The Stream Page 9

  I think there was something going on in the pre-Flood world that I'm missing that's still affecting us today. I'm sure much of my speculation above will turn out to be unfounded, but I'd be highly surprised if all of it was just coincidental. Too many things are pointing in the same direction. And then there's my addendum to follow…

  Addendum - Eugenics

  I'm adding this section to this report purely as I think it's too important to delay getting this to you. I stumbled across this while researching this report although it has nothing to do with Raj Tamboli directly. I started looking at this area after a hint of a link between Shallows and HOME deaths from Doctor Sosa at the DJ Institute. If we need more research on this area, Sosa would be a useful asset.

  I investigated further and confirmed a correlation in some of the professionals who had died HOME deaths - their ratings on the Edelman scale were skewed towards the Shallow end. Doing a full analysis showed that 90% of the recent spike in HOME deaths were rated four or lower on the scale, 80% were three or lower.

  If people are being targeted for HOME deaths, being Shallow seems to make you a more likely target. Is that because Shallow people are harder to control? Could this imply that HOME deaths are controlled and triggered through the Stream?

  That was a bad enough finding to worry me, but it got worse. Obviously before Flood Day there wouldn't be any real understanding of who was going to be Dry, Shallow, Normal or Deep, so there was no way to check whether the people who just died on that day would be Shallow or Dry. So I thought I'd check the history of Shallow and Dry people in the years after the Flood.

  As we know though, these days we don't really have fully Dry people since the laws were passed to have all babies checked in the womb, and treated if required. On rare occasions where treatment isn't possible, mandatory abortion is required. A genetic marker was identified which also highlighted parents that were at risk of having Dry or very Shallow babies, so preventative measures could be taken. On average, the level of immersion has been rising decade-on-decade since the law was passed.

  I was shocked to find though that the improvements in immersion started way before this law was passed; in fact they've been rising since Flood Day itself. Firstly, the birth rate for Dry and very Shallow people after Flood Day was exceptionally low. Was this due to feelings of missing out due to their inadequate Stream experience causing a natural suppression of the desire to reproduce, especially as their condition was believed to be hereditary? Or was there some external factor at play here?

  How do we know that the HOME-like deaths on Flood Day weren't actually of people that would be Dry? If the Fount is trying to increase the level of Stream immersion, wouldn't the best way of disposing of Dry people be to do it on Flood Day when everything else was going wrong? That could be why the HOME death rate was so low immediately after - the bulk of the people that would need to be targeted were already dead.

  It's starting to feel as if humanity is being selectively adjusted to become more and more deeply immersed in the Stream in each generation. I looked for more evidence to back up my paranoid theory of the day. Did you know that currently the birth rate is higher the more deeply immersed a couple is? And the majority of couples are within two points of each other on the Edelman scale?

  There are historic precedents for plans to 'improve' humanity through selective breeding. The world usually ends in a very dark place. It seems as if a eugenics program is successfully under way and changing humanity right now. Who is driving this?

  Pool: Kofi Albus - 14th Sextilis 227PD

  It's looking like another lovely day outside, as usual, so I'm going to set out early and have a long leisurely walk to the office. I've been stuck indoors for too many days researching and writing, so I need to get some fresh air and see if it helps me get things into perspective. The more I look into things, the more worried I'm getting. However I'm worried I'm just fitting everything I see into some sort of paranoid fantasy of a conspiracy. Once you get into that mindset, it's so easy to spiral into delusion and despair. So here I am, walking happily in the sun, whistling to convince myself that the world is good, and I'm just imagining things.

  Talking of imagining things, did I imagine that glitch in the VR playback when the Sirian looked at me? I've replayed that portion several times, and watched further episodes on the Sirians since, but seen nothing wrong. I've paused, walked around the scenes, resumed, even talked back to the characters, but nothing. No repetition of what I saw. I really don't know what to do about it, but given the fact that I'm probably coming across as more and more unhinged to Geraldine, I didn't feel I should mention it until I have more evidence. So I'm just going to get on and start enjoying the Confluvium series again, relax and experience it properly, and just see if anything odd happens again. It's the least of my concerns at the moment though.

  What's most interesting today though is that Geraldine scheduled this follow up discussion within an hour of receiving my report yesterday. That means she's either as worried as I am about what I've found, or she wants to clip me round the ears and tell me to get my act together and stop being so stupid. I really hope it's the latter. I've gone from the depression of my divorce, to the excitement of my new role, to now doubting my own sanity, in such a short time. I thought I was getting my life back on track, and now I'm even doubting what humanity really is.

  That's the curse of a historian sometimes - we have a longer perspective against which to judge current events. Humanity seems to be doomed to repeat its previous mistakes in new and creative ways. I've been reluctant to confront the questions that have been circling in my mind since we started this investigation, but the evidence is stacking up. I can't duck them any longer, as much as I'd like to for my own peace of mind.

  Are we airbrushing history so that most of the population don't realise that evils are being carried out in their name in order to keep them 'safe'? Is that's what happening? Is what's happening being done for the good of humanity, driving us to be more fully integrated into the Stream, or is it really about establishing control and predictability? Have we been right in assimilating the other races we've met into the Stream, without any real thought about their own evolution? Why are the Safirans so innately hostile towards us? Do they also fear being changed by exposure to the Stream?

  I feel like I've been walking through life in a naive haze of complacency, and now I'm questioning every aspect of my life and culture. The small frustrations that have dogged me through my career, blocking access to areas of research, now seem part of a wider agenda.

  So much for the walk clearing my brain of worries, I've just had it going round and round my head all the way, and here I am almost at the office. I was so engrossed in my thoughts I almost walked into Damon Gates as he got off of the local shuttle.

  'Good morning Kofi,' he said after just avoiding me. 'You look distracted, busy day ahead?'

  'Yes,' I replied, not really in the right frame of mind for pleasantries. 'I've been working at home for a couple of days, about time I dragged myself in. One of my routine meetings with Geraldine today, usual progress updates.'

  'So what are you working on now? How did the report on the Stream go?' he asked.

  I mentally came alert. What should I say? God, it's permeating my life at every level already, I'm finding it hard not to be suspicious of everyone. 'Oh it was fine, there were a few things that Geraldine didn't know, so it was worthwhile. I think it was just a test to see the type of thing I come up with, so she knows what to expect once she has something critical for me to do. I'm just doing a couple of follow up topics now.'

  'Ah that makes sense, it's surprising how little most people know of the world before the Flood,' he continued. 'Geraldine's spoken highly of you in the meetings we've had. I've been very impressed with her so far, so different to my Decemvir, but seems extremely genuine and open to new ideas.'

  'Yes she's great,' I concurred, trying to keep the conversation to a minimum.

  'Wel
l, here we are,' Damon said. 'Straight into a meeting, perfect way to start the day. It's been good to chat, let's do it more often. I'd be very interested in hearing more about your ideas and things you discuss with Geraldine. Obviously within the usual limits of confidentiality, it would just help me in my liaison role, without having to pester Geraldine all the time.'

  I muttered as non-committally as I could without seeming rude, hoping that it was just a throwaway parting statement that wouldn't lead to anything. Nothing against Damon, just he was a complication I didn't want to think about amongst everything else that was going on.

  After the usual daily routine, largely involving several cups of coffee and discussions in the kitchen, it was time for the meeting with Geraldine. We settled into our normal chairs. The nausea was definitely reducing as I became accustomed to the transition and lack of the Stream.

  'Good morning,' Geraldine started. 'Thanks for your report, I felt we needed to discuss it straight away. I'm not entirely sure where to start. I feel like we're probably making more of this information than it warrants, and yet I can't but help fault the logic and feel as if there is something more here. Some of the things you've highlighted are probably coincidental, thanks be to Saint Raj, but I can't see how all of them could be.'

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile when she sarcastically used one of the sayings of the Raj cult. 'I agree, I know I'm starting to doubt everything and worry about every minor anomaly. I'm sure it's easy to interpret any fact to fit it into our grand conspiracy, but that doesn't mean there isn't something there. There are too many things pointing in the same general direction. I'd rather be over cautious and err on the side of mistrusting everything and everyone right now, until we have a clearer understanding. I'm even finding it hard to relax and have polite conversations with anyone, I'm afraid I may have been a bit rude to Damon Gates as we walked into the office together. He was just casually asking what I do and whether I'd mind discussing details on what I do for you, just to help with his liaison role.'

  She said, 'Yes, I can see why you'd be cautious. I wouldn't worry about Damon, it sounds like he's just doing his job. If he asks again, unless you've got something away from this project for you to discuss, just tell him you're getting me historical data on the infrastructure report I'm working on for Gulzari, and that I'd rather not discuss the details until I'm sure what I want to present. I'd rather Gulzari didn't get mixed messages.'

  'Thanks, that helps,' I said. 'As I said, I was disappointed that the investigation into Raj didn't really hint at what might be behind what's going on. However I was extremely shocked at what I concluded about part of their agenda. Everything seems to fit into their being a program in place to make humanity more deeply immersed in the Stream.'

  Geraldine replied, 'Unfortunately I tend to agree with your conclusions. I will admit that have been thinking along similar lines for a while now, but I'd not considered anything as extreme as your findings. Even for a non-specialist like me, seeing the word 'eugenics' sent a cold shiver down my spine. Yet it fits, I know enough about history to know the context. It made me think back to a report I read about a year ago from my predecessor Marcus's office. I dug it out and looked it over again last night, I'll send you the link later.'

  'There was a finding in the report that was really just a sub-note, as the report was about the success of various cultural education initiatives. One of the findings was that there is a strong correlation between certain traits and Edelman scale ratings. For example, creative people tend to be at the Shallow end of the gene pool. Similarly, although the crime rate is at an historical all time low, most criminals are also Shallow. There are other similar correlations, but in general the trend is this - the more deeply immersed a person is, the less likely they are to be imaginative or creative, and they are more likely to be stable, unoriginal and, well, docile. Malleable. That's can't be a coincidence either. Is humanity being tailored to be more compliant? If so, to what?'

  I stared at her for a few seconds, letting that sink in. I came in today expecting Geraldine to push back on my wilder speculations, but instead she'd given me more evidence to back them up, and gone one step further. No point in holding back now, I thought.

  'So Geraldine, are you thinking that the behaviour modification research that was started by Raj is being used here? That could be why the research results aren't available, they were too successful and suppressed? That's frightening. Do we truly have free will still?'

  She replied, 'I think we're lucky as we're both at the Shallow end, without that I'm not sure we'd be having this conversation. However I doubt that we're totally immune. Your report made me think of two things for the first time, that now I consider them just feel completely wrong.'

  'Firstly, too many of the things that Raj was interested in, or believed in, seem commonplace and accepted now. Were his doctrines accepted too easily? Did we really forgive him so readily? Do we really dress so casually because that's what he liked etc etc? Why would we follow Raj's agenda though when he was dead before this could have started? Perhaps these changes were just used as a test bed for the technology before using it for other matters.'

  'Secondly, we've just accepted we did the right thing by integrating the other races we've met into the Stream and creating the Confluvium. Have we just done the same to them? For example, the Sirians were aggressive warmongers when we met them, but that ended very quickly and conveniently after their assimilation. Why don't we question this more readily? We've clearly fundamentally changed the nature of the races that we've met, it feels like what we've done is peacefully conquer and subjugate them. Or has the same thing already happened to us, but we haven't realised it?'

  Again I stared back at Geraldine while working out what to say. I felt like I had free will. However I had also easily accepted these matters without considering them too deeply. Although I'd been frustrated, I'd not fought against the suppression of research into unfashionable areas of history. I'd too just gone along with things. Geraldine's words triggered a memory of something I read at University, so I hastily looked it up in the Stream. It was Schopenhauer who had asked 'Is it possible to demonstrate human free will from self-consciousness?' I'd instinctively rejected his conclusion that it was a delusion to think we can be conscious of having free will. Now I'm not so sure. Shit, I can feel a sleepless night coming on thnking about this.

  There's one thing Geraldine had hinted at before that still didn't make sense to me though.

  'The one race that we've met that we haven't assimilated into the Stream so far are the Safirans. We're looking for the Fount that is trying to control all the races of the Stream, ourselves included. Wouldn't an external factor make most sense? Why couldn't it be the Safirans? They seem to have most to gain, and we know they've been monitoring us for longer than we realised they existed, and are hostile towards us.'

  Geraldine looked at me, clearly agonising over what to say. I could see the tension in her, when suddenly she relaxed, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She's made a decision that had clearly been weighing on her for a while. I felt like I'd passed a test.

  'OK, I think you've earned the right to be trusted given the way you've thrown yourself into the investigations so openly. You're in this as deeply as I am and have already come to your own conclusions independently of any pressure from me. It's time I came clean and told you why I really started all this. The HOME deaths were something that needed investigation, but only because I thought they were part of a larger picture. I think you've proven this, but you need to know what made me initially suspicious.'

  'As you know, I was the leader of the official first contact mission with the Safirans. For years we'd had reports on exploratory ships of 'ghosts' being seen, mysterious presences that were seen glimpsed of the corner of eyes, fleeting shadows that came and went. Ghost fever spread through the Confluvium, although it became a bit of a running joke. Eventually though a pattern was spotted.
Appearances seem to be occurring in roughly straight lines, radiating from the Epsilon Eridani system. Although there was much opposition within the Decemvirate over wasting time on such a thing, Decemvir Marcus Nguyen forced through sending an exploratory first contact mission to investigate, which I was appointed to lead.'

  'And that's exactly what I did, except what actually happened is somewhat different from the public record. I met with Safira, the only representative of their race who has made direct contact with us. We named the race after her, largely as we had to call them something. What we discussed made me question everything the Confluvium stood for, and I knew I had to investigate myself on my return. Obviously I couldn't rely upon the word of an unknown and potentially hostile race, but she raised enough concerns in my mind that I couldn't ignore it.'

  She took a sip of her coffee before continuing.

  'Rather than me explaining the full details of what happened, I'll send you my private pool of our first contact after this meeting. The one on public record is a false recording that I created in order to give me time to investigate. You'll see why when you dive in to the details, but the Safirans may not be what you expect, and as we're discovering neither is the Confluvium.'

  Geraldine could see that I was struggling to keep up, it was quite an emotional leap to accept that the Safirans might not be the threat they were widely assumed to be, and that the Confluvium might be at fault. I'd need to see the detail behind Geraldine's assertion, but I've rarely found myself disagreeing with her conclusions. After she saw that I had collected my thoughts, she calmly sipped her coffee again and continued.

  'The one person I felt I could trust on my return was Decemvir Marcus Nguyen, as it was he who had forced through sending the mission in the first place.'

  'Of course before I got home, Marcus was dead. That now seems very convenient in retrospect, and was one of the triggers for wanting the HOME deaths to be investigated. Similarly I think my election as Decemvir to replace him was equally convenient. I was clearly under suspicion, but was famous and popular after filing my report and discussing it in the media, warning people of the threat the Safirans faced. I have a feeling that two deaths of linked public figures so close together was too much of a risk, so it would be better to keep me in the public eye where I could be kept very busy, and also easily monitored.'