Peter Prellwitz - Shards Book One

"Wake up. Good morning! Time to wake up!? Dr. Barrett's soft gruffness and hand holding were in full force. I was still a little uncomfortable with it, but had decided to accept it and try to like it. During my brainstorming last night, the reason for his physical touch between two men, even in a doctor/patient relationship, became pretty clear. Society had moved to the position of the acceptability of pseudo-intimate touch between men. While still a little uncomfortable with it, I was glad to receive contact from my new world other than just audio. So I tried to appreciate it.

My thinking must have shown I was awake, for he began speaking directly to me.? Well! Good morning! I hope you had a pleasant night's sleep. I understand that the increase in nutrients and fluids have begun stirring you out of your Healer's Sleep. Would you like to wake up all the way now? Just nod your head."

I felt myself nodding automatically, but as soon as I realized it, my head stopped. I tried to start nodding again-any voluntary motion was wonderful-but couldn't. It was maddening. He chuckled.

"Excellent! But don't try anything more. Whatever you have to think about, you probably won't be able to do. But not to worry. Judging by your progress, you should emerge sometime tonight, maybe early tomorrow morning. Very fortunate timing.? I waited for him to expand on that, but he continued.?

Again, when you do wake up, just speak up. Say something like, 'Please contact Doctor Barrett,' and the computer will notify me immediately. Don't bother to give your name, because I haven't the foggiest idea what it is.? I involuntarily held my breath for a moment with surprise. He must really know his patients because he spotted it, and laughed.

"Surprised? Don't be. I only know you from your false persona. The way our group works… well, let's pick up from where I left off, okay? I'll conduct a quick physical while talking. Should do something to earn my keep. Don't be upset with the different sensations you'll feel. Healer's Sleep has a way of warping your perceptions, especially in its closing stages."

I felt the sheets being drawn back, and the doctor begin plying his trade. He talked while he performed the physical, which was a far less pleasant sensation than my sponge bath. I tried to picture the nurse and her attentions instead of Dr. Barrett, but the thought of her was little comfort. Odd.

"Before you tired last night, I believe I had gotten to the point in my story where the government had released the wipe/re-write process to the business industry. By the way, the idiomatic term for wiping and rewriting process is 'ripe'. It's a blend of the two words, though reversed. I suppose it became popular in its day because of its similarity to 'rape', which this most definitely could be, used against one's will. Which, once the industries got their hands on it, it most certainly was.

"It was bad enough with the government having a monopoly. But at least they didn't market the thing.

Once legalized for anyone who became licensed, though, it turned into a nightmare. It began being used as a tease for the high level jobs. If you were willing to submit, you could become a wealthy company executive within the week. I'm shocked that there was any appeal to it at all. But for some reason, there was. The economy at the time was robust enough, but the moral fiber had worn thin. Many 'applicants', mostly single people, submitted to the process. The employer allowed the employee to decide the persona, and added their own needs, usually high level education, loyalty and firm work ethic. It's amazing what people will give up for credits."

He finished the examination and pulled the sheets back up. He'd been right; it had felt different. I'd have sworn I had at least six arms and no torso. I had also felt terribly exposed, with the overwhelming urge to curl up into a ball.

"Anyway, this incredible situation went on for several… er, some time before it was finally discovered by one of the watchdog groups, a more extreme one, that many companies were not giving out just cushy jobs. They were also riping people for the dangerous jobs, the jobs nobody in their right minds would take, pun intended.

"Further, this same extremist group had been uncovering a very scary trend. As riping became popular, homelessness had plummeted. This was attributed to the fact that a riping could radically change anyone's views, ethics and even mental symptoms of addiction. Remember, it was for the first two reasons that riping first spread into the penal system. No one had asked how, why, or most importantly where these homeless went. Most were just glad they were gone.

"Then one day, during an… action against a large corporation, this extremist group discovered that the entire security system was being controlled by a homeless person who had been riped. Against his will.

"Once this story had been told and proven over and over, the whole thing tumbled down. Everyone was willing to give up everything to get ahead, but only on their say-so. Now it was being decided by others.

That fine line that dictates whether a practice will be tolerated or abolished had been crossed. It had taken years for riping to become commonplace. It took days to eliminate it. In less than a week, the government seized control of the riping process and invalidated every public sector license issued. It then passed very comprehensive laws, enforced by very comprehensive punishments, to utterly abolish riping.

To its credit, both the public and their servants reacted swiftly and completely.

"With two glaring exceptions. First was the exemption given to convicted killers and catatonic patients.

They are still riped today.? Barrett snorted in disgust.? They will never learn. Or maybe they did.

There's deep suspicion that not all convicted killers and catatonic patients were actually that at the time of riping.

"The second exception is the infamous 'grandfather clause'. The government did abolish riping. Totally.

But it allowed those who had already been riped to continue on in their current state, until death by natural causes. By now, a process had been developed, of which you are a recipient, to restore the original persona, with only moderate risk to the individual. Many people thought this would be the proper thing to do, and there was a considerable movement to pass this law. But successful pressure was brought to bear by those standing to lose, and the government, perhaps aware how much power still resided in the corporate circle, caved in and permitted ripes to remain as they were. Further, they made it illegal to even attempt original persona restorations. And that's the way it remains today."

Even if I had been able to say something, I doubt I could have. This was an incredible tale, a terrifying tale. Could we have so married ourselves to technology that we would submit to it, rather than it to us?

Another thought nagged at me; if the government had reverted to Dred Scott logic, where did that put me? And the good doctor, who had virtually confessed to a criminal activity, a criminal career, restoring original personas? My want to get out of this Healer's Sleep took on a desperate tone.

"If you're wondering why I've told you this, admitting to illegal activity, well, I think you deserve an answer. First, I must tell you that you will not be sought or prosecuted. It was determined very early on that restored personas could in no way be held responsible for actions performed on them before their restoration. You do have another concern I'll have to tell you about, though. Later.

"The reasons I've told you all this are both selfless and selfish. They are selfish because although I firmly believe in what I do, it is still salve for my soul to have my patient's understanding. They are selfless, because I've now admitted to a crime, voluntarily, to you. And under law, your testimony can have me imprisoned or executed. But you need to know this because the society you will soon be a part of is so different. We've managed to estimate the date of your original riping, and you're one of the first, if it's true. You also need to know because I'm sure you've figured out that this is an illegal facility, and Lieutenant Sanchez, the base commander, has told us we may need to leave very soon. It would help immensely if we had your conscious cooperation when that time comes. There are other reasons, which I'll tell you upon awakening."