This is an unfinished story. I just wanted to try something different.
THE LONGERS
Dynessa was weirded out. She knew that upcoming on February 1, 2203, she would have her final opportunity to procreate. And if she missed that, well... this would be her last chance ever.
Dynessa wondered if family living would dye out forever, because now that 40% of human life were Longers who were unable to procreate, except of course, for the occasional mutant, how would one compose a family? Dynessa felt she was fortunate to have experienced family and she knew that many clones, even of her ripe age, had considered it a blessing not to have family because of their knowledge and studies of past family life.
Dynessa was 43 years old, which was like being 20 years old 400 years ago. She was in top form, had smooth taupe colored skin, green eyes and a well formed shape. She was 5’9’’ and weighed 150 pounds and was quite muscled due to the required daily exercise classes she was required to attend 6 hours weekly.
Since WW3, which had ended after 17 years, in 2083, only pockets of civilization remained in discrete places which had previously been known as either 3rd world countries, or were just considered unimportant. What had been New York City was now a wasteland of ice. Washington DC and the entire NorthEastern Seaboard was like Greenland had been, and Greenland was a plush island now, along with Minnesota, and almost half of Central and South America. South Africa and the mideast were nonexistent. People inhabiting those areas had died out from a newer form of airborne AIDS in the latter half of the 22nd century. Australia was now a more temperate zone, where the temperature rarely fell beneath 55 or went higher than 75 degrees. There were no more natives anywhere, since now there was only one color race, with varying shades. The only variation that existed was eye and hair-color, which now, more or less could be chosen for bornes and clones. This had been planned out by the surviving scientists who had wanted to create a more harmonious world wide society. They figured if people were more alike than different,there would be less conflict. Privileged children from every major city had been sent to space stations where they had remained until areas had been deemed safe. They arrived in capsules at the end of the war. No one had been given a choice of where they would go. Also, by that time, a great deal of knowledge had been lost while simultaneously, energy sources had worn down. It had taken 200 years just to regain and rebuild back to twentieth century times. Now, humanity had developed way beyond anything anyone had ever dreamed of only 200 years ago.
Education was predetermined by ability and desire. Cleaning, housework, and cooking had become well paid arts. Cuisine was always healthy and fresh grown, the art having been developed by nutritionists and cooks who had served the rich and famous during the last century just before WW3. People who read and wrote were scholars, teachers and artists, which ever they chose and seemed naturally inclined to. Everyone worked, and those who were mutants were usually highly revered since they had the gift of sight, and could read past present and future. There were no longer diseases, and idiots and pathological slowness had been genetically eliminated. It was almost heaven on earth.
Almost, because humans still had some frailties. They hadn’t completely been able to eliminate jealousy, fear, and anger and all that still remained wrong in the world, began here.
Lucky those who were chosen for World Congress were more pure, but also more devoid of all emotion. Everyone could eventually experience fame is they applied themselves consistently, because the shortest life expectancy was currently one hundred and seventy six years. The longest belonged to the longers, of course, of which Mcdelphine was the oldest.
Mcdelphine, a Scotts scientist, had just had his 651st birthday, and he, so far, was the eldest. Mcdelphine still had a full head of white hair, which he wore long and straight. His eyes were strange, one was a pale blue, the other a pale green, both were luminous. He had changed himself through a process of genetic eclectic energy, done when he was only 32, and an outstanding genius in his field. His parents had chosen his sex and intellectual ability during the first 2 months after his wife’s conception. Now, almost everyone alive had some genetic relation to Mcdelphine, whose gene had been used as widely as a vaccination. At first during the 21st century, this had been done experimentally. Later, after the mutation had been incorporated into the cell structure of all humanity, it was commonplace.
The lowest IQ was now 110, the highest was still Mcdelphine, and his IQ was over 530. Most people fell in the range between 130 and 230.
Dynessa couldn’t believe that she was actually going to meet Mcdelphine in the next 15 minutes. While waiting in one of his outer offices, she went over some of her notes. Dynessa was a highly regarded anthropologist and historian who had been hired by the World Congress to investigate and update the history since WW3 because so much had been destroyed. The World Congress felt that understanding their ancestors would help them never make the same mistakes and to also take them with further knowledge about basic instincts, which seemed greatly abandoned and lost. Since Mcdelphine had been actively involved in the survival and planning of the Human Race and had proven himself to be truly altruistic. The World Congress had come into being as the result of his labor. Thus, Mcdelphine was her preferred source of information now. She wondered how much he would understand about various cultures around the world.
Dynessa looked down at her notes once more and adjusted her light weight weather silk suit. It was gray and silver blend of delicate woven silk and newly developed vegetable thread which was very strong yet delicate. The body suit clung to her shape and provided support. If she felt like sprinting at this moment, this material allowed full movement.
She wore a band of natural stone pins of varying colors and shapes which represented her accomplishment and status. The diamond cut emerald showed that she had the highest degree in Human Sciences. The square cut amethyst showed that she had tested in the top 10%. Her natural auburn hair shone with blond highlights and fell just right to her shoulders.
Mcdelphine himself had come to greet her. Dynessa rose from her sleek seat. He was dressed in a similar suit in gray with burgundy stripes and had several rows of stones across his lapel. He made a handsome figure. He was about 6’2” and had a highly developed physique with a beautifully built chest and biceps to compliment them. They each bowed slowly and perceptibly from the waist, she first in deference. They straightened up, each touched the other’s shoulder gently while eye contact was made. Then they dropped their hands to their sides.
“Esteemed one”, she murmured, as their eyes parted and he turned to lead her to his private office suite. The office was high tech and was furnished with comfort in mind as well as surveillance and security.
They seated themselves in the lounge area, into long chairs, where one’s legs were comfortably elevated. It was a material which had been newly developed made for durability and comfort. It was a pale lilac color and the feel was that of a butter soft leather, without the stickiness. The seats were placed so they could easily watch each other while they spoke.
Dynessa commented first, “I am so glad that I could finally meet you. I’ve studied your work so closely, it feels as though I know you now. Meeting you makes even small things seem curious, for example our greeting. I know that this evolved from the Japanese, but I’m not clear as to how it become this.
Mcdelphine laughed, “And your reputation precedes you, barely seated and right down to business.”
“Yes, well if I’m to keep up with you and keep you interested, I must be fast, right?”
“Feasting my eyes on your soul behooves me cheer...” He smiled.
While my heart reads each word in your eyes.”
“And mine yours, lass. Strangely, the shoulder touch began in the 1970 with the emergence of rap music, and was only the way men who knew one another greeted each other. The change to touching shoulders took the place of the twofold touch they used, stand and I’ll show you.”
They stood and faced each other. He bent his right elbow, and with his right hand folder her hand into his. He pulled her slightly closer in this manner and then raised his left hand embracing her shoulder, telling her, “follow my lead, and do as I do.”
Dynessa’s face colored, and Mcdelphine laughed. “embarrassment has still not been eliminated from our nature, has it.
Dynessa laughed, “Point made, and accepted.
“Relax” he said, “Commune first, then we’ll move on.”
For an entire minute, they sat, watching each other’s eyes, making an attempt to establish a telecommunication dialogue.
“That’s strange, she said when she deciphered his first message. “I was just considering how now, if one is gray, they need a license to change their hair color, but it’s interesting what you just clarified, that in the 20th century everyone was free to color their hair, and anyone over 35 generally had some gray hair that they wanted to cover since the gray was a sign of age.
They sat like that then, going back and forth between a concentrated telelologue, and regular speaking. They went back and forth effortlessly. Dynessa’s face colored again.
“Sorry,” he said, “you are highly attractive combined with high intellect and I find that extremely endearing. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“Yes,” she responded simply, “Your attractiveness is disarming and a bit distracting.”
They laughed easily and continued.
“The struggle between biology and desire has not ended,” she bantered.
“No,” he countered. “Controllable but not genetically deleted.”
“And if it were?”
“Then, individuality will be also deleted, won’t it. There’s a fine line between genetic advancement and being totally devoid of human feeling, isn’t there.”
“Seems that way,” Dynessa blushed again. “Tell me,” she asked again telepathically, “how it was that genetic advances led to sterility and how sterility did not eliminate sexual desire.”
“Elementary, my dear, we are not the combination of our hormones, although I’m sure it sometimes feels like that. Desire resides in the brain cells, which although altered have not eliminated emotions, just kind of mellowed them. Perhaps the better term would be ripened.”
“Easily understood then. What exactly was the force that knocked the earth from it’s axis and isn’t it time that the world The World Congress released that information?”
“Yes, and that will be part of your job, to disseminate and preserve this information for generations to come. The answer is very simple. When all nations agreed to disarm their nuclear missiles, it was agreed we would send them out in space, where we thought it would do no harm. The resulting explosion was what knocked us of our original axis. We did not see the consequences of that explosion, which turned out to be a blessing in one way, because now Jupiter is our second sun.”
“That’s almost too simple, so why the secrecy?” Dynessa looked confused for the first time.
“Because the knowledge of how to create nuclear armaments was still published and available, and we were concerned that if some people knew we were destroying this information, they would conceal it and rebuild it, which would have defeated our purpose.”
“Basically, we’re trying to recover 400 years of history, from the twenty second century until now. What I don’t understand is the level of secrecy surrounding this. It reminds me of when President Kennedy of the United States was assassinated way back in 1963. Even a century later, the story was cloaked in mystery and people were told there was no conspiracy, it was Lee Harvey Oswald. Now, we know that the truth, that the Aryan nation had made a deal with the CIA, and there was a entire plot to keep minorities down so they could be low paid workers. Or that Marilyn Monroe was killed because she became too problematic in the Kennedy family. Even the Kennedys were ignorant of her murder. So this is kind of the same, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, for the betterment of the Human Race, right?”
“And now that there are no longer separate countries, any deceit or withholding of info to the human race is for the good of all?”
“Why would you even consider an alternative. Someone has to be in charge.”
Dynessa was quiet then. She needed to consider what he had said in light of what she knew now. It was true that the multitudes had needed controls since time immemorial. That was how laws and rules had begun and evolved beginning with Hammurabi. Since she had been chosen by the Council, it would now fall to her to prioritize, categorize, and disseminate.
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Reviewed by Smokey Lonesome
12/9/2005
hey, this is great! I am a big scifi fan and love anything about the future . . keep it up, I can't wait for the next installment. I'm going to track this so I'll know when the next one comes up..
Suite 16 is a collection of sixteen sci-fi/paranormal novellas and the book represents author Jay Dubya's 38th published work, presented in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle and Nook e-book formats.
