[Author’s note] – This is a story shard that has bounced round my head for a while and has demanded to be released. It is a take off on Brave new world and explores and expands on the idea of a world state. I may expand this idea further in future posts.
The state determined all aspects of life and the people accepted it as they were rational. and to be against the state was irrational. Those few irrational souls that could not accept the state’s wisdom would be banished to the inhospitable zones of the world.
One of the first things that the rational revolution had done was to centralize the world’s populations into easily controlled and managed urban centers. This notion that one could settle anywhere they pleased was thoroughly quashed. Those living in deserts, jungles, arctic, or remote areas were forcibly removed and relocated for their good and that of the world state. Mechanization had reduced the Farm workforce by 90% and most of those were also relocated to the cities. With people all centralized in urban areas the state could more easily watch and direct them. Travel between the Megacities was strictly regulated and limited to official state business.
Everything was state business. Private entrepreneurship was no longer tolerated as it was considered a speculative and anti-state activity. Sure entrepreneurs could succeed wildly but they could also fail miserably and this would place burdens on the state. Brand names and private businesses no longer existed. Advertising and marketing no longer mattered. Everything, even the people were state property. So how could there be competition against the state?
When you were born you were assigned your net name and I.D. Your life depended on that I.D. Your food ration was tied to it, your online presence was defined by it and your job would be assigned to it once you reached a useful working age.
The rationalists had long determined that overpopulation would be their biggest and most uncontrolled problem. Oversized populations unable to feed themselves could turn ugly and easily get out of hand.
The only rational solution was mass sterilization at birth. The initial riots in the early history of the rational state were of course unfortunate but through vigorous re-education most of the population eventually accepted this course of action. In time it became an accepted practice.
The problem of making more humans was solved by the invention of artificial invitro chambers. The state could now control the type of person being made for the good of the state. An individual was now spared the anxiety of worrying about their future career and interests. These were now predetermined and assigned before you were born. The neo-serf was happy and content in his new life. It had now been over 400 years since the last ‘wild’ human had been born and the state now enjoyed the benefits of a predictable population curve. The population had finally settled on a sustainable 1 billion persons.
Part of that predictability was the need of keeping the food supply available and universal. The consumption of flesh and by products from those animals had long since ended. Cows and chickens had in fact become extinct.
All foods was now plant-based or chemically produced. The diet consisted now of a porridge made primarily from wheat (people with wheat allergies no longer existed). To this porridge were added various minerals and vitamins necessary to keep up good health. In parts of the world with different climates a similar porridge was made from rice. All porridge was chemically altered to taste the same so there would be no jealousy or desire for something different. The only drink available was water. Things like coffee or tea were eradicated along with mood altering chemicals as being against the common good of the state.
Clothing was also regulated. The basic uniform was a plain taupe colored pair of pants and shirt made from plant and artificial fiber. Different colors were seen as an unnecessary and dangerous luxury that might overexcite a person. Some differences were allowed for people who lived in cooler or warmer climates but the same idea was applied.
Entertainment is provided by educational texts and videos. Things like plays, songs, movies, or stories all had been destroyed in the great reorganization of civilization when the rational regime had first been set up. At first a thriving black market had existed in bootleg entertainment videos and texts but through vigorous effort it had been eventually rooted out. The generations to come never knew these corrosive influences and never had a yearning for any of it.
Despite all the care taken some uncategorized individuals do still seem to make it past the genetic scanners and social screeners. These individuals are banished into special quarantine zones in the less hospitable parts of the world. As they are born sterile they will not reproduce in the wild and are left to fend for themselves. Most die off in the first six months of exile.
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