New Zion

A Critical Utopia
Archaeological Expedition:
Just South of Riverdell

“An entire datacentre! Do you think there'll be anything left to recover?”

“No idea. It really depends on how serious the owners were about preserving their data
for more than a few decades. Most of them weren't you know”
“I know. I'm not that fresh out of school.”
“First time off the land of your Kin though, right?”
“Well...yeah.”
“Keep your breather mask down at all times, even here inside the structure. There
aren't any purifier organisms around here so the air's still extremely polluted. I just
hope it hasn't corroded too many of the...oh my.”
“What?”
“See those little disc-shaped thingies? They're called CDs. Dear Gaia, there must be
thousands of them here. And look there, those big boxes on those metal racks there?
Computer servers. Look at them all! Still in good condition! Are we still in Net contact
range of New Zion?
“Barely.”
“Call the government and tell them that this area needs to be held in trust by them
directly, and not tendered out to any of the Kinships. We need to go through all this
very thoroughly, and it's a lot more than the two of us can do on our own.”
“Wow. You make it sound like we've made the find of the century. Any idea who built
this place yet?
“Believe me, we have made the find of the century, if not the millennium. Let me
see....ah yes, the identification sticker on this server is still legible. It says: Google
Labs.”

Public Infonet:
The Tale of Emancipation, a transcript of one version as it is told by
adults of the Kinships to their children
Little is known of the time before the Cave, save that humanity, in its arrogance, had
poisoned the world so much that it could no longer bear life. Plants and animals all
perished, save those few humans fortunate enough to find a place in the Cave. We
know not who built the Cave, or how the Survivors were chosen, but in the Cave the
remnants of humanity clung to existence.

Life in the Cave was hard, and the rulers harsh, as they said they had to be if humanity
was to survive. The rulers were known as the Cabinet, and the people resented their
tyranny greatly. The people dreamed of one day returning to the surface, no longer
forced into the safety of the Cave, and free to rule themselves once more.

The Cabinet tried to pacify the people with the distractions of temporary immersions in
Virtual Reality, which worked for some. But many still longed for a life on the surface
that was Real. Disobedience and discord grew ever more intense, threatening the
delicate harmony that sustained life in the Cave.

In desperation, the Cabinet created the Gaia Initiative, promising to research ways to
return life to the surface world, so that Gaia (bless her name) and we, her children,
might reside there once more. A measure of peace returned, and the Cabinet
congratulated themselves on restoring order with no more force than the funding of an
empty promise.

They never imagined that the Gaia Initiative would succeed. The art of bio-engineering
was greatly advanced by the scientists of the Initiative, and bio-organisms that could
extract poisons from the air were created. Though it could take centuries, the people
could see that a return to the surface world, a life that was Real, was within their grasp.

The Cabinet sought to maintain control over the findings and workings of the Gaia
Initiative, but their task was futile. The Cabinet had justified their tyranny by the need
to keep humanity safe, but they were faced with a humanity that did not want to be
safe: they wanted to be free. The first humans to venture outside the Cave in centuries
found ways to survive free of the Cabinet's authority, and as their research in bio-
engineering continued, they found ways to thrive. The Cabinet, fearful of leaving the
Cave that housed them, could not intervene even as they saw through the new
Communication Net of the outside world the open rebellion against their rule by the
new dwellers of the Real. Others saw too, and while some were fearful, many more
sought to return to the Real, regardless of the Cabinet's decision on the matter. So
began the Return to the Real, the end of the Cabinet's reign, the start of the work of
Restoration, and the founding of the Kinships that form the shape of the world we
know today.

It has been many centuries now since the Return to the Real, but the memory of
breaking free from the tyranny of the Cabinet and the fear and powerlessness of hiding
in the Cave remains with us. Though our society may not be what it was at the start of
the Restoration, let us always remember that even the greatest tyrannies hold the seeds
of their own destruction if simply pressured into it, and that it is better to risk all for
freedom than to go running to tyrants for our own safety.

Presentation by Jolin kin Chang on behalf of the New Zion Federal

Government: some preliminary findings from the Google Labs Recovery
Project

Our research into the society that existed prior to the Catastrophe has yielded some
impressive findings thanks to the recovery from the Google Labs datacentre. We have
been able to draw some tentative conclusions as to why the Catastrophe came about.
The good news is that it is extremely unlikely that our society as currently constituted
has the same kinds of structural weaknesses that would facilitate another such
Catastrophe. But of course, nobody knows for sure what the future holds.

The first thing I should point out is that it is inaccurate to describe pre-Catastrophe
humanity as a singular “society”. Though there is impressive and valuable diversity
among the Kinships of New Zion, we all agree on certain shared values regarding the
Earth, and all Kinship agree to equitably manage the Earths' resources under the
ultimate authority of the federal Government of New Zion. The pre-Catastrophe
societies had no such underlying organisation. Conflicts over values and over
resources were more often than not resolved through destructive violence. I am aware
of the controversy surrounding the decision to put down the Rebellion of Kinship Solar
through force of arms last century, but I think we can all agree that such destructive
actions, if they have to be taken at all, should only be as a last resort, and certainly
shouldn't be taken over resources such as this “oil” that the pre-Catastrophe society
valued so much. That way lies annihilation of all life, as we have already seen once.

Our findings on the extent to which humanity disregarded their impact on the Earth are
disturbing. Our entire economic system is based on the Fertility Standard: all economic
exchanges are made relative to the pegged value of the life-yielding properties of the
land held communally by each Kinship, as calculated daily by the Federal Reserve. No
such recognition of the ultimate source of human wealth – the Earth itself – is present
in any pre-Catastrophe texts on their economic system that we can discover. And I'm
sure you've seen all those disturbing photos of the surface land covered in concrete and
metal, with barely any sign of plant or animal life in sight. I believe this goes some
way to providing an answer as to why our ancestors hid away in the Preserver Cave
rather than fight to preserve the Real world: from their disregard of the Real world of
nature we can see in the recovered data, it appears that the sad truth is that they had
abandoned the Real long before the Preserver Cave even existed.

I know that some Kinships have complained about the Federal Reserve devaluing their
land when they build permanent structures upon the surface. Certainly I can
understand the feeling that we didn't break free of the Preserver Cave only to be
confined to the underground Caves that we now build for ourselves. But the
government's intentions are to prevent the Real becoming built over to such a degree
that it is no longer life-sustaining – no longer Real. These images from the pre-
Catastrophe days show that this is not an idle concern.

Finally, there is a notable lack of congruity between people's economic life and their
social life in pre-Catastrophe society. There is simply no analogue to the Kinship that
is the foundation of our socio-economic order. Though Kinships may differ among
themselves on the extent to which property may be held individually or by all Kin, in
ancient times family and economic relationships seem to have been completely
divorced from each other. Economically the individual was not required to partake in
any kind of long-term relationship with other parties at all, which may sound appealing
to the more free-spirited individuals among us, but which must surely have had a
corrosive effect on their long-term social well-being. The evidence of the instability of
their family relationships tends to bear this out.

A popular theory as to why this separation occurred is overpopulation. As can be seen

in the larger Kinships such as Kinship Chang and Kinship Abbas, the larger a
population the more difficult it is to keep it socially cohesive. Despite the economic
benefits that could be accrued from a larger population, the current birth rate as set by
the government should be adequate to ensure the right balance between expansion of
the Kinships into new territory and preserving that which has already been restored.

Public CommNet
Governance Discussion Forum - Comments

Wow. Amazing that the first presentation on one of the most important historical finds
ever turns into a giant excuse for the federal government to justify all their
encroachments on Kinship sovereignty. Why can't the government just leave our
families alone? – Delio kin Abbas

I thought Jolin made some important points. Looking at the past is a way to prepare for
the future, so I don't think it's out of line for the government to explain how these
discoveries affect their policy. Remember that we need the government to do all those
bio-engineering projects that individual Kinships can't do on their own, like
permanently fixing the air all over the planet and trying to get the weather back to
normal. So we haven't quite got the balance right between Kinship and federal
sovereignty yet. That's no reason not to keep trying. Remember, federal election in
four months, so make your votes count! – Susan kin Meadow

Jolin was absolutely right to point out how destructive conflict can be. His findings
should be a wake-up call for all those still sore about the federal government claiming
the exclusive power to choose which land goes to which Kinships after the Solar
Rebellion. We need a neutral arbiter! And my Kin were hoping to acquire the land that
the government seized for the Recovery Project, so it's not like I'm asking anyone else
to accept anything that Kin Riverdell hasn't already accepted! – Archil kin Riverdell

On a completely unrelated note, is it really wise to have the Federal Reserve setting
land value rates for the economy? I know the theory that an aggregate of estimates by
multiple individuals from across the entire spectrum of the population is the most
efficient way of getting the most accurate result, but can we always be certain that
there will be enough people in the general population willing to do their civic duty? -
Beril kin Wright

Virtual Connections Online

Issue #43
Special Issue: Introducing “Privacy”

As regular readers will know, virtual communications technology is one of the few
advanced technologies we know to pre-date the Catastrophe. Though the semi-
conductors we use are now specially-bred bio-organisms rather than the (admittedly
easier to miniaturise but much more damaging to the Real) silicon used at the dawn of
computing, the basic principles remain the same. Computer-mediated communication
is ubiquitous within all of New Zion except for the newest, most remote Kinships, and
even they place high priority on connecting to the Net as soon as practically possible.

The stigma associated with Virtual Reality has gradually faded as the benefits of the
technology in the hands of the people have been made clear. The pacifying
programming of the Cabinet era has given way to a rich diversity of user-generated
content that is freely shared across the Virtual Reality Net, and quality is becoming
more and more life-like all the time. It is estimated that some 73% of the New Zion
population regularly makes use of Virtual Reality, with around 8% having opted for a
permanent existence in VR.

Virtual Connections Online is strongly supportive of the decisions of these individuals

to opt out of the Real, as is their absolute right: those who are not happy where they
are should always have the freedom to leave, and there is no better opportunity to go
elsewhere than in Virtual Reality: infinite worlds of possibility await. The nature of our
VR bio-technology ensures that the body is sustained in symbiotic relationship with
the organic tube that envelops the individual to provide the body with the sensory
experience of VR. So long as the resources are paid for, a VR state can be sustained
indefinitely. Resource management is not an issue. But what is a controversial issue is
whether people permanently in VR should be permitted to access sensory input from
the Real through the Net.

Criminals, of course, are completely isolated in VR from the rest of the population for
the duration of their sentence. But for those who enter voluntarily, the issue of Real
access is intuitively problematic, even if the exact nature of the issue is hard to
articulate for some. But it is actually quite simple: if people in VR can access the Real,
then they can observe people in the Real, but people in the Real cannot observe them.

The problem may seem alien to a society like New Zion where it is simply taken for
granted that everyone can observe everyone else at any time thanks to the ubiquity of
the Communication Net. But as we have recently discovered from old archaeological
findings, this was not always the case. Ancient society, before the computer networks
were properly established, had a concept called “privacy”, the idea that some forms of
observation should be off-limits. Perhaps this idea can be adapted to addressing the
current situation.

As the ancients readily understood, being observed by someone that you yourself
could not observe provided the observer with power over the observed. “Privacy” was
an early attempt to negate this power. Though the primitive notion of privacy meaning
to prevent any surveillance at all is of course unworkable in a society as heavily
dependent on the free exchange of information as ours, it may be possible to resurrect
the ancient concept of “privacy” and modify it to make it contemporarily relevant.

Simply, it should only be possible for VR-resident individuals to observe the Real if
there is clear and obvious evidence that they are observing. A new development in bio-
engineering presents itself as perfect for this purpose: biomatons. These partially
mechanical, partially biological automatons can be fitted with sense-spheres that will
enable other individuals to experience their senses through the biomatons and interact
with the Real through their movements. Their intended purpose is for work in areas
still hostile to human life, but they also present a solution to the issue of VR residents '
interaction with the Real. It is recommended that it be rendered permissible for VR
residents to interact with the Real through these biomatons – and only through these
biomatons. In order to protect the “privacy” of people, it will of course also be
necessary for it to be made clear when a biomaton is being used for the purposes of
sensory input by another: a person will thereby always be able to “see” the person
observing them. Virtual Connections Online hopes that future development of
biomaton technology will take this need for “privacy” into account.

Public ScholarNet
 The Solar Rebellion Reconsidered
by Illusio kin Geotherm

The territorial disputes between Kinship Solar and other Kinships could probably have
been resolved without resort to bloodshed, but as any scholar of the era knows, it was
the protection of the rights of the unborn that was the main motivation for the tragedy
that was the destruction of that once great Kinship.

Kinship Solar had discovered a small repository of pre-Catastrophe information that

included information about how the ancients gave birth. The people of New Zion were
quite shocked when they learned from Kin Solar that humanity was once capable of
conceiving and giving birth as the animals do: through sexual intercourse and
subsequent pregnancy.

The process by which this ability was lost remains unknown, but it was generally
accepted that its loss has been quite a boon to humanity. It is through regulation and
maintenance of the birth process that the government is able to secure the rights of
those not yet born. By regulating the birth rate, the government is able to ensure that
the population does not exceed the strict limitations on what growth is sustainable in
the wake of the Catastrophe. By requiring Kinships to provide the mandatory funds for
childcare to the government on behalf of the parents in advance, basic needs of all
children are guaranteed to be met regardless of any unlucky change in the economic
situation of the parents and Kinships. It is generally accepted wisdom that parenting, as
one of the most essential duties of a society, must be strictly regulated so that children
are brought up by parents who are fully capable of raising healthy, psychologically
well-adjusted children.

Though no evidence was presented at the time, the then-Mayor of Kin Solar, a man
named Alex kin Solar, claimed that the builders of the Preserver Cave had deliberately
removed the ability to give birth as animals do from humans that entered into the
Preserver Cave as a condition of their entry. He announced his his intention to undo
this “violation of our rights” and restore the ability of the members of his Kinship to
give conceive and give birth to children “naturally”.

The people at the time were naturally aghast at the idea of children being brought into
the Real without any regard for their welfare. The objections to the idea were many
and obvious, but the most frightening aspect of the whole plan, and the one on which
anti-Solar sentiment focused most, was that the actions proposed by Alex kin Solar
would make it possible for completely unqualified parents to create a child who had no
hope of getting all the care they needed entirely by accident. Weapons were created for
the first time in the Real since the Catastrophe, Kinship Solar's land was invaded and
the Kinship torn apart, all in the name of protecting the rights of the unborn. The
destructive force of that war re-poisoned the land of Kinship Solar, which remains un-
restored as a memorial of our failure to banish war from Gaia's new world (bless her
name).

Having recently gained access to some of the data recovered from the Google Labs
datacentre, it pains me to say that I believe that the claim of Alex kin-Solar that our
very bodies were violated prior to entry into the Caves is most likely true. I have found
archives of plans, detailed plans, laying out possible ways in which the human race
could survive in the event of an ecological catastrophe through surviving in a cave.
Some of the participants in the discussions advocate the very thing that Alex kin Solar
accused the Cave builders of doing: requiring the inhabitants to become sterile so that
reproduction could be regulated.

I know this claim will be controversial, and to many quite possibly blasphemous. I am
aware that many believe our ability to control our own reproduction is a blessing from
Gaia, and is what separates humans from the other animals. But the truth must be told.
I hope at least that it may put the events concerning the Solar Rebellion into context.

In the name of full disclosure: yes, I am descended from a refugee of Kinship Solar.
But that does not affect the veracity of the information I have uncovered, and I am
willing to show the original source to anyone who wishes to verify it for themselves.

I truly do not know what it means for our society that it was founded on the basis of
such a requirement of our ancestors. But I do believe that, for our own good, we need
to find out.