Part 4: Chapter 4 Mnesists
Couple of things to note, apparently getting a Sensen is compulsory for being eligible for employment within Neo-Paris. And people have their memories wiped of their time in La Bastille. Which seems kind of counter productive. If you don't remember your time in prison what incentive is there to avoid being sent back in. Also that's giving your guards carte blanche for raping and abusing prisoners who don't even have the impetus or wherewithal to understand that they should fight back.
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Neo-Paris History – Global Production Spike(2020)
The Global Crisis had continued to weaken meta-economic structures since the late 20th century, and reached breaking point in 2020. Unable to agree to the terms of a controlled decline, the nations of the world suffered the brutal effects of a massive collapse in production.
The economic crisis had grown systemic since the late 20th century, and profits from the manufacturing sector had declined since 2012 despite a steady reduction in labor costs. Over nine-tenths of the world’s wealth was virtual, mainly comprising financial derivatives. Aggravated by the ecological and energy crises, this process continued and broke down completely in 2020 when there was not enough "real" economy left to destroy in order to maintain a world of wild, speculative trading. The downward spiral continued during subsequent years, and never again would the world’s industries come back to previous levels of wealth or goods production
In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2051, Professor Linus Akerfeldt from the University of Stockholm was the first to ironically refer to those events as the "global production spike". The term would come to define this pivotal year, which heralded the great catastrophes of the first half of the 21st century.
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Neo-Paris History – The European Civil War in Ten Dates
Deep Economic, energy, and climatic crises had weakened countries around the globe since the start of the 21st century, triggering protests across the European continent. The despairing population turned to rioting, uprisings, bloody repression and futile revolutions which tore the region apart during the eight years of this dark period of war.
Late December 2040: The last days of Chişinäu. After a week of protests and clashes with the police, riots erupted throughout the Moldavian capital. Fires and looting destroyed the city and the army split into loyalist and rebel factions. This marked the start of the European civil war.
March 18, 2041: The uprising of Berlin. Several dozen people were killed as angry Berliners marched on the Reichstag Palace, strongly opposed to the decision to reform German legislation prohibiting the building of nuclear power stations. The eco-terrorists in the Greenwar movement responded by planting a bomb in the Reichstag Palace.
March-May 2041: The "European black spring". After Berlin, riots erupted in many large European cities: Hamburg, Dresden, Bilbao, Grenoble and Prague proclaimed themselves free of communes, and bands of deserters rallied around the insurgents.
May 2041: The Schengen space was abolished. The North European Community (alliance of Nordic countries) declared its neutrality and closed its borders.
June-September 2041: The collapse. Looting by organized gangs spread across two-thirds of Europe. Militia groups formed in urban areas as the last governments lost control of their territories.
October 23, 2041: Vienna, the martyred city. In response to a call from European leaders, the Russian Federation offered aid to the nations of Western Europe. Three days later commandos unleashed a seismic "Tremora" bomb on the city of Vienna.
2042-2043: Flu pandemic in Southern Europe. Bilbao was decimated by the epidemic during winter 2043.
September 2044: Aerial bombardment of Gibraltar by Spanish air forces.
June 2045: Prague razed to the ground. Three "dirty" nuclear bombs devastated the capital of the Czech Republic; no one claimed responsibility.
September 9-12, 2047: Paris was destroyed when several seismic "Tremora" bombs exploded under the French capital. Russia fiercely denied ordering the attack, which was considered the last major event of the European civil war.
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Neo-Paris Landmarks – La Bastille Fortress
Protected by the artificial "Lake Saint-Louis", La Bastille fortress is one of the largest penitentiaries in Europe. The prison implements revolutionary new incarceration methods based on memory deprivation. Although these may be contested in some quarters, the results are compelling.
La Bastille fortress is a paradox; at times the focus fo the fiercest criticism, while heaped with praise at others, the experimental prison has combined the constraints of physical incarceration with a flexible and ethical management of its detainees.
Prisoners are subjected to a temporary memory wipe on arrival at the prison; stripped of their memories, they have no reason to harbor feelings of violence, hatred or vengeance. Nor do they feel the need to escape as they have forgotten the outside world even exists. Memory wiping offers them a clean mental slate on which they can reinvent themselves. It has effectively neutralized the criminal networks that tend to infect various penitentiaries.
A panoptic surveillance system enables the subdued and non-violent inmates to move freely within the prison. Another innovation is the individual cells managed by an automated hoist system that moves prisoners around without human intervention, thus reducing potential conflict situations.
However, some critics oppose the memory wiping procedures in La Bastille. Certain political factions, in particular the Errorist movement, denounce the indignity of this treatment, comparing it to brainwashing. Madame, La Bastille’s prison governor, responded to her detracted in no uncertain terms, stating that the prisoner’s memories are stored in memory confinement servers and are returned to the owners the day they leave the prison. They have no recollection of their time at La Bastille and no escapes have ever taken place. What more could you ask of a prison?
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Neo-Paris VIPs – Madame
Her Position as governor of La Bastille fortress requires her to use the alias "Madame" and she rules the prison with an iron fist. Her past may be shadowy, but her outstanding record has kept her at the top of a totally new type of penitentiary since her appointment in 2074.
Although doubts may remain regarding her origins, Madame was born Astrid Voorhees in 2036 in Paris. Abandoned as an orphan from the age of 8, she grew up amongst the survivors of the dark years, an era torn apart by wars and natural disasters. She first appeared in the records of the brand new city, Neo-Paris, aged around 30 as one of the first volunteers to accept a Sensen terminal implantation to allow her to work in the municipality. She designed the La Bastille penitentiary system herself, and orders the temporary wiping of the memories of its inmates. This revolutionary idea is made possible by the omnipresent Sensen, which enables her to manage and control docile and non-violent criminals. Relieved of the burden of their past, they resist the temptation to return to an outside world they no longer remember.
Madame was appointed governor of La Bastille when it opened in 2074 and has achieved the impressive record of not a single escape attempt on her watch. But rumors have persisted over the years regarding the prison’s "opaque" management style and evidence exists that, although the memories of the prisoners are restored on the day of their release, memories of their period of incarceration are wiped clean, "An essential security measure", says Madame, "to prevent any escape organized from outside. " Her opponents declare this is "a flagrant violation of human rights that is unacceptable in a modern democracy like Neo-Paris". Some have even accused her of memory crimes against the prison population in La Bastille, but no eye-witness reports have ever been produced to support such accusations.
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Technology – “Valet” robot
Initially designed to provide personal services, Valets are humanoid multitasking robots that can now carry out site surveillance and maintain public safety. Designed by Avram Hesh Laboratories, this model was a perfect answer to the need for personal security in an urban environment.
The first Valet emerged from a robotics program applied to personal protection and automated security technologies, its sleek design and physical proportions of an adult human with a serene face were selected for their psychological effect; the owner is reassured by the sense of calm emanating from the Valet, and its resolute and assured bearing is likely to deter potential attackers.
The main advantage of this machine is the relatively low cost of manufacture which has lead to mass production and the replacement of human agents by Valets in many thankless patrol and guard duties, site surveillance and access control. Designed for private use, these robots are programmed to never injure or attack a human under any circumstances.
Two models were specifically designed for guard and public security duties: the AV-48S "Seraphim", flying models generally used for site surveillance, and the AV-48N "Nephilim" models for riot control and emergency situations. Unlike the standard models, these two products are authorized to use force against any individuals considered hostile.
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Memorize and the Sensen – Globalization of Sensen
By the late 2060s, the Sensen had infiltrated every area of human activity and everyone was using it. The program applications were consistently upgraded, and it became such an indispensable part of human existence, that hose deprived of it quickly became second-class citizens. The success of a communal society generated by Memorize cannot be denied, but nor can the exclusion of the "NoSens".
The commercial launch of a second generation Sensen in 2065 launched a craze far beyond the optimistic expectations of Memorize. The new Sensen, very similar to the one we have today, brought with it the huge potential provided by memoriel digitization. In countries and entire continents, the new social paradigm offered by Memorize was now implanted in the everyday lives of men and women of all ages across the world. The global memory network spread rapidly, even to regions that were initially reluctant to adopt it for cultural or religious reasons or a lack of access to technology.
Several factors were suggested to account for this collective mania. First the reconnection via the Sensen with the notion of belonging to a global village, a concept undermined during the period of protectionism and the breakdown in communications resulting from the catastrophes of the first half of the 21st century. Also the sense of participation in social and technological progress after the sudden collapse of the models of growth and development was a great comfort to a wretched and troubled humanity.
Now anyone with a Sensen could not only copy and share their memories, but also acquire and "live" the memories of another person. Potentially any memory could be shared and secondary markets sprang up to trade memories. Similar to any trend or fasion, the commercial value of a memory depended on how useful, attractive, or rare it was. Users who dug deep enough in their own memories would eventually find one that people would be willing to pay for, hence satisfying the need for a global network.
The social phenomenon triggered by the Sensen has often been compared to the social networks that emerged at the beginning of the 21st century with the same "downgrading" of those who failed to embrace the trend. The "NoSens" were divided into two distinct groups: those who refused the implant (opposers) and those who were denied access to it (climate refugees, stateless persons, illegal immigrants, etc.).