MagTech Suit Up

SinJin Bane

Published by SinJin Bane at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 SinJin Bane

DEDICATION

To my friends and family for all their love and support on all my endeavors throughout the years and this book.

CONTENTS

Table of Contents

Prologue

The Return Home

My Drone Is Better Than Your Drone

Moon Over Jupiter

Things That Go Bump In The Void

The Basher

The Promotion

Into The Darkness

Black Is The New Black

How Can This Be

The Dark Planet

No More War

Index

About The Author

Other Books By The Author

TOC

As I sat down to write this book I tried to stay true to the world of tomorrow created in the first book of this series, I have followed some of the predictions of the future and depending which ones you believe, it could be very dire, or it could be utopian. In my humble opinion it will be a little bit of both, technology promises to make many aspects of our daily lives much easier, but as illustrated in the first book it may come at a price. The time frame this book is set in, should see many of the predictions come true, and some that we have not even begun to imagine. I also assume that artificial intelligence will be available and that it will serve mankind. This is not a given, as has been played out in many different sci fi books and films. It also has been debated by some AI researchers as well. For this world the AIs are friendly and want to help mankind achieve its goals.

As with the first book I have tried to stay with the science or at least the theoretical science, it is a book of fiction however, so I ask you to suspend your disbelief and let it entertain you. The characters in this book struggle enough with the moral dilemmas and ambiguities of the future so that we don’t have to. The concept of paranormal energy first introduced in book one seems less farfetched based on some research that I have done since the first book, but again we have no knowledge of what will happen when we do start using our brain more. Plato and other ancient philosophers believed we were descended from spiritual beings and somehow evolved or devolved, depending on your point of view, into more physical ones, maybe that hidden knowledge will be released when we tap into the hidden recesses of our brain.

One theme I have tried to stay true to in this book as well as the first, is that there is no good and bad, but shades of grey, all of the characters at one point or another give in to a dark side. Most of the time it is masked in a form of retribution, let it be known that I personally believe in the sanctity of life, my characters on the other hand, have a tendency to rack up the body counts, and spend a lot of time coming up with better ways to do it. If that offends some readers, I apologize in advance, but perhaps this is not the book for you. However, if you are ok with that, I think you will enjoy this continuation of a young man’s journey of discovery, and find it quite entertaining. There are also plenty of robots and artificial intelligent beings helping the characters find new ways to use technology to perform what we would consider magic. Also new to this book is an explanation for some of the evil deeds of the villain, I hope you enjoy delving a little deeper into what motivates the shadowy figure introduced in the first book.

It is also important to note, that I do not support or defend any of the ethical choices made or implied in this book, and if you find them controversial it is by design, to paint the character or fictional organization in a certain light. I leave it to you the reader to decide how you feel about the choice or policy made.

If you like magic this book is a new twist on that, it explores some scientific possibilities that may make magic not only feasible but likely. If you enjoy exploring some of the possibilities the future might hold this book takes a look at that as well. Though it should be mentioned that as of right now, these possibilities would require nano-technology and not paranormal energy to effect change to the matter of the universe. Once we know for sure, that telekinetic energy, and telepathy do not exist, then and only then can we say that the uses of it in this book are not possible. Until then anything can happen. The future is going to be an exciting place, I hope it lives up to even half of the possibilities that we see in scientific predictions and science fiction books like this one. I also hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Those of you that have not read the first one, you may want to, though I try to reintroduce the characters and situations of the last book as much as possible.

I cannot go into as much detail, so the new reader might find it hard to follow some of the plot lines. For those of you that have read the first book you will find some old friends and meet some new ones along the way. I apologize in advance to the reader of the last book, because both this introduction and the prologue are almost exactly the same as the last book, because I use them to introduce the world this book takes place in, and therefore had to go over it for the new reader. For those that have not read the first book and would like to, you will find a link in the Other Books By The Author section. For discussions about this book or some of the ideas and technologies presented in it, please visit my blog SinJin Bane’s Tech Talk at the following address:

http://sinjinstechtalk.blogspot.com/

TOC

Agent Black, we found another one, he is missing his head and most of his upper torso, the Security Force Officer reported. How many does that make now sergeant, Agent Black requested, from his desk in the command center aboard the flag ship. That makes a total of six, just like the other houses we found, an explosive blast to the head and torso sir, the Officer reported. Very well have the bodies removed and brought back for identification and forensic analysis, Agent Black ordered. The situation in the Saturn Region had gone from total chaos to almost complete tranquility in the space of a week. All across the region bodies were found that had been killed in the same manner. It always seemed like the victims were caught unaware and there was no evidence of anyone else being in the houses. The term victim was not really the right word to use to describe the people that were being found. They had been identified as suspected or known members of the factions or mercenaries and thugs for hire.

Added to the mystery was the almost total destruction of the Titan settlement, though from what they had been finding from the ashes of the hostile forces believed to have caused the damage, the situation could have been much worse. Eyewitness accounts reported public executions and mass murder, until another unknown force showed up and completely destroyed the enemy combatants. The few survivors from the central squire incident, reported being herded into a protected area and then being released when all the fighting had stopped. Debris from almost twenty ships were found in the spaceport and in space around the moon. DNA analysis of the ashes had found hundreds of mercenaries and suspected factionists. Whatever went down, could only be described as all-out war between the two factions. The strange part was that the winning side seemed to be helping the planetary alliance, or at least their actions seemed to benefit the innocent civilians and the alliance.

The year is 2226 for most it is a time of peace and prosperity the likes of which has not been seen before in the history of man. They have pushed out into space and have spread across the solar system. The quality of life for all is beyond any other time in history. Life is full of unlimited potential and promise. They have also delved deep into the very essence of our being. Nanotechnology has allowed the manipulation of mater at its very smallest form. Advances in this technology open up new doors into our potential and allow great abundance.

Over population on Earth has forced many to leave the planet to build less crowded settlements in different regions of space. Most live on space stations since terraforming takes too long. During the time of the great builder ships with nanotechnology to help them, it is easier to create artificial habitats in space stations that orbit the planets, rather than form new habitats on the planets. The space stations have large rings that rotate around a hub to create gravity. The hub has the central command, law enforcement, hospitals, shops, and the business centers that let the stations thrive. Also along the hub are spaceports for passenger and cargo ships to dock.

The stations have become the suburbs where those that can, have moved to get away from the crowding of the mega cities on Earth. Surveillance and other technologies have reduced crime dramatically but it still happens, the need to be game-fully employed, or in school to live on a station makes it a little less prevalent. The stations draw the middle class and upper class business crowd as well as the government officials needed to make the station run smoothly. Life on the stations is more like a small town even though the populations are fairly large, communities form around school districts and the small neighborhood convenience shops within the ring.

There are some stations that function only as mining, agricultural, and manufacturing stations. The mining and manufacturing stations function by looking for the various minerals found on the moons and debris fields around planets, but mostly robots operate these stations with minimal human presence required. Ships carry all forms of goods between these stations and the rest of the settlements in the solar system. Still man continues to push further out into space small settlements are starting to form out beyond the edges of our solar system. The great builder ships that went from planet to planet building space stations have now moved on to the outer edges of the solar system. Without planets to anchor them, the new space stations assume a solar orbit. Ever the pioneer, man has reached another frontier, and soon will master light speed, to allow the settlement of different stars.

What those that are in power now know, is that dark forces are at work that will shake the very foundations of the fragile peace that holds the alliance together. Perhaps the cause of the problem could be attributed to a procedure or implant that augments the brain, and was developed for the betterment of mankind, but has become so much more.

Besides allowing the recipient the ability to interact with their environment and all of the various entertainment and data repositories in the alliance of planets, it also opened up pathways and allowed more of the brain to be used. And that was exactly the problem, some of the populous had developed powers that set them apart from the rest of society. In all the years of research and improvement of the procedure, there was still no way to control what pathways were opened and what attributes would be unleashed. This was primarily due to the uniqueness of each human brain. The other major benefit of the implant, though some would say it was a curse, was the personal communicator, credit interface, and location tracking.

It allowed the user to be at one with the environment they lived in, any action needed to interact with it was merely a thought away. Of course, there had been protests when it was first invented. Mostly concerns about unfettered access to the human brain and privacy, but there were safeguards put in place to protect that, ultimately it became mainstream and now mandatory for any member of the alliance. This by proxy meant any member of the human race.

However, unknown to everyone except the highest levels of government was what they called the side benefit of the mandatory implant. In the wake of failed government policies that spent more money on the nonproductive elements of society, than that which was produced by the productive elements of society, and huge over population of the very poorest members of the population. It was determined that a more comprehensive form of population control was required. Therefore, the implant interacted with other wetware implants injected at birth. These implants did many things, most monitored and repaired vital organs and allowed for a healthy society, one however was responsible for controlling the reproductive process of all females. It was argued when it was introduced that the reproductive age of our species had not evolved along with the social and economic evolution of our species.

Therefore, what the public knew of this technology was that it did not allow girls to get pregnant until they turned eighteen. This of course eliminated teenage pregnancy and seemed like a good idea, but what the public did not know, was that the implant also limited some females from having more than one child and sometimes none at all. The entire process was based on economics, if the female could support a child she was allowed to have one, at a maximum two, if not then she would not. If the child died before the female was beyond reproductive years and she could still support one, she could have another. This option was only allowed if the female seemed psychologically capable of having another child.

Her mental state was evaluated, and a committee determined if she could have another one, all of this was done through the implant without her knowledge or her consent. The other wetware would also function based on economics, if the person was economically fit then their body would remain fit. If not then the organs would be left to fend for themselves, and life expectancy of that person would be shorter than someone who was a productive member of society, again this was all monitored through the implant and without the subject’s knowledge or consent.

This allowed for the ultimate population control, it also allowed select breeding, in that the economic prospects of an individual were determined by the mental ability of that person. Robots did all manual labor and undesired tasks so all that was left to humans was the jobs that required thought. If your mental faculties even after the implant were not capable of being a benefit to society then you are not allowed to enjoy a prolonged life. Over generations, only the strong survive and weak gene pools were eliminated, thus ensuring a strong populous.

This of course was not the known policy but it was what had happened regardless, mental birth defects were eliminated, and to a certain point even physical defects as well. The wetware implants also eliminated obesity, cancer, plaque in the blood stream, and several other organ related health problems. With the wetware regulating body-chemistry, humans were living very healthy lives. In addition, since the wetware also repaired DNA strands the life span of the average human increased dramatically.

When humans first started experimenting with wetware and the idea of brain augmentation, they really had no idea of the potential it would offer. In what could be considered a relatively short period of time they had been able to achieve a great deal, mainly due to the increased brain capacity of the population. The average person had the IQ and mental acuity of the historical figure Einstein. Those that were considered gifted or exceptional had a mental capacity beyond the comprehension of those who lived in Einstein’s era, they ultimately went on to become the leaders of industry and government. Academics became even more critical than they ever had been in the past. Failure was not an option and with the sheer volume of human knowledge expanding at such a fast pace, it became harder and harder for the non-educated to survive in society.

There were tests created and given to determine what field of study was most suited to the abilities of the brain of each child within weeks of receiving the implant. The implant which was designed to ferret out the dormant or latent abilities of the unused portions of the brain, often found things that previously had not been known to exist. Ultimately, it came down to genetics, if the genetics of your parents had come together to produce a certain aspect of your brain then the implant would find it and expand it. After the first