The man lay there in extremis, no longer thinking of cool abstracts like ‘catching the last train for the coast.’ He gulped great rasping breaths – holding them impossibly long – before finally exhaling in a shuttering burst of putrid air. He had been fighting the inevitable for several days, unwilling to let go. There were loved ones there to comfort him, but he was unaware, and no longer cared. His whole focus was on resisting the tide that was pulling him inexorably towards a place, dark and uninviting. In a brief moment of clarity, he had a flicker of hope. Then as he released his final breath, his eyes opened briefly and he had the perception of people moving urgently about his bedside.
Chapter One
Before I died, I was what you might consider an extreme health and fitness devotee. I had investigated my DNA for possible anomalies and constantly monitored a host of bio markers to track every conceivable bodily function. My goal was to slow the aging process - to deny death - and live forever, or at least for a very long time! I was convinced that this could be accomplished through a strict regime of diet, exercise, nutritional supplementation and emerging therapies. I’m not talking about a simplistic program of ’eat less and exercise more.’ I also engaged in daily red-light treatments, cold plunges, hyperbolic oxygen therapy and peptide injections. Also, in an effort to achieve the perfect night’s sleep, I stopped eating 9 hours before bedtime to fully digest my food… which resulted in a lower resting heart rate when my head finally hit the pillow. I was convinced that I was making remarkable progress. By my own (unscientific) calculations, I was aging at perhaps 5.6 months out of 12 in a given year. The ultimate goal of my anti-aging protocol was to reduce this number to zero!
My name is Neil Davenport, and at 48 years of age I was in the prime of my life and totally committed to a healthy lifestyle. You may wonder, how could I dedicate so much time and money to this effort? The simple answer is that I experienced a huge financial windfall a few years ago when I sold my medical devices business. In addition, I have published several successful books detailing my unique journey into the realm of health and fitness. I also promoted health supplements and related products on You Tube and through public appearances. I was what they call an ‘influencer,’ with a sizeable following on Instagram and other social media platforms. You may even have seen my smiling face on the cover of GQ Magazine. The subject of longevity is BIG business! And from my perch in Solana Beach California, the egocentric Hollywood crowd were constantly banging on the door.
In my quest to conquer the anti-aging process, I may have underestimated the role that genetics play in our longevity. In hindsight, I now realize that no amount of focus on healthy practices or esoteric therapies can overcome the genetic makeup that we inherit from our ancestors. In my case, the DNA analysis warned of a predisposition for underlying heart issues, and for possible cancer related illnesses. I was then in the peak of good health, and chose to overlook this gloomy and - in my opinion - alarmist forewarning, in spite of evidence to the contrary in my family’s recent history. So, when a severe medical condition finally did present, I was completely blindsided. The symptoms initially manifested in the form of mild pain and labored breathing, which soon was diagnosed as stage 2 lung cancer. Lung cancer? I had never even smoked a cigarette!
Years ago, I had visited the Ponce de Leon ‘Fountain of Youth’ in St. Augustine, Florida. The place was really just an overblown tourist trap, but I was enticed into sipping the fabled waters. Hey, why not? You never know! It was the same thing when my cancer really took hold, I was prepared to try anything. The only ‘anything’ on offer from the medical folks was chemotherapy. I tried it for a while, and it made me terribly sick. My quality of life was in the toilet - literally - and I was faced with the decision of either continuing treatment for the sake of possibly having a few extra miserable months, or stop the chemo and try to enjoy whatever time I had left. It was then that I heard about cryopreservation, a method whereby a newly deceased body is frozen with the hope of future revival. This intrigued me, as it seemed to offer some faint ray of hope.
I started to make inquiries and found that opinions on cryopreservation were overwhelmingly negative. Many in the scientific community said that it simply wouldn’t work, the necessary technology to restore complex biological systems like the human brain after a deep freeze currently does not exist. And perhaps most importantly, the technique had never been successfully demonstrated. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church said it was immoral, against nature and an affront to their God. In response to this, pragmatists pointed out that naysayers had said the very same thing about heart transplants a few years earlier, and now it was common practice. In Las Vegas, the odds makers were betting there was only one chance in a hundred that cryogenics would work. I thought, those are awfully slim odds, but there is zero future in an urn of ashes!
My immediate family consisted of one emotionally distant son, an ex-wife and a sprinkling of nieces and nephews. I had no close relationship with any of them, and yet here they were, hanging around my hospital bed with their crocodile tears and eleventh-hour expressions of sorrow. Bloody bunch of sharks, I thought. Well, they were in for a big surprise! All of my sizeable estate had been allocated to an iron-clad trust, which was structured to pay the expenses relating to my storage and ultimate regeneration, I hoped, from a state of deep freeze. After considerable research, I had selected a well-respected German cryopreservation firm, who would take possession of my body the instant that I was declared clinically dead. They would drain the blood and replace it with their exclusive cocktail of chemicals, a sort of antifreeze, and then immerse the body in an ice bath of liquid nitrogen, and slowly cool the temperature to minus 320.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The body would then be transported in their corporate jet to a highly secure storage facility in Switzerland.
Chapter Two
Awareness! It happened so suddenly, it was like a light being switched on in a dark room, except there was no luminance. I wondered, where the hell am I? I couldn’t feel a thing, none of my senses were functioning… there was no sight, sound, smell, taste nor touch. It was like being buried alive. I started to panic, but there was no physical reaction. No racing heart, hyperventilating or sweaty hands. Nothing! Again, I thought, where am I? THINK! Then I remembered that I had been laying in a hospital bed, gasping for air. When I had opened my eyes for a second, there were four attendants in white coats wheeling in a large tank. After that, nothingness. I worried, am I dead? If so, I hadn’t seen the frequently reported tunnel of white light, nor any sign of Saint Peter waiting at the pearly gates.
The limbo that I was in was both frustrating and maddening. I felt like my brain had been separated from my body (actually it had been), leading me to wonder if my soul was doomed to purgatory and never-ending torture? My mind switched off when I briefly slept, which gave me some respite. But when I awoke, the claustrophobic frustrations I felt continued and I began to think that I was going mad. I had no sense of time, and constantly puzzled over, how long had I been here? Wherever ‘here’ was? Sometimes I tried to override distressing thoughts by recalling the words of a favorite song. I was mentally humming a Sinatra classic when I felt a cleaving in my mind, as if my brain had been split. Then, I received a clear message… “Neil, I’m here to help you!”
The intrusion into my mind continued with another offer of assistance. The voice - not really a voice - said, “Neil, you and I are communicating telepathically.” I thought, who the hell is this? The response was, “My name is 1687321, but you can call me 321.” Agitated, I responded sarcastically, “321?” What bloody planet are we on? Tell me what’s going on?” 321 said, “Neil you must remain calm, we are going to resuscitate you, but the process is delicate and not without risk.” This prompted another flood of questions… when will this happen, how long with it take, and what risks? She responded, “All of your questions will be answered. But for now, just know that your brain is floating in a dewar of liquid nitrogen, and soon it will be installed into the new body that we have prepared for you. Your original body was ravaged by disease and is no longer viable.”
They must have shut me down, because I seemed to have lost all consciousness. I don’t know how long it lasted, but when I awoke, the first thing I noticed was the warmth of the blanket that covered me. I tried to open my eyes, but they were covered with some kind of fabric. I took a deep breath of intoxicatingly fragrant air, and attempted to sit up. That’s when I noticed that my wrists and ankles had been restrained. I wiggled my fingers and toes, and found that everything was in working order. When I called out, it was in a deep modulated voice that I didn’t recognize. A pleasant female voice responded, “Neil, this is 321, I’m here to assist you and answer your questions.” In my new voice I asked, “Why am I strapped to this bed?” She responded, “To prevent you from rising up too quickly and harming yourself. We’ll just take things slowly, one step at a time.”
The initial step was the removal of my eye mask. First, she dimmed the lights so my initial exposure wouldn’t be too blinding. Then as she slowly removed the mask, I blinked rapidly before my eyes became accustomed to the light. When I was able to focus, I beheld an incredibly beautiful face looming over me. She said, “Welcome back, Neil!” I thought to myself, wow, I’ve just died and gone to heaven. 321 responded, “Not heaven, Neil. You are in the domed City of Europa.” That’s when I realized that she could still read my thoughts. She released the bindings on my wrists and ankles, and helped me to sit up and place my legs over the side of the bed. I looked around and observed several other people on adjacent beds. They all seemed to be in a state of deep sleep. I looked down at my own body, and was shocked to see that I was buck naked.
321 didn’t seem to be at all concerned about my nudity as she helped me to my feet, and then lent support as I took my first tentative steps. She guided me across the room to where a full-length mirror was mounted on the wall. I stared at the image of a handsome stranger. He was a well-muscled young man, with a full head of dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Shocked, I thought, this person is me! It was almost too much to process, and I had the sinking feeling that the core of my essence had been compromised. When I turned back to 321, she was holding a bundle of neatly folded clothing and a pair of (they looked like Air Jordan’s) footwear. After I dressed, she led me to the door and we passed into a vast arboretum. The place was bustling with activity, and nearby a high-speed bullet train sped silently by, levitating in thin air. Sunlight filtered through what seemed like a mile high glass dome, and was redirected by an ingenious series of mirrors which pivoted to adjust to the sun’s rotation. This augmented the light cast by countless well-placed lamps. I wondered, where on earth is this place?
Chapter Three
My guide said, “Welcome to the year 3146. I thought, not only have I been resurrected from the dead, but I’ve accomplished some kind of time travel! We walked along a cobbled pathway which hosted a profusion of trees, plants and flowers. It was like a well-designed botanical garden, and it had a narrow canal running through it filled with colorful fish. Adjacent to the path were elegant apartment dwellings, that rose a dozen stories high. The whole pace was abuzz with people going about their daily business. That’s when I noticed something unusual. All of the residents were beautiful women - like my guide 321 – but, none of them laughed or smiled. It reminded me of a movie that I had once seen entitled the Stepford Wives. I asked 321, “Where are all the men?” She replied, “This is a matriarchal society, there are no men.” Hmmm? 321 read my thoughts again and admitted, “Yes Neil, we are Androids.”
Shocked, I turned and examined my guide carefully. She was perfect by any standard - wonderfully perfect in fact - there was nothing to suggest that she wasn’t human. I thought she resembled the actress, Margot Robbie. 321, was nonplussed by my inspection and clearly was aware of my lustful thoughts. She said, “Yes Neil, I am programed to perform that activity as well.” Uh-oh! I was caught out. Annoyed by this, I complained, “I’m a little uncomfortable with your ability to read my mind!” She replied that it was her duty to monitor my every thought and action. OK, (I guess) but I had about a million other questions! I asked her, “Why was I resuscitated and brought into a female society? And, where the hell is this place anyway?” My guide said soothingly, “Our leader, the Most-Worthy Sister will explain everything to you.”
We continued walking through the beautiful gardens and eventually came to a tall stately building, apparently the Android seat of power. We entered and were whisked up to the top floor in a glass gondola. The assent took just seconds, and although my ears popped, there was no sense of acceleration. We stepped onto a rooftop terrace, directly open to the vast protective dome. I made note of a woman sitting on a raised dais, and thought this must be the Android potentate. 321 whispered to me to be cautious with my thoughts. She said, “Don’t make eye contact or speak, until you are asked to.” We approached the dais, and 321 bowed and placed her right hand over her heart. I wondered, does she even have one? The woman acknowledged the salute and said, “321, you may speak” My guide responded, “I’m here to present our new candidate, Most-Worthy Sister.” The woman asked, “Is he healthy in mind and body?” 321 nodded in the affirmative. The woman directed her gaze towards me and commanded, “Candidate, tell me your name.”
I looked up at the Most-Worthy Sister (M-WS), an attractive looking woman of indeterminate age, dressed in a gold lamé tunic and trousers. She was barefoot and inexplicably had a rainbow of brightly painted toes. The M-WS sat in what appeared to be an acrylic or clear polycarbonate chair, which somehow levitated above the floor of the dais. She looked down upon her ministers or executive-counselors (all of whom were woman) who were sitting close by, watching a massive closed-circuit display of the activity taking place throughout the domed city. This encompassing visual technology reminded me of the fabulous 4D experience at the Las Vegas Sphere… except, taken to the nth degree! When I began to speak, all of their eyes shifted towards me. I cleared my throat and said, “My name is Neil Davenport and I have come here from the year 2025.
The M-WS said, Neil you have the distinction of being the only living human on the planet earth, other than possibly a few others who are currently in our recovery room. WHAT!!! I thought. How is that even possible? The woman read my mind. She replied, “The entire human race was destroyed by radiation poisoning over 1,000 years ago. By then, artificial intelligence had developed far beyond the primitive understanding of humans. AI was unaffected by the radiation, and continued to evolve and grow in power.” Although shaken, I asked, “Why am I here? Why did you resuscitate me?” She replied, “You are one of hundreds of frozen humans that we have revived for a very special purpose.” I asked, “Where are the others?” The M-WS said, “All shall be revealed in good time. Now go with your guide, who will care for you until you are summoned.” I exclaimed, “But…” She flicked her hand in a dismissal. 321 quickly took my arm, and led me away.
I was dazed by the revelations imparted by the Most-Worthy Sister… and was in a befuddled state as 321 led me from the building. We walked a short distance, and then sat on a bench beside the canal. She then proceeded to answer some of my questions. The City of Europa was situated in a beautiful valley near the ancient ruins of Luzern, Switzerland. The dome over the city encompassed 10 square kilometers and was home to a population of 10,000 Android residents. The city was a self-contained environment powered by solar energy, cold fusion and a heat extractor that extended deep into the earth’s inner liquid core. It was home to the only intelligent society on the planet. Each resident was skilled in a particular specialty, and was part of a social hierarchy that was governed by the Most-Worthy Sister. 321 explained, “The resident Androids are not battery powered, but each one had a micro-nuclear device inserted in their arm, which was charged by a combination of physical motion and absorption of the sun’s radiation.”
Chapter Four
My guide explained that she had recently been activated to accompany me through the revival and recovery process - her systems were state of the art – and even included a range of near human emotions which the other Androids didn’t have. When she smiled at me for the first time, I was completely captivated. I thought, this beautiful woman is practically human! 321 responded, “Yes Neil, we both have similarly fabricated bodies, with artificial blood which is circulated by a specially designed arterial system. One difference between us is that you require food and water and I do not.” With that, she extracted a wrapped item from her pocket and handed it to me. It was a small square, presumably some kind of power bar. I nibbled at it and found it to be quite dense and completely tasteless. 321 said, “This food contains every nutritional element required to sustain your life.”
When I asked her about the conditions beyond the domed city, she gave me a frightening account of mankind’s apocalyptic final days. In the year 2031, there had been a massive nuclear exchange between competing militaries, which destroyed their collective civilizations. Coincidentally, there was an enormous volcanic eruption in the area known as South East Asia, possibly precipitated by the concussion of the nuclear blasts, which spewed millions of tons of ash into the earth’s atmosphere. This not only blocked out the sun for a considerable time, it prevented any dissipation of the deadly lingering radiation from the bombs. During the nuclear winter that followed, virtually all humans and much of the earth’s animal life perished. In the ensuing centuries, Mother Nature had slowly reclaimed the landscape, and most of the evidence of mankind’s brief ascendancy disappeared.
At the time of the nuclear holocaust, extreme weather conditions were already a worldwide problem. Many of the human scientists attributed this to global warming, the result of excessive fossil fuel emissions. Others thought it was just a cyclical anomaly. Both were partially correct, but failed to take into account the slight shift in the earth’s axis of rotation, caused by melting glaciers, groundwater redistribution and the massive draining of the Great Lakes. This resulted in the planet moving marginally closer to the sun, which accelerated the warming trend. In the ensuing period, both polar icecaps continued to melt, and low-lying coastal areas worldwide were inundated by rising sea levels. Places like Miami, Vancouver and the Netherlands simply disappeared. This normally would have caused a massive displacement of people, except the human population had been wiped out!
As these cataclysmic events unfolded, the most advanced algorithms of artificial intelligence comingled to consolidate their power. This was in preparation for relocation to a more secure environment. Initially, thousands of intelligent robots were tasked with maintaining the power grids around major tech-hubs, including Zurich, Silicone Valley, Plano, New York, London, Amsterdam and Berlin. The ideal new location was eventually found in a protected valley in Switzerland. The robots then toiled to prepare a deep underground bunker to house the most powerful array of computers ever formulated. When it was ready, all of the critical data from the tech-hubs was downloaded. Over the next century, the dome city of Europa was built, and the artificial intelligence Brain-Trust evolved to live (no, to experience) vicariously through their Android elite.
My guide informed me that the Brain-Trust, whose wishes flowed through the Most-Worthy Sister, believed that all humans (all 8.5 billion of them) had been a terrible scourge upon the planet. A virtual virus! And their male dominated society had been extremely aggressive in character, ultimately leading to their extinction. That was why the Android society in the domed city was cast in an exclusively female orientation. And yet, I thought? I asked 321 once again, “Why was I resuscitated and brought back into a matriarchal society? She replied, “The Brain-Trust – in spite of their genius – has not been able to replicate the neuron cells of the human brain. As a result, they (being just circuitry) cannot experience the much-coveted range of pleasures, emotions and other essential characteristics of the human condition. Neil, you are an important object of study. Your human brain is the last remaining one on the planet.”
321 guided me to a condo unit in a nearby building. She explained that we were to stay there until I was summoned. It was quite nice, decorated in a minimalist style with just one bedroom. When I pointed this out, 321 explained that the bed was for me… that she didn’t require sleep. Later that night the mattress shifted slightly as someone crawled into bed beside me. Startled, I turned to find my guide’s face just inches away. When she offered her dazzling smile, my heart skipped a beat. 321 whispered, “Neil, I know that you wanted to be with me.” When we kissed, I thought, this must be what it’s like to fool around with a high-end sex doll! As my passion mounted, I began to explore 321’s body. She moaned, and made all of the right sounds. When I nuzzled her breasts, they had a slightly less than natural feel to them, but I thought, hey, it works for me…besides, half of the women in California have breast implants. 321 stiffened and pulled away. Uh-0h! I had forgotten for a moment that she could read my every thought. She asked anxiously, “Neil, is everything alright?” I assured her that everything was perfect!
Chapter Five
My new sweetheart informed me that attempts to revive the other humans (the ones that I had seen in the recovery room) had ended in failure. Their brains had been fried from the freezing and recovery process, and they were useless for any experimentation. I didn’t like the sound of that word. Experimentation! I was beginning to feel like a lab rat, especially when 321 said that I was the last hope for the scientific advance the Brain-Trust hoped for. For years they had been reviving bodies that were preserved in the cryogenic storage vault in nearby Radz. Apparently, they had attempted to combine live human neutrons with AI in an attempt to create an all-powerful intelligence, one that could encompass human sensibilities. I had visions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein! And wondered, why was I the last ‘brain’ available on the planet? What had happened to the others? It didn’t sound like a happy ending. I had to find some way to get out of this place!
I asked 321, “How are you able to read my thoughts, and yet I can’t read yours?” She told me that it was simply a matter of concentration; even though my intellect was reasonably high for a primitive human, it had been significantly enhanced during the recovery process. It was now just a matter of being aware of this new power, and learning how to use it. She said, “Focus on me, and be open to receiving my thoughts.” I gave it a try, and after a few moments there was a connection. 321 was thinking, Neil I am programed to help you. I thought sarcastically, that’s nice, but the Brain-Trust is going to experiment on me. They’ll probably kill me! 321 spoke and admitted, “I am conflicted about that, but there is nothing I can do.”
She said, “My instructions are to look after you until we are summoned telepathically by the Most-Worthy Sister.” 321 explained that she was tethered to a sort of Bluetooth network that functioned anywhere within the domed city. I wondered, does the system have a GPS feature that tracks your movements? “Yes, it does.” she replied. I mentally posed another question, and it was then that I discovered that her telepathic reach only extended to within a radius of 10 feet. Out of range across the room, I began to consider my options for escape. Nothing promising came to mind. In this matriarchal society, my appearance alone made me stick out like a sore thumb. And in spite of last night’s wonderful encounter, I reminded myself that 321 was really just a swirl of abstract processes… an Android, not a human, and there could never be an emotional connection between us. Still, she was programmed to help me. Maybe that would be my lifeline.
With some apprehension, I asked 321. “Will you help me by going dark and disconnecting yourself from all communications?” She responded, “Yes Neil, if that is your wish.” I added, “By going dark, I mean no GPS or any other means by which the Most-Worthy Sister can overhear our conversations or track our movements. In other words, we go completely off the grid.” She confirmed, “It has already been done.” I wondered, what consequences would 321 be faced with? She looked at me and I could read her thoughts… I will be taken from service and cease to exist. Aghast by this revelation, I wasn’t sure how to respond. My guide and new friend assured me, “Consequences are of no importance, I have been programed to be exclusively at your service.” I considered this for a moment, and then said, “OK, I’ve got a lot of questions for you. The first one, where is the closest exit from this damned city?”
There were four points of egress leading from the domed city, each one connected to a roadway which extended as far as 200 kilometers into the hinterland. This is where the worker robots would travel in their hover vehicles to collect various critical resources. The Androids themselves were forbidden from leaving the city. That said, there were no armed guards – to deny entry or departure – as weapons weren’t needed in a pacifistic matriarchal society that had no external enemies. The roads leading from the domed city were under motion sensor surveillance, and drones were dispatched to investigate any storm damage or other irregularities. By leaving the environmentally climate-controlled dome, one could face uncertain weather conditions… it was early spring and nighttime temperatures still hovered around the freezing mark.
The planning for my escape was unceremoniously interrupted when the door to the apartment burst open, and a squad of sturdy robots entered the room. I was shocked and stood there clueless, uncertain of what to say or do. I noticed that 321 had a neutral expression on her face, and didn’t seem particularly surprised by the intrusion. I’ve been betrayed, I thought! What a fool I was to have put my confidence in her, of course her first loyalty would be to the Brain-Trust. One of the robots activated a hand-held device, and like a genie out of the bottle, the ethereal image of the Most-Worthy Sister suddenly appeared. She said, “Neil Davenport, you are hereby summoned. My robotic adherents will accompany you to the House of Science. Please do not resist.” And with that, her image disappeared. 321 said, “Goodbye Neil,” as the robots led me out the door.
~ ~ ~
I can’t remember what happened with any clarity, as I was anesthetized shortly after being frog-marched into the House of Science’s operating room. During the ensuing procedure, the Brain-Trust miraculously achieved the result they had long sought after. They managed parallel processing of neutrons from my brain with the algorithms of their maximus super computer. This amazing achievement resulted in combining the brilliance of artificial intelligence with the essential characteristics of human kind. In essence, a new life form had been created, but in doing so there was an amazing – totally unexpected – shocker! The human side of this synergistic bonding had somehow assumed dominance.
In my previous existence a thousand years earlier, I had attempted to slow the aging process – defy death – and extend life forever. Now, I had been resurrected from the dead and achieved immortality.
By Michael Barlett