2156 Page 2

  Each citizen got a series of injections to avoid contracting any number of contagious diseases. Information soon leaked that one of the injections contained a microdevice. This device entered the bloodstream and lodged in a kidney. The Council claimed this intrusive program would promote world health and prevent crime. It tracked future fertility rates, identify new plagues and prevented hostage-taking and kidnapping. To the average citizen, the security and safety features of this program seemed reasonable. Besides, it didn't cost anything and didn't hurt. Once it was in the body, it was forgotten. There was no reason for the average person to protest its implantation. What the average citizen didn't realize was the injected microdevice was part of a devious plan. With a device lodged within each citizen, the World Council could watch and track everyone.

  World government replaced the individual as the most important piece of society. By the mid-22nd century, all countries and geographic territories acquiesced control and governance to the World Council. The average citizen didn't care for the heavy-handed tactics of the World Council but willingly followed its dictates to move beyond the horrific memories of FISS. Giving up a small bit of freedom and self-determination was easy when done in exchange for the security and safety provided by the World Council.

  The entire world landscape made a radical change in less than one hundred years. And it all started with an unexplained change in human sexuality.

  Chapter Two

  2156 A.D

  Rodolfo Sweats left his office at Phoenvartis Corporation in Zurich, Switzerland, at nine o'clock and headed to a local restaurant for a late-night dinner before going home. Another twelve-hour day had left him exhausted. He was in dire need of a soaking shower and a restful night's sleep before returning to work early the next morning.

  The thought of playing hooky tomorrow crossed his mind. Routine seventy-hour work weeks were too demanding and stressful. He was aging prematurely with gray hair, wrinkles, and stooped shoulders. At 36 years of age, he felt 65. Each time he stood in front of a mirror he could see the signs of aging which were catching up with his mental exhaustion in record time.

  The money and prestige of working at Phoenvartis were fabulous. The world was in the midst of an economic recession and jobs like his were few and far between. As the senior vice president in charge of theoretical medical advancement, he was making over 350,000 world credits a year. On top of that were a healthy bonus, free housing, and vehicle. Compared to the boom years of twenty years before, his compensation was meager. But, compared to most corporate executives in 2156 he was doing very well.

  When he compared his compensation to fellow Stanford classmates he was at the top. He was making three times more than the average alumnus in his graduating class. This wasn't due to a superior IQ, pronounced creativity or overwhelming greed. It resulted from choosing to work in Switzerland, one of the few areas left in the world with little interference by the government. The tiny country still operated under the mandates of capitalism. Government involvement in business and the lives of its citizens was minimal. And socialism was repeatedly rejected in favor of economic freedom.

  Switzerland, along with three other geographic areas, formed the Free Zones of Cooperative Thought. Of the four, only Switzerland maintained the same borders it had for hundreds of years. The other three zones were pieced together from former countries or states. Texas and parts of Louisiana, former states in old America, formed Zone 2. Bangkok in southern Thailand to Phnom Penh in southern Cambodia became Zone 3. The country once known as South Africa with about 20% of southern Zimbabwe, also known as colonial Rhodesia, formed Zone 4.

  All four zones were tolerated by the World Council. They were immune from the social and economic dictates issued by the World Council to the rest of the world. The Council viewed the Free Zones of Cooperative Thought as a necessary evil. They were the only areas which produced new and innovative ideas and products.

  New ideas and products blossomed in the zones. These innovations included cures for infectious diseases, bio-technical advancements, and new housing systems. In exchange for this continuous stream of new ideas, the World Council allowed the zones to operate with unfettered autonomy. It was rare when they stepped in to override or punish the zones for being too independent or anti-government.

  Rodolfo's decision to leave the former United States and work in one of the zones made perfect economic sense but was hard on his personal life. Most of his family and friends were still in the Macon, Georgia area of old America. It was difficult leaving them behind. What made matters worse was the reaction by many of his family members. Relatives who were staunch supporters of "papa government" were especially opposed to his decision. They didn't want any family member living in a location where the government didn't control each citizen's life from birth to grave.

  Too many of his family and friends were dependent on the government-supplied housing, food and health care. In exchange for these free necessities of life, they swore allegiance and support to Papa. The freedom they sacrificed to get this lifestyle was given up in the name of security and safety. Anyone like Rodolfo was considered a traitor to papa government. His decision to move to a free zone was harshly criticized or considered good riddance by a few family members.

  Even his brother considered Rodolfo's decision to move to a free zone as a slap in the face to the Sweats family. The family heritage had always been one of supporting big government. It started after the American Civil War when the central government in Washington D.C. reneged on its promise to provide former slaves with a mule and 40 acres of land. From that point forward, every member of the Sweats family supported the politician who offered the most in government handouts. It could be food credits, rent-supported housing or some other form of welfare. It didn't matter that they voted against President Lincoln's party which freed the slaves. All that mattered was getting their fair share of free hand-outs.

  As the Sweats family helped to put more of these politicians in office in exchange for more government benefits, the central government grew in power and influence over every citizen. It was a vicious circle where citizens incrementally exchanged personal rights and liberty for more and more handouts. Old America and most other countries of the world became government dominated. This was all done in the name of fairness or the false pretense that no one person should have more or less than his neighbor. The real result was that this artificial equality left everyone, except the leaders of the World Council, equally poor.

  From an early age, Rodolfo was the outcast of the Sweats family. He didn't want to live at the will of the government. He wanted to make his own way and receive compensation for his efforts. The thought of getting the same compensation no matter how much or little he worked was repulsive. Being told to share the fruits of his labor with someone else because it was the fair thing to do infuriated him. He wanted to be his own man, responsible for creating his own destiny. So the decision to enter the yearly lottery to get one of the few slots allocated for relocation to a free zone was a logical, rather than emotional, decision.

  But, after ten years in a Free Zone, he was beginning to question his decision. Certain aspects of his life were unfulfilled with no solutions in sight. He lived in a geographic area which allowed, valued and encouraged freedom but was that true in all facets of life? He had the freedom of thought for economic advancements but did his personal life have the same freedom for self-enjoyment?

  As he walked through the city center streets of old Zurich, he passed the enclosed garage where his company-provided hover vehicle was stored. This was a perfect example of the personal freedom question he was debating with himself. He never used the hover vehicle to go to or from work because he lived within walking distance of the corporate office. His demanding schedule left little time to take the hover vehicle and explore areas of Europe. Since moving to the zone, he had only been able to break free from the demands of his job to see Paris over an extended holiday weekend. On another mini holiday, he v
isited a half dozen small hamlets and towns in Switzerland. Otherwise, the hover vehicle sat in its stall collecting dust week after week.

  But overriding everything else, the lack of free time was limiting his chance to develop a meaningful relationship. Not having a female partner was beginning to weigh heavily on his subconscious and affect his well-being. Sure, he had dated a few women since moving to the zone but none of those relationships lasted more than a month or two or got beyond the third date. He wanted to know exactly what the problem was. Was he not devoting enough time to building the relationship or was he ill-equipped to relate socially and culturally with European born and bred women?

  A possible solution was to find an attractive American woman in Zurich. He quickly dismissed that thought for he knew no such creature existed in the Swiss free zone. He often joked with himself that of the three attractive American women in Switzerland, one was married and the other two were lesbians. The bottom line was that he was getting tired of spending time with available women on fantasy communication stations at a cost of 100 world credits per hour. He needed to discover how to relate successfully to European women.

  His deductive mind went to work over-analyzing his dilemma. The first step was to assess the potential reasons why he was having such difficulty establishing a permanent relationship. Were his darker skin and minimal Negroid facial features the real reasons? Swiss women were supposedly refined and very liberal. But was it possible that they had yet to accept interracial dating and meaningful relationships between races? If that were true, why did they bother to go out with him in the first place? Could it be that they wanted only a free meal and entertainment at a local theater? Or, did it take them two to three dates to realize Rodolfo had Negroid ancestry?

  Either explanation was plausible. Times were tough economically with high unemployment. For most Swiss women, dining at an upscale restaurant and enjoying exotic foods was a treat far beyond their limited budgets. If they could spend the night at the opera house or theater, that would be something they could remember for the rest of their lives. Plus, they could impress their friends at the next gossip session.

  There was another feature which might explain the average Swiss woman's reaction to him. His body did not follow the normal features of European Caucasian men. He had a sprinter's body with long legs, massive thighs and lean yet tightly bound calves like a Cheetah. His upper chest and arms were overly muscled even though he didn't spend much time in the gym working out. And his butt was tight and well-defined compared to men of European ancestry.

  There was nothing wrong with his body. In fact, Rodolfo liked the way he looked standing in front of the full-length mirror after showering. This chiseled frame served him well when it came to running track and playing wide receiver in high school and college.

  He guessed that his time in the 100-meter sprint was the best in Georgia high school history. Also, his 32 touchdown catches as a high school senior had to rank in the top ten nationally.

  Unfortunately, statistics and scores were outlawed under the "Everyone Is a Winner" law passed 115 years earlier. Rollie thought that not keeping athletic results was stupid. Every one of the athletes knew who was doing well and who wasn't. So what if some performed better than others? Wouldn't that entice everyone to train harder and improve?

  He soon realized there were other people keeping unwritten notes of his performance on the track and football fields. The premier universities which still had athletic teams knew exactly what he could contribute to their teams. Stanford and several other universities were overly generous when recruiting him. Those schools didn't care if they broke the laws governing athletic competition. They were hot-beds of socialistic thought, so they made a quid-pro-quo deal with the government. Turn a blind eye to our athletic programs and we'll support everything the government creates.

  Regardless of his athletic prowess, he accepted the fact that Swiss women may favor the physique of European men. Their lower butts and less muscled upper body might be appealing to these women. It was possible that his body build was too different or odd for Swiss women.

  His last thought on this subject was that his name might also prompt women to think of his Negroid ancestry. European women were generally well educated, but were they savvy enough to know that Sweats was a slave name? That its roots were from cotton fields of early America and the sugar cane fields of the Caribbean islands during the 17th to 19th centuries? How many European men were named Rodolfo and had a last name which described a body secretion? Well, it didn't matter. It was a little late in life to petition the central government for a name change. Besides, they wouldn't allow such a thing for a frivolous reason like finding a girlfriend. His nickname of Rollie would be as close to a non-slave name as he was going to get.

  The walk from his office to the Schwarzenbach Tavern was about a mile-and-a-half and took less than fifteen minutes. He could have taken public transportation, but he needed the exercise and fresh air. An early evening stroll along the Limmatquai Promenade, which hugged the east and west sides of the Limmat River, was refreshing and made him feel alive. Although he was jealous of the hundreds of people dining together on the outdoor patios, it helped to minimize his own personal problems. If these people could develop relationships, then he should be able to do so.

  When he arrived at the Schwarzenbach Tavern the crowd was light compared to most weekday nights. He scanned the crowd hoping to see someone he knew so he wouldn't have to dine by himself.

  He was still searching the crowd when the hostess approached and asked in labored English with a heavy German accent, "Good evening sir. May I show you to a table?"

  Rollie thought about leaving the tavern but the idea of spending another night alone was too depressing. He needed to stay at the tavern to postpone the loneliness which awaited him at his apartment. It didn't matter that all the faces in the tavern were unfamiliar. Just having other people around was enough to make him feel like an important part of humanity.

  "Yes, I'll take a table for two, please." There was no one scheduled to join him but telling the hostess a small white lie made him feel better and self-confident.

  Rollie ordered a traditional Swiss entree and lager beer from the menu. He spotted the local Beobachter newspaper on a nearby empty table and started to thumb through it to pass the time. It was printed in German which he knew enough to figure out the main topic of each article. The Beobachter was one of only three newspapers left in the world which printed paper and electronic versions. Rodolfo liked reading paper newspapers. There was something comforting and controlling about holding it and manipulating the pages any way you wanted.

  After a few minutes, he put the paper down and looked up. He felt eyes watching him. He looked across the tavern to confirm his intuition or cast it aside as a minor form of paranoia.

  At first, he didn't see her even though her staring could not have been more obvious. He might have been expecting a man's gaze but not a woman’s. For whatever reason, it took about a minute before their eyes locked.

  Her gaze was so intense that he felt violated. He looked down again at the newspaper to break the contact. He wasn't reading the newspaper; he was wondering if he knew this woman and if she was really looking at him. He looked behind his table for anyone else who might be the object of this woman's attention. The only people seated behind him were two elderly women getting drunk on cocktails and chatting about the latest gossip.

  His curiosity and confidence returned so he looked across the tavern toward this woman. He found her staring again directly into his eyes. This time she gave him a thin smirk. Otherwise, she did nothing to change her stare even though there were two women at the table trying, in earnest, to get her attention. He could almost read her thoughts. She had no desire to be with these two women and whatever they were talking about held no interest for her.

  He wondered what to do. Should he walk over, introduce himself and save her from the two chatterboxes accosting her? Or should he s
it tight and let her make the first move? As he pondered this question another observation caught his eye. This woman was dressed entirely in black. She wore a tight, tailored dress with black high heels which he could barely see below the table. The string of beads or stones around her neck were also black as coal. And the purse lying on the table in front of her was shiny black patent leather.

  A black outfit was understandable on a dreary winter night, but worn on a summer's evening was unusual. Warmer temperatures normally brought out colorful clothes worn by men and women. Regardless, Rollie found the all-black outfit very sexy. It was the perfect match to highlight her rich black hair which flowed in curls past her shoulders. The final piece was her dark eyes which appeared to be ebony from across the restaurant.

  This woman's continuous visual fixation was alluring and sexual. It made Rollie feel very self-conscious. So much so, he knew eating dinner with her eyes watching his every move would be impossible.

  He got the impression that the other two women at her table would not allow any interruptions. They were so vested in holding the woman in black's attention that if he tried to interrupt, they would become hostile and tell him to shove off. They reminded him of two wolves who finally cornered their prey and wouldn't allow anything to interrupt their feeding frenzy. It was a no-win situation for him. If only the woman-in-black would take the lead and do something or give him a hint of what she wanted.