Synopsis
In the year 2030, the world's citizens are still in shock following the nuclear blasts that detonated in the Bay Area along with Washington D.C. and Beijing, China. Thousands were either killed or injured and radiation levels in the blast zones remain perilously high. To make matters worse, coastal cities throughout the world face relentless sea level inundation which is causing massive population relocations to inland areas which further reduces the amount of open space for raising crops.
A growing number of ecologists are blowing the whistle to warn skeptics that Earth is near to or already exceeding its carrying capacity. They urge the big, profit-addicted corporations that control the world governments, to quit lying to the public and take immediate action. To make matters even more stressful, more and more businesses are being staffed by specialized AI robots and androids leaving fewer job opportunities for natural, organic humans. As a result many people have resorted to the lifestyle of gypsies, living in wagons drawn by rustic farm tractors and working as migrant laborers barely able to make ends meet by traveling from harvest-to-harvest. Those that were once employed by the fishing industry are out of work due to overfishing and ocean pollution.
In contrast, an elite class of tech gurus lives harmoniously in well-equipped survival campers (SVs) and earn credits by providing a wide range of high tech services to the government and military. Their mobile villages are self-sufficient with advanced atmospheric water collection systems, hydroponic gardens and solar power systems which enables them to quickly move to avoid catastrophic wildfires, floods and tornadoes. On the other hand, millions are trapped in urban slums and survive by stealing, kidnapping children and trading in black market goods. Street crime runs rampant as territorial gangs fight for status, sex and money.
The current economic and environmental turmoil began back in 2020 when a handful of the world's wealthiest used fake videos and media manipulation to support the election of an administration totally under their control. Within months of the election, the USA republic had been converted to the United States of America Corporation (USACO) which essentially owned the government. Taxes were raised on the poor and middle class while public services programs and social security were eliminated with no regards to the suffering and economic chaos that would follow.
Furthermore, in spite of the continuous onslaught of severe weather and rising sea levels, concerns about climate change remain stringently suppressed by a polished gaslight propaganda machine that promotes nationalism rather than patriotism, further increasing tension with foreign governments and accelerating space weapons development.
Meanwhile, significant progress has been made in artificial intelligence and organic 3D printing. Jasmine, the first New-Human, was accidentally created in 2029 when an intern at the lunar SpeeZees Lab mistakenly activated a newly developed, experimental AI neural net program. The end result was a fully operational New-Human that is now a highly intelligent organic being with tremendous analytical and cognitive skills. Adding to the tension, New-Humans are seeking equal rights with their ancestral counterparts now known as ‘Sapients’ while gangs of AI androids fight for their survival.
The innovative pioneers that operate the Deep Space Mining Moonbase believe that they have a plan that will solve humanity’s problems. The question they face is, Will anyone out there listen?
About the Author
Ron S. Nolan, Ph.D. lives in Aptos, California near the sunken ship at the end of the pier in SeaCliff Beach. He spends his days working out, running, writing and performing tech patent research-quite a leap from his early days in Western Kansas where he shared the farm outhouse with a nest of half frozen rattlesnakes and learned to read by the light of a Coleman lantern!
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
