Consolidation
© Evan Mason

Today is January 1st, 2100. It is Consolidation Day. This seemingly mundane business term is being used to costume the real agenda, which to be quite blunt, is rather unsettling. It was exactly a year ago when the President of the World Federation (W.F.) made the most important address in the history of the human race.

I, Dr. Devon Henderson, am writing in this e-journal to attempt to explain the events of this monumental decision destined to change the human species forever. As a Ph.D professor of global economics, I am able to provide valuable insight into world affairs in hopes that this journal will withstand the test of time and survive into a future where our society may change for the better.

The President’s announcement came as a shock to all of those outside of the government. It had been fifty years since the last democratic regime fell, and forty years since the W.F. was created. Earth had been divided into nine regions in attempt to equalize the size of each government and the power that each possessed. The archaic time of countries fighting over resources, religion, and other primitive ideals was over. Each region was now ruled by a viceroy to establish the Council of Nine, and they worked in tandem with an “elected” W.F. President to manage the planet’s government. The catch was, however, that the “election” of the President was far from democratic – only those meeting certain economic and academic requirements were allowed to vote (about 1% of the population), and the viceroys were then appointed by the President. One can easily see how this led to a true authoritarian government despite an illusion of simplified democracy.

I still remember walking through the streets of Chicago when the President’s face suddenly materialized on the video-board nearby; everyone stopped, as usual, and took notice when his face appeared. It was then that he delivered the address that would change humanity forever. He sat quietly at his wooden desk with his arms folded and faced the world, clearing his throat and focusing his stoic gaze before beginning his speech. Recordings were later made available so “no one would be confused,” and I will now copy his words in their entirety.

“My fellow Earthlings, I speak to you now in a time of immense struggle. As you all are well aware, our planet has been pushed to its limit. With twenty billion human beings now inhabiting this world, life as we know it is no longer sustainable. Technological advances in robotics, medicine, and nanotechnology have been ignored and withheld to try and make sure the life expectancy has not risen to further increase the population. Our goal as a species remains to be focused on continual advancement and that has come to a halt with most of our world assets being spent on food, shelter, and medicine for the overgrown population.

But do not fret, The Council of Nine and I, over the past few months, have discussed a plan to help our species regain its rightful evolutionary path. It has been decided that one year from today will become known as Consolidation Day.

The first step is population control. We will begin by reducing the number of citizens from twenty billion to nine-hundred million, one-hundred million per region, in a matter of seconds. Five years ago, most should recall that every W.F. inhabitant was embedded with a small nano-device used for identification, geo-synchronous tracking, and monetary transfers… A signal can be sent to these devices to incur a powerful electric charge directly to the brain. This method was deemed the most humane way to…reduce the population. You may think that this would destroy the global economy, but in reality, the advancements in robotics have left our society without a need for human labor and thus without a need for a large populace.”

I vividly remember this was the point when everyone around me started to grow alarmed, yet no one did anything but focus on one of the numerous video-screens. A chill shot down my spine as we all forced ourselves to watch further.

“The second step is the re-allotment of resources. Once the population is under control, all assets will be seized by the W.F. and re-distributed in an equal fashion to all citizens. Our currency will be discontinued along with all other systems of monetary exchange. Instead, each citizen will be allotted funds according to their living status: single, family, etc. Everything from healthcare to education will be funded by the W.F. for each member of society, and future occupations will be chosen based upon written and oral examinations. The elimination of our currency and, ultimately, capitalism will allow our society to focus on new technology without the constraints of cost.”

This was a big blow to most people, because even though we had abandoned democracy, capitalism was still living strong in our world economy. To hear that everyone would be fiscally equal did not sit well, and constant grumbles of, “What’s the point then,” were routinely heard. The individual was seemingly being sacrificed for the whole.
“The third step is the implantation of new technology that was previously halted or withheld. Much advancement has been slowed and even stopped by our way of life, and the W.F has decided that this is unacceptable if our species is to continue to grow. The average lifespan today is 102.14 years and has been kept low on purpose to help control population. After Consolidation Day and the implementation of medical technology that has been previously gone unused, the lifespan will nearly double to 192 years. Within the next fifty years, it is hoped that that number will increase to 250 or more. Every citizen will be outfitted with new organs grown from stem cells whenever they are needed, robotic parts when biology fails, and nanobots to increase strength, endurance, and even intelligence.

Our growth into the solar system has also been slowed. This too will change after Consolidation Day. Our aged moon base will be immediately replaced with a state-of-the-art facility that will house ten thousand along with providing services such as research, energy mining, and spaceship refueling. It is our hope to have a sustainable base of fifty-thousand on Mars by 2110 and similar bases on Jupiter’s moons, Titan and Europa, by 2115. These bases will be used as launchpads for exploration outside of our solar system to continue our search for extraterrestrial life. The future of our species relies on our space travel and technology. With no burden of cost, our scientists will be able to reach new heights more quickly and efficiently.”

After this portion of the President’s speech, the plan did not seem like such a bad idea. Well, other than the mass murder of 19.1 billion people.

“Now we reach the issue of who will be continuing on into humanity’s new future. As you all well know, if a nano-device is removed, the person will die instantly from the explosion created by an interaction with the outside air. Our W.F. scientists have created a new implant, a signal blocker, which will enable those chosen to receive it to avoid the signal on Consolidation Day. Ninety percent of the 900 million chosen will be selected based upon a combination of their occupation, academic rank, skill level, and contribution to society. The remaining ten percent will be chosen at random through a lottery to give every citizen a chance to move forward. More information on the selection process will be revealed in six months time.

The reasons for this historic change are vast and intricate, but I will attempt to summarize. Our primary goal as humans is the advancement and survival of our species. If our path remains unaltered, we will surely fail, and Consolidation Day will give our species the opportunity it needs to succeed.

I know this news will come as a complete shock to most of you and leave you wondering how this decision could even be possible. Our world is a different place than it used to be, and times are troubled. This decision was not taken lightly and was deliberated over for many months before passing in the Council on a five to four vote. I, myself, am also in favor. I understand that many of you will attempt to rebel, will stop working, and will do what you feel you must to prevent what’s coming. However, we have executed a plan that will prevent dissention. If you quit your job, someone will replace you, human or robot. If you attempt violence or a rebellion of any kind, you will be eliminated as a traitor of the state. This decision is final. My recommendation to all of you is to continue to go about your days and live life to its fullest.”

Despite the President’s words to continue living in the same way; the world as we knew it seemed to come to a standstill after his address. I can remember walking into my office at the university without seeing a single student and only occasionally I saw a faculty member. It seemed that people were beginning to “live life to the fullest” by not completing any obligations.

After three months had passed, even I could not continue with my work and decided to remain in my home. News stories flashed on my video-screen day after day of mass suicides, attempted rebellions, and those trying ingenious ways of removing their nano-devices, which were always met with gruesome failure. I considered myself lucky that I was unmarried and most of my family had already passed, leaving me without strong emotional ties to anyone that would upset me to a more full extent.

By the time the six month address was about to be given, everyone had ceased any semblance of their previous lives and most remained indoors. Robots had taken over all necessary occupations and were performing admirably in keeping the world economy in order. It really did seem that the majority of humans were not needed at all. It was noon when the President appeared on the video screen in my living room for his much-awaited second address, and I will again copy his words in their entirety.

“My fellow Earthlings, it has been six months since I last spoke to you and detailed the plans for Consolidation Day. The goal of this dialogue is to explain further the selection process and the lottery method, but first I want to address the amount of unrest that has been occurring. I am deeply saddened by many of the methods that have been used, and the events the have transpired since my announcement. The Council had originally suggested that I give the address only minutes before the electric signal, but I did not feel that was the proper action. I felt that if given a year, all citizens could accomplish most of what they wanted out of life and come to terms with the decided future. However, I see now that I may have been naïve.

I have recently been given numbers that are both alarming and upsetting. Ten percent of the world’s population has already been lost to suicide and attempted rebellions. (The President sighed heavily at this point, and I thought it was worth noting). This was far from my intention, and I now regret causing distress. I was firmly confident that in our modern society, all citizens would understand the motive for Consolidation and accept the fate for the greater good of our species. Again, I was naïve. However, the plan will not be abandoned.

Previously, I had stated that ninety percent of those chosen would be selected based upon certain criteria. These citizens have all been picked over the past six months and starting tomorrow, will be contacted and given an appointment to receive their blocker implant. It is possible that others may turn violent against those chosen, and thus the process will be undertaken in an undisclosed method so as to ensure the safety of all those receiving the new implants. If you are one of those selected, it would be advantageous to keep that information to yourself as there were no concessions of any kind relating to co-workers, friends, or even families. All individuals were selected upon their own merit except in the case of gender where a ratio of one woman per man was instilled.

The lottery process for the remaining ten percent will be conducted as follows. All W.F. citizens qualify for selection regardless of age, race, or gender. Every citizen’s individual identification code will be listed into a computer registry, and three months from now, ninety million codes will be randomly selected. These residents will then be notified in a similar fashion as those who were chosen based upon merit, and the same restrictions will apply. However, I strongly urge all of you to not focus on the lottery as the chances of being selected are slim.

I will again speak with all of you on December 31st for a final message. It has been determined that the shock signal will be transmitted at noon World Standard Time (WST) on January 1st. Again, I urge all of you to live life to its fullest and take advantage of what time you have left.”

The video-screen’s signal stopped with the President still staring out at the viewers, and I quickly slammed my fist onto the polycarbon table next to me. I’m not normally an emotive man, but it was hard to take in any more words from a President I did not vote for. After a few deep breaths, I calmed myself and stared forward at my blacked out video-screen.

Now, I would like to try and explain the events leading up to the President’s decision and attempt to decipher some truth based upon my knowledge of world affairs. A short history lesson will prove the most valuable, and I will begin in the year 2022 at the start of World War III. As the years moved on in the early 21st century, war seemed to be inevitable between the United States and China. The Chinese seemed to disregard all environmental and humanitarian issues leaving most of its citizens stricken in poverty and sickness despite their explosive economic and militaristic growth, and the United States had waned with a financial disaster that left the government without solid funds for important sectors of the country. The gap between the two seemed to close completely when China landed its first man on the moon in 2022 and began work on the first-ever permanent lunar base. Citizens in the United States were outraged at the loss of such a great potential advancement and were left in fear when it was announced that Russia would be joining the Chinese on the moon, but no “Western” countries were welcome. This in itself did not start the war, but was, in my opinion, the warning sign that signaled the downfall of the United States and ultimately democracy. World War III technically began when China fired a missile on Taiwan after countless years of threats warning that if the country did not return to Chinese control, they would suffer the consequences. The U.S. had guaranteed Taiwanese independence, and the rest, they say, is history.

Ten years of fighting left all the “top” countries of the world in a weakened state even though the U.S.-side had ultimately won. In 2033, the U.S. economy collapsed because of the war and never really recovered. The European Union market crumbled only months later. Sadly, democracy reared its ugly side, and the people of the U.S., U.K., and Germany all voted for the new “Savior Party”, which was for all intensive purposes, a totalitarian regime. One can never be sure of what can happen in the most troubled of times, and the near impossible seemed to happen with the abolishment of the U.S. Constitution in 2034 followed by the enactment of the U.S. Order of Right in 2035. From that moment on, the U.S. had an emperor, required citizens to have certain qualifications to vote, and restricted the civil rights that had made the U.S. a global leader. The rest of the democratic governments had fallen in similar fashion by 2050. Thereafter, the authoritarian leaders of each country implemented a plan to form a world government, and it was decided in 2060 to create the W.F. and divide the world into nine equal regions. The leaders of the major countries in each region became the first viceroys, and the U.S. emperor was elected the first W.F. President. To appease the other country’s rulers, they were given vast amounts of money and special positions of “regional magistrate” that ultimately served no purpose other than projecting a status of power.

Now that the W.F. had been created and war between countries had been eliminated, it was hoped that humanity could focus all of its resources on the advancement of the species, including medical technology and space travel. This dream was never realized, however, as the new government quickly discovered there were more problems than they had anticipated. Constant rebellion, overcrowding, famine, and disease ran rampant across the globe and by 2090, 95% of the world’s GDP was spent on food, fresh water, medicine, and housing. It was clear that human civilization was becoming unsustainable, and stagnation was eminent.

When the facts are examined it can be seen why the President has made his declaration of Consolidation Day. Ideologically, it may even seem to be rational for the future of our species. Without a high population, currency, or war, and automatons to provide menial services, the human species would be spending most of its resources on innovation and furthering its evolution.

As a professor, I can agree that our race seems destined to fail or, at best, remain constant. I can also confirm that the new society the President has outlined will be the best we could hope for and will probably advance us to previously unobtainable and unthinkable heights. However, at what cost? Can the killing of 19.1 billion people be justified?

The President’s promise of selection and lottery was fulfilled in the coming months. Despite his warnings, many of those chosen were identified and murdered by those jealous of their status. In the end though, rebellion of any kind was no use, and when November came, it seemed all of society had accepted its fate. A funny thing even happened as life was no longer taken for granted. In fact, most people seemed happy now that they did not have any cares or worries and could do whatever they pleased. I, myself, even went on an orbital Earth trip despite my motion sickness. Everyone seemed pleased with life until they were tugged back into reality on December 31st when the President again addressed the world.

“My fellow Earthlings, I am honored to have the pleasure of speaking with all of you again. I have been pleasantly surprised by the actions you all have taken to remain content with our situation. I know it cannot be easy. By now, all those selected to continue on have been alerted and injected with the blocker device. I again urge all of you chosen not to disclose that information to anyone.

Tomorrow at noon (WST) the electric signal will be sent to the nano-devices. Soon after, all former assets of those deceased will be transferred to the W.F. and our new future can begin. Those of you that have the blocker device should report to your local courthouse to obtain all necessary information for your new life. (The President then stopped talking and stared straight forward).

I deeply regret that this decision had to be made, and from the bottom of my heart I wish you all the best. I can promise that your sacrifice will be for the betterment and even survival of our species. (The President then looked down slightly as the video signal faded).

I didn’t sleep that night, and I doubt anyone did. How could anyone, knowing that at noon so many people would drop dead? My morning was spent alone, and I made myself a breakfast of waffles, synthetic eggs, and powdered orange juice. It was at this time that I wished I had someone to share the time with, and I rarely desired such a thing.

10:31 and I have just gotten out of the shower. I continue to write to document my body’s reaction to the coming event. I have thrown up numerous times, my head is throbbing, and my heart has been racing for hours on end. They are symptoms probably felt by every world citizen at this moment, and that makes me feel slightly better. It’s nice to share in the emotion of fellow humans, despite it being negative.

It’s 11:59 now. Only one minute until the most massive genocide ever seen on this planet. Robots have already been assembled and assigned to round up all of the bodies after the signal and have them sent for incineration. Part of me still cannot believe it has come to this. The President said this was to better our species, but I think it’s clear to see how far we have fallen. Only a few seconds now before I make my contribution to Consolidation Day.