The Stream Read online

  The Stream

  Mark White

  Copyright © 2017 by Mark White

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Third edition.

  For more information, contact the publisher at

  markwhitebooks.com

  To Darren,

  For all the support, criticism and inspiration

  Contents

  Part 1: Exordium

  Raj Tamboli - Excerpt from The Raj Doctrines

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Part 2: Quaestio

  Pool: Kofi Albus – 23rd Quintilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 20th Quintilis 227PD

  Report: Hereditary Overnight Mortality Events - 25th Quintilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 28th Quintilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 29th Quintilis 227PD

  Report: The Flood - 4th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 7th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 8th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 12th Sextilis 227PD

  Report: Raj Tamboli - 13th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 14th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Geraldine Mander - 12th Martius 225PD

  Pool (2): Kofi Albus - 14th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 15th Sextilis 227PD

  Report: Antediluvian Politics - 16th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 17th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 18th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Mauro Sosa - 16th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool (2): Kofi Albus - 18th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 18th Sextilis 227PD

  Personal Log: Kofi Albus - 18th Sextilis 227PD

  Part 3: Fugio

  Plog: Kofi Albus - 19th Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - 22nd Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 23rd Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - 23rd Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - 24th Sextilis 227PD

  Pool: Constable Jaekor Uloamos Faurd - 24th Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 25th Sextilis 227PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - Date unknown

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 11th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~13th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~26th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~28th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~29th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 30th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~30th Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Part 4: Exeunt Omnes

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Memory transcript: Kofi Albus - ~31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog (2): Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Pool reconstruction: Raj Tamboli - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Plog (3): Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Valediction: Raj Tamboli - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  Part 1: Exordium

  Raj Tamboli - Excerpt from The Raj Doctrines

  I am sorry, but I had no choice. Wide swathes of the world were under the control of fascists. Democracy had failed. War was inevitable. Humanity’s soul was stained with a dark ichor, and needed to be redeemed.

  Only I was in a position to right the evils of bigotry, intolerance and populism. I could not stand by and let it continue.

  It took me years of skilful planning to set these events in motion. If you are able to read this message, you know how much has changed already. I understand that the events of today have been a shock for everyone, but they were necessary to put us on the road to recovery.

  There is so much more work to do. The world now needs careful and enlightened guidance to put it back on the right track and ensure those responsible for the new dark ages can no longer prevail. Strong governance is required to take us forward and to create a stable and fair society. Shortly I will distribute my proposals for this, and I will be here to ensure a smooth transition to a new world order.

  I am proud to say that I am the man responsible for the transformation of your lives. I will be the driving force in taking the world forward into this new golden age.

  My name is Raj Tamboli, and I am responsible for the Flood.

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  I guess I should start this message with “I’m sorry, but I had no choice,” but that would be too easy. Unlike Raj Tamboli, I’m not an egotistical shit, so I’ll try to justify myself before changing the world once more.

  Given what will happen when I press this key, I’m sure it should be bright red and flashing. Disappointingly, it just says 'Enter' on it. How quaint. When I give it the finger, humanity’s golden age of expansion and peace will come to an end. There will be years of turmoil ahead before we'll know if it was the right decision. Of course, we’ve been through it all before with the Flood, but this could be even worse - and there’s a risk I’m just leaving us open for a new kind of subjugation. Hey ho.

  Anyway, enough of the melodrama. So, why should I press it, other than to see if says 'Please do not press this button again'? Sorry, this may be the end of the world as we know it, but you have to keep a sense of humour, don’t you? Even if I did steal somebody else’s line.

  How could the Confluvium be better off when I do this? What about the threat posed by the Safirans? I know you'll be asking yourself these questions. Don’t worry, I know exactly what I am going to do - I just need everyone to understand why this is necessary. The world must not have to go through this yet again.

  I was a Decemvir, and the Decemviri are expected to make tough decisions without bending to popular will. When the Flood gave the world the opportunity to recover from the religions of democracy and populism, something new was needed. The Decemvirate filled that gap, and answer to no-one, not even the Elector. Hence this decision is mine to make, and mine to make alone, Lictors be damned. I know that’s too easy and glib a justification for my actions though – with great power comes a great ability to speak in clichés.

  I'm not expecting anyone to accept my justifications until the chaos that follows my action has abated. I'm fully aware that I'll be as vilified as Raj Tamboli in those early post-diluvian days. Eventually, once the full implications of his actions were understood, history judged him differently. I can only hope history will be as kind to me, and that I deserve forgiveness more than he did.

  After all, Saint Raj was directly responsible for more deaths than Adolf Hitler, Glen Gifarae or any other mass murderer in history. If I’ve misjudged the Safirans, then I could outdo both of these lovely men; it’s not exactly comforting to know the type of company I’ll be keeping.

  Anyway, enough pre-rambling. Rather than be accused of manipulating the truth, I’ll attach verified pools and logs of the events that led me here. Once you have all the facts, I’ll come back and summarise for those who can’t follow things so dryly. Then I’ll send this by pressing Enter, and let history be my judge, jury and probably executioner.

  Thank you, Kofi, for your support. I am so sorry how things ended for you.

  Part 2: Quaestio

  Pool: Kofi Albus – 23rd Quintilis 227PD

  As we approached the first bed through the gloom, a glow from the ceiling gradually brightened to reveal a gaunt looking woman wearing a typical white medical smock. Her eyes were closed, her expression vacant. I’d have guessed she was in her early thirties, although I have a feeling she looked older than she was. She had an intravenous drip in both arms, and had several monitors attached
to her. There was a display panel at the end of the bed showing status updates, labelled 'DJL3.1.9 - Rosa Russo'. The main sign of life from Rosa was the occasional eye movement under her lids, and twitching of her fingers. She seemed a dichotomy - mentally active and yet comatose at the same time.

  I could just make out a row of beds along each wall, eight on each I think, all of which appeared occupied. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said it was designed to be clichéd and creepy; either that, or they just couldn't afford to pay their electricity bill. I turned to Dr Mauro Sosa who was grudgingly escorting me round the DJ Institute.

  ‘What’s wrong with her? What’s wrong with all of them?’ I asked.

  ‘We call them the Drowned,’ Sosa replied. ‘Or more correctly, these are the tens on the Edelman scale. You asked what the numbers on the scale meant, well this is what happens when you drop off the end.’

  The Edelman scale was the reason for my visit. Decemvir Geraldine Mander had sent me out researching into a series of unexplained deaths that somehow seemed linked to individuals who only attained shallow immersion in the Stream. They’re known colloquially as HOME deaths - Hereditary Overnight Mortally Events. A nice snappy acronym for the media to use, other than the fact that as far as I can see, the more recent deaths show no sign of any familial link, nor have they always occurred overnight. Hey, let’s not let facts get in the way of a snappy acronym.

  We’ve all heard the colloquial terms Dry, Shallow, Deep to describe levels of immersion in the Stream, but I came across more detailed descriptions of immersion in the restricted metadata, based on something called the Edelman scale. It was easy to look up a basic description, but I thought there might be something more there that could help to my research, so best to consult an expert in person. Sometimes just the act of describing a problem to someone and discussing it gets my subconscious working which then solves it on its own. Besides which, I fancied a change of scene and needed to get away from the office where I was just obsessing over details and getting myself worried. Luckily the DJ Institute where Dr Mauro Sosa worked was only half an hour from the Decemvir’s office. I’d come across his name when reading papers on Stream-related ailments, so it was serendipitous to find him so close to my location.

  Dr Sosa was very unimpressed when I turned up unannounced asking to talk to him. Working for a Decemvir has its privileges though, and he knew he couldn’t really say no. I think at first he thought I was here for a surprise government inspection of some sort, and was very defensive and reticent. That probably means he’s got an embarrassing secret he wants to keep hidden, but that’s not my problem or concern. I’ve been trying to get him to relax and open up by being sickeningly friendly and ingratiating, but no luck so far. Kofi, your charms aren’t what they used to be. Oh well, let’s keep plugging away, perhaps a bit of professional flattery might do the trick.

  I looked down again at Rosa Russo, and then round the room. From what I could see, everyone in this ward was in the same state as Rosa. I could make an educated guess at what the Drowned were, but I think I didn’t want to admit it to myself yet. It’s hard to understate how profoundly the scene shocked me. We live in fair, egalitarian society during an unparalleled time of peace and prosperity. Most medical conditions are readily treatable by the universal healthcare service. However since working for Geraldine, I’ve come to realise that there’s always a lot more happening beneath the surface, just out of public perception. I think I’ve just walked into one of those.

  'What happened to her, to them?' I asked Dr Sosa.

  'That's why you're here. That’s where the Edelman scale comes in. Everyone knows the common terms for levels of Stream immersion, but in reality it's a more nuanced sliding scale that was originally described in the years after the Flood by Greg Edelman. Interestingly the colloquial names of Dry, Shallow and Deep don’t cover the level that the majority of people sit at - Normal. I think that gets ignored as we only like to talk about things away from the norm, and also because no-one could come up with a snappy water-based name for it,' he said, a smile breaking his expression for the first time.

  'The scale goes from zero to ten. There are precise meanings to each that I won’t bore you with, but it’s very easy to find out the value for an individual. I can send a command to their Tap, which will return diagnostic information from which the value can be calculated. Would you like me to tell you your Edelman value?'

  'Sure,' I said, and within a couple of seconds I had a diagnostic request message waiting for acceptance. I approved it and focused back at the Doctor.

  'You’re a three,' he said. 'That’s one lower than me, a nicely functional Shallow. Which brings me on to the meaning of the numbers. Basically, the higher the number, the more deeply immersed in the Stream you can get. Out of interest, do you prefer entering shared environments with other people, or do you prefer solo immersions, such as watching VR dramas?'

  'I tend to relax watching VR dramas, why?' I answered.

  'It’s just a theory of mine, but yours fits nicely into it. I’ve noticed that Shallows prefer using the Stream on their own, but Deeps prefer entering shared virtual worlds and interacting within it. No idea why yet, I want to investigate the subject more, but I’ve not been able to get research funding.'

  ‘Hey, I’m an historian by trade. I’ve spent most of my career getting turned down for grants, until Geraldine rescued me from purgatory,' I said in as jokey a voice as I could.

  He scowled as he replied. 'Well not all of us have the luxury of a fairy godmother to save us. I’m really a neurologist by choice, but it’s impossible to get any funding for neurological research on its own these days, so we typically must have a practical bias to our work. It’s incredibly frustrating.'

  He took a deep breath and paused before continuing. ‘Sorry, as you can tell it’s a sensitive subject for me. My apologies.’

  I smiled back, ‘Nothing to apologise for. So, the Edelman scale?’

  'Yes. The value of zero was for Dry people whose Tap failed to function completely, so that they couldn’t access the Stream. Luckily improvements in pre-natal screening has just about eradicated that these days, so that’s largely a historical rating.'

  'The range one to three roughly equates to what people think of as Shallow. Shallows can drop in and out to access data and experience virtual environments without any problem, but they don’t get the full sensory experience that those more deeply immersed would obtain. Shallows don’t have any problems distinguishing Stream environments from reality. About ten percent of the population can consider themselves Shallow.'

  'As we go up the scale between four and six, Normals can suspend their disbelief enough so that when they are in a virtual environment it’s largely indistinguishable from reality from a sensory perspective. Getting on for three quarters of the population sit in here.'

  'It’s the other way round for the Deeps, those between seven and nine - they have to make a conscious effort to remember that the experience is not real. The remaining fifteen percent or so sit here.'

  'During a lifetime, people will typically move one or rarely even two points up or down the scale, largely driven by how emotionally affected they are by their life experiences. A traumatic event can leave a lasting impact on someone - it makes some people want to retreat from reality, so they become more Deep. For others it makes reality sharper and more threatening, and they find it hard to detach from it, and hence become more Shallow.'

  'That makes sense, thanks. It fits in with what I’ve seen in my research data. You said the scale went from zero to ten. So what about tens? What happened to these people?' I asked.

  'These are the people who were level nine Deeps, who then became more deeply immersed. They enter the virtual environment, and forget that it’s not real. There’s no impetus for them to return to the real world as they drift from Deep immersion to Drowned. If they are found in time, their body can be nourished and they can be sustained to live out their life in their fantas
y world. That doesn’t always happen though as it’s often those who live alone that Drown, although people who are known to be level nine are regularly monitored,' he replied.

  'I’ve never heard of it,' I said.

  'It’s quite rare, and it’s not generally known about. It’s felt it’s better to manage the situation rather than scare people about it. Nothing really secret, but not something institutes like us care to shout about,' he said.

  'Can’t anything be done to help them snap them out of it?' I asked.

  'You think we haven’t tried?' he replied tersely, then relaxed. 'Sorry, it’s a sensitive subject. We see it as a failure, but as yet we’ve not found a way to do so. Very occasionally the Drowned will surface again on their own. In the early days, the obvious things were tried, such as isolating them from the Stream. However, as their fantasy world faded so did their lives, so intimately were they embedded in their virtual world. It’s not something you lightly want to try - this is someone’s life you’re experimenting with. They may not be living in the real world, but they are living, and what they are experiencing feels real to them. Why should we deny them that? So we just keep them alive in the DJLs across the world.'

  'I keep seeing that acronym, DJL, and this place is called the DJ Institute. What does it stand for?' I asked.

  He looked a little embarrassed. 'Ah well, it’s a bit of bad joke really. It stands for Davy Jones’ Locker. Sometimes I think we stretch the metaphor way too far, thanks be to Raj. So we hide behind those initials, while sadly chuckling to ourselves into our beer, drowning our sorrows over lack of research funding.'

  ‘Yes, Raj has a lot to answer for, it sounds like you're plumbing the depths there,’ I said, smiling back at him to try to lighten the mood. ‘You mentioned before that you struggled to get research funding, and that you had to justify everything with a practical aspect? I had a similar problem when I was a historian, do you know if other fields are having the same problem?’