day in the life
of a person living a few years into the Nano Revolution , people absorbed the
coming future like a religion , pumping up their spirits and giving them the
mental motivation needed to work diligently as part of the project . Except
that science was much easier to explain than religion .
Not depending
anymore on foreign technological input people start taking pride in what ever
they were doing because they knew it was for themselves . The quality was
exceeding the specifications and innovations were omnipresent being kept alive
through nation-wide science contests . From high school to University and at
any work place , science was injected at a phenomenal rate , students were half
in classroom and half in factories being thought a hands-on approach .
The campus
mentality changed and from fashion the admiration switched to brains , the
grand prize and the rights to brag belonged to the innovators, people with
ideas and inventions that ultimately improved everybody’s lives . From crowded
stadiums watching ball , the action moved to chess and science puzzle
competitions and all this was happening simply because the government
channelled all activities and programs do to exactly that , no miracles or
extraordinary human qualities were involved but just common sense and positive
wisdom under honest , good-hearted leadership .
Daniel
was smiling thinking that Attila the Han managed to organize the masses using
the aggression gene while he was bringing the country together appealing to hearts
and brains with a twist of genetics . His heart skipped a bit thinking how
fragile is the difference between the two worlds , all it takes is just one
person … The central government was a golden prize for both good and evil and
bringing that order to world levels was the dream of the worst conspirators .
While the
nano and genetic research were intensifying , the new style of unified economy
ultimately tied together every single manufacturing and service component of
their daily lives , even a simple screw was designed to fit as many
applications as possible . Just as Daniel predicted , one thing is to have
dozens of separate private companies fighting for a share of the market
creating duplication and job related stress , and a totally different thing is
to coordinate every detail and have full control over all aspects of the
economy and manufacturing … Cooperation beats selfish competition and there was
no contest in term of results, the capitalist companies should kiss their lucky
stars for Romania not being interested to compete , other way they would have
being chewed and spat out by this super economic giant working with the fine
precision of a Swiss clock . After all , there was no were else in the world
twenty million people working for the same organization ...
The basic
Western economic system of paying for goods and services did not fit the new
collective thinking because profit was no longer the object of planning .
Instead , the jobs were spread evenly to cover the personal needs and research
, and the quality of services and tangible objects became the direct personal
reward replacing the capitalistic ‘shares’ .
Daniel was omnipresent in the daily public
life appearing unexpected in theatres , markets , TV shows and everywhere he felt
needed his attention . He couldn’t fathom leaving anything to chance or
disappointing his people, the prize at the end of this first road was just too
much , too unique and precious to not put his life on the line to make it
happen . So he continued to hammer the point of this period of preparation and
transition , and as he did , soon the response from the population was
surprising : with far less stress , with jobs and housing guaranteed , more
peaceful society , better food and everything else Daniel put in practice ,
people start getting the trust and , feeling already better, through
petitions and letters they let him know that all was fine , their patience and
understanding was there , all they wanted was Daniel and the research teams to
keep going .
The great
dependence on computers to run this huge company , lead to replacing western
operating platforms with a home-made , hacker-proof system which put to shame
any Microsoft software . Still under the shadow of the assassination attempt
and with an unanimous vote the country decided not make it available to the
rest of the world , in the same spirit of keeping all discoveries secret . The
world , unknowingly , was paying a divorce price that only years later will
show how costly it was .
Following the
established directives Daniel looked after all aspects of life .
He changed
the education system putting a great accent right from kindergarten on social
behaviour , making kids understand that all around belongs not just to them but
to everyone else , taking pride in being kind , helping and carrying for each
other and putting science front and centre .
Daniel
ordered the classes reduced to under ten students , set a ‘Discovery’ program
to find gifted pupils and organized special schools with advance curriculums to
fit them .
The schools
start teaching using new concepts where a lot of activities were going on
outside among the busy factories and offices , showing students what life was
made of and what it takes to keep it going .
Above
everything however was the introduction of Computer Added Design ( CAD ) and
nano courses starting early in high school . Those specialized courses unified
math , chemistry and cell biology with nano principles and technologies
enabling students to see the world in its un-poetic , true light , a mass of
vibrating atoms and molecules which in living organisms are encapsulated in
cells and part of a complex chemical chain … in other words , primitive ,
nature made nanobots .
Suddenly to
them , the nature , for example a spider who injects venom and than sucks the
prey dry , looked more like an aberration of a faulty mind rather than what you
may expect from an Universe which gave birth to life … the kids were just not
used to see parents throwing their children in a hell hole .
Science
was turning the image and glamour of nature in a nauseating filth of carnage
where students could clearly see that violence and death were omnipresent and
dividing the living world at every level in two inhumane classes : predators
and prey ...
Learning
about nature was turning young kids against nature , wondering what could have
created such a hellish and bloody world in which some animals are made to kill
others to survive ! This interpretation of nature at that early stage in life got
Daniel’s attention and immediately asked the Education Minister , Maria Larion
, to create courses which will parallel the natural evolution with our dreams
of correcting nature and became self-evolved . He thought it will be a delight
to expose the diabetes or MS genes and to show so easily the defects we are
born with . After that it will be redundant to ask the kids if they would like
to have those ‘gifts’ from nature or not , self-evolution would be the
preferred choice .
The strides
in reorganizing the society were so large that Daniel felt impressed and he
thought with confidence this was just the beginning , the nano revolution
didn’t even started yet .
Remembering
the lessons from other nations , Daniel implemented a new Constitution as a
blanket security for the future of his country .
Using
the Debate TV channel he carried many discussions about what should be written
in the new Constitution . He wanted people to participate because by doing so ,
the population will understand , will believe and will defend better than ever
their unique and innovating society .
The debates
brought into the new Constitution clauses like ‘ All parliamentary elections
voting must be done manually , without using machines or electronics ‘ , ‘ The
country can not be entangled in foreign relationships promising reciprocal
protection ‘ , ‘ A leader at any level including the President can be dismissed
at any time and immediately once 65 % of the population signs a Petition and
Declaration demanding the change ‘ , ‘ Polluting the food , water or the
environment is a criminal offence ‘ , ‘ All country resources and benefits must
be spread equally among the people ‘ , ‘ Whistler-blowers legislation making
them National Heroes and guaranteeing them safety and immediate full supported
retirement ‘ , ‘ People control the Army and the Police through the same
Petition process and it can give them direct and biding orders ‘ , ‘ Nano
Technology belongs to the people and can not be allowed to be controlled by
private hands ‘ and the most controversial yet passed ‘ Guaranteed and
un-retractable death sentence for any one found guilty of Treason ‘ .
Daniel also
shared with his advisors the obvious reality of how important a leader can be
to a country , and therefore how important it is to create legislation and a
form of government where no single person can hick-jack a nation and plunge it
into oblivion . In the newly designed government power was split between the
country leader , the House of municipalities and the population which was
empowered with the rights of Petition that can bring down any leader anywhere
in the country . Daniel wanted it all ‘fail-proof’ to protect the Revolution so
no foreign intervention or bullet can end it .
Taking
further care of his people , Daniel accelerated the Nutrition program just as
promised , right from the kindergarten . Under people’s control top quality
food supplements were manufactured at standards far above what the rest of the
world was used to .
The
entire food chain was purged of pesticides and all produce became organic .
Candies and all junk food was retired , cooking books were revised to show
nutritional content , all food was labelled according to blood type and
educational programs teach the population why was so important to follow this
diet .
As promised ,
Daniel erected in Bucharest a statue of Dr. Peter D’Adamo and invited him to
cut the ribbon and to give a series of public conferences. His visit , largely
publicised and a hit specially with the younger , more sports oriented people ,
made a decisive impact in what the general population was used to think about
food .
In the
following month a steady stream of people start showing at the clinics asking
for their blood type . And all it made sense , when they saw others losing
weight without exercising , seeing skin and allergy problems disappear ,
arthritis vanishing and digestive struggles put to rest among other beneficial
effects , people built confidence , made the change and the word of mouth
spread .
For the
West , Dr. D’Adamo’s visit was a first since the Revolution and all eyes were
on him when he returned . Daniel watched with satisfaction on satellite
TV the media interviews and how the doctor’s assistant described the new
Romania : “ It was not a shock but an extraordinary feel of peace ,
safety and an un-Earthy confidence in my mind that if I leave my five thousand
Euros digital camera on the sidewalk , either I’ll find it there next day or
I’ll see it on the Romanian National TV where they usually post lost items
every day … yes , I’m not kidding you , I saw items posted from electronics to
diamond rings … “ . That drew gasps from the audience to Daniel’s delight . He
felt a trace of revenge against the world which tried to do so much harm to his
people , thinking of the future surprises
Daniel’s love
for science and technology brought him regularly to the National Nano Research
Centre ( NNRC ) where he visited most of the teams and checking on their
progress . He was in a rush to have the job done like he was on caffeine and he
couldn’t understand why his gut-feeling pressed him so much . He was not far
away from finding out .
In
response to this internal pressure he went to the extend of putting all
scientists on brain enhancing supplements like the Omega 3 oils .
The engineers
modified the high-tech equipment purchased from abroad going all the way in
creativity , and designed new systems specifically for nano research . Sure
enough , when you have 249 teams of motivated scientists collaborating , with a
billion Euros budget and the whole country participating , innovations and
discoveries start sprouting with phenomenal speed . Just two years into the
project the fundamentals of the nanobots were in place and the teams were
focusing on the individual component design .
Half
way through , Dumitru and Marina met Daniel and the group of advisors to give
an update .
Holding up in the air a thick technical manual
for everyone to see , Dumitru opened with confidence :
“We are now
certain that we’ll reach most of the principal objectives in two years or less
from now , specially in the nano field … One of the first task was to be able
to grab and handle individual atoms and molecules , and we did that by using
modified and coupled Atomic Force Microscopes ( AFM ) , (5) , which gave us the
basic tool of assembling the nanobots layer by layer, even though it is a very
slow process …The next step was the actual design of the nanobots and we
incorporated the same principles as when designing a multipurpose bulldozer : a
body to move around and support the computer and communications assembly
structure , arms to carry and grab molecules and an energy pack . “ . He
stopped for a drink of coffee and Daniel sneaked in a question :
“ Dumitru ,
how do the nanobots grab on atoms and molecules ? “ .
“ We devised
a hand-like structure which is a hollow hemisphere who’s surface is made out of
bi-atomic molecules tied together … One atom forms the surface of the cup while
the other is below controlling the polarization of the other via on-board
computer connections . Since we can adjust independently the polarization and
field strength of each individual molecule , the net effect is that inside the
cup you can create electrostatic fields of almost any shape that can be changed
in attoseconds (21) . So we use this field by adjusting its configuration
and polarization , or charge , to attract , repeal or move and even rotate any
molecule . Further more , we can use the same electrostatic cups as sensors
when not passing signal , but just reading their natural electrostatic field as
it changes when in close proximity and interacting with other atoms … We use
this to identify and select the atoms or molecules required by the program and also
to ‘ feel ‘ other structures in a similar way to an Atomic Force Microscope but
mobile. Keep in mind that we apply the same sensory properties to the whole
surface of the nanobots so they can tell what kind of atoms or molecules are
surrounding them and therefore attract them or repel .
So far we have just two arms per nanobot so it
can handle two atoms or molecules to be fused but we plan on adding at least
two more . Which brings us to the next challenge : fusing the atoms “ .
Daniel was
listening like a kid , almost drooling with excitement and Dumitru seeing his
face couldn’t help but display a wide smile and kept giving more candy :
“ As
you know from basic chemistry , atoms can be joined in two ways , a weak way by
means of static electricity attraction , and a stronger way by means of having
the atoms share some of their electrons , (22) . It is the stronger connection
, also known as a Covalent bond , that we are after .
In nature
those connection happened spontaneously between elements which have just the
right electron configuration and electric charge . We needed to take this a
notch higher to be able to connect any atoms we want. To do this we
adjusted the nanobots’ holding arms , or cups , to emit a field polarizing the
atoms to be fused in such a way as to facilitate the interlacing of electron
suborbitals . So , as the electron cloud of each atom pulsates getting pushed
away , massaged and parted deflected by the cup’s field , we adjust it to
synchronize the two electron clouds and at the right moment we physically push
the atoms against each other , interlocking some of their electron suborbitals
and hence establishing a stronger bond or structure … Keep in mind , this
action of squeezing the two atoms together is super fast and it requires a
great deal of synchronization , that’s why the speed at which it happens is
measured in attoseconds which are the equivalent of slicing a second into 10 at
the power of 18 parts … If you could take a picture of an atom with a camera
capable of that shutter speed , you could see the electrons as tiny smears … “
. The crowd emanated excitement wanting to hear more and Dumitru gladly
obliged :
“ By the way
, this technique of modifying suborbital electron positions and even removing
the electrons is half way to … change atoms ! If we could have the
nanobots insert subparticle probes or use laser beams to remove protons and
neutrons from the nucleus than we’ll have the tools to re-weave the Universe …“
. A major gasp came from the audience , everyone understanding the
possibilities .
“ Yes indeed
, the ancient dream of alchemists can became a reality … and when it does we’ll
live in a brand new world ! “ . Spontaneous applause ignited from the advisors
and Adrian , the financing Minister , saw mountains of gold in his mind but
immediately realized that’s nothing there that Romania needed to buy from
abroad … in contrary , they can showcase to the West some cool home-made
technology . Adrian had this deep realization that he started looking at the world
with new eyes and money weren’t part of the picture , ‘ Who needs money when
the nanobots will make you anything … ‘ he thought shaking his head .
As Dumitru
continued with his presentation people realized more and more they were about
to enter a totally different world , a new era , something that still was
making them dizzy with its implications , hard to absorb and needing time to
get used to the idea that it was not magic but just accumulated scientific
knowledge . Dumitru realized what was going on and wanted to give them
confidence :
“ I know ,
its new but in the same time is very old … just take a look through the window
… you see those trees ? They are made of natural nanobots that we call ‘cells’
which also weave atoms and molecules daily and naturally … So than , where is
the magic ? “ . He gave them a few moments before continuing with the details :
“ Now we are
at the stage of fine tuning the energy pack , the cups’ electric field control
and the communication package . Once those issues are solved we are ready to
start the assembly using the modified Atomic Force Microscopes ( AFM ) in a
tandem setup , (23) . This was done in the West at a far simpler scale when IBM
spelled its name using individual xenon atoms , but since than the nano assembly
took a rocketing upslope .
The
accent in the West was put on a “self-assembly” nano parts research that relies
on laws of physics and chemistry to connect the molecules together
automatically , in other words without a computer on board .
But as you
can see , our approach is totally different , we are using initially modified
AFMs to build under control the nanobots which incorporate their own computer
and than let those assemble the molecules we need .
We plan to
use the Computer Aided Design ( CAD ) to control the two microscopes and to
build the nanobots using the same technique of setting the atoms or molecules
one layer at a time . We calculated the time needed to build one nanobot this
way and it appears to be close to 25 minutes , which is very slow .
However , once we have the first few build , the nanobots will be programmed to
start assemble more nanobots and the good news is they can do the job at least
20 times faster than the microscopes . The process after that will grow exponentially
with probably a million nanobots assembled every minute and even more after the
first hundred million are built . In less than eight month we should reach a
production of 100 trillion nanobots per day per station which in turn will grow
exponentially … more than enough to kick start the nano Revolution“.
The news were
good and all was on track , people expressing more confidence and start
believing that one step at a time they will get used to the new fascinating
possibilities . Dumitru had one more candy for general Mugur :
“ During the
research we made many fringe discoveries and I am sure general Mugur will love
some of them like a microscopic self-focusing lens,
Passive
nano-microphones , high-definition nano charged coupled devices ( CCD ) , ultra
fast communication lasers transducers and morphing technology … We already
designed on CAD spying nanobots incorporating all of the above and then some !
Once the nano manufacturing starts we can mass produce them to infiltrate all
the governments , military and anything else that gets our attention “ .
General Mugur
waved and smiled : “ Thank you , I hardly can wait ! But I want to remind to
everyone our commitment to non-aggression … As we discussed this before ,
nano-spying must be used to stay informed and react , ideally to never have to
interfere “ . Daniel appreciated the comment, keeping the peace front and
centre was his prerogative too .
The
advisors decided to take a lunch break before hearing Marina on the genetic
side of the project so Dumitru grabbed general Mugur , Vlad , Victor and
Daniel and sat them at one of the tables in the cafeteria . While enjoying a
healthy meal they exchange some research goodies .
“ So Dumitru
, did you find anything unusual , out of the ordinary during the research ? “
asked Daniel trying to avoid referring directly to UFOs . Among other fears he
had , the possible yet unproven presence of more technologically advanced alien
species was a concern that he tried hard to keep on the back burner of his
conscience . Dumitru’s answer came as a bit of relief :
“ We
certainly didn’t find any divine creatures or extra terrestrial aliens but
there are a few quirks that we can’t explain … For example , when we coiled
carbon nanotubes to aim communication lasers , we found a background noise that
doesn’t fit with present physics … nothing seems to affect it , so we worked
around it . Never the less our physicists are having a ball with this one and I
keep hearing words about ‘fundamental‘ matter or ‘dark’ matter … really
exciting “ . General Mugur had his own military related questions :
“ I keep
envisioning those nanospys flying , hiding , morphing into the background and
so on but I still need a fix on how they communicate among each other and with
the Central Command . What’s the deal and how safe is it ? I mean can it be
intercepted or interfered with ? “ .
“
Unfortunately , yes … The nanospys are smaller than fruit flies but if viewed
with special goggles while scanned by an ultraviolet laser they shine like fine
dust particles , nothing special . Using HD input from cameras embedded in each
plane of the body we can swivel the surface molecules to absorb only certain
wave lengths , therefore changing color and appearance , a very good camouflage
, you would need to pick one up and view it under a very powerful
microscope to realize what it is .
The good news
is by than it should self destruct into molecular dust . Now , I understand you
are asking how do they know they are examined and so on, we are working on it
but even if the Artificial Intelligence software will not be perfect we can
always guide and control them remotely … When viewing , even if there is a
number of , let’s say , a quarter of a million nanospys in an office , we are
not looking through their eyes all at once … We organize them in strands , just
like bids on a string , with one end being organized as the actual eye and
sound composite of a number of aggregated nanospys grouped as a micro-sphere
and looking 360 degrees around . Their info is transmitted at ultra-low power
via highly directional and encrypted ultraviolet laser beams or infrasound in
case of emergency . I only wish we have sub-space communications like in
Star Trek … So the beads are close enough to receive and pass along the video/sound
link to the next one and so on all the way outside the building and then
spreading and being replaced by higher power nanospys who can transmit the beam
over one kilometre distance to the next group of transmitters and so on “ . He
paused for a well deserved bite while the group was thinking . Victor
asked :
“ How about the wind , lighting , weather systems , solar radiation and other
natural factors … how the tiny nanospys can hold on ? “ .
“ We are
planning on using two modes , one for low wind and the other for extreme
weather . When the wind is too much we simply anchor the nanobots on solid
objects like a light pole , buildings , under railway tracks , what ever is
available , but we prefer to stay close to the ground , even with flying
software inspired by albatrosses , gliding is tough … But in an office
conditions or calm weather we rely on minute air currents and using nano wings
and sails to navigate besides turbo-fans … that brings us to the cute way they
keep track of each other … the very narrow laser beams scan the next nanospy
unit and communicates with it’s internal computer exchanging telemetry
information from their GPS sensors … that’s done a thousand times a second …
This way each neighbouring nanospys know in which direction and at what
velocity the next nanospys moves , so it’s easy to redirect its video laser
links to the receiver of the following unit keeping the information flowing in
a covert way “ .
Daniel asked
:
“ So how do
you keep up with moving objects , let’s say the president gets in his car and
speeds away … how do we follow him ? “ .
“ To answer
this , first try to envision again the strands undulating in the air and
extended in streams all the way outside . Keep in mind that all nanospys are
identical except for the higher power transmitting ones , so they are
interchangeable … Now as the president gets in the car , the outside strand
would fold , attach to the car and give priority to the power nanospys who can
cover a kilometre easy . That’s in theory … we still need to develop an
autonomous software to enable them to organize with a reflexive spontaneity …
It’s not easy Daniel , there are zillion of details and that’s why the
advisor’s board decided to put it on the back-burner . As exciting as the
project is , we need first to put in place solid defence systems and build our
nano manufacturing before we’ll have the luxury of taking incognito the pulse
of the world … “ . They finished eating and took consciously their
supplements .
On the way
back to the conference room Dumitru received many hand shakes and warm comments
which made his day . He needed the encouragement since he felt like a midget
against this tsunami of pouring knowledge , organizing teams priorities and
feeling very responsible for the success of the Revolution as a whole .
The advisors
assembled again at the table waiting anxiously to be treated to more delightful
yet real solutions for their society , the gold they spent on science start
rubbing on their future .
Marina took
the stand ready to introduce them to the latest genetic research :
“ Hi everyone
! I am still trying to recover from Dumitru’s update and I can certainly see
connecting his discoveries to my medical field … Meantime ,
the benefits
of eradicating the aggression gene are obvious and felt every day , it became a
national pride , and I want to make this point to show that just a couple of
years ago we were timid and hesitant about gene manipulations , yet today ,
after we experienced its social delights , we are taking it for granted and
even demanding it ! How easy it is to get use to heavens ! “ she joked
.
“ We’ve being
also lucky with our life extension project because nature already gave us two
types of cells which reproduce indefinitely … the germ cells in our bodies , like
the male sperm cells , and the cancerous cells (24).
We
analyzed the genomes of a germ cell and a cancerous cell for reproductive
functions and than separated the gene components and compared them to the same
group of genes in a normal regular cell . From what all had in common we
separated the germ cell component and discarded the cancerous part … what was
left represented the signature of the group of genes responsible for renewing
the telomeres ends , (19) , with the net effect of endless reproduction
capabilities but without the uncontrolled growth of the cancerous cells . And
that’s what we are working on right now , the integration of this gene package
into chromosomes via retroviruses leading to , yes , perpetual life ! “ .
An
‘Ohh’ emerged from the crowd , such a statement coming from Marina , the
national authority on medical issues , left the advisors speechless working
hard to allow into their conscience the fact they were just mere steps away
from an ancient human dream .
Marina understood the struggle :
“ Rest assure
you are not the only ones in shock … us , at the technical end , are just as
mesmerized by those quick developments as you are . Nations have a choice , either spent billions
of dollars on wars , or spend it on life research … it’s up to their national
IQ ! … And boy , we’re bright ! “ .
The advisors
laughed , fully deserving the prize and congratulating themselves for a
brilliant national decision . Marina continued with the update :
“ In the
process we also discovered many ways to improve our nutrition supplements
program … We are in the laboratory phase of putting together high quality
multivitamins , minerals and other nutrients in a compact package , all from
natural extracts , plus Omega oils in an ‘easy to take‘ formula . This project
should be finished in two month and than we’ll go full production and free
distribution via the Postal Office vans . We predict that in no longer than a
half a year everybody will receive in the mail every month the supplement
package based on the number of family members “ .
Daniel was
all smiles , his old dream of feeding the nation right was coming alive at a
faster pace than expected . But he also wanted to make a comment that he
was thinking about listening to Marina ’s conclusions so he raise his hand for
attention :
“ There is
another angle to what Marina just said about nations decisions … think about it
, the scientists and governments in the West are perfectly aware of the life
extension properties of the germ and cancerous cells … yet they make no effort
what so ever to organize research in transferring those qualities to the whole
human body and achieving perpetual life for their population . Why ? Are they
afraid there is not enough food available? I don’t think so since people who
know natural death was greatly reduced , they would also understand there is no
rush to have children now , other way it will be national suicide , so … they
can wait until technology finds a solutions , just as we plan to copy plants
and use nanotech to make food and much more . So the food shortage excuse
doesn’t stand . And if they claim shortage of land , knowing that technology
will enable us to leave the Earth and so the living space becomes the size of
the Universe , this excuse doesn’t stand either … What’s left is simply a total
disregard on their governments’ part for human life , period ! “ .
Spontaneous applause showed the great appreciation for what they done so far
specially since to see the difference was as simple as looking from their
backyard over the fence and be shocked by the misery surrounding them .
Observing the difference , an arbitrator would decide ‘no contest’ .
Marina
returned them to the health project :
“ As we were
exploring the genome we also found solutions to many diseases … We also start
seeing at the genetic level the edges of separation between pure human organism
and the rest of the microbial jungle that entangles us , (17) , what before
used to be judged as dormant or useless genes now we know they can be separated
in two classes : microbial interface function and … guys , you need to seat
down for this , there are genes which under certain circumstances will produce
proteins that will cause the growth of special neural shape connections in the
brain , which are actual … memories ! “ . Once more time the audience was
caught by surprise and more gasps were let out .
“ Ok , maybe
I put it to much in a Hollywood fashion … What we found out so far are memories
that initiate ‘instincts’ , not how to build the pyramids. For example when
young girls start menstruating a certain gene releases a protein which creates
a nest of neural connections giving what we call ‘maternal instincts’ .
Other genes create neural patterns right at birth related to the ‘survival’ instinct
and other basic reactions like fear of things resembling spiders . We are
scratching the surface on this one but we already see obvious applications if
we’ll decipher how the instincts are actually embedded in the gene . Being
borne with certain knowledge and than later in life taking advantage of the
enlargement of the cranial space , we can use again retroviruses to insert in
our genome all the knowledge of the human specie and even add up-dates when
necessary …” , and than with a smile , “ Maria Larion , the Education Minister
will be kind of upset with me because this will make schools obsolete … “ . She
let the advisors cool down and explained further :
“ You may be
shaking your heads , I know … just forty years ago most of us were struggling
with math and chemistry in classrooms , trying not to be distracted by the
local clown , being at the mercy of how skilful the teacher was , at home
thinking mostly of sex and entertainment rather than study , yet we made it and
it took twenty five long years through all the schooling to just get ready for
a career and start being productive ! Totally ridiculous , what a waste
of time … But when we’ll get our hands on the nature’s secret , the population
will became fully productive and with a knowledge luggage of a PhD at just
twenty years old ! Please , ponder at the prospect of having a whole nation of
25 million people all PhDs !! “ . That got Daniel and the advisors on their
feet with ovations and cheering
“ At a girl ,
Marina ! “ . Among the applause she showed her modesty :
“ Guys you
are too kind , thank you ! But let’s keep it in perspective though, just as the
germ cells and their perpetual division exist naturally , the embedded instinct
memories are also already present in our genome … so we are just re-inventing
the wheel sort of speak or , more precisely , we are close to be on the way to
copy and improve it “ .
As the end of
the meeting was approaching Daniel wanted to recap the time tables :
“ Ok
everybody , so far and overall , we are two years or less away from the first
functional nanobot and therefore the beginning of the nano revolution …
approximately six month until the complete nutritional supplement program
starts getting mailed … and I would also estimate two years from starting an increased
project into intelligence enhancement and genetic memory . We’re are Rocking !!
“ and the advisors thought that too , standing up and applauding . Daniel was
clapping in unison , staring in the distance with his mind fogged up for a
moment by the intensity of the crowd , the news from the science front and the
reoccurring point of his anchor : the old deck in Toronto , the Heineken and
the wild garden , and the tears he remembered when thinking of the world’s
miseries … from there to here in a mental flash , finding himself immersed in
what he always wanted , a large family , and this one was the size of a nation
.
For him the
successful anti-aggression program , the scientific research findings , all
start blending into the daily life with a dizzying speed and the only thing
that made them credible was that he could walk in the National Nano Research
Centre and see for him self the hundreds of laboratories and thousands of
scientists at work . All was real , just as the new peace of mind and the higher
IQ reminded everybody of the gene modification project under way .
Part of
Daniel’s philosophy was keeping his people informed . In the two years since
the start of the Revolution he improved the national cable system switching to
fibber optics for privacy , he launched the secured National Internet and added
four more TV channels : one dedicated to science , two for schools and
universities and the fourth reserved for public call-in shows . Daniel just
loved to get into televised public forums , bounce ideas , stir people’s
curiosity for science and discuss the real possibilities for their future .
The debates also unified the people bringing new standards in society ,
new understandings of the high-tech reality and all it can bring to them , specially
peace of mind . But even now the stress level was way below of what they were
used to . They didn’t worry anymore about lay-offs , about slam landlords ,
inflation , day care , poisoned foods or violence , their thoughts were now
redirected towards enjoying the company of loved ones , being creative and
naturally putting the proverbial 110 % into their jobs because they knew what
goes around comes around and , at the end , as equal share holders they
realised they were working for them selves .
The new life
protocols were designed around a totally independent economic system , baring
no resemblance to the western models , and for good reason : once you eliminate
the minority of real profit makers and re-direct the purpose of the system
towards purely satisfying the needs of the entire population , you spread the
wealth evenly which instantaneously rockets the average persons’ standard of
living .
Further more
, the new , centralized economic system was based on ‘single needs’ production
: you need a new sofa , a car or a TV set , you just brows the high definition
secured fibber optics Government network , chose your pleasure and order it
on-line . The program will tell you when it will be ready and if it will be
delivered or you need to pick it up at a distribution centre . This process
eliminated naturally the need for ‘show rooms’ which became instead only depot
where you can pick up the item .
Sure enough
there was a delay in delivery simply due to the manufacturing time but the
population understood the much larger benefits of the system and they simply
planed ahead , not to much to ask from an intelligent person , specially since
in the West ordering an item and waiting for it was not unusual . And it was
worth plenty considering that nothing was over produce , all customer
requirements followed the principle ‘ manufacture as ordered ’ , the time and
resources were used at optimal without any waste , and the whole system was
balanced , the ‘right’ knowing what the ‘left’ is doing , no chance of an economic
collapse or disturbance . In a nut shell , the economy was a tight ,
centralized control and management system , where all activities were perfectly
coordinated throughout the country .
Daniel and
Adrian were scoffing at the pretentious western economists whose jobs was to
throw dust in the public eyes, with no intention of actually telling the
reality of high-level manipulations and forced recessions in order to acquire
rock-bottom priced assets and to reset the hourly worker’s wages . The parody
and manipulative capitalistic economic system made Daniel nauseous realizing
the ruined personal dreams of so many millions of people , their tragedies
losing their shirts in financial investing , the general poverty and the
dreaded rat race . The puppeteers were truly a bunch of disgusting human beings
, among the scourge of the gene pool . His duty on Earth was not finished until
justice is served across the world , and he had no intention of disappointing
himself , the puppeteers’ days were numbered and he was getting ready for their
judgement day .
As a country
leader Daniel was more like a caring mother , together with Victor , three
other body guards and Vlad he was visiting food markets , talking to farmers
and their customers , taking advice and suggestions , than , in the same day he
was visiting factories , showing unexpectedly at staff and board meetings and
getting involved impromptu in decision making , to him the opportunity to
bounce ideas with others was just to irresistible . Later in the evening he may
stroll on the gorgeous Bucharest downtown boulevards , aligned with mature
trees and rows of flowers in colourful patterns .
Bucharest ,
known as the Paris of the East , was an eclectic mix of good-taste architecture
, flower displays , fountains and cafés strung along the wide sidewalks .
Climbing vines , petunias , fragrant linden trees and original house facades
were a standard around the city , people taking pride in show-casing their
space .
Daniel loved
to seat on the patio of Café Americana , the former American embassy , and
gather chairs around starting a group discussion with whoever happened to be
around . People were game every time and you could tell from distance if Daniel
was there . When at home quality food was on the table , the job was secured
for life and the society surrounding you were peaceful intellectuals , people
found time and pleasure to gather and discuss life , economy , industry , nano
technology , medical research and anything mind stimulating .
The
eradication of the aggression gene was paying off handsomely in more than one
way , I mean , really , name a public park on Earth were you would feel 110 %
secure at two a.m. with absolutely no worries if you saw a group of youngsters
approaching .
If nations
and private groups brained washed their children in the image of their personal
beliefs , from Islam to Christianity , Nazism , Capitalism and anything in
between , the new education system under Daniel’s supervision brained washed
the new generations in being model citizens with respect for each others
. He knew long time ago , when was seating on his deck back in Toronto,
that Utopia and Eden are very possible . Now , however , unlike when on the old
deck , he often had to pinch himself to reinforce that, indeed , what he was
experiencing today was pure reality , even for his wide open mind , the number
of achievements in just three years since the Revolution was numbing fast . But
seating on the café patio , in the warm sunset , looking at the faces of the
people passing by , he remembered waiting to depart the airport in Toronto and
judging people’s expressions caught in the rat race … Today he could see only
smiling , relaxed , happy faces . Mission accomplished , he thought .
Just as he
loved to mingle and being in touch with his people Daniel was in heavens
walking the corridors and laboratories of the National Nano Research centre .
He didn’t need an appointment , and many times a week , dressed with the white
coveralls , he appeared from nowhere among the staff , seating respectfully and
safely away from the experiments but close enough to hear what’s going on . He
could feel among the 249 dedicated teams they were all breathing nano research
with the passion of kids let loose in a cookie store .
The only dark
line on the science projects was the perpetual life research where Marina’s
teams had difficulties inserting the genes package at the right location on
each chromosome , realizing they needed to wait for the nanobots to do the job
artificially . Daniel noted philosophically the similarity to the sign or mark
of the ‘ beast ’ as he remembered it from the preachings of his Russian
orthodox grandma , but now , to be immortal , one must bear a different kind of
sign , that of artificial genetic modifications . “ It would qualify us as a
new , advanced human specie carrying a tag only high-tech can read “ he thought
philosophically .
Wondering
through the labs , his eyes caressed the delicate equipment , the scientific
notations on the boards that we couldn’t understand and the complex experiments
taking place . He witnessed the first layering of a future nanobot prototype ,
the manufacturing and testing of the electrostatic retaining cups and the first
3-D block of assembled parts . At this pace , with the modified equipment
and with everybody’s personal ambitions to be the ‘first’ , key discoveries
were coming fast and furious .
Four years
and a half after the start of the nano project and the Revolution , the first
day of a new era in science finally arrived and , under a tight security , the
grand experiment begun .
Chapter five : the Nano Revolution
The smell of
roses from the back garden bathed Daniel’s bedroom as Victor slowly opened the
heavy drapes and large stained windows into the delightful July morning .
Waking up , Daniel’s brain made contact with the main event of the day and what
represented half of his life dream .
He smiled at Victor , got into the house coat
and followed him into the kitchen where the breakfast was ready . Vlad and
Dumitru were waiting for him , busy going through the time table and discussing
the crucial experiment . The first complete nanobots were due to be assembled
today using the modified Atomic Force Microscopes ( AFM ) , (5) , and the CAD
software , a mile stone in manufacturing for any specie .
Daniel
finished the morning routine , walked to the car followed by his entourage ,
sat in the back with Dumitru who was ready to make his presentation and , on
the way to the National Nano Research Centre , he listened to the time table
and the juicy scientific details :
“ First
of all , as you know , we did assembled in the recent past separate nanobot
structures like the power plant , the electrostatic cups , the computer ,
communication system , and so on … Keep in mind that we are still considering
improvements to the energy pack looking at all alternatives including laser
pulses , vibrating environment energy and even antimatter , every thing is considered
… Today for the first time we’ll put it all together one layer at a time ,
ending with one complete and working nanobot ... The first stage of actually
building the nanobots using the slow AFMs will take approximately 25 minutes
per nanobot build . We have 12 AFMs so we divided them into three teams . We
need two AFMs to hold an atom or a molecule , plus we use the other two to
actually fuse the pair . And we do this one layer at a time using water soluble
filler where we need empty space … it’s really child play once you set up the
equipment and the software . That brings me to the control system which is the
CAD program manipulating the AFMs , just as we planed it from day one “ .
Dumitru
stopped briefly for a drink of coffee .
“ Today we
planed to build initially twelve functional nanobots which will take two hours
as part of phase one , next will be the downloading of the CAD software
containing the building instructions , and than use them as a team to build a
very simple test pattern which should take no longer than 20 minutes
representing phase three . So far two and a half hours . Once the test is
completed and verified we’ll move to the next step in which the twelve nanobots
will start building more nanobots . Being at least ten times faster than the
AFMs , this one hour phase should yield some three thousands nanobots … Once
completed will move to the last phase in which all nanobots will have one hour
to build a 3D test structure and than check it for errors … As you know the
experiment carries live on one of the secured National channels and you gave
people the day off , so we’ll have a lot of audience … better not screw up ! “
, he laughed but showing signs of solid confidence . Daniel loved it and gave
him a good back-padding .
The car convoy
entered the NNRC and in minutes Daniel , wearing the usual white coat , was
mingling with the scientific crowd in the process of checking the banks of
equipment and watching the technicians making adjustments and last minute tests
. He was all smiles and grabbing Vlad’s arm whispered joking :
“ If this
gets any more exciting , I’ll have a heart attack ! “ . Vlad smiled back ,
feeling the same butterflies in his tummy . He remembered in a flash the two of
them sharing the same high-school bench , discussing science-fiction novels ,
being boys yet with serious overtones . In a high-school test asking ‘what do
you want to became ‘ Daniel answered ‘country president’ , but only as a joke ,
now Vlad looked at his friend and thought that many things are possible but
this one , striking so close to home in more ways than one , it pointed again
to how the time filaments can entangle and create extraordinary realities .
After all , how would you describe being meters away from a scientific
experiment that , if successful, will guarantee a revolution in manufacturing ,
in the whole society and in the meaning of intelligent species . If you would
look at a historical graph where the birth of humans was marked by a spike in
the animal evolution , today’s nano revolution would be a jump comparable to
the size of a lighting stroke , the implications were so fundamental to the
fabric of the Universe that was safe to predict its change by humans into
ordered rows of galaxies and stars , just like an orchard .
With only a
half an hour delay the experiment started having all the eyes on the computer
displays and gages , a nation watching and Daniel getting hyper on the coffee .
The two hours passed slowly , pure torture , but at the end the confident voice
of the team leader came crisp : “ We got all twelve units , we’re done through
phase one … I am proceeding to remotely download the CAD instructions … 45 %
complete … 70 % … ok , all fully loaded . Proceeding to test download … 5
reporting good , 8 … all 12 . We have all 12 ready for the very first
task . Initializing the reference point , coordinating GPS and … start action “
.
A technician
gently poured a fairly thick solution over the stamp-size nanobots enclosure
and open the sides of the minicontainer to spill the mix over a 5 by 7
centimetres area resembling a picture frame , than he covered it with a
translucent top . Since nothing could be seen clearly in the murky solution ,
the centre of attention were two computer screens , one displaying a graph bar
showing the progress while the other showed the position of the 12 nanobots
working as a team . Dumitru talked into Daniel’s ear :
“ That
substance contains just two types of molecules required to build the test
surface … Right now the nanobots are positioned like snow-ploughs , one behind
each other , filling rows by rows of arranged molecules as the downloaded
program calls for . At the end , the surface of alternating molecules will
encode a program which will be read by a laser beam and than executed by a computer
to verify that all molecules were arranged properly , this quality control
method is very efficient for checking surfaces. However , Daniel , there is a
small surprise for you in the picture … and I won’t tell you ! “ . Daniel poked
him playfully with his elbow and was just about to say he was becoming immune
to surprises , but a weird feel told him to be quiet , he didn’t see it all yet
... Dumitru kept explaining :
“ While the
‘plough’ formation does the job for now , we are planning to change this method
and make a new standard requiring to have the whole cross section of the target
covered , or saturated , in two layers of nanobots so the building action will
be considerably faster to the tune of one square centimetre layer in less than
five seconds , we’re just waiting to have enough nanobots available nation wide
. In terms of weaving the atoms , it basically means inserting each other’s
electrons in permissible orbitals , ideally filling them to capacity for a
stronger bond , so it is a matter of perfect timing . We defeated the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle , (7) , by simple means of attoseconds capable
sensors and movements , but most importantly by using the electromagnetic cups
to read and adjust the pulsation of the changing electrostatic field generated
by the orbiting electrons and therefore adjust and synchronize the merging of
the two atoms . It is similar to a computer routine which enables you to
predict the time of a certain output and act ahead to account for transmission
delays .
In our case
the routine is the orbiting electrons in predictable positions allowed by the
laws of physics . Not all atoms are universally compatible so we had to adjust
our design , choosing pairs of atoms with compatible bonds strengths according
to the object’s needs , from easy to brake lines like in packaging , to very
strong bonds for the hauls of space ships and armour … We just speed up the
process by massaging the atoms with the field generated by the cups to bring
them faster in a compatible configuration . To avoid the delay characteristic
of computer processing time we not only embedded the circuitry in the nanobot
structure but also replaced the triggering software with molecular mechanical
models which can react at one attosecond speeds , bypassing computer time ...
This transfers the bottle neck of the system to the retrieving of raw materials
, which are the atoms or molecules floating around in the immersing solution ,
but never the less , the concentration and the pre-select function of the
nanobot preparing ahead the next piece of material keeps the assembling process
at very high speed … We predict that after tweaking with the design , we may be
able to achieve a production where one nanobot can build another in three
minutes which will guarantee enough supply for the whole country needs
including security within two years of exponential growth ... And that will be
the actual time when the nano manufacturing revolution will be ready to start “
.
Seating
on the first raw of chairs , Daniel and his closest people watched the time
elapsed , approaching 21 minutes , when the digital clock stopped and a short
message stated ‘ Process complete ‘ . That was 3 minutes faster than the
predicted time which meant a lot considering the movements at the molecular
level . A technician picked up the tray containing the experiment , and
carefully drained the raw material solution . Daniel could not resist and got
up stepping closer and everyone else followed suit . The technician gently
wiped the surface and presented it to him . The rectangular area was shimmering
just like a music CD except in the background Daniel’s portrait was shown like
a water-mark , which made his ears turn red with shyness , and above was the
word ‘nano’ , while below was engraved the digit 9 .
Daniel was
holding the very first computer controlled entirely nano manufactured object on
Earth and he was shaking slowly his head , almost in disbelief … The crowd
cheered and applauded the historical moment , realizing that , at last , they
didn’t have to use the word ‘dream’ when talking about the nano revolution ,
for all practical purposes it already started this minute .
Following the
instructions , Daniel placed the test plate under a laser scanner and within
minutes the quality control certified the work as 100 % accurate which
triggered another round of applause .
Entering the
final phase , the twelve nanobots were downloaded with a new CAD program
designed to build more nanobots and during the one hour test the counter on the
main computer screen was racing at a very promising speed . While waiting ,
food plates with sandwiches were brought in and brief discussions were taking
place yet every one preferred to remain silent and observe the clock and the
counter .
Every
completed new nanobot was automatically connected to the central computer ,
verified with a detailed test and downloaded with the program activating it to
build more nanobots . This was an exponential process and at the half hour mark
the main counter registered 824 completed new nanobots , slightly more than
expected .
At the one
hour time limit marking the end of the test , the total number was 3,538
functional new nanobots , about 2 % more than calculated .
Than ,
for the final test , all the nanobots got to work together completing a fine
structure in the shape of a sphere 20 centimetres in diameter , with the
surface thickness of four aluminum atoms and arranged in a lattice pattern of
10 nano meters wide holes shaped like symmetrical stars . Dumitru explained :
“ Daniel , we
chose aluminum because it is light but also because we wanted to test the
strength of the surface pattern . Once the sphere is completed it will weight
as much as a feather and you would be able to shine a laser beam passing
through any hole and the centre of the sphere and check it at the other end as
quality control . Once we‘ll do that the sphere will be subjected to mechanical
and electrical tests . Keep in mind that we’ll embed on the surface of the
sphere dimples similar to a computer CDs , to write a software which can be
used later for many purposes besides quality control “ .
The
container chosen this time was deeper , enough to cover the target but the
process was the same . Just in under 30 minutes the aluminum ball was completed
, the gelatine filler washed away with hot water and what was left behind could
only be described as a vaporous filigree ball , shining and glimmering like the
surface of a CD . Looking through it and moving slowly around , the sphere was
quickly alternating between being perfectly opaque and almost transparent , a
cool objet d’a art .
A laser scan determined it was 100 % to specs
and as the cheers cool off , Daniel asked everybody including the TV cameras
broadcasting live , to follow him in the large auditorium for a brief
announcement :
From up the
podium he took a minute to relax his mind and capture the big picture before
presenting it to his family :
“ Dear
friends , in the last few hours you witnessed via our secure National cable an
event that it is hard to describe if you want to cover all the possibilities …
You can look at it from a philosophical point of view saying it is the most
significant event since homo sapiens picked a stone to use it as a tool … or
you can look at it through the eyes of a scientist who can now say we are only
a step away from creating organized matter from just subparticles … Or you can
get goose bumps because the coming future will be so extraordinary and will
change our society so drastically that , right now , to talk about it would
only create a haze of confusion . How can an unborn child describe the world it
didn’t see yet ? That’s why we’ll take it one step at a time , get familiar
with the surprises and than take over and truly get the best of what it has to
offer . It will take two years of production to manufacture the necessary
number of nanobots to start the Autonomous Manufacturing Process and until than
we’ll start learning how to use it and restructure our economy to integrate it
as fast as possible . First we’ll all need to learn and become experts at
Computer Aided Design , or CAD , because this will be our primary tool in all
aspects of producing the goods we need to survive comfortably . It will also be
the tool used by artists , architects , scientists and engineers besides just
you and me and that’s why I’ll ask the Minister of Education , Maria Larion ,
to introduce CAD courses as early as kindergarten . I’ll arrange to write a
comprehensive booklet about surviving a disaster and using the Nanobot
Emergency Set , or NEST , to restart a nano-society .
There will be
many other angles and surprises but never the less , the same principal of
cooperation applies so everyone is invited and welcomed to forward ideas to the
National Research Committee . In the following two years we’ll get ready to
kick start the nano Revolution but till then , I am reminding every one that
secrecy is very important and , please , continue to be vigilant and spot
corruption and foreign intruders … never forget where we came from , what we
went through and how fragile is our democracy right now. In two years we’ll
have a brand new defence system and peace of mind according to our Generals and
scientists , but till than please stay firm and protect your family ! “ .
Daniel
waved at the applauding crowd of technicians and scientists and raised
Dumitru’s hand to acknowledge where all it came from .
Walking down
the podium he slowed down shaking hands and still feeling he didn’t
comprehended the events at their full impact . Again his gut feeling was
teasing his conscience but he was used to it and ignored it with a pleasant
thought there is more to the nano Revolution than his frontal cortex could
think of right now .
Feeling
frisky and chatty he asked Maria , Marina , Dumitru , Vlad , General
Badea and Victor for an evening at Café Americana and all were game
understanding that Daniel was in a idea-bouncing mood which usually cause the
whole darn café to get involved to the delight of the patrons .
Was
just after eight o’clock when they arrived and Daniel held the door for the
ladies , stepped inside and took a deep breath smelling the traditional
Romanian steaks and mititei . He couldn’t remember in a long time having so
much peace of mind and relaxation , was like all the chips fell into the right
places and was nothing else to do but seat back , enjoy and day dream but this
time with a higher degree of certitude those dreams may come true .
Walking
towards his favourite table he passed by the framed documents found in the
American embassy raid five years ago and his momentary happiness took a dive .
He still couldn’t figure out a way to ignore the guilty feeling coming from
inside his heart thinking of the misery just outside the country borders . The
only argument that pulled him back into temporarily happiness was his
commitment to use future nano technology to help the rest of the world come to
its senses . So he kept looking around sucking on the eye-candy that the Café
Americana was . Describing the Romanian architecture modeling the café would
not do justice but try to imagine a cozy place with twisting columns and
reclusive grottos for private tables , all curves and rounded corners , low
lighting , old smoky wood trusses , cream stucco walls and sweet gipsy music
that makes you feel in your living room but better . And than you have the food
, drinks and friends , considering the day’s event you could think the heavens
have descended . Beer and steaks were ordered with a side of mititei and
everyone made themselves comfortable in the seats but kept quiet absorbing the
moment until Dumitru broke the ice :
“ I feel
really strange , hard to explain , it’s like a surreal environment yet the mind
knows is real …” . The group sighed in agreement .
“ On one hand
was five years ago , just like a blink of the eye , when we were planning … but
now it’s hard to snap out of what we were used to and considered ‘normal’ ,
even though just two hours ago I was holding in my hands the proof of nano
technologies “ . As the drinks arrived he continued to reveal his feelings :
“ I don’t
want to sound like a primadona but I wasn’t born in a society with this kind of
technical potentials so , even for my self as a scientist , it’s very hard to
get used to the idea that what ever I can make-up on a CAD will come out on the
other end as a real object , without any particular skills except drawing on a
computer software . And all this feeling is powerful enough to overshadow the
fact that I was there , in the front lines , designing and conducting the experiments
“ . Maria Larion , as an educator , had a slightly different angle :
“ I still
can’t get over the long term consequences of nano manufacturing which will
eliminate trades and learned skills of all sorts … it’s unnatural and against
the grain of self-preservation . It sounds alarm bells all over my head …” .
Vlad remembered Daniel’s skills at photography and thought of yet another angle
:
“ While you
are right Maria , lets consider some more historical evidence … in most
societies there are individuals who in the 21st century restored or
build steam locomotives and old airplanes … I wouldn’t be surprised if , with
all the extra time on their hands and the knowledge available , people will
take on learning old skills as a challenge or as a personal fulfilment of doing
things ‘hands-on’ rather by adding a bag of nanobots . Let’s not forget that
our society has a higher IQ , and growing , plus the advantage of a mind free
of wasted aggression thoughts . I think that , naturally , those people will like
to keep busy and creative so I count on a mind bending explosion of new ideas
and revolutions in every field . But what I find ironic is the closed loop in
natural evolution . I mean , if we consider the subparticles as the foundation
of life simply because under the right conditions they form atoms which , in
turn , under the right conditions form certain molecules which can form life ,
than we are at the point in evolution where we are taking over the design and
start restructuring the Universe . It’s like life came from an abyss and
slowly discovered itself , evolved into intelligence and than took over the
Universe with the sole purpose of protecting itself for ever … talking about
‘self-preservation’ , seams to be far more ancient and embedded than we thought
! “ . Daniel was on the same track :
“ So true ,
Vlad … it appears that at the grand scale , once nano technology is mastered ,
the only thing that can threaten life in the Universe is another Big Bang or a
similar catastrophe … in other words we already know the target of our future
research , ‘ how to avoid another Big Bang ‘ ! Now That sounds weird , doesn’t
it ? “ . It sure was and all pondered on the thought of being the
guardians of the Universe , space crusaders in nanobot armour , liberators of
species , atomic organizers of the worlds … or just booze on an empty stomach .
No , what happened earlier that afternoon was real and solid but never the less
, they enjoyed this unique mind drug which made them think were dreaming when
actually they were living the reality . Daniel always thought that some where ,
on a distant planet was a lonely princes waiting to be rescued , the love he
never had , for him to discover and protect . His heart smiled , there was hope
…
General Mugur
Badea pointed to Dumitru :
“ My job is
to protect the heavens from down on Earth , so Dumitru , pretend you can read
my mind and tell me what can I expect soon from your nano world to make my life
easier in defending us ? “ . A few beers made Dumitru very eager to chat
hi-tech :
“ We need to
adjust our vision of the environment to the micro scale , something like half
the size of small fruit-flies … Once you do it , apply all the previous tactics
and strategies to the design of the nanobots … some can be equipped exclusively
for surveillance , others for long data transmission and even combat … “ .
Victor wanted to know how and Dumitru obliged :
“ Considering
their size we can’t expect the combat nanobots to shoot bullets but they would
be good in carrying poisons or knock-out drugs . Ricin comes first to mind
administered like a bee attack , by many nanobots at once . But of course this
raises the question of control and the possibility of losing it , so it still
needs work … But never the less we are ready to assemble the first nanospys
equipped with flexible high definition nano lenses that can change focus ,
undetectable microphones based on sound vibrations received by the whole body ,
and multiple forms of communications including infrasound and low power UV lasers
“ .
“ How
would they fly and what energy sources can they use ? “ asked Daniel .
“ They fly
using micro wings designed mainly for gliding . Did you ever watched a seagull
in flight ? Is like biomechanics poetry in motion … our system is similar
using variable wing geometry and air speed micro sensors . The propulsion ,
besides air currents , is done by micro fans just like a blimp while the energy
comes from three sources : solar , vibrations and heat . We also can use the
fans to pick up wind and became generators, in other words the energy issue is
covered very well making the attack nanobots independent . Keep in mind that
we’re still exploring other technologies like anti-matter , but till than we’re
fine . However , our main concern is being stealthy … We know the West is aware
of our nano research push and I wouldn’t be surprised if they scan the Oval
Office twice a day for laser beams and dust particles . But with the morphing
technology it is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye … We don’t
pretend to be the only inventors of the nano-tech so another target of spying
will be the Universities and any other laboratory of interest that we can find
… “ . Daniel wanted to make a point he was considering for many month watching
the project coming alive :
“ Talking
about Universities and research centres , I feel that under the present world
order we can not possibly allow foreign powers to develop nano technology at
our level … Look , if we do we’ll open another cold war and spend significant
resources to counterbalance . In the process we even may border a war since
we’ll have to interfere with their nanospys … And still there is even a greater
danger , if they develop to our present level and since , let’s say United
Sates alone being 10 times larger , never mind the rest of NATO , we’ll stand
no chance simply because sheer numbers … We have no choice … and I’ll present
this to the Board of Advisers tomorrow . This is not a joke , for the first
time we have the upper hand so to lose the advantage is totally unacceptable
and not on the table “ . All sighed in agreement and Dumitru concluded his plea
for more resources :
“ The
logistics are mind bugling , from sending nano-scouts around the world , to
dispatching whole clouds of nanospys to designated targets , to sorting out all
the information received … we need new computers and more personnel for sure !
“ .
The
food arrived giving them a chance to enjoy the delicious organic , free run
beef while in the same time digesting the new technological possibilities .
By the deserts the subject mellowed out changing to more peaceful
applications specially
“ This
ice cream is delicious and as I eat it I can’t help thinking of an earlier
discussion about nanobots made food . But till than and so far the Health
program is running good , the Nutrition Supplement project is on time plus we
catalogue all the fringe discoveries the teams make weekly . The only problem
we have is the Perpetual Life research . We’ll need Dumitru’s help on this one
. While we are fine knowing what we need to do , we are stuck against a
technical wall … we can’t insert the necessary telomerase genes at the right
location in the genome using traditional laboratory methods or equipment . We
need an artificial surgeon hand so only nanobots can do the job , but
understanding the priority of the security issues I’ll take a number and have
Dumitru tell me when he’s ready “ . But Dumitru also had a sweet-tooth for the
Perpetual Life project and was more than happy to see Marina making it a
priority in front of Daniel :
“ No worries
, you are at the top of my list just behind General Bade and I guarantee it
will not take more than one week before we’ll start getting together
periodically on this subject … Chances are good we’ll be starring soon at a
live DNA strand through the lenses of a nanobot … they should hold the presses
on those biology books “ he added thinking of his personal difficulties
earlier in school understanding genetics and biochemistry .
After a few
more rounds of drinks they lay back in their seats listening to the soft gipsy
music and letting their brains absorb the new pace of reality . Even being
aware of each step of the research and understanding the science , still , the
change was too colossal to accept it all at once . They needed the confidence
of passing time but unknown to them the coming events will not be so kind .
Matter of fact , it will be more like a gun held to the head of the Revolution
, a reoccurring historical motif and an argument used two decades later in the
Romanian National Council for a crucial redirection of the national effort .
But now they were oblivious , a small break to let their spirits heal and
sweeten the celebration , calling wild dreams come to surface . Marina
was thinking more of heart matters :
“ If you
noticed in the TV debates people were asking a lot about how far we’ll be going
with the gene therapy … The comments were generally positive specially since
the fabulous success of the anti-aggression treatment but also there were
reservations , questions about the uniqueness of a personality and if the
modifications will reduce us to a uniform , boring society . I’m trying to make
sense of it , how do you explain to a young man life without desire for sex
like it is experienced by a woman who lost her ovaries ? My point is they can
accept it mentally but never be in the position to experience it for real and
therefore be able to make fair judgement … you need to be a Vulcan to
understand Spock … “ . Loveless Daniel felt a pinch in his heart :
“ Well ,
sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have feelings specially thinking of people losing
their loved ones “ .
“ That’s more
complex “ , said Marina , “ if we dissect love we may be surprised to find it
made of 80 % motherly care and 20 % of sex appeal . And as we age and the
hormones are dwindling , the sex part gets replaced by looking in your
partner’s eyes , ignoring the wrinkles and keep remembering the younger years …
It seams that our emotions are an entanglement of many feelings and I do wonder
if keeping a cool head like a Vulcan , yet be full of empathy , would not make
my life less stressful and make better decisions quicker …“ .
“ Ya , but
would that make me a better piano player ? “ joked Victor taking a chance in
appearing what he never was , insensitive .
“ Yes , if I
have my way with you ! “ laughed Marina , “ But I never forgot your request ,
seriously , even when we collected DNA from established musicians I was
thinking of the day when I’ll give you the shot myself . You know , even with a
few drinks and joking , we still can’t ignore that a few hours ago small little
thingies that we can’t even see , crocheted from aluminum atoms a filigree that
other way is impossible to make anywhere else on Earth … and while they worked
hard , we stood around munching on sandwiches … the shape of things to come ??
“ .
She helped
herself to a generous portion of red wine .
“ The only
reason why I don’t have the shot right now is because all our resources are
busy with other priorities , but believe me , from what I’ve seen , separating
the responsible genes will be a piece of cake . Duplicating them with Dumitru’s
help and his hoards of micro heroes will be child play , and I’m not drunk …
yet ! “ .
Was funny to
watch the head of medical sciences talking without blinking about handing out
talents like giving candies , if ‘in vino veritas’ was true , mighty strange
things were at the horizon because the only thing Marina lost for the moment
was her inhibition , but she kept a full load of her scientific integrity .
That realization made her conscience stand on ends , never before she felt so
much confidence in her most intimate professional speculations . It also proved
how deep she used to be anchored to the old school of thought , doesn’t matter
how smart you are , nothing replaces experience . Putting her head on Daniel’s
shoulder she dose off whispering “ I want to be a Vulcan ! “ .
As the warm
autumn midnight fell over the capital sending the party to their homes , the
new moon shined over the nation from the Black Sea to the borders with the wide
Danube river . There , the murky waters polluted by six nations upstream , run
silent caressed by the weeping willows .
In the heart of darkness hiding the shore line
, the soft crackling of a radio revealed the border guard on duty . Laying
comfortable against a tree and between bushes , covered in an anti-infrared
detection blanket , he was listening to communication traffic while watching for
hours the moon reflections changing and dancing on the waves .
The young
soldier thought for a moment he was doing it for too long because the ripples
slowly changed shapes to form the head of running water over the tip of a
pointy boulder … but there were no rocks ten yards from the shore , he was
confident , he was patrolling this area for a full year. He slowly raised the
binoculars and to his astonishment witnessed something like a tube coming out
of the water , sitting there for a few seconds and than , with eyes wide opened
, he saw the hatch of a small submarine emerging gently . The hairs on his body
bristled , he never faced combat or the enemy but he remembered the orders so
quietly he cocked a round in his AK47 , grabbed the radio and whispered the
emergency code . By now two figures with backpacks were out trying to get in
the water without making any noise and having a hard time swimming to shore
against the current .
In his
earpiece the guard heard the commanding officer asking about the emergency ,
covered the mouth piece and quickly explained the situation . He knew help is
just 50 meters away behind the tree line where the army camp and Jeeps were
stationed , so he prepared to jump the intruders . They came ashore wet and
muddy , swearing quietly in English . The guard watched them open the backpacks
and putting on dry clothing while the infrared goggles allowed him to see
between the trees dozens of patrol guards approaching stealthy .
As the
foreigners were tighten their shoe laces , over 40 flashlight heads turned on
and from everywhere soldiers literarily jumped on top of the intruders ,
pinning them to the ground and intimidating the prisoners with ear splitting
shouts . The order was to take them alive and able to speak which was exactly
what happened two hours later in the basement of the State Security building .
The information extracted was so depressing that Daniel gathered his advisers
in an emergency meeting :
“ We are here
again for the same dreaded reason of national security … Last night two
intruders were captured coming from a submarine in the Danube … the sub got
away … Needless to say , we’re saturating our portion of the Danube and Black
Sea with sensitive sonar good enough to detect swimmers at 100 meters . Following
interrogations we learned our country is a target again and multiple teams are
being prepared to infiltrate Romania for both espionage and sabotage . Those
people are Romanians living abroad long before the Revolution but still
speaking the language very good , and who were lured by the CIA and big money
to do this . They don’t know how many others are already inside , but they were
sure are more . And that’s very , very bad … It means we must stop immediately
any plans of delivering the manufacturing nanobots to the population … It also
means we must double the share of nanobots reserved for defence … and of course
, it speeds up all the research towards bringing the nanospys in production . I
am so concerned about this , that I am asking the Board for permission to
temporarily divert 75 % of all research teams from both main projects , to
focus exclusively on nanospys “ . All raised hands in approval and Daniel
moved forward :
“ Ok … now ,
considering there are spies already implanted we must assume the West is
perfectly aware of our advancements , at least as we presented it to the public
before the NetLink . Their scientists can connect the dots , so we must think
again how to design the nanospys to be stealthy . We also need to make sure the
self-destruct mechanism works flawlessly , we can’t possibly afford to allow
them to have samples . Because of the time issue and the importance of the
problem , I would like to form think-tanks of how to exploit the nanospys at
maximum and correlate it to the design teams … I want full blast imagination
and inspiration , I want everyone to realise and remember every moment that our
life style is in imminent danger , I want all the stops pulled and no idea
ignored ! “ .
The advisors
never saw him so vehement and anxious but also they never felt so scared . It
was the fear of seeing nanobots controlled by the underground Mob , Earth
becoming Prison Planet because with such technology in the wrong hands was
absolutely no way for a society to escape . Daniel thought to make his
reflections heard :
“ Now that we
are in this situation , it makes me think of inter-galactic , Universe wide
laws to prevent nano-technology falling into the wrong hands . Wasn’t it
totally weird to even consider such thoughts a few years ago ? That’s what
worries me , angles that we missed , surprises entangled deep in the future
ways of nano-life , things that our brains don’t even consider to connect yet …
We can make mistakes that will cost the whole Planet and perhaps enable Hitlers
to bring Star Wars to life and became a Galactic menace . Do you understand the
danger and how deep our responsibility is ? “ . And than , to everyone’s
surprise , he expressed a personal belief about UFOs and the extraterrestrial :
“ I wouldn’t
be surprised at all if a nano culture would go to extreme length to stop this
technology from ever being developed by rogue governments or species anywhere
in the Universe including Earth … “ .
From far
above , past Pluto , the meaning of his judgement extended covering worlds that
he wasn’t even aware of , the actions of his country could change history light
years away in millennia to come .
Yet the
conundrum was packed in the human spirit , Daniel knew there was no road back
and wasn’t even interested in one , his determination to change the world for
the better was strong enough to squeeze water from stone , he could chew
Hitlers for breakfast and feel good for cleaning the gene pool .
Understanding
the deep implications Maria Larion , the Education Minister , brought up an old
tool :
“ It looks
like we need a way to educated the people so I’ll arrange for a good scare
documentary because , frankly , we all need to be very scared of the
alternatives “ . Daniel nodded thankfully .
Realizing
slowly that what he meant good for the world can turn in the worst possible
nightmare put him in a defence mode turning on to maximum every neuron and
synaptic connection .
After
establishing the directions with his advisors he left for the National Nano
Research Centre wanting to oversee personally the design of the nanospys . He
gathered all the teams in the large conference room and repeated the concerns
about secrecy and the consequences , hammering the need for advanced stealth
capabilities . They followed through many other details, fine tuning the target
and by 3 o’clock in the morning they had a pretty good idea about the
modifications that will make a regular nanobot a master nanospy .
Daniel
went to bed tired , nervous and disappointed with ‘mother’ nature being so void
of justice . Going in and out of dreaming and turning from side to side he saw
Victor’s shadow in full uniform passing on the corridor and noted it was 5
o’clock . Victor supposed to be asleep not dressed up , what was going on now ?
Daniel put on the robe and slowly opened the French doors taking a pick down
the corridor . All looked fine at first but than he noticed a liquid spotting
the parquet near the bathroom door . He stepped closer observing the deep
red color and , with the worst expectations , reached to touch it . It felt
tingly , like small electric shocks and he withdrew his hand quickly thinking
it could be acid , not blood . But just as he was preparing to go for the mop
the liquid start changing shape quickly , swirling and twisting , looking like
sparkling mist in a mini storm blown from below the floor and spreading fast
everywhere . In the same time he saw his fingers turn the same red color and
thought he heard voices . In seconds , to his mesmerized eyes , the dust
settled and he could see on the floor a strange writing with foreign characters
that his mind didn’t recognized. But to his surprise he could clearly
understand it. It said “ How do we get to Cafe Americana ? “ . Shocked ,
he open his eyes widely … the clock radio was churning a morning discussion
about daily events and the best places to eat . Daniel couldn’t help smiling at
first but than start laughing loud , shacking the bed till Victor opened the
doors intrigued , the last thing he expected from Daniel after the last days
events .
Seating on
the edge of the bed , Daniel explained wondering if his dream qualified as a
night mare since the anti-aggression inoculation supposed to take care of that
. But Victor , still smiling , disagreed , his argument being the dream was funny
and creative replacing the old line “ Take us to your leader “ .
Daniel shook
his head thinking that with all the pressure he’s being under , he’s going
bunkers . But than , like a divine revelation , the whole dream twisted in his
head , the meaning of the café , the strange language and the spinning floating
dust turned on a lucky neuron path which spelled a solution for the world
problems that he thought off first on his flight back to Romania while talking
to a geneticist . He happily wrote it down planning to present it to his
advisors once properly cooked in his mind . Still pondering at the inspiring
vision , he thought was worth while to encourage Marina , once the
resources were available , to nail the mystery surrounding dreams. Considering
the latest scientific events , it was no longer far-fetched to think
of-the-wall and that gave Daniel a natural high when entertaining unorthodox
ideas , it wasn’t anymore a waste of time .
With most of
the teams refocused on the new priority , working 24/7 , it took just five
month to have the first bunch of nanospys tested , multiplied and ready to take
on the wings . They waited for a weather system with winds blowing towards the
Western Europe and from the picks of the Carpathians a new era in gathering
intelligence took flight .
Again Daniel
had to shake his head in front of the rapid scientific chain of events but soon
all the technical glamour start fading , tarnished by the bad news it delivered
. The true nano Revolution , the maker of parts , pianos and party hats had to
wait for just a little bit longer .
Chapter six : the Watcher’s Job
The launch of
the very first group of nanospys was the event General Badea and Daniel were
looking forward for a long time and also marked the eights anniversary of the
Revolution , an ironic coincidence .
Together with
the regular advisors they arrived late afternoon in the basement of the
fortress also known as the State Security building . They were escorted to the
Operations Room , a vast enclosure full of military personnel and high tech
devices , and took seats in front of a double row of dozens of high definition
plasma displays while Vlad brought them up to speed :
“ 23 hours
ago team Alpha departed from strategic peaks of the Carpathians on a good Jet
Stream heading , landing in Zurich and taking a hitch on Swiss Air flight 247
to Amsterdam and than to New York . Following the same strategy , one hour
later the team caught a flight to Washington and right now they are preparing
to enter the White House .
Observe on monitor 1 the main video feed from
the head of the scout team … Notice how they take consecutive positions inside
cracks and nooks “ . He pointed behind them to a number of long desks where
dozens of officers were controlling small groups of nanospys via complex
graphic displays .
“ The planned
execution is carried for now out of these consoles directly by humans , we
didn’t have time to design an autonomous software but we’re working on it ,
till than will be hands-on . Ok , it looks like team Alpha is approaching the
Oval Office … right now is critical to get in unobserved so as you can see ,
they are scanning all possible surveillance systems “ .
On the large
screens the corridors appeared magnified , the picture crawling over door signs
and finally to the top of the double door leading inside the secretive room .
Daniel felt like a kid sucking on candy , under the tingling of voyeurism and
totally engrossed in seeing live across the world . The atmosphere in the
bunker was electrifying , eyes glued to the screens while Daniel had a flash ,
thinking what would have happened if they get caught .
The officers
handling the nanobots where exchanging directions :
“ We reached
the top edge of the double door to the Office … trying to find a crack … no ,
looks like is a good seal … let’s try the bottom … same thing ... General Badea
, we’ll have to wait until the door opens or try the ventilation system “
.
“ It’s ok ,
let’s stay right here , I don’t want to take any chances in strong air currents
‘ . It was 15 minutes of waiting before someone in military attire came
out giving the Alpha team the opportunity to get in and take positions
specially around the windows to preserve communications links .
From the
height of the ceiling looking down they could see the US President Fred Jasper
at his desk and four other people seating around . Two were military , three
star generals , while the others were civilian
recognized soon as the Vice President and the CIA Director .
General Badea
stood up in excitement :
“ Ok , heads
up everybody , this is the moment we were waiting for … I need immediately
separate teams assigned to each of this five man , plus more teams on stand by
, we hit the jackpot “ .
Daniel put on
a pair of headphones and listen in while watching the HD picture . Before he
could focus on the action he looked around the huge bunker , instinctively
needing reassurance he wasn’t dreaming , even for a person of his wide visions
, the first time was as shocking as for anyone else , and lately he had a whole
truck load of them .
In minutes he
understood the discussion was about positioning silent diesel submarines around
Russia to bring aground teams of spies and saboteurs . Daniel checked to make
sure the ‘record’ button was activated and thought smiling that he was even
with Putin for the truth serum gift .
The teams of
officers start placing the nanobots in strategic positions , a few watching the
computer screen on the president’s desk , another team focusing just on the
computer keyboard , while others took close up shots of the wall map displaying
the proposed positions of the submarines and the landing coordinates on
different beaches . Daniel immediately gave instructions to have the
information and coordinates send via MIGs to Putin with a case of his favourite
wine , Pietroasele , and a ‘ Thank you ’ note saying ‘ In vino veritas ‘ , a
pun to the truth serum . But he asked not to send the actual video and audio , no
way Daniel will let the cat out of the bag on how he obtain the intelligence ,
not even to Putin .
He felt much
better , more relaxed , confident he could handle the upcoming torrent of
possible events yet being careful not to get cocky . So he tapped Vlad on the
shoulder , grabbed Dumitru and General Mugur and walked them to the coffee
machine . While refilling , he set the new pace :
“ Guys , it’s
obvious we’ll need more nanospys , which saddens me . We are forced to enter
another cold war scenario which will cost us resources of all kinds , so let’s
get ready . Dumitru , we’ll need to divert production towards nanofighters and
nanospys … Mugur , we need to focus equally on keeping the intelligence coming
and looking for all nano research centres in all countries , Universities ,
DARPA , you name it … we can’t afford to let them have this technology or we’ll
kiss our future ‘good-by’ … When you’ll find such research going , I want you
to impede it in a discreet way , things like fuses blowing unexpectedly ,
instruments going out of calibration , what ever you can do to halt it without
getting caught . Also we’ll need an even tighter border patrol … Vlad , please
organize all the incoming info and present me a summary three times a day or
whenever there is an emergency . Now , let’s have an understanding of the
larger picture … what’s going on in the outside world is controlled by a few
individuals , they are the trouble makers we need to expose and give the world
a chance. Once we identify them , I need a detailed file build on indisputable
evidence such as HD-Video and sound , good camera angles and so on … The basic
idea is not only that it must convince the masses but also it must stand in the
International Court of Law . Once we’ll collect enough evidence we’ll
expose them in some form , preferably in pirated TV transmissions besides
sending copies to the media . However , to do it we need to have our Security
at 110 % , to be absolutely impenetrable , so Mugur , we need the New Weapons
program accelerated . I would like to be very soon in a position to make a live
demonstration to the world about our military might. I need ideas of how to do it , but we must
show muscle to avoid an armed conflict specially in the critical situation when
we’ll expose the power handlers and invite the world to a Revolution “ .
He paused to
recharge on caffeine thinking hard to make sure he didn’t forget some important
point . His mind was split between coordinating the introduction to the public
of the new nano manufacturing and the security problems . Which brought him to
another issue :
“ Mugur ,
remembering the over 400 Romanian sold to the CIA at the start of the
Revolution , we need to be ready for Romanians who were living abroad and who
may be send here to do damage … I look at this as a very potent threat just
because they might be able to integrate in our society unobserved and get to
steal samples of our nanobots . Dumitru , are we confident of the self-destruct
mechanism ? “ .
“ Yes , we
tested it under many conditions and it responded every time “ .
“ Ok … my job
here is done for now , I’m looking forward to the reports and let’s run a tight
ship , we are swimming we sharks again “ .
Followed by
his entourage he left the building and arrived in the early evening to the
Ministry of Education for a live TV show with Maria and Dumitru discussing and
explaining the coming manufacturing process .
He looked as
such events as pure relaxation because his soul loved it and thrived on
bringing goodness to the people .
The country was entering the promised land
with the grand reward just around the corner , after eight years people were
about to enjoy the fruits of their patience but not fully realizing the impact
to come , and guessing the future was Daniel’s job together with everyone else
who enjoyed bouncing ideas on a live TV show . But tonight Daniel felt guilty
that he was forced to keep a secret from his large family , the initial
nanospys report was to negative to present it without a solution or a silver
line , he needed a few weeks to build a solid case .
Two month
after all nanospys teams reported on targets and start transmitting , the
advisors gathered under yet another emergency meeting called by Daniel :
“ Thanks all
for coming on such a short notice … Eight weeks of gathering and disseminating
information gave us mostly bad news . After four years of moderate government ,
the
As you know ,
our nanospys nests are located in most American places of interest and also in
U.K. , Germany , France , China , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Japan and
international buildings like NATO , UN and so on . More countries and places of
interest will be added as the nanospys production permits … Each nanospys
nest is monitored by our Security groups 24/7 who flag events of importance
which are than catalogued for future reference . In other words we can put
together a complete scenario from , let’s say , a NATO meeting , than an
American five star general reporting to the President who in turn talks to his
advisers and in private with his puppeteers , till a decision is made . In
parallel we can also watch what the British side is doing , giving us a perfect
understanding of what is going on and why . This also gives us a great
opportunity to do things for our protection at different levels . The military
preparedness and response is an obvious level but in my mind and for a long
time I have bigger plans , a strategy that would eliminated the need for
violence … so I made a decision “ .
He paused
recalling the dream that reminded him about the solution and added a few more
seconds to prepare his advisers , excluding Vlad and Marina who already knew ,
wanting to make a judgment on their collective reaction . To him was important
to have a clear understanding of how the bright people on his advisory board
adjusted to the nano revolution and most importantly , of how their empathy
levels were changing in viewing the world because in his book empathy was
placed a notch above intelligence .
Lifting his
eyes from the notes he was welcomed by inquisitive looks waiting for the
surprise so he said sharply :
“ I decided
to inoculate against the aggression gene … the entire Earth population “ .
Dumitru ,
seating close to the right , was the first to react :
“ Halleluiah
! Not a moment too soon and why did it take you so long , brother ? “ he said
smiling and set the tone for the crowd , surprising and delighting Daniel to no
end . He didn’t expect to be so easy and non-chalant , he was preparing instead
for long and ardent debates .
“ Guys , I’m
impressed and very pleasantly surprised by your attitude , I mean , to me based
on my personality it came naturally , but in all fairness , I didn’t expect
others to share my view . So Kudos friends , and thank you for being this way
and yourselves ! “ . Taking a seep of coffee he felt a bit tired following the
last two nights of strategic planning . He needed to stay sharp and protect the
Revolution :
“ Marina ,
Vlad and myself developed the skeleton of a plan that first tickled my brain
years ago on the plane back to
She took off
her glasses not being sure if everyone at the table understood what really was
about to happen :
“ Hi
everybody ! What is crossing my mind right now spreads across millennia . I am
thinking far back since we split from monkeys and I am looking at one trait
that survived till today and which is even floundered around on man’s pay TV
shows , mainly because it is much easier to stir testosterone than deep
thinking . In other words aggression , because that’s what I am talking about ,
affected humanity from day one and we didn’t even recognized it as a serious
disease . Loved ones died in the wheat fields by the hands and swords of
barbaric marauders organized to kill and pillage . Others died waiting for the
bus at the hands of serial killers. And than , the worst , entire nations fall
under its control led by mentally deranged barbarians … It’s a continuing theme
splattering blood all over the human history, robbing generation after
generations of resources that otherwise would be spend for peace and health
research , interfering non-stop with our evolution . And it is the product of
nature …
But from now
on , its days on planet Earth are numbered …
As Daniel
introduced you to the general idea , we planed to have the manufacturing ,
storage and fans all located in large caves throughout the Carpathians . The
higher altitude will definitely help spread the retrovirus and the locations
are impossible to detect with satellite imagery . We tried to consider all the
options to maximize and speed up the infectious process such as coating the
viruses with an Ultra Violet absorbing polymer to help them survive up in the
Jet Stream , adding in the virus genome a gene which manufactures proteins
enhancing appetite to provide more nutrients rather than depleting the body as
is the case with natural viruses . We went to extremes to mask the working
genes by saturating the virus genome with similar genes but totally useless .
Even the
speed of virulence was slowed down to reduce any apparent symptoms . Further
more , we’ll start spreading it just before the flu seasons to cover its traces
even more . The only draw back is the doubling of the time needed by the body
to produce enough protein to efficiently block permanently the aggression gene
, plus an equal delay in embedding the anti-aggression gene in most of the
cells , inside the genome “ .
She saw a
hand waving and stopped to take the question .
“ We were
inoculated via intravenous injections , what you are proposing however , will
take place in the open environment … Were any studies done to see if the
retrovirus and the gene will affect also the animals and what are the chances
that it may mutate ? “ .
“ We thought
of the possibility and tested 5 close species but with no effect . The chances
of mutating by UV is nil because of molecular disintegration , while the random
cosmic radiation will have to cut and resplice the genes in at least four
places to bring it close to be active in other species , so we have a high
degree of confidence “ . Another voice brought upfront another pressing issue :
“ According
to the summary from the nanospys I understand that foreign forces are already
working against us , so how soon can we expect to see results ? “ .
“ If we take
in account the delays in manufacturing and delivery , the time for incubation
and expression , and than the time to spread among the populations , we
estimate the first observations of significant crime and violence drop will be
announced in the world media in about three years . A short time to wait to
change the world … but , indeed , not sufficient to address the present
military threat “ .
Her
presentation looked as easy as ‘ How to play God for dummies ‘ and Daniel
enjoyed the double pun . One thing is to change a population who gives its
consensus but it’s a different ball game when you ‘surprise’ them . And that
explained the silence hovering over the large room , every one was very touchy
when comes to ethics . There was a genuine issue to underline so Daniel jumped
to the opportunity :
“ Look , I
understand your hesitation and the issue of ethics , but let’s put things in
balance , let’s observe from above the pros and cons . For example , the most
pro argument is our own experience , right ? “ . He looked around and saw
people agreeing to the obvious .
“ But lets
ignore it because was done under controlled and accepted circumstances . But
what we can’t ignore is the proven benefits to the population … so we are doing
them a favour … What’s the difference between being told or not , when the
result is guaranteed to benefit you at no cost or side effects . Oopps , I’m
laying ! There are the side effects of slightly increased IQ and no more
nightmares “ . The advisors laughed , feeling a bit more relaxed , Daniel was
doing his magic through his commanding voice and inspiring trust by proving it
with facts . But this time the Commandments were carried out not in stone but
in a virus , even the gods could learn a thing or two from humans , Daniel
thought .
“ But is more
… “ , he continued , “ … is not only that we offer them on a silver platter a
verified solution to an important part of their problems , but it is also a
matter of our own national security . The eight weeks report from our nanospys
describes an imminent danger to
“ First of
all , we’re learning more and more with whom we are dealing … The people at the
helm are not on any board of directors , never made the media , do not give
social parties and most of them leave the lives of retired folk in isolated
locations and under guard . They don’t control by the rules of signed documents
but by fear , they order people killed like we order breakfast . They use
corruption and if that doesn’t work , they use black mail and than
assassination . Just two days ago I saw the video of Jack Abrams , the
“ The main
issue with this underworld is they have access to government resources
including the army , high tech , police , CIA , FBI , NSA , MI6 etc. ,
including tonnes of cash and … cocaine . They can come from anywhere and this
forced us to allocate a great deal of nanospys to the border patrol . But while
we can see them coming , is hard to dispatch the soldiers right away so I asked
Dumitru to reconfigure the nanospys for active combat … We chose a fast acting
drug used in surgery that can be delivered by just 50 nanofighters . Once the
suspect is injected they send an alert with the location so the patrols can
come over and do the arrest … honestly , I feel very comfortable with this
setup “ . Daniel gave the sign to make it happen and concluded the
meeting :
“ So every
one please , heads-up , while we are starting the Global Inoculation project
which will show fruit only in three years , we have to deal with the present
and chances are solid we maybe already infiltrated with spies who speak very
good Romanian . And that’s besides fighting the nano research in rogue
countries . I think with horror what it may have happened if we didn’t focus as
we did and our nano project was late . Let’s take this as a lesson and
don’t allow to get comfy , we’re still on Earth and our little
So Vlad ,
please interrogate all captured using the Russian truth serum and do it on live
TV … Marina , start pumping in the air those retroviruses … Dumitru and Mugur ,
I want miracles in State Security and border surveillance , keep tight all
nanospys connections with the underground and selected politicians with all
facts properly documented and catalogued ready to be exposed … Also I would
like nanospys on all US and NATO submarines . What else … oh yes , Dumitru , we
need air defences and the weaponry to make a world demo to remember . That’s
all for now till tomorrow , Vlad would you please hang on for a minute “ .
Daniel was
thinking of the Romanian infiltrators and how to spot them . It was critical ,
he couldn’t allow the public release of nanobots knowing that some may fall in
the wrong hands . It was a drawback of the communal system and he had no choice
but to deal with it finding the proverbial needle in the haystack of 26 million
people , but the hot pressure eventually squeezed the solution out of his brain
:
“ Vlad , we
are just over eight years since the start of the Revolution and among other
things that happened we can be sure of one : nobody touched pesticide leaden
food since than ! “ . He could see Vlad trying hard to see ahead .
“ I was
thinking of two combined ways to find the spies … First , testing all the
population for pesticides will definitely reveal the foreigners … and secondly
, even more obvious to us , who doesn’t have their aggression gene silenced is
a clear intruder “ . Vlad smiled getting the message and reassured Daniel
:
“ Consider it
done , I’ll make arrangements and public announcements starting tomorrow , and
I’ll make sure to cover it under some credible pretext “ . He looked deep in
Daniel’s eyes recognizing his guilt trip , he never made a good liar so , with
compassion , added a friendly reassurance:
“ I
understand Daniel , we have to deceive our people again but we’ll disclose it
later , explain the circumstances and present it as a history lesson “ . Daniel
put his head down and gave Vlad a hug , glad that someone was so in tune with
his feelings .
The idea
proved Machiavellic enough and in three weeks they had a complete list of 48
people with abnormal high levels of pesticide residue in their blood and no
altered genome . They shared the same treatment as the previous spies caught ,
they were vaccinated with the anti-aggression gene , put in jail until science
will find something for them and for all intent and purposes they simply
vanished from what the outside world was concerned , never to be heard of again
.
Abroad , the
spy masters were scratching their heads ,
The method of
finding them was not revealed for another ten years and in between , with the
modified nanobots patrolling the borders and quarterly blood tests , the
nation was purged of infiltrators which gave the green light for the nano
revolution to explode .
For the first
time in decades Daniel felt truly relaxed seeing no major dangers on the
horizon , all was taken care of and he could sense closer the day when he could
say to his conscience with confidence , ‘mission accomplished ‘ .
For the
last year the education programs made the nation very familiar with handling
the new manufacturing process but , as they found , the new life was filed with
pleasant surprises . No more waking up early to catch a bus and waste time in
the traffic jam . Now you wake up when you want , maybe have a coffee and step
outside in the a garden of flowers , taking a seat by the little fish pond and
breath in the fresh air . Paradise was slowly descending over their nation
reinforcing more and more the fact they made the right decisions , they hang in
there through tough events but now they are having a wonderful time adjusting
to a self made
Now
that nanotech was a tangible reality , Daniel was smiling thinking of a
favourite show he used to watch in Canada , ‘ How it’s made ‘ and laughed
imagining that not to much could be shown today , just a click on a computer ,
dumping an inconspicuous powder in a solution and going for a break . While not
to much was happening in the bucket to the human eyes , he could mentally see
the action viewed under an electron microscope, the coordinated army of
nanobots picking the proper molecules from the solution and weaving them in
place layer by layer with robotic speed and precision .
As Daniel
envisioned , jobs involving any parts or objects that were suitable to be made
at home were distributed first , and the rest was organized in retrofitted
factories . That kept most of the people comfortable at home , reduced traffic
substantially and saved resources including precious personal time . As the
process start gathering speed and people got used to the new freedom of
designing dreams on their CAD systems , there was a tsunami of ideas ,
originality and innovations that took science, technology and arts by storm .
One of the
problems the nation inherited was luck of decent accommodation for everybody ,
a lot of construction had to be done . At age 14 Daniel was lucky to have as a
family friend a professor of the Faculty of Architecture in
For starters
he wanted to give an outstanding example of what it can be done so he lunched a
national contest for everybody to contribute designing a super Community Hall
in the capital city . His intention was not just to practice building a large
construction but mainly to follow a surreal dream he had years ago about
walking in a huge shopping mall where every square centimetre was a piece of
art . He gathered architects and artists explaining the concept making a point
that materials are not a problem but al it counts is the originality ,
inspiration and a design that has to be a jaw-dropper . In a nut shell , he concluded
, take
Pretty soon
they found out that one thing is to be bugled down by having to take care of
structural analysis and solving engineering equations interfering with your
creativity , and a totally different thing is to work in conditions where
you feel like an artist painting on an electronic canvas never having to worry
about technical details . So they went design-crazy , just as Daniel dreamed ,
all the floors , ceilings and walls were permeated with art in unexpected ways
, surprising , refreshing and totally eye-candy .
Imagine
walking on what appeared to be rubies , diamonds and sapphires imbedded in the
floor and entangled in mesmerizing patterns that were changing as you stroll by
. Art objects that intrigued the eye where spread everywhere and it was obvious
it was not made by hand , the mix of materials that appeared to flow from one
into another looked totally un-natural yet totally delicious to the eye .
Using
morphing technology they made walls that one moment look like solid marble
while next they were colourful waterfalls. One of the show stoppers was the
atrium made entirely , from floor to ceiling , of display pixels with a
resolution far exceeding high-definition , matter of fact you would need a good
microscope to see them . When turned on , the visual effect was so realistic
that under certain scenes people would get sea-sick or step back being afraid
of heights . From Arctic landscapes you could find yourself next in a lush
tropical forest that seemed unchanged for millennia and you could just not
possibly tell , unless touching the walls , that was not real . This was the
new TV technology Daniel wanted to put in every home not just for entertainment
but also for more serious purposes involving scientific research , education
and communications .
The pixels
were made of nanotubes guiding the LED light and showing a slightly different
picture as you moved along . The micro-tunnelling effect of the nanotubes
presented to each eye the illusion of three dimensions so realistic and at such
high contrast ratio that for weeks to come knee and nose injuries were reported
as folks walked into the display walls .
It took one
year to complete the building and soon after , it became an icon of
nanotechnology , people coming from all corners of the country like in a
pilgrimage to see with their eyes and promenade over the new reality .
After a
decade of talk now they can do the walk and that was one of the important
messages Daniel wanted to establish firmly in their minds , the pay-day was
finally here .
Following the
example and standards of the new Community Hall , the country set on
constructing custom apartment buildings that in the West would sell for not
just millions but hundreds of millions per unit , that advanced and
sophisticated they were . The interior design was to perfection and flawless
since all the details were nano manufactured to molecular precision and totally
custom as desired by the occupant . You wanted rococo or baroque , no problem ,
and all the intricate details will be there to delight the eye .
The new
apartments have the walls , floors and ceilings accommodate the multifunctional
hyper definition screens enabling people to move the computer from the living
room to the kitchen or watch TV on the ceiling as you lay down . Most of the
buildings have their façade made completely out of hyper definition displays
turning the streets in a fantasy land where you can see 10 story palm trees
weaving in the wind besides 20 story tall water-falls pouring from blue skies .
There were no limits , no barriers of what could be done and the new
capabilities stirred the passion of being unique and original in effervescent
and refreshing ways showing that at heart , everyone was an artist .
The streets
and the cities start looking like museum corridors where no two things were
alike , yet overall they were harmonious thanks to the coordination provided by
professional architects .
Daniel
programmed the hyper definition display for his own apartment in a rich
art-deco style , materials in earth tones but no lighting fixtures , he took
advantage of the wall-display flexibility which could provide light in any
color and location . The software driving the displays could give him baroque
sconces in the morning or arabesque windows at night with cosmic landscapes
behind . His favourite ‘wall-saver’ as he nick-named it , was a dark dense
jungle that you could not see the sky , surrounded and covered by tall tropical
trees and huge ferns moving gently into the breeze . He sat on the sofa having
a drink , and his living room became a surreal cut on the forest floor , bathed
in a soft light and juicy greens , with the chairs , art-deco sofa and his
Persian carpet as strange objects , out of place in the chaotic jungle . The
feel of remoteness was so acute that it led to claustrophobia so he added a
narrow happy trail to vanish somewhere mysteriously leading to a new set of
delights . There was no need for art work hanging on the walls , you could have
the rarest paintings reproduced side by side and more .
Daniel
like to come home and turn on the hyper display in the preset mode showing
multiple screens all over the walls . He could watch the News , the TV Debate
channel , the Champ Elise in Paris , the Trafalgar Square in London or the Oval
Office in the White House , all live .
Or , if he
wanted , he could see Africa traveling on a horn of a wildebeest , definitely
beating Google Earth . ‘ Now , That’s entertainment ! ‘ , he thought smiling ,
enjoying the new found ‘ arm-chair traveler ‘ rush .
However ,
after the second drink the inevitable happened and he remembered with shame
that his duty on Earth was not completely done , just hundreds of kilometres
away from his private luxury the rest of the world was still in misery . And
the need to feel humble and guilty was generously helped by Daniel’s creation ,
the nano-voyeur channel ‘ Feel the World ‘ where a wall of your living room can
became the slams of Detroit , the back streets of New York and London or
anywhere in the world where misery existed . The channel was part of a
mandatory school sociology curriculum where kids would try to make sense of a
corner street activity in a gang territory of Hong Kong , for example , or
follow workers in their daily rat-race watching them get stuck in the rush hour
, doing office work or eating junk food . It all appeared surreal yet they knew
it was live and real and that made it all even scarier , hence the object of
the educational program was fully achieved . This was one solid way to
brain wash the young generation to protect the nano technology with their lives
, because their lives depended on it . In no time , the outside world became
the regular ‘ bogyman ‘ of childhood .
He
switched a screen to the computer secured mode and retrieved the latest summary
from the nanospys’ hourly report . The software displayed colour graph bars
which at a glance told the overall security status .
He ‘clicked’
with an infrared laser pointer on the nanospy details graph and the world map
unfolded showing the position of every single nanospy and nanobot .
A very
important number sat in the right upper corner showing a green ‘zero’
representing the number of nanobots outside country borders . In the other
upper corner was the total of nanospys abroad , it read into the trillions and
still climbing fast . In the lower left corner sat another satisfying green
zero showing how many events occurred that could involve revealing the nanospys
, the most important number and first to be checked by Daniel . He smiled ,
thinking of it like a score , ‘ A trillion to zero‘ .
Before going
into the report details he wanted to stretch , grabbed the house coat and
stepped outside on the cozy enclosed balcony .
On the 40th
floor he shivered a bit in the autumn evening , tightened the coat , lit a
double filtered cigarette and looked for peace of mind over the city .
He chose to
live near the heart of the capital Bucharest so he can enjoy fully watching the
life below . His apartment was sandwiched between two floors reserved for
security and the only other privilege was a private elevator for the same
reason , but he rarely used it .
Being part of
the regular stream of people milling around the area , talking to them in
elevators , gave him a great deal of pleasure because that’s how he wanted it
from the time all came together in his mind more than a decade ago . All he
wanted was just to seat on his old deck and gaze over the wild garden having a
beer and a cigarette knowing that all around was good and peaceful with happy
people, and wishing that he could get up and with a magical wand make it all
come true and real .
To get a
pulse of how the new reality impacted the nation Daniel was chatting specially
with older people like himself , in mid to late sixties , people who where in
their early twenties under Ceausescu . They were having fun reminiscent the
times when , learning in college about electronic vacuum tubes , could not even
fathom this new reality . But you go talk to a 10 or 15 old and the mentality
changed completely , discussing nanobots was second nature and their existence
seemed to them , naturally , since the beginning of time .
An apartment
for three was as large as two western luxury condominiums and light years ahead
in technology and interior design . The standard ceiling height was five meters
, all apartments had large enclosed balconies and every aspect of design was
custom .
Besides the
luxurious and huge living spaces everyone had a spacious room dedicated to work
production . It was design specifically for the nano automated manufacturing ,
organized in small and large vats , bags of raw material , computer gear and
washing stations .
Daniel
insisted on his own share of work and every morning when waking up he was
giggling with pleasure thinking of the ridiculous ‘ work ’ day ahead . He liked
to get up late , seat naked in the long chair on the balcony , with a hazelnut
cappuccino and a double filtered cigarette and just lay back, relax , and from
that height slowly follow the mesmerizing contours of the new architecture ,
listening to the life buzzing bellow and felling like on an island in paradise . As the strong
coffee kicked in he prepared for his manufacturing duty , went to the work room
, downloaded his component for the day , programmed the nanobots , read the
instruction on the screen, choose the right size vat , picked from the shelf
the required pre-mixed ingredients bag , stirred it with warm water and dumped
in the nanobots . He was done .
When the
parts were ready he was notified remotely to return , wash , pack, put them on
a wheeled trolley and take the elevator to the main level and the receiving
deck . There every apartment had a reserved partition where people would
deposit their daily work to be picked up by the national trucking system and
receive periodically the bags with pre-mixed raw materials . Naturally , the
system knew what ingredients one has and therefore what parts can be
manufactured at that location .
For him , as
president , was only one small load of parts to make and for the rest of the
population the process was the same excluding large components and assemblies
which were built in specialized factories .
Even services
were done via the secured national network and the hyper-definition wall-size
screens , to the effect that most work was done from home which changed
completely the way people arranged their personal time . It truly unchained the
nation from the traditional work day .
Transportation
avenues , entirely made out of electromagnetic rails , were generally separated
in commercial routs and public transit . Every apartment building was hosting
underground exchange routs and to grab a ride all you have to do is take the
elevator down to the station .
Civil
engineers learned from the disastrous planning of western metropolis and
redesigned the new traffic system to be quiet , un-obstructive and discrete ,
guiding the routs in elegant surroundings , through valleys and bridges
offering a delightful view to the passengers .
Distractions
were not a problem since nobody was driving , the entire system was
computerized and cars became like comfortable waiting rooms. If you wanted to
go somewhere just call a cab , give the destination, seat down and enjoy the
ride without ever having to worry about traffic signs , changing lanes or
accidents , the system had multiple redundancy built in so it was fail-proof .
The concept
was not new , Hollywood glorified the beauty of the system in many sci-fi
movies and people recognized it as a winner but not the oil magnates , who
couldn’t allow the juicy black resource to go to waste without a profit even at
the expense of the pollution , noise and wars .
Observing the
changes and the new , content nation , Daniel smiled , not being able to help
his paternal feelings blush with pleasure thinking of his people like happy
kids making dreams happen in a secure backyard . But he knew the job wasn’t
finished yet , the world’s gene pool was still muddy.
He returned
to his chair in front of the computer screen-wall to check the progress of what
the State Security called ‘ connectivity ‘ .
A mob figure
was considered ‘connected ‘ when there was more than enough solid evidence
against him to have a conviction in his country of residence plus in the
International Court . The screen showed a color flow-chart like a family
tree with photos of the subjects linked to events and other people of
importance . A continuous green line indicated a full ‘connection ‘ archived
and ready to be exposed to the international community . The number of the
population involved world wide was shocking , so far the graph showed
1,180,201,915 solid lines intersecting each other and surrounding the pictures
of Presidents , industrialists , lawyers , judges , Media moguls and
personalities , Army and State Security brass just to name the top . Submenus
pointed further to mind bugling connection , from hotel concierge and parking
valets , to secretaries , accountants , doctors and dentists , internet
providers , ‘ free speech ‘ public web forums , ‘ secure ‘ IP hosting ,
computer ‘ anti-virus ‘ companies, Operating System manufacturers , phone and
credit card companies , hookers agencies and all the way to the run of the mill
assassin and still more . A complete inventory of the concrete jungle .
It took
Daniel and his advisors month to get used to the idea that corruption and crime
was so wide spread in the rest of the world , that entire societies where hold
tight by the proverbial balls and that mere annihilation of the aggression gene
might not be enough to turn the world around .
Considering
the scenario where the mob has the nano technology made their hairs stand on
ends , that acute was the fear and realisation they were playing with fire .
The more information came in , the clearer it became that was not safe yet to
stir the hornet’s nest , before being ‘ liberators ‘ they needed first to
defend their own butt . Isolated from the rest of the world as they were , no
where in the foreign media , a NATO secretly organized strike and a giant
mushroom cloud over Romania would go unnoticed by the average world citizen ,
never mind making the news .
He needed
soon a decision about this annoying problem and the best was to bounce ideas
with his advisors .
Before being
able to relax he glanced at two more numbers on the display .
One , reading
into the billions and increasing at a rate that blurred the digital counter
showed how many retroviruses were delivered in the atmosphere . He shook his
head thinking of the drain on his country resources and the plague of the cold
war .
The other
number , in the thousands , represented how many events of sabotaging nano
research experiments occurred so far around the world . He could click with the
laser pointer on it and see every event as it happened . Above the number was a
graph showing the frequency on a time chart and it was clearly on the decline .
As his
nanospys induced errors in experiments and equipment , virtually stopping the
progress of all related nano research everywhere , Daniel was interested to
notice the psychological effect taking it’s toll not necessarily on the
scientists but , far more important , on the people who were financing the
laboratories and paid the salaries . Those people had a patience of spending
money proportional with the net profit and Daniel wanted to make darn sure they
were getting tired of wasting funds into nano research .
And it worked
, following the next three years the international nano programs went the way
of cold fusion leaving behind just a handful of stubborn private laboratories
that were easy to keep in check .
Satisfied of
the analysis and laying comfortably on the sofa , he enjoyed his favourite
sweet Romanian wine , Pietroasele , turned the screen to full room size and
changed the channel to a remote viewing of a small tropical island with palm
trees hanging over the ceiling and giving him shadow . The gentle deep green
waves were rocking against the rug , washing it over with white sand and red
star fishes . Slowly from the left a tiny boat with a lonely man entered the
live image and Daniel smiled feeling the same voyeuristic sensation as in the
first nanospy mission of the Alpha team .
Today , at
the public request , millions of voyeur nanospys were placed around the world
from the Angel’s Fall to Time Square in New York and everywhere else of
interest . And than you can follow others fly for ever at different altitudes ,
over cities and land , lakes and oceans to the effect that being an ‘ arm-chair
‘ traveler took on a viable meaning . And if you like art than you were in luck
because every major artwork on public display , or not , could be viewed in
hyper definition and on the wall of your home thanks to dedicated nanospys .
Watching the
boat going out of view he fell asleep with a last thought pondering of the
loose nanospys traveling the world and the computer power unleashed by nano
manufacturing .
As
predicted decades ago neural networks was the way to handle information and
logic flow-charts . The nanobots took it a notch further and besides copying
the brain make-up and exceeding it , build the computers right into mundane
objects and in the structure of buildings . A part of the wall layer was
actually the memory and CPU , the fibber optics and the display itself .
Years ago
people were thinking about 64 Giga bites digital camera memory sticks , the
size of a large thumb , as awesome but today the dense nano weaving technology
gave the scientific community and the nation a solid , two meter wide cube
weighting a tonne , and capable of storing all the world information including
the personal data and story of every born human , and still have room to spare
. It became known as the Computer Cube , or just the Cube . And routinely
people were making a half of meter personal cubes at home that alone have more
memory and CPU power than hundreds of western super computers put together .
That’s what enabled the eye glory of hyper definition 3-D screens where their
pixels size was measured in double digits nano meters and covering now almost
any liveable surface in most buildings and apartments , inside and outside .
Even the surface of the pavement and sidewalks was a continous visual transformation
to the point that you were surrounded by delicious landscapes at every step ,
to film here ‘ The Wizard of Oz ‘ you wouldn’t need camera tricks .
The
realism of the displays gave them delight as a unique and surreal experience ,
walking down a corridor it may appear as Daniel’s favourite screen saver , a
dense tropical forest , or anything else the dwellers would agree on ,
including the Mirror Room at Versailles or a gentle trail on a tall ridge with
wide deep valleys on both sides through the green and white Alps . Going in the
national data base one could select from myriads of designs , landscapes ,
abstract art work or fantasy lands provided by the national sharing programme ,
and what was available showed the bursting creative process thanks to the
extra time , intelligence , peace and technology people have now on their hands
and in their minds . And all this at a time before the intelligence gene
vaccination occurred .
Neural
networks imbedded in objects and at the discretion of innovative designers made
Artificial Intelligent ( Ai ) possible but no matter the level of
sophistication achieved , still a ‘soul ‘ was never detected and the machines
deciphered languages , solved engineering problems or played complex games
without even trying to establish a ‘ self ‘ or an ‘ ego ‘ . The designers were
trying to explain it as a normal behaviour since their software never intended
to create a ‘ soul ‘ . But the sceptics pointed at the artificial neural
structure as being similar in function with the cortex , so than , why don’t we
see the same behaviour ? One plausible answer was that matters like ‘ souls ‘
and personality are the product of genes and their double role , of
contribution at birth to develop specialized neural structures , and the other
daily function , not related to the shape of the neural electrical conduits but
instead controlling neural signal switching based on gene production of certain
proteins . It was similar with the hardware of a computer which can be loaded
with all types of software , or behaviour but where it also matter if you have
add-on circuits .
Some genes in
a living body were the software and the chemicals they induced for production
were mixed in a cocktail that changed the sensitivities of certain synaptic connections
inducing pathways that could change your mood and how you judge surroundings
and situations . That was good to know but no one ever showed any intentions of
actually developing ‘ soul ‘ software , the ethics of this society were too
firm and true .
Never the
less , experimenting with neural models incited them to take a closer look at
the original , so they modified nanospys for bio research and safely
observed synaptic connections . The artificial probes had an immediate
advantage , while the brain waves are lumbering at some ten Hertz , the nanospy
computer using both Giga Hertz clocks and the speed of neural computing , was
blasting at the equivalent of Terra Hertz , billion of times faster . To the
camera eye the brain worked in slow motion , the thought connections were going
back and forth like mellow waves on a quiet pond , so slow that you can see
easily where they originated and how they interacted with each other , showing
clearly the 3 dimensional interference patterns in the general neural structure
.
Working on
selected subjects they noticed how in the brain of some people there was a
dedicated neural network which echoed the principles of our personal concerns
in decision making but , to everyone’s surprise , the
‘ self ‘ was replaced by other subjects that
happened to be involved . The positive or negative result was than presented to
the cerebral cortex in the same manner as presenting the results for ‘ self ‘
( 12 ) .
The
research teams realised they found the Empathy connection and what Daniel
considered the most precious trait of an intelligent being .
In just month the nation went through the
second gene therapy , receiving the gift of empathy and within one year people
reported a care for others which approached in properties the maternal feeling
.
It was a
crucial component of a mature society , creating invisible bonds between
strangers while maintaining privacy , looking after each other’s needs as a
second nature and slowly , reinforced by each day experience , achieving what
Daniel predicted and wanted from the beginning : a nation like a true family .
The combined
effect over their society by silencing the aggression gene and the emergence of
greatly emphatic behaviour start altering their judgement to an extend they
demanded from Daniel to add empathy into the anti-aggression retrovirus being
sprayed in the world . They didn’t have to beg , he waited and debated only to
reinforce their own trust in a major decision making , an event that was about
to permanently alter the human specie . In his mind he saw the big picture and
how critical components were coming together : the imposed world restrictions
over nano research , the preparation for trial of the underground world ,
spreading the anti-aggression and empathy retrovirus , all worked together like
a sledge hammer to reshape the savage and primitive nature .
Life was
changing at every level and it affected food as well just as it was predicted
in their initial brain-storming planning sessions . Understanding the intimate
structure of food items was all they needed to transfer it to CAD and the
nanobots who didn’t care if they were making an apple or a space ship .
Since now
everyone was able to download from the National Database the formula of any
foods and make them at home , the effects were quick and devastating for the
agriculture industry which virtually disappeared in less than two years and
nobody cried over it . They kept certain animals mostly for petting zoos ,
research and education , but , interestingly , as no more were slaughter the
vegans forwarded a request to eliminate all animal names from foods and shortly
‘beef’ , poultry’ , ‘lamb’ and so on disappeared from culinary books and food
vocabulary .
Today
all you needed to make food was , just like the plants , a scoop of dirt from
the park , and that was a treasured independence . But they didn’t need to
scavenge the turf , they received weekly from the government bags with ready
mixed material meant specifically for nanomaking organics .
The
food needs of the country were solved almost overnight and soon people start
devoting time to sending tonnes of quality foods to needing countries and
places struck by disasters . Daniel loved the idea , it was premium
international public relations .
But human
ingenuity never stops and people start creating fantasy fruits and vegetables
not just to play with the taste but more importantly , to provide a solid punch
of nutrition every time . And they didn’t even bother nor crossed their minds
to patent it , their life philosophy would consider the gesture absurd ,
specially the children who , used to sharing , wouldn’t understand the concept
.
As they
became more intimate with the dual chemical and structural functioning of the
brain , they understood why the silencing of the aggression gene cleared the
mind and raised the IQ , and in the same shot they pined the underlying of what
intelligence was , how ideas come about and why some people connect the dots
faster and in more creative ways .
The evidence
showed that brain access and process of stored information was faster when
additional specialized neuron networks were present due to a particular gene .
Those networks connected huge groups of regular networks by short cuts which
brought together only strategic information related strictly to what objects or
thoughts have in common . The process was similar to answering in the quickest
way and with the least amount of steps , the question ‘ What a zebra-fish and
the Moon have in common ? ‘ . The correct answer ‘ atoms ‘ should come in just
two steps when the bypassing networks are present . Since taking short-cuts was
known as a
‘ natural ‘
evolutionary behaviour , the principle did not came as a huge surprise .
Discovering
the intelligence gene lead to the third national vaccination program and it was
revealing to see the eagerness of people lining up at the clinics . Hype
expressions like ‘ I got re-gene-rated today ‘ start circulating among the
young showing the trend of new thinking , the effects of higher intelligence
growing fertile in a worry-free society .
And as
the years past after the intelligence gene vaccination , Daniel realised a
personal old thought approaching the reality , was all about discovering the
Universe and who we are . It followed the same principle applied to
guaranteeing a lottery win: buying all the tickets covering all the possible
number combinations . His logic was that , since ideas represent a connection ,
a computing device loaded with all human knowledge and working at today’s terra
Hertz speed using neural networks should be able to make all possible
connection in a finite time frame and doing so reveal the laws of physics ,
math or anything else that is logic and represents a valid concept . Further
more , if logic links appear to be missing , the system would suggest an
experiment to determine the correct next dot to be connected . In other
words , establishing all possible combinations of the existing knowledge should
expose all laws of the Universe . The scientific community took the idea at
heart and build a super Cube , programmed it accordingly and let it run
watching anxious the output .
But
until the Universe will disrobe itself , the country needed to deal with the
present foreign threat and the massing of armed forces at its borders .
The
exponential production of nanobots and combat modified nanospys allowed to
sealed the national border from human intruders but the State Security was
still working with full force on defence weapons and alert systems that will
protect the air space at 100 % .
Immediately
after the Revolution , Daniel closed the Romanian air space to all foreign
traffic but they knew about high altitude NATO reconnaissance flights and a
plethora of spying satellites hovering above , some placed in geostationary
orbits over the capital city without impunity . The country’s defences blinded
the satellites with powerful laser beams 24/7 but Daniel was determined to put
a stop to it and give the world a resounding warning, it was a matter of
principles and sovereignty .
Thanks to the
accelerated weapons research , General Mugur Badea and Dumitru were in a
position to present Daniel with some peace-of-mind national defence tools by
taking him on a field trip to the proving grounds 200 kilometres north of
Just the
excursion alone through the colourful autumn landscape made Daniel feel young
again , soaking in the valleys and old weathered hills , trying hard to cheer
himself up that absolute peace in the world could not be too far away . Shortly
after entering the mountains he made a quick detour and stopped for a few
minutes at the underground biological factory to take a pick at the massive
turbofans injecting the latest retrovirus in the atmosphere , vaccinating the
world .
His heart
filled with pride to see in reality what a decade ago was just a fantasy in an
airplane conversation . Now his dream of changing the world for the
better was well under way and he still couldn’t get over that he made it so far
and without a bullet in the head .
They reached
the military testing facility an top of a mountain peak which didn’t show for
much except for two large rocks , six meters wide and round shaped . Dumitru
explained the absence of other installations :
“ Everything
is under ground with the exception of the tracking sensors and the shooting
heads placed on all strategic Carpathian’s peaks . Here you looking at a pair …
right there , those two large rocks . I know , they look very realistic ,
‘naturally’ made by our nanobots “ .
Looking
over the clouded old mountains through the light drizzle and
breathing in
deep the sweet spice of evergreens , Daniel could not help but close his eyes
for a moment and wished he would be here just as a simple tourist and far away
from all the turmoil . Dumitru , holding the umbrella high , brought him back
to reality :
“ They are
hollow and in the one on the right is located the firing platform .
The weapon is
a side discovery of the teams dedicated to space engines research . While
considering propulsion systems it became clear that antimatter has the most
punch per microgram so they concentrated on antimatter constraining devices
similar to the magnetic bottle (25) .
That’s when
they thought of elongating the bottle following the same principles of
electromagnetic rail guns and transforming it in a firing cylinder or canon ,
(26) . Our nano build switches enabled the alternating electro magnets immersed
in liquid nitrogen to cycle into the gigahertz range promising two digit Mach
speeds . That puts the bottle neck , pun unintended , on the missile loading
mechanism “ .
He helped
Daniel through the anti-satellite camouflage , bushes and slippery rocks , down
to the hidden elevator entrance and access to the natural caves below . As they
arrived and passed the security Daniel prepared him further :
“ Now that we
had the launching platform we needed a way to deliver the antimatter . We found
that miniature nano engineered spheres made of super magnets can retain the very
small amount of antimatter to very high accelerations , exceeding that of the
magnetic bottle canon . We build the antimatter containing spheres resilient
enough to survive the launch and the high heating through air by encapsulated
them in an aerodynamic
shell , the
Anti Matter ( AM ) missile . You can think of it as the dreamed
‘ silver
bullet ‘ because no armour can stop antimatter “ .
They entered
the command room buzzing with activity , gave a hug to General Mugur Badea ,
grabbed the regular coffees , Daniel being touched to find his hazelnut
cappuccino among the flavours , and took seats in front of the hyper displays .
This military
unit was designed to control ten launching platforms and it accommodate a
proportional number of people , most of them present now and seating in front
of concentric desks watching the weapons and target status . Daniel crossed his
legs while listening to Dumitru and warming up to the brew :
“ The AM
missile travels at 20 times the speed of sound so unfortunately it is not
instantaneous like a beam but it can follow a target independently employing
infrared , radar , optical recognition and an Ultra Violet laser for tracking
. With firing rates as low as only 1 missile per second per launcher ,
speed and accuracy are important which lead us to thinking of making it easier
for the missile to travel by preparing its path . The idea was borrowed from
space ship designs which required much higher speeds , approaching 40 percent
of the speed of light , so what’s in front of the incoming ship matters a lot .
Now think of a lighting stroke and what it does to the air … it brings it to a
plasma state in microseconds creating a tunnel of ions and a far lower density
of matter as the air expends . We did something similar involving a powerful
Ultra Violet laser immersed in the same nitrogen cooling bath , shooting ahead
of the missile , providing a perfectly straight path to follow and creating a
fair amount of plasma , loosening the air , sort of speak . The effect is exacerbated
by the electrical polarization of the missile which splits the ions sideways
and puling them behind along its electrostatic field , basically creating a
mini vacuum directly in front “ .
He
reached forward tapping the shoulder of an officer watching the action in the
section below and asked for a laser pointer . With that and a seep of coffee he
opened a sub menu on the wall screen and selected ‘Target ‘ . The image showed
an animated trajectory around the Earth and following it with the pointer Dumitru
explained :
“ Two days
ago we put in orbit using modified weather rockets, a small 3 kilogram target ,
now moving at 1,200 kilometres per hour . Considering the capabilities of our
tracking systems , even at that speed anything is a fair target … if we can do
that , an F-18 is a seating duck . For today’s test shot we adjusted the amount
of antimatter to the equivalent of one kiloton nuclear explosion “. That
startled Daniel :
“ Sorry
? Than what’s the regular ‘grain’ if I can use that term “
“ General
Mugur Badea decided on two standards , ten megaton and a tens of a
kiloton … but we can load the magnetic spheres to any amount in between , on
demand and in minutes “ . He looked at the clock and pointed out :
“ It’s three
minutes to noon , and we planed to do the test now for the least amount of
visibility against the sun . Watch on the screen the system acquiring the
target , arming the launching platform and getting into the stand-by mode ,
ready to fire … you see the green ‘ Ready ‘ icon ? It waits for you , my dear ,
just point and click on ‘ Fire ‘ “ .
He handed to
Daniel the laser pen who smiled and thought philosophically opposite to
Oppenheimer and the Los Alamos Manhattan project : “ I am the protector of
worlds , the abolisher of death … and I got today the tool to do it “ .
He placed the
laser dot on ‘ Fire ‘ and clicked , watching with anticipation the screen . A
muffed sound came from the walls and ceiling , the sonic boom announcing a
successful launch . The AM missile reached the target in seconds and vaporised
it on impact creating an Electromagnetic shock wave that flickered the lights
in the office towers of European cities and triggered NATO and NORAD defences .
For the foreign scientists and military it was like a wake-up bell but without
knowing what they should wake up to , but realising that something highly
unusual happened up there. Within 48 hours the news delivered to the world will
resonate however much louder , more like a canon shot .
The test
being successful and not to much of a spectacle on the computer screen , Daniel
and his group got back on the road doing more planning while admiring the
running landscape . Mugur wanted to define better the radius of defence around
the country :
“ From the
top peaks of the Carpathians we can have many nests covering hundreds of
kilometres to the horizon , and many more sprinkled along the border … that
will seal our airspace to the moon and beyond “ .
Daniel heard the worlds and the bypassing
neural networks shot in his cortex an idea :
“ All the way
up to the Moon , ha ? That’s cool … Than how about a … moon shot ! That should
shake up some confidence abroad “ .
“ And the
plus of no environmental damage on Earth “ added Vlad seeing the opportunity .
“ Ok , if
that’s the case let’s go full blast and load the Moon Shot for a ten megaton
blast … Dumitru , what’s the maximum yield ? “
“
Theoretically speaking , your imagination is the limit as long as we can
contain the antimatter . But for practical reasons is no problem to make a demo
sphere with the maximum diameter of the magnetic launcher … that would give an
yield … of approximately the equivalent of a 500 megaton thermonuclear blast …
probably a ten kilometre crater … that would be a new feature on the Moon right
? “ he added laughing , “ Who we’ll name it after ? “ . All smiled at the idea
, and Victor was the first with a suggestion :
“ Let’s call
it the Revolution crater “ .
“ Why not ,
It’s meaningful … the Revolution crater it is ! Everyone
agree ?“. The
name was good and all approved . Daniel ironed the details :
“ Vlad , I’ll
prepare a one page statement to the major powers and assorted media , I’ll have
it ready by tomorrow morning “ .
Back in the
capital he called the advisors for a strategy meeting on how to show off their
defence technology without revealing details . At the end they decided on three
shots : a drone at 14 kilometres height and speed of Mach 10 , a second shot
destroying an orbiting satellite at 500 kilometres and finally the Moon Shot .
Daniel
considered very important to see the reaction of the generals , presidents and
specially the underworld figures so he made arrangements for simultaneous
coverage of the subjects during the Moon Shot .
Daniel wrote
the memo to the world , send it to Vlad , and went to bed thinking of the world
reaction , with his brain whispering the song ‘ War , what is it good for ? …
Absolutely Nothing ! ‘ . Unless the wellbeing of the world depended on it …
The same
autumn was spilling colourful leaves aver London making it look like a
impressionist painting with the Tames river as a contrasting silver ribbon .
From the 4th floor of the BBC building , Jane , secretary of the
chief editor , was admiring the changing seasons and seeping on a tea when the
old and dusty teletype writer reserved for telex from what she called
‘ retarded ‘ countries , came alive startling
her with the sharp sound of a real bell she didn’t hear in years . Intrigued
and thinking of faulty equipment she reached under the fax desk annoyed by the
racket made by the old IBM typing ball . She watched a full page being printed
and than the machine stopped . She picked up the slightly yellowed paper and in
amazement read the sender’s name : ‘ The President of Romania and the Romanian
Government ‘ . It could be a prank , she thought but all looked authentic and
the communication line was part of the secured , dedicated diplomatic channel .
By the time she reached half way through the page , the tea was forgotten and
she was almost running to her boss office .
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