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Ch 12, SLife: Space Life

Logan yet again found himself awakening early. He had half-wondered if going to bed a little later would mean he was more likely to sleep in, however, that simply didn't happen. Trudging up the stairs to what would have been the ground level of his parents' home, the young man very nearly looked toward the kitchen window before remembering that there was nothing to see outside; the fake window was frosted with light shining it but he was unable to see beyond. He berated himself on the point, wondering at his knee-jerk reaction; what was he even looking for-- to see how high the sun was in the sky?

He rolled his eyes, laughing aloud at the silliness; he wasn't on Earth anymore so there was no sky. Taking a seat and pouring himself a bowl of cereal (or close approximation of molecularity engineered food created to resemble his memory of cereal), Logan thought back to the several views he caught of Earth up in the sky when he was looking out the (real) windows of the Lunar Spire. His mind didn't take long to jump to another thought: the lunar clock was based on the time zones on Earth. Was it possible that his body was still running on the old timezone back before he had his brain scanned?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the implant followed his unspoken request and pulled up a comparison; Logan was astounded to see that he could have been right-- the clock he was following on the moon was two hours ahead of his old timezone on earth. Was it actually possible for his internal clock to transfer from one Corpus to another? It was an intriguing thought he realized he'd have to explore further on a day when he had ample time to occupy himself with other such esoteric-yet-somehow-applicable concepts.

A consistent occurrence every time he had cereal, Logan found himself eating on auto pilot while his brain went through its numerous thoughts, meandering about on any number of topics that had been banging around in his active thoughts, and even perhaps one or two that had been lingering in his sub-conscious. Before he knew it the young man was left with a bowl devoid of cereal and containing a small amount of brownish milk. He smiled to himself at the accuracy of the not-real-cereal actually leaving him with chocolate milk; he finished that off as well and headed out the door.

Still technically early for class even after the extra time he spent goofing off while getting ready, Logan decided to take the long way to class. He'd focused all week on heading straight to the class room, avoiding everyone in the halls and keeping his eyes on the prize but, after several days of being uncharacteristically driven, the young man felt it was time to figuratively stop and smell the roses. The trip felt far more like his first day after Corpus Verto; he meandered down the halls, took an empty lift up a level and spent a few minutes gazing out of the floor-to-ceiling window that captured the perfect view of Earth. At first he thought he imagined it but, after some consideration, he figured it WAS browner than he remembered it being.

With still more than twenty minutes before class, Logan took a casual stroll around the spire before heading back to the lift; it wasn't empty for his second ride. He shared the elevator with a woman he presumed was a few years older than he was; she had curly red hair and freckles. Logan couldn't help but wonder if her Corpus was designed to have freckles since, in most cases that he knew of, they tended to disappear off of faces by twenty, and she had to be older then twenty. His pondering ended when she addressed him. "Hi, Logan. I don't think I've seen you in person yet."

Her voice was pleasant and her demeanor was welcoming but it definitely caught him by surprise. He recovered quickly, even doing a quick check on his implant so he could greet her properly. "Good morning, D'arcy. I usually head straight to class but I decided to go for a walk this morning."

He held his hand out for a moment before realizing that most Trans-Humans really didn't bother shaking; it was strange doing 'introductions' when he already knew her name and she his. Before he could pull back, however, D'arcy reached out and gave his hand a firm shake. Smiling, the woman stated "I'm really glad that you're here. Those of us following Star can tell how much of a difference having you back means to her."

Logan thought after coming to grips with his niece's social media presence was complete until he met someone who was talking to him as casually as if the three of them were family; he realized he wasn't quite as far along in assimilating to the new culture as he thought. As usual, when he was off-balance socially he went straight to humor to cover his awkwardness. "Thanks, D'arcy. I'd like to say I'm glad to be back, but I haven't finished orientation yet."

Although Logan really didn't think it was THAT funny, D'arcy provided him a laugh in response; if it was a pity-laugh it was hard to tell. Smiling, she stepped forward with the lift beeped. "My floor. Enjoy class today, Logan. We're rooting for you!"

It wasn't until she was off the elevator and the doors were closing that he bothered double-checking the information his implant was offering; he apparently had four messages waiting from D'arcy and a 'friend' request. That information disappeared the moment the door closed, helping the young man to realize that, while he still didn't have access to any of the messaging information yet, some additional details could be puzzled through when he was in direct contact with anyone from his social media feed. He acknowledged that information and stored it for later use.

The lift doors opened one more time while he was still two floors from the right level for class and Logan was surprised to see that Pete was waiting to get on. Stepping aside, the young man acknowledged his instructor. "Oh! Hey, Pete. I didn't know you take this elevator to class!"

The amiable black man smirked. "Usually I take the one over at 165, but I saw from D'arcy's feed that she ran into you and, since I was at 170 I figured I'd come this way... it's only a little out of my way and I thought we could chat."

Any other time when Logan was told by an instructor that they 'wanted to chat' it was a surefire way to get his anxiety up but there was something about Pete that didn't trigger that in him. Regardless, he still shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Oh... uh... sure. What about?"

Pete's calming demeanor and ready smile helped restore Logan's peace of mind. "Just to check in. We haven't really talked outside of class much, and I wanted to get some feedback from you about how you think things are going. Since this is the last full day of class I also wanted to see if there were any--"

Logan interrupted. "Last day today? It's THURSDAY, isn't it?"

His instructor laughed. "That's what MY implant says... haven't checked yours?"

The young man did do a check and confirmed that yes, it indeed was Wednesday. "If it's Thursday, then we have two classes left, right? Today and tomorrow."

Pete patiently shook his head. "Today is the last FULL day, as I said. Tomorrow will be a short wrap-up."

Logan was dumbfounded. "So... our orientation class is only, like, four and a half days? And our days in class are pretty much half days to begin already!"

His instructor's professional tone put a pause on the young man's growing anxiety. "Logan... stop."

Looking to Pete, Logan did just that. "What?"

Pete reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're all pretty much ready already. Orientation has done for you what it can do."

"But there's so much I still don't know about the modern world and Trans-humanity! If we only have a day and a half left of class, how am I supposed to pick all that up?"

The ding of the elevator left Logan feeling betrayed; not only was class too short, but his time figuring things out on the lift with Pete didn't do any favors by interrupting the discussion right there. Fortunately Pete continued talking as the two made their way down the hall. "A standard work week is twenty hours or less, and orientation is twenty four hours long. You all get me for five hours Monday through Thursday, and four hours tomorrow. You don't need more than that, Logan."

Feeling suddenly on shaky ground, the young man objected. "But I still have so much more to learn!"

There was some kind of irony in Logan's objections; he used to hate school and couldn't wait for it to end yet, suddenly, he faced the reality of heading to a class he wasn't ready to have end with a teacher with whom he wanted to spend more time. Pete couldn't have been any more Pete-like than he was in that moment, reaching out to give Logan a comforting pat on the back before saying "There sure is... but you don't need Orientation for that. You know enough to get you started."

Although Logan was tempted to stop in the hall and object, Pete's gentle hand, still on his back, kept him in pace. Instead, the young man asked "Then what's with today and tomorrow? What's that about?"

His instructor was ready with the answer. "Today we unlock some of your social media options so you can begin understanding that. We'll be going over some final points to convey and then for homework students will be able to sift through their waiting messages. Tomorrow you take a short competency test over conceptual and applied understanding of Trans-humanity and the effective use of your implant. That's it... then you're done."

As if timing his answer to be just long enough to get the two of them to the classroom, Pete opened the door and stepped in, smiling back to Logan and gesturing him inside. Harper was already standing by the door and so the discussion with Pete came to an immediate end. The star joined Logan in entering the class room but said nothing; he looked... strained. Despite appearing disheveled, however, Harper seemed somehow far more calm and collected than when Logan had seen him the prior afternoon; he hoped it was an improvement.

Like the prior day, Logan took a seat against the wall of the classroom rather than next to Logan, which suited the young man just fine. Just before more students started to filter in, however, Harper cast him a quick comment. "You're looking as popular as ever."

"Uh... thanks?"

The rest of the class filed in, everyone taking their seats as if it were a day like any other. Logan's fellow students chatted with one another, carrying on whatever conversations had started in the hall. Although he wasn't paying attention to any specific topic he did hear a variety of dialogue: someone was talking about changing the color of their wardrobe with a dial; two ladies were talking about a four legged tiger with an English accent (only to be corrected by a gentleman behind them that it was Indian English, and then insisted that there was a difference); two men and a woman toward the front were discussing where they wanted to visit once they could get cleared to travel. The last comment caused a cold pit to open in Logan's stomach.

As if pulling off the bandage in one quick motion, Pete started class with the reveal that Friday would be a partial day and that it would consist of a test followed by full activation of all rights (and responsibilities) of everyone's' implants and social network capabilities. The announcement caused a lot of words to be exchanged between students and Pete seemed completely content to give them a few moments before he continued. "Today, we will also be loosening some of the controls on your social media access."

Another round of whispers arose between the students; it sounded to Logan like several of the students were actively looking forward to exploring the social media program. Others in conversation pointed out that they weren't really into it but might trying it out or perhaps pick at it 'on occasion'. Logan was so focused on the other students that he completely missed that Harper had closed in. Leaning over so he could speak softly, the movie star whispered "Hey-- let's catch up over dinner tonight."

Without waiting for an answer, Harper returned to his seat. At that point, Pete jumped right back into teaching mode, providing a brief review of what the class had discovered the prior day. By the time the second hour of class rolled around, the time had come to discuss their social media accounts. Their instructor started by saying that, once class ended, he would unlock everyone's ability to review the messages they'd received. In addition to it being part of homework, Pete wanted everyone to take the time to go over what messages were sent their way and divide them into at least three different file folders; he would allow students to choose however they wanted to divide them-- it was an important step in preparing for Friday's tests.

As if looking to give his students whiplash, Pete immediately switched from social media directly into the final lesson: societal roles. "As you may have guessed, moving to a post-scarcety society has changed a lot of the social norms Trans-humanity deals with on a day to day basis. To begin, social class has been completely redefined, and the prior understanding of social status along with it. Gone are the preconceived notions of the Capital Class and Working Class, or the early 21st century considerations of Low, Middle and Upper Class. Trans-humanity has redefined roles we each play in the greater whole."

Pacing at a measured place behind his desk, Pete began laying the groundwork for the day's lesson. "The earliest seeds of pre-Trans-Human society were planted during the Early Middle Ages-- the long stretch of time between the fifth and twelth centuries. During that time, Feudalism became the standard social system for much of Europe. In this model, landholders provided land to tenants in exchange for their loyalty and service. As you can imagine, that led to the majority of people having little, and the upper elite having a lot."

At that point, Pete stopped pacing back and forth before turning to face the class. "Around the fifteenth century after three hundred years of wealth continuing to change hands and the rise of global trade, businesses began to accumulate more wealth than any singular individuals, up-ending the centuries of feudalistic rule and gave rise to Mercantilism. Under this socioeconomic concept, the idea that a nation's wealth and power was best served by increasing exports and limiting imports... trade wars began and, in many cases, businesses became proxy weapons. Power became a matter of money, not vice versa, and great wealth was created and destroyed... but Mercantilism didn't last as long as Feudalism."

Returning to his desk, Pete sat down in his chair and kicked his feet up on his desk. "Capitalism emerged in the late 16th century, but didn't really start catching on until after the industrial revolution in the early nineteenth century. While historians argue whether it emerged from western Europe or the Americas, it was an unparalleled introduction of a new socio-economic system that created much more variation of wealth and economic power. As with previous systems such as Mercantilism and Feudalism, Capitalism benefited the 'haves' far more than the 'have-nots'."

The instructor continued his monologue, providing a much clearer and more engaging view of economics than any Logan had ever experienced-- he was talking about the effects on people, not on the bottom line, and that was different. "The already wealthy, business owners, investors, and property owners benefited the most from an outlook that favored profit over people. While the lives of people increased across the board, those who benefited the most were those who already had the most."

Remaining in his seat, Pete laced his hands in his lap as he spoke. "Capitalism was at its strongest from the 19th through 23rd centuries, befitting greatly from modern wars which, toward the end, were waged by corporations as much as by nations. By the time of the Final War, everything was based on a profit margin and return on investment... little surprise that, when everything was destroyed and business couldn't be conducted, society needed another way to function. It was a painful transition for those who lived during that time but, after over a hundred years of running the gauntlet, society emerged into what we now consider a post scarcity society. For the first time in our history, the have-nots benefited more than the haves"

One of the students in the front raised their hand. When Pete motioned to him, the man asked his question. "I've heard that term a lot: 'post scarcity'. It sounds like you're saying that everything is easy to get, or something like that... so... how does that exactly change things?"

Pete laughed in response. "How DOESN'T it change things? Post scarcity doesn't mean that EVERYTHING is readily available... just that all people are able to easily have their basic survival needs met, along with a significant portion of their desires for goods and services. Certainly, things that are not easy to acquire still have an intrinsic value, but life becomes a lot easier when you don't have to worry about a place to sleep, food to eat, or clothes to wear."

Another student spoke up, one of the women in the second row. "So... if things are so easy to come by, who makes them?"

The instructor smiled. "In a post-scarcity society like ours, most goods can be produced with minimal human labor needed and every-day services can be handled by automation-- so it is more a question of 'what' makes them, not 'who'. Where we originally had the Capital Class and the Working Class, now everyone can benefit equally and live without being forced to be part of a workforce."

Harper, out of the blue, shouted out in a strong eastern european accent shouted "Rise up, my oppressed brothers! The proletariat shall defeat the bourgeoisie!"

Pete, rather than showing dismay at the disruption, simply laughed, gesturing to Harper. "And precisely the reason why Capitalism led to the collapse of society-- far too much us-versus-them. Eventually those who have nothing grow to resent those with everything. It's no wonder the human polities ended up so topsy-turvy before things could stabilize with Trans-humanity's new methods."

Lillian interjected next. "Um... Pete? Did you mean 'politics' and not 'polities' right?"

The jovial black man chuckled. "No, Lillian... I meant just what I said. Polities are a form or process of civil government or constitution-- this leads to politics and, more specifically, formations of governments which, in turn lead to politics. Of course, 'polity' can describe any kind of organized society together with its governnance and administration, and the point I'm making is more than just national recognition-- in order for Trans-humanity to prosper, it required a general reset on everyone's outlook and the way humanity did things. It meant ultimately accepting a form of enlightened market socialism which, under the thumb of hard capitalism, was usually considered a dirty term."

One of the guys in the front row spoke up. In that moment, Logan didn't really bother looking up his name but he remembered checking on and finding out he was a business tycoon. "That's because socialism falls apart when it's put to the test... just look at what happened to Venezuela in the 20th century, or socialized healthcare in the UK in the 21st or that horrible Pan-Atlantic Reformation shit in the 22nd. Socialism just doesn't work."

Pete didn't even miss a beat. "An interesting viewpoint, Mr. Muller, and one that was shared a lot by most capitalists up through the mid 23rd century. It's understandable considering the divide between the Capital Class and the Working Class, and all the effort most of Earth's governments put into making the working class fight amongst itself by dividing everyone into Low, Middle, and Upper Income levels... but, in a post scarcity society, you're missing one very important detail."

Mr Muller shot right back, speaking as he laughed. "Well... you're the instructor. Enlighten us."

Taking his feet off of his desk, Pete sat up straighter in his chair. "In Capitalism, the Capital Class had natural resources and the means of production-- land, labor, and capital. Once you eliminated the need for land and capital, all that was left was labor... and anyone can be a source of labor. Once you make it so that some THING can be a source of labor, people have to reinvent themselves because they are no longer defined by 'Owner', 'Investor' or 'Worker'."

From there, Pete began to elaborate on much more advanced economic concepts. Logan felt his brain covered in fog as his eyes glazed over and he zoned out, his mind randomly meandering from topic to topic that popped up in his head and had nothing at all to do with class. Eventually, however, the class came back into focus when Pete tied things back in at the much more down-to-earth one-on one level by saying. "... which is why Trans-humans aren't separated by economic class. With Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs being cut off by two whole levels, life is easier and people aren't fighting for survival."

A question popped up regarding Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Pete took a few brief seconds to explain it, following up with "You can find endless amounts of information on it via the metanet if you want to learn more... but, needless to say, now that Trans-humans don't have to fight to survive, we're given the gift of the opportunity to CHOOSE how we wish to spend our time. In that regard, you could say that we are all technically members of the Capital Class now." He shot a wink at Mr Muller.

Once those words set in, Pete elaborated. "See... in the modern age, there aren't so much classes as 'classifications'-- descriptions on how people choose to spend there time. There are creatives, socialites, builders, organizers, and the experiences. Each different subset of Trans-humanity has an innate attraction to a specific way they like to pass the hours or engage in activities that they find fulfilling.

Creatives tend to produce unique works-- art, music, sim vids, written work... anything that is nurtured by a spark of originality. Socialites spend their time any number of ways-- hosting parties, attending parties, going to clubs... things that engage them with other Trans-humans. Builders like getting their hands dirty-- they make, craft, construct, deconstruct, and otherwise stay busy. Organizers try and keep things running smooth-- a combination of management, activist, and politician types. Experiencers are all about getting out there and trying as many new things as they can as often as they can."

Lillian raised her hand as Pete paused, asking him "Which one are you?"

Pete chuckled, offering a wink in response. "Why should anyone have to be only one? I'm a little of all of them, to be honest... I think when it comes down to it, most Trans-humans are. You could say right NOW I'm an Organizer because I'm helping all of you learn, but later today I'll be a Creative because I'll be editing my sim-feed. After that I'll probably head out to a club at the base of the spire to get my Socialite fix." As he spoke the last words, Pete accentuated them with a really poor pantomime of doing some dancing; it got a laugh out of most of the class.

After a short lull in the conversation, one of the students in the back row on the opposite side of the room from Logan asked. "Pete... how do we find out what we are?"

The smile on Pete's face disappeared as he addressed the question seriously. "Well... that's something you'll find out for yourself. A lot of Class 1s take weeks or months to figure out what makes them happy-- I can't imagine living in a world where you stuff your own wants and desires down in order to do so much for so little just so you can have your needs seen to. Maybe that's one reason why I like to help out here at Orientation; you're fresh out of Corpus Verto and you're about to experience an entirely new life.

Either way, nobody here in this day and age are going to tell you what you have to do. At some point you'll find your own direction and find your own happiness. You get to spend your days doing what you like and get a job if you want that brings you fulfillment like being here with all of you does for me. Maybe you won't get a job, and find some other way to fill your days with something that you find engaging and worthwhile."

Logan spoke up for the first time that class session, asking the question that had haunted him from his previous life to his new one. "What if you don't know what you want out of life?"

Pete turned to face him, the serious expression on his face still present but, along with it, was that little childlike twinkle of joy shining in his eyes. "That's the beautiful thing about being part of Trans-humanity, Logan. You have no reason to rush to have an answer to that question. You are going to have the rest of your life to find the answer... and Trans-humans can live a very, very long time."

Logan was sure that Pete meant the statement to be reaffirming or inspiring, but the smallest ice-cold rock settled in his stomach; he began to realize that, despite all of the shiny novelty of the new century in which he found himself, at the most basic level, the young man was no further along being a 'real, life adult' than he was before he'd had his brain scan. Life was easier, but did that mean he would have less incentive to actually do something with himself? He didn't realize until after he asked himself that what the significance was: someone ELSE had always been the one to ask him that-- he was suddenly the one questioning when he would push himself out of idle. It was progress... hopefully.

As class slowly slid to a close, Logan was pulled out of his introspection when his HUD provided him with a notification that he had 9,002 messages waiting for him. Pete concluded things with "And, now that you've all learned a high level overview of the new society in which you find yourself, I think it's time for you to go ahead and meet your neighbors. You are officially able to review the messages you have waiting, but you can't reply and can't post on LHM until after the test tomorrow. Take some time to get yourself used to how the system works and get a feel for the rest of the residents of the Spire; most of them are eager to get to know you. Finally, be sure you remember: have fun with it."

Logan remembered the last time someone said 'Have fun with it.' to him-- it was right before the first and only time he went on a roller coaster. Logan since learned that he hated roller coasters.