ADDRESS TO THE READER (instead of introduction)
Mankind will survive and regenerate after weathering the storm of the Epoch of Major Changes. These changes have already affected people all over the globe: the rise in the World Ocean level, unstable state of the Yellowstone super volcano, uncontrolled migration of the Planet’s population, conflicts and wars, water and food supply shortage, destruction of the system of states. We can already see these and other processes going on nowadays. And it is only the beginning of a long chain of cause-effect relations.
The events described are based on the processes that are most likely to face the Planet, both socially and environmentally, as indicated in materials of analytical research and published statistical data that allow us to determine and describe the most probable future developments. Will people be able to survive under aggressive environmental conditions? And if so, can survival be considered as the ultimate goal of intellectual development on this Planet? What is the destination of each of us and of the whole Mankind? What is Collective Conscience and how does it influence future events taking shape right now?
All of us must bear responsibility for our common future! While writing this book, I got strong support of people who really care about the future of Mankind: scientists, experts, friends and relatives of mine who share my thoughts and Faith in the high purpose of mind and the creative power of Mankind. I am endlessly thankful to them for their help! It was them who expressed their thoughts on the future and consulted me on the trends in technological and social developments. It fell to me to shape all these in a literary form. All the future technologies depicted do really exist nowadays. In my opinion, science fiction authors should lay the basis for spiritual ideals and traits of the Man of tomorrow and have confidence in our wonderful future.
What will the man of the future be like? It will be a spiritually free person, clear of emotional and psychological problems with advanced mind, strong intuition and considerable life wisdom, who will be able to bring a new harmony into this world. The man of tomorrow will be physically healthy, free of lust, greed and envy. This new man will establish new rules of life on the Planet. The new race will care for the common good. Men and women will have equal rights. Concern for the new generation will become one of the primary objectives of Mankind. Labor will be VOLUNTARY, rewarding and creative. Mankind will build new cities and industrial facilities by means of advanced knowledge and technologies focused on maintaining the environmental balance. Our future environmentally-friendly technology will be based on the principal laws of the Universe.
Once we start living and loving each other in harmony, we’ll be able to explore distant stars and the depths of spiritual spheres, leaving far behind the primitive Homo sapiens. What we need is the SINGLE WORLD COMMUNITY, rather than the SINGLE WORLD GOVERNMENT! The Unity of thoughts of men who follow the path of evolution has the great potential for creating a new and perfect world.
“What do you want to learn about the future, Alex, while studying the past? How many times have we looked through your life record, starting with the point of the successful landing?” Although AI was talking in a calm voice, she captured a tinge of hidden irony in his words.
“Abel, I have a strong feeling that I am missing out something important in the past, which keeps me from moving on. Can you see a system in our logics that leads us into deadlock? This is some principle that escapes our understanding, isn’t it? Or this might be something else?”
“I am working on this, esteemed Head of the Council! The chronicles of your memory are the Minotaur’s labyrinth: things aren’t always what they seem.”
“Don’t call me like that, Wolf!”
“Okay, I won’t, senior lieutenant Bjorg, let’s start by repeating the brief chronicle of the Planet over the past two hundred years.
The year 2222 or 7730 according to the First Chronology. By the way, both these dates carry the Mark of Force!
I’ve selected the most significant events of these two hundred years’ period that determine the balance of power and motives for the war. Here’s the picture I’ve got:
– the Free People’s colony was set up on a remote planet;
– following the volcanic eruption, the continent got immersed and massive relocation of the cataclysm victims ensured;
– the Ocean level rose by 17 meters over 150 years;
– the Coalition resumed its struggle for global domination;
– the Planet’s population protested against the Coalition’s policy;
– a large-scale war with the Coalition broke out, the Free People determined to go all the way;
– the Planet’s system of states was destroyed;
– the family institution was eliminated;
– only two states were left on the Planet: the Coalition and the Free People;
– the Planet’s population embarked on a massive migration;
– the Free People abolished monetary relations, with priority being given to fostering creativity;
– weapons of radically new types emerged in all branches of the military;
– the population was annihilated by a new virus strain;
– The Planet’s environment reached a critical state;
– the Planet’s living beings were saved from complete extinction by means of cloning;
– a processor for human consciousness recording was created;
– a cyber body was developed as an alternative to a biological one;
– the perpetual energy source was generated from the Planet’s field and the surrounding Space;
– the super conductivity principle began to be used in flights;
– the Antigravity Principle was discovered.
“All right, Abel, that’s enough for the analysis. Now put together a system and principles common to all these developments. Then search for something that unifies the factors of the Planet’s live environment, social medium and scientific achievements. Draw a system-based Principle out of all these and then transfer the obtained system-based Principle over to THAT period of my life. What do you get? Put the semantic and graphic aspects up on a projection. I see there is an imagery aspect as well. I wonder what this image is?”
“It’s a Spiral, Alex, shrinking into a point.”
(a conversation fragment)
Chapter 1
“She lived under the Sun, in a place abounding with bright stars.”
V. Vysotsky
A piercing howl of the falling jet fighter broke the silence of the desert; the aircraft crashed, raising a plume of dust and smoke. Its forebode nuzzled into the sand, with engines still turning by inertia before falling silent forever. In the sky above the crashed aircraft, a parachute canopy was seen. A pilot’s figure was hanging somewhat awkwardly on the cords without motion.
On approaching the land surface, the canopy swayed in the hot air and speeded up its descent. Hardly had the pilot’s body touched the ground, when it dragged him off across a sandy dune slope, hastened by the wind, towards remains of the abandoned town walls. The pilot had crawled along the ground like a floppy doll for some time before the canopy fastened onto a fixture sticking out of the sand and fell off sharply. The world seemed to have come to a halt again. A minute had passed before the pilot moved slowly, clumsily sat down, unfastened a pressure helmet and threw it aside. A shock of blond hair swept over the shoulders. Then her fingers began to glide on the clasps, releasing her from the straps. She examined herself and groaned in pain. The torn suit began to slowly darken in the area of her stomach.
