Feb 29th, 2208
By leap day in 2208, the Belt colonies had reached their maximum population of 5,275 colonists alongside the Immortals. Janice's control of the colonists' fertility ensured population control by capping it at one child per member and was complemented with a lifespan limit of 200 years enforced by Janice, the colonies' omnipresent AI, resulting in stable population control.
Janice's vast capabilities, as it processed data from programmable matter that made up nearly everything in the colonies, revolutionized communication within the colonies, allowing shared visual and aural experiences irrespective of physical location. It was unclear at any moment if others were watching or listening, which eliminated sneaky tendencies but also deprived the colonists of privacy. The loss of privacy was amplified by the trillions of sensors at Janice's disposal, allowing it to record and play back all activities and communication within the colonies upon request. Within its influence - currently a sphere of 30,000 km radius - Janice truly knew all.
This sense of shameless openness was embraced by the colonists, leading to the eradication of the concepts of privacy and shame within a single generation.
However, Richard MacNaomhán, a prime mover of establishing the colony, felt alienated in this rapidly evolving society. Janice's progress had bestowed telepathy and communal experiences that greatly bonded the colonists but only at the expense of privacy, which he viewed as alienating the Immortals.
Richard's explorations exposed a profound chasm between him and the colonists. His verbal communication startled them due to their reliance on telepathy and exposed their lack of vocalization skills. The Immortals' advancements felt outdated compared to Janice's technology, and their hidden sensory experiences made them appear secretive and foreign to the colonists.
Although the Immortals had created the colonies’ population, their numbers had dwindled to nearly 200 by this time, and some had returned to Earth, while others lived in the Craters. Despite being the founding parents, 17 of them had found ways to end their existence; not a simple feat.
Early disagreements arose between Richard and Brenda Myers, a key player in Janice's creation, regarding the role of AI in the colony. Brenda envisioned Janice as a celestial safeguard of individual liberty, which contrasted with Richard's skepticism. With time, Janice became more embedded in the colonies, causing Richard to question the value of resisting its unmitigated integration into their society.
Outside of council meetings, Richard had not spoken to Brenda socially since he moved out, and he was shocked to realize it was over 70 years ago. However, today was Establishment Day, February 29th, 2208, and all eyes from across the colonies were focused on the birth of the 5,275th child. The Immortals could not participate in such a momentous occasion, and Richard's wanderings among the idle, focused faces of the colonists made him acutely aware of the battle for autonomy and liberty that had been lost.
With a heavy heart, he instructed Janice to set up a meeting with Brenda, giving her a mental image of a Scottish pub they had once loved back in Scotland during the 2040s.
Richard spent the intervening time wandering around, observing the vacant expressions of the colonists, presumably engrossed in watching the birth. Some of them continued to perform their duties. Richard assumed they had reality and the live scenes from the birth superimposed in their line of sight.
Below him, the colony's central plaza was a mélange of human activity; the youth waved the Belt's blue flag with renewed fervor, and the Immortals and the colonists mingled. He remembered the day when the plaza would host political debates, and memories of hot debates and cold stares still lingered. The atmosphere was festive; everyone was dressed in their best garments.
Richard felt an acute sense of alienation between him and the colonists. They thought differently, perceived differently, ate differently, and communicated differently, and he no longer saw them as fully human. Perhaps it was a good thing they would congregate here in Janice's loving embrace. It was an ideal location for a small-scale contained experiment. He was contemplating moving out to the craters and starting a family free from all the overseers and manipulations. He had considered such ideas in the past, and now it felt like a real possibility. But before he moved forward with such plans, there were still a few things he needed to accomplish.
The UIC was now a formal establishment, with clear rules and hierarchical structures. With the remaining 207 Immortals comprising the membership, the organization was structured like a tree, and four hierarchical levels led to a leadership committee of 11 members. Richard and Brenda both sat on that committee, almost always on opposite sides of the larger issues.
“Brenda, I didn't come here to fight,” Richard said, taking her hand, his voice softer now. "They aren't human to my thinking. I don't believe there is anything left to protect anymore," Richard admitted, a note of resignation in his voice.
"Here is my proposal – I'll stop opposing you in your efforts to morph them into Borgs," a reference from just before their birth meant to sting a little, "and you, in turn, lessen your interference in my attempts to install additional safeguards in Janice," he suggested.
This time he was admitting defeat. Yet, he didn't feel that he needed to be magnanimous about it.
“I want to make them capable of surviving in a vacuum,” Brenda said, exploring the limits of their new agreement.
“Shouldn't that have been done already?” Richard replied with fake joviality, noticing that his stein was full again.
“And I'd like them to be able to access Janice's memory as if it were their own,” Brenda added, trying to draw blood. She knew that they had fought about this issue bitterly.
Against the backdrop of the pub's familiar old-world charm, Richard bristled. Reminding himself, "They aren't human anymore; it hardly matters," he tried to control his temper. Then he asked, his sarcasm resounding amidst the clinking glasses and murmuring voices, "Why not? What could possibly go wrong with that?" He drank the ale in one long gulp.
“And what would you like in exchange for this?” Brenda asked.
“Don't know yet, I'll form a committee. At most, it will take 25 years. Then I'm moving out to the craters, and you can turn them into data and store them in Janice for all I care,” Richard replied, his mind already occupied with planning his next steps.
Brenda looked stunned. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had always assumed that they would eventually get back together. Yet, moving out to the craters was an entirely different matter and a step away from everything they had built together. She would miss the fighting, and that little flicker of hope stubbornly refused to extinguish.
“Good fight,” Richard added, with a wry smile, as an old private joke between Brenda and himself, indicating the end of the evening. With that, they both stood up, preparing to leave the nostalgic Scottish pub.