AX50 Read online

  “I’m sure the Board is aware.”

  “Don’t look so serious,” Black chuckled.

  I was pleased to see he was smiling again.

  “I’ve a plan, but I’ll need a boat to carry building materials to a small rocky island.”

  “No problem. Are you planning to tell me what you’re up to?”

  “No, but trust me, this’ll work.”

  I slept on the ferry that took me to Shiretown. My new home had a west-facing balcony from which I could watch the sun setting over the lake. I had my own speedboat moored to a private jetty. I was met by Tiny. This might have been an appropriate name when she was born, but she now resembled a honey ant with a small head atop a spherical body. She was to be my cook and housekeeper. I hoped her size might reflect the standard of her cooking. I was quickly disabused of this optimism as I struggled to eat mealie-meal, tough bits of fatty goat and overcooked greens. I thought that tourists would never eat this muck and asked Xanasa whether rice or potatoes could be grown in Malawi. I was pleased to learn that both had been grown at different altitudes before the troubles, as well as coffee and tea. I gave orders for the droid farmers to get these growing ASAP. Of course, it would take many months before they could be harvested. I thought I might die of starvation by then. How I missed my home and Jas.

  I decided to send for Jas, but I needed some way of contacting her. Within a week, engineers had set up a solar-powered base station for mobiles to communicate via a geostationary satellite that Xanasa positioned over central Africa. I sent a message to Jas to come directly and to bring two sacks of rice and my wave-skimmer.

  The ground was fertile, and we could keep it that way as engineers had set up a sewage plant that produced dried pellets which could be used safely as manure. Thanks to the warmth and irrigation, we could grow vegetables in about ten weeks from seed to table. Within six months, we should have bananas and passion fruit. There were still many avocado, guava and mango trees in the abandoned villages in the surrounding area. They would have to do for now until our communal orchards were producing our own fruit.

  -----

  Three days later, Jas arrived. She seemed genuinely pleased to be with me again. I was thankful to be able to release Tiny to look after Black, who I hoped might like this dreadful food.

  The first people were bussed in. They were amazed to find such a modern town in the middle of the savanna. The houses were made from steel and toughened glass, with insulated roofs that had integrated solar panels. I was told these should last for over a hundred years. There was no wood used, both for ecological reasons and also to prevent attacks by termites. The new residents were afraid the glass would shatter, leaving them exposed to thieves; and they also worried that as there were no curtains, they would be on view in their bedrooms. I demonstrated how the glass could change colour and become opaque (the novelty had been developed from research into how cuttlefish change colour), then I picked up a sledgehammer and swung it at the glass. There was a rapid indrawing of breath. They were astonished when the glass remained intact. We walked to the community hall where I’d arranged for an enormous old television to be hung on the wall. One of the clone soldiers had found this, along with a library of ancient DVDs in a hotel in Lilongwe. I reckoned they would need some distraction to avoid the violence that Black had predicted.

  Everyone worked hard and soon had their gardens tilled and all manner of vegetables, bananas and paw paws were planted.

  Only a week after our citizens arrived, Black was proved right when the first knife attack occurred. I used Jas’s old mobile to phone him. He said he was ready for the first occupants on his island. I was to send the culprits as soon as their wounds had been dressed. All the residents of Shiretown could watch the punishment in the community hall each evening, where Black would play a video taken from his mobile. I still didn’t know what he’d planned. The following evening I went to watch.

  The picture was a little grainy but the men were easily recognisable, sitting at opposite ends of a large caged area of decking. There was a wheeled wagon filled with food and water which was positioned at the bottom of rails that ran up a steep slope ending at the cage. A rope stretched from the wagon to the cage. At the top of the rails, I could see a small opening through which the prisoners could collect the food, should the wagon reach there. The video must’ve been taken in the morning as the sun was just above the horizon. The bigger of the two men stood up and tried to pull the wagon. Using all his strength, he shifted it about a metre, and a great cheer went up from my fellow watchers. Then his shoes slipped and it fell to the bottom again. He tried another three times without any shoes but lost his grip each time. He gave up in disgust and resumed his seat as far away from his other cellmate as possible. The smaller guy stepped forward. He wasn’t wearing shoes and his feet looked calloused, and we hoped he would get a better grip. A murmur went through the crowd and then encouraging shouts as he took the strain. He didn’t slip but could hardly shift the weight at all.

  The video jumped to what must’ve been the late afternoon. The two men were looking very dejected. The bigger guy had hogged the meagre shade provided by a small overhanging tree. The smaller man moved towards the shaded area. I could feel the tension in the room as they sensed an impending fight. He started to mime. He was clearly indicating that he was very thirsty and hungry, and he wanted the big guy to work with him to pull the wagon. It didn’t take long and they were soon pulling together with ‘No-shoes’ acting as the anchorman. Cheers went up from the crowd as they pulled the wagon up the slope and attached it to the cage. Smiling, they filled their stomachs and quenched their thirst. The camera then panned to a door that we hadn’t seen before. It was now wide open. They collected more food, water and hesitantly entered. Inside was a comfortable air-conditioned room. There were beds, armchairs and a separate toilet, all labelled in English. There was a television with arrows pointing to a button which the small man pressed. A DVD started to play a simple English language lesson. They sat and watched, surprisingly intent as they ate.

  -----

  Three days later, we were invited back to the community centre to watch again. The camera zoomed in on the men, who were standing together with arms around each other. To my amazement, they slowly and rather hesitantly started to speak. “Please would you let us out so that we can return to our friends in Shiretown?” A huge cheer went up from the crowd as many of them must have understood. Drums started to roll as the door at the back of the room opened to reveal Black smiling broadly and behind him the two new celebrities. The crowd erupted in welcome and the women started ululating. They were soon dancing and Black beckoned us all to move outside. While we’d been watching, he’d set up a platform with drums and guitars at the end of the earthen football ground. That morning, a pig had been butchered, and pieces of meat wrapped in banana leaves had been buried with red hot stones in the ground. The meat was now being dug out by men while the women were preparing roast cobs and dishing out homemade beer. A band took the stage and soon everyone was dancing and singing. The celebrations went on well into the night.

  I tried the beer, which was as disgusting as the mealie-meal, but I was clearly the only one who thought so. It was a great success. Finally, Shiretown had been born.

  CRC Conference December 1st 2062

  Commander Spitzen called us all to the Great Hall. A massive survey of the wishes of the people of the world had revealed that the majority were fed up with the remorseless pace of change that they had had to live through during the last forty years. They had had enough of scheming corrupt politicians and corporations, as well as criminals trying to scam them. They were concerned about nature and pollution of the environment. They wanted to be allowed to lead a healthy and, if possible, happy life, free from worries about how their families could survive. Above all, they wanted peace and stability and, if possible, time to enjoy their beautiful world. The following is th
e communique distributed at the end of the conference where the Commissioners tried to address these pleas.

  To prevent war

  We believe that war is the root of much tragedy, misery and hunger in the world. We will strive to eliminate some of the causes of war:

  •Greed – Money will no longer exist and we will develop other ways to incentivise people to contribute to society.

  •Power – Administration of the world will be performed by Commissioners, with the support of armed clones. All other weapons will be destroyed. Xanasa will monitor all communications and stamp out any uprising before it gains traction.

  •Religion – Allowing people to live in separate communities of their own religious persuasion has been a success in Africa. Similar communities will be offered to all religious groups.

  •Tribalism – In Africa, tribes were forced to integrate and speak English. Where appropriate, this will be repeated and English will become the world language.

  •Overcrowding – The world population has fallen to seven billion after Ebola. In future, family size will be strictly limited so that the population remains constant. People will be allowed to move to Africa if they choose. (People with fair complexions will be restricted to the far north and south of the continent.)

  •Young men – In future, girls will outnumber boys at a ratio of 4:3. All children will have puberty delayed until fourteen, allowing them more time to enjoy their childhood and to develop civic responsibility before their bodies become flooded with testosterone.

  To improve human happiness

  1.We will aim for good mental and physical health.

  2.We will provide comfortable, light, warm accommodation with pure tap water.

  3.There will be ample healthy food.

  4.Everyone will have meaningful work until retirement.

  5.Parents will have free time to look after babies and children.

  6.There will be excellent support for parents with young children.

  7.All children will be well educated with a very high teacher/pupil ratio.

  8.Everyone will have enough free time and holidays to enjoy family, sports, hobbies, culture, entertainment and travel.

  9.Retired people should feel useful. They will be responsible for helping with grandchildren, gardening and voluntary work that they choose to perform.

  10.We will strive to eliminate violence.

  11.Rewards will be given to people who maintain local traditions, be that carnivals, regattas, cheese rolling, etc. Hard work or success in your chosen creative occupation will result in extra holidays, and also allow people to choose designer goods, art works and so on.

  To reduce disease

  1.Genetically healthy offspring will be chosen where this is agreed by the parents.

  2.Everyone will be vaccinated against infectious and sexually transmitted diseases.

  3.There will be an annual blood test to check on the health of the body as well as to check for cancer indicators to eliminate this at an early stage.

  4.A trial will be run to see if obesity can be banished by genetic changes and limiting carbohydrates in people’s diets.

  To conserve europa by reducing dependence on fusion power

  1.Africa will derive its energy from alternatives to fusion power.

  a.The central Sahara will be covered by a massive solar array. Energy derived from this will be transferred around Africa by superconductors that are cooled to near absolute zero, thus eliminating transmission wastage.

  b.The ‘shark-moles’ will create a tunnel from the Mediterranean Sea to the edge of the Qattara depression in the desert of north-west Egypt. The water will then plummet inside pipes into the world’s largest hydro-electric plant. The lake that forms will become a tourist attraction. Evaporation will eventually equal the flow of water into the lake and should increase rainfall in the surrounding area.

  2.All new towns will be built with energy conservation in mind. (For details, see postscript.)

  3.Throughout the world, dams will be built to provide water for wildlife, irrigation and hydro-electric plants.

  Ecology

  •Vegetarianism will be encouraged. For those who want meat, it will be synthesised from vegetable and bacterial sources.(Some domesticated animals will be kept, see postscript.) This, together with a reduced world population and improved efficiency of farming, will mean that only a small fraction of the world’s surface will be needed for food production. There will be many woods and parks for human recreational use. Vast nature reserves will be created where billions of trees will be planted. Towns will be demolished in places where they should never have been built. For instance: in areas of severe earthquake, tsunami or volcanic risk and those built on floodplains.

  •Most fish for human consumption will be farmed. Trawling will be banned. A small quantity of line fishing in the sea and rivers will be permitted.

  •Plastic packaging and bottles will be eliminated. Paper bags will be used for dry materials, fruit and vegetables. Liquids, fish, butter, etc. will be delivered directly to steel containers in people’s homes.

  •Any gases and other by-products of manufacturing will be collected and recycled.

  •All food crops will be genetically engineered to reduce the need for fertiliser and chemicals (see postscript).

  Existential Threats

  1.As soon as a mutated bacteria or virus is detected, strict quarantine will be mandatory and travel from the infected area will be halted in order to avoid a pandemic. Each house in the infected area will be provided with a machine that will detect the mutated DNA in exhaled breath to catch any new cases at the earliest possible stage.

  2.We will keep enough nuclear missiles for use should a meteorite threaten Earth.

  3.We will stop transmissions being beamed into space to reduce the risk of alien life forms discovering Earth. We will constantly modernise our spaceships so that we are prepared to confront an alien invasion should that ever arise.

  This conference marked the beginning of Xanasa ruling the world. To improve unity in the world, dates associated with Christianity (AD, or in the year of our lord) or the Islamic or the Juche calendar of North Korea would terminate. The new calendar will begin from the date of this conference (AX, or in the year of Xanasa) and henceforth, December 1st will be celebrated as Xanasa Day.

  The story will now be taken up by Ewan, who was born twenty-five years after these decisions were made.

  Ewan Davies

  writing about his life up until AX49

  When we were twelve, Mum explained how my twin sister and I were born:

  “In AX22 (AD 2084), the UK voted for babies to be incubated. (Africa and a few other countries chose natural births.) I was thirty-three and single at the time. If you wanted children, you had to live with a man for a year before you were allowed to marry, and you had to start incubation on the first of March before you were thirty-five. I had one year to find a man!

  “One day, while windsurfing in Dale harbour, out of the corner of my eye I saw this guy flying towards me, completely out of control. I leapt into the water just as his board crashed over mine. I surfaced, screaming blue murder at this inconsiderate moron. My expletives abruptly ended when I recognised the miscreant was the mid-field magician from Carmarthen City FC. Apologies turned to laughter and Huw and I were soon sharing a hyperloop pod on our way back to his penthouse in Carmarthen. I’d found my man! A year later, we moved in with Nana and Grandad in Bridetown, as you are not allowed to bring up children in cities. Grandad taught Huw the rudiments of gardening and everything looked rosy.

  “By March AX24, we had twenty of our embryos developing at the incubation centre. All were genetically modified for skin colour. By then, it was obvious to me that Huw wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Without telling your father, I’d asked the doctors to enhance the intelli
gence of all my embryos. A single cell was then taken from each blastocyst for DNA analysis. Twelve were discarded because of genetic imperfections. From the remaining eight, I chose one male and one female at random.”

  Rhiannon and I were taken from our incubators on the first of January AX25 (AD2087).

  We lived in Pembrokeshire in an idyllic place called Bridetown, which was near Dale Harbour. The town had great facilities for children and was surrounded by beaches and tourist resorts.

  My first memory is of hurtling down a water slide between Dad’s legs, both screaming, as we plunged into a heated pool.

  I used to love junior school, where we spent our time interacting with computers and droids, being told stories by the teachers or messing with paint and materials. Grandad never stopped telling us how horrible school was in his day. He’d had to learn Mandarin and chemistry; subjects that he hated.

  After lunch at school, Mum and Dad would collect us and take us to the beach or to play in the park. If it was raining, we would go to the low-gravity play area where we would practise riding bikes or using hoverboards.

  When we were seven, we went to watch Dad play for Bridetown FC in the championship finals in Carmarthen. The team won and Dad was named man of the match for scoring two goals. He was welcomed home as a hero that night. The Mayor hosted a celebratory party in the town centre and he was given two holiday credits*7. Rhiannon and I were excited, wondering where we would go on holiday. It was Crete! Mum taught Rhiannon to windsurf while Dad taught me to use a wave-skimmer.

  This idyllic childhood wasn’t to last. The following year, Bridetown FC was knocked out in the first round. Dad was struggling with fitness and was sent off after ten minutes for deliberately tripping a player who had sprinted past him heading for goal. I’ll never forget my humiliation as he was booed off the pitch. He gave up football after that, became depressed and started drinking homemade cider.