Wake me up in 2395

Chapter 5: To stay connected to a world where everything seems artificial

Chapter 5: To stay connected to a world where everything seems artificial

“Do you enjoy the view that you are seeing?” Lag asked as he piloted the hovercar that we were at. Ako naman ay halos madikit na ang mukha sa windshield ng hovercar habang tinitingnan ang kapaligiran. The place was magical, it was as if we have finally reached the peak of science. The buildings were minimally created, but every design they had, the architecture, and their structure were beyond—it was as if I am living in the future, well, I guess I already and literally am.

Parang nasa ibang dimensyon ako—most buildings were made of glass and they were reflecting advertisements and such, there were signals and warning signs around as well, and everything is orderly—most buildings also have houses on top of them. Everything was screaming of the things that I used to read in Science Fiction books—the architecture of the skyscrapers, the landscape, the technology, and everything else that can be seen. I was mesmerized and at the same time, I felt sad because I felt homesick... Though this is now my new home, I still cannot shake this feeling that I miss the old one. If given the chance, I would go back... But that is impossible unless I make a time machine, which is something beyond my expertness.

“Prim?”

Bumalik ako sa huwisyo nang muling tawagin ni Lag ang aking pangalan, “y-yes?”

“I was asking if you were enjoying the view that you are seeing, and basing on your facial expression, I guess you are.” He chuckled as he continued to maneuver the hovercar as we were in midair. It was as if he was following an invisible path as well, which can be seen at the hologram-like windshield of the car that we were at.

“I actually am.” Pakiramdam ko ay kumikislap na ang aking mga mata. Para akong bata na natutuwa sa aking mga nakikita. Naninibago ako, at sobrang ganda rin kasi talaga ng siyudad na ito. I looked down at us, and saw people. The city was very colorful, and it was more than modern, it was futuristic, as should be, as I am already living in the future. I need to get used to that, medyo paulit-ulit ko na rin kasing sinasabi na lahat ng aking nakikita ay ‘futuristic’. Of course, dumb Primrose! What do you expect? It is already 2395! “This city is so beautiful, and it seems well-maintained, and orderly.” I smiled at Lag. “You must be doing a good job as the city mayor.”

“The view is nicer when it’s night time.” Saad naman niya pagkatapos, at nakita ko ang bahagyang pagngiti rin nito. It seems that he is enjoying to see my amazed face. He kept glancing at me for several times as well before looking at where he is hovering the car at.

Doon na ako napaisip nang sandali. “Lag, how do you make sure that the hovercars do not cross or crash against each other? I mean, there is no physical road or highway that will guide the cars so there is no guarantee that car accidents will be avoided.”

“Actually, the rate of car accidents in Ancora City and the rest of the cities around the world is beneath 1%, and according to the old research papers that I gathered which dates back to the year you used to be around at, there were more accidents back then. Anyway, given the data that I have told you, it means the chances of cars crashing against each other to ever happen is closer to zero and is very rare now.” Dahil sa sinabi ni Lag ay napatingin ako sa kaniya nang may pagtataka. Nahalata naman niya iyon at bahagya siyang ngumiti. It seems like he is enjoying himself to teach me with things about this new world. I guess that is also beneficial on my part, dahil gaya nga ng laging sinasabi ko, kailangan kong matutunan ang lahat ng dapat kong matutunan sa mundong ito. From the technology, culture, norms, laws, and other social aspects.

“While there is no physical road in the sky, as you have said, the hovercars are equipped with a system called Virtual Skyway, VS for short. This system utilizes the dome,” he pointed the fake sky, “which is also fortified with technologies like sensors, detectors, trackers, and such. It’s like a satellite in its entirety, but it just looks like a sky. Anyway, Virtual Skyway creates a specific ever-shifting sky-road for the hovercars by gathering real-time data regarding the hovercars around the city. This system works hand-in-hand with the hovercars’ Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System as well, which ensures that accidents are avoided and if ever a hovercar malfunctions midair, this system will ensure that the car will not crash to the ground, as there is a gravity-magnet located at the bottom of each hovercars.”

“Wala akong naintindihan.” Sagot ko naman matapos ang ilang sandali at nakita ko naman ang bahagyang pagngiti nito, as if he found me amusing. I tried to process everything that he has said and never managed to understand anything. Am I too old for this world? I guess I am, as I am already 400 years old, if we put into consideration about the fact that I was born in 1995, and we are in 2395 already. “Seryoso, wala talaga akong naintindihan.” I pouted.

Lag chuckled. It was heartfelt. Napatingin ako sa kaniyang maamong mukha dahil doon. I looked at him as if he was alien. Hindi ko alam pero nag-iiba ang kaniyang dating sa tuwing ngumingiti siya o tumatawa. He looked more human. When he has his poker face on, he looked identical to the robots. I mean, stoic and emotionless. It is also not like I can tell the difference between his robots and the other robots, as Tiara and Ingrid themselves are very human-like, and they were even given human citizenship on the ground that their secret of being androids is not exposed.

Muli kong pinagmasdan ang siyudad. Ang mga gusali ay nagsisilakihan at may mga sasakyan din na lumulutang gaya ng amin. We passed by several commercial buildings with transparent windows where I saw cubicles with some robot workers—sorting out files, documents, and such. Other buildings also included factories, and the same laborers were robots—they were of silver and metal color, you can immediately tell that they are indeed robots because of how they look, compared to Tiara and Ingrid. They were supervised by some humans.

“Don’t you think that robots are already taking over the world? I mean, I have observed that most of the working force are the robots.” I declared to Lag.

He just shrugged the thought off. “Robots are not taking over the world, they are taking over the work. This means that human beings can live more of their life rather than spending it on factories or work per se. It is beneficial for humans, I guess that is the initial purpose and reasoning that this currently generation is currently affirming, but I take note of this as another issue, in terms of personal development, as humans these days have gone way too lux and idle about many things... Most are also not motivated enough to make efforts and smart with their life choices already, as they are fed with a golden spoon right in their mouth.” He informed, “especially the rich and the noble ones.”

“So, what is the essence of education then? I mean, from where I come from, you study and get educated so that you’ll earn a degree and have a better chance at work, which in return, you’ll gain money to supply your demands and wants.”

“Ah, I forgot to inform of you of the New Capitulum System.” Saad ni Lag.

“New Capitulum System?”

“Yes. In this world, education has gone to be very expensive and it is only those who belong to the top 2 tiers of the social classes who can afford it—the Monarch, the highest, which only composes of the Astarria Family, and the Nobles, which composes of those who are part of the Imperium Government—this includes influential individuals, the big capitalists, politicians, and powerful public figures. I am a part of it, thus, I am a Noble.”

“So, you can afford education. Lucky you.” I mumbled.

“Well, that’s how the world works. Plus, education in this world is not like before. I heard that in your era, you go to school and learn there. Well, in this new world, you do not go to schools. Actually, there are no schools. Instead, you hire Scholars who also undergo rigorous training before they undergo a licensure examination to get a permit to teach for private lessons in your home.”

Tumango lamang ako habang pinoproseso na naman ang mga natutunan. Hindi ko naramdaman ang kahabaan ng biyahe namin dahil habang nasa biyahe kami sa himpapawid ay natututo naman ako.

“So, Scholars are educated too... What tier of the social class do they belong with?”

Tumawa si Lag dahil sa aking tanong. “Scholars are coined for teaching robots with artificial intelligence.”

Halos malaglag ang panga ko dahil sa aking nalaman. “But they get tested and they undergo rigorous training...”

“The test is to make sure that their system is free of glitch. Those who showcase signs of it through the licensure examination, will be rebooted and redone.”

Tumango lang ako, hindi ako makapaniwala sa lahat ng aking naririnig.

“Okay, so we have the Monarch and the Nobles, next from them?” I went back to the social stratification of the new world.

“Oh, the middle tier. Below the Nobles are the Knights, they are the military force of the Imperium Government. Below the middle tier is now the lower tier which includes the Merchants, Farmers, and Craftsmen. And below them are the Peasants... Those who are thrown outside the wall because they have either committed crimes and were stripped of titles and rights, or they have no significant contributions at all to the society and are just liabilities.”

“Thrown outside the wall... So, there is only the higher and middle class inside the city... No lower classes.”

“Yes. It is also a way of the Imperium to control population. As you already know, the world today have limited resources already, the government, therefore, decides who deserves to have a share of it and those who deserve nothing at all.”

Kumuyom ang kamao ko dahil sa aking nalaman. Hindi makatarungan ang bagong sistema na ito. I heaved a heavy breath and looked at Lag, “what does this ‘New Capitulum System’ have to do with the social classes anyway?”

“Ah, that is the part I shall discuss next. Here it goes...” He stopped talking for a few seconds, and then continued. “Depending on your social class, you receive monthly e-cash from the One Bank Union, a branch of the Imperium Government which administers for the economy and flow of currency. The higher your social status is, the higher the amount of e-cash which will be portioned and granted to you,” Nilabas ni Lag ang itim na card mula sa kaniyang bulsa kung saan may nakaukit doon na mga numero kasama ng kaniyang pangalan. It looked like a mastercard. “Since money no longer has any physical form too, it has become electronic as well. You can avail anything with just a swipe of this card, almost everyone, however, have decided to tattoo the code into their skin to make it more convenient for them so they will no longer need to hold unto this e-cash card, but I don’t want to taint my body, so I decided to still use this card.”

This new system and the advancement of technology has truly killed the essence of being human. It killed many cultures that I grew up with. I felt like a complete stranger to this world. I couldn’t even agree well enough to how money is just distributed and not worked hard upon with. Plus, even in the distribution of the money itself, there is already a discrimination based on your social status.

“Is there no chance for those who belong to the lower class to move up their status?”

“Marriage alone.” Saad ni Lag. “But it is not that much encouraged and practiced among many families. The tendency is, whatever your class is—that is also the class of the person you will marry. No one in the upper classes will ever think of marrying someone who is lower from them, because they also think of the benefits, which is close to none. So, they prefer someone from their class or someone above them. It has become a culture.”

“Lag, sinabi mo sa akin na nag-aral ka rin. May I ask what you studied?”

“History.” He smiled, “I am the only Historian in the world because History isn’t much of an option as a discipline for many of High Tiers—many prefers to go for becoming politicians, scientists, inventors, artists and such...” He declared. “But I am fond of the past, of uncovering untold stories and such. It makes me more connected to this world where everything seems artificial.”

Well... He had a point. Everything, indeed, seems to be artificial.

I looked at Lag in admiration. Despite of how unusual this world is, he has still retained his principles in life instead of being eaten by the system. It showed resistance, which I am keen of.

“How about doctors and lawyers? These professions were in demand before too.”

“These professions are already deemed obsolete in this world. Hindi na kailangan ng doktor sapagkat mayroon nang Purifire, a medicine that can cure any diseases, sickness, and illnesses. However, that is expensive. There are also robots who were designed already to be surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, and such. Hindi na rin kailangan ng mga abogado sapagkat ang salita ng monarkiya ang tanging sinusunod na batas. If you are caught going against the law, you will automatically be banished from the city by being thrown outside the walls. There are monitors around the cities which observes and captures, those who are flagged red by the system shall be punished accordingly... So, there is not much privacy, unless you are a monarch or a noble, the middle class are usually the ones monitored 24/7, and that means they can also never complain about their life, otherwise... You know what will happen.” I sensed discomfort and anger from Lag as he said those... By any chance, was he against this kind of oppressive system too?

Lag and I slowly descended from the sky and we went down to the road where many hovercars follow too. So, you have the option to travel via the sky or by land. This is cool.

“Saan nga pala tayo unang pupunta?” Tanong ko sa kaniya.

“I honestly do not know.” Sagot naman niya. “Everything in this city is dull and artificial.” He pointed the trees, flowers, and other plants at the sides of the road which looked clearly as holograms. “And their look shall change as well depending on what the season of the year shall be.” He added. Beyond those points were the buildings again and other complex of booths and stalls. What caught my attention are the cyborgs, or humans who have mechanical parts—bionics has become possible in this world... Well, of course it will be. It was a possibility that my futuristic study foreshadowed. I saw many men with artificial arms and eyes even. The line between machine and flesh has been blurred to dust and while we flew past them, everything also flashed like blurred lines in speed.

“Bionics Engineering has become a reality?” I asked while I was deep in my thoughts.

“Yes, actually, it has become an option for many people who wants to upgrade their body. For example, you want to have a feature to be able to see at night-time without light, or you want to be able to zoom in and out and such, you can have any of your eyes to be replaced via surgery with an artificially-made eye that can function in such way you want—like an artificial eye with a night vision. It has become a convenience not only in Ancora City, but other cities around the five countries as well. There are also other people who sacrifice their legs to have a mechanical leg, which in return, shall make them be able to run faster and such... This is the new reality and trend. The flashier it is, the cooler you shall seem like... But of course, I never took part of that. My body is very natural, and I want it to stay that way.”

“I am glad that you didn’t engage in such surgeries!”

“Indeed.” Ngumiti si Lag, “I am completely normal and natural—in a sense that I have no mechanical parts within me. I am 100% human.”

“I am just curious, though, if you are a product of in-vitro fertilization?”

Lag chuckled, “no.”

I nodded. “I see. So, you are a product of s****l i*********e between your parents.” I said that casually, at bahagya namang namula ang kaniyang tenga.

Masyado na akong nasasanay at natutuwa sa bawat pagngiti ni Lag kaya naman binaling ko na lang muli ang aking atensyon sa labas ng sasakyan. Mula sa likod ng mga matatayog na mga gusali ay kita ko pa rin ang mataas na pader na kumukulong sa amin sa loob nitong siyudad.

“Lag...” I said unconsciously.

“Hmm?”

“Huwag kang magagalit, pero may gusto akong sabihin...”

“Ano iyon?” He asked.

“I want to see what lies beyond the walls. I think the Imperium is lying to us, that outside these walls—there is nothing but wastelands, diseases, and such.”