Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Six Billion dollar mortgage.


Page Six starts with the mobile city state, New Utonia. I once described it to someone as "a model toy big enough for God to play with". Basically everyone wealthy and important enough gets to live at the penthouse level and everyone else gets crammed in underneath.

But even if you live in a pod with twelve other strangers. Spending half of your time in virtual reality just to stop the sense of claustraphobia from killing yourself (or everyone else around you). It still doesn't come cheap.

Citizenship to New Utonia is mortgaged at a genetic level. Six Billion credits have to be paid off individually by you and/or your descendants. If you die with no progeny to pass on the debt, then your genetic structure is forfeit. The management will decide if you are worth re-shelling into another body or just grown in pieces for replacement organs.

If you're really obstinate about it and dared turn your death into a political statement; they re-shell you into a security simulant. That's basically the nightmare of being aware, amphetimised and paralysed. Your job is to stare at security camera footage and have the brainwaves of your reactions fed to a computer that ascertains whether or not to send the Cyber-Swat Cops around.

Reality TV for the rest of your life with no interaction or freedom.

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