A humming noise was heard. Suddenly, the lights came back on and the screens on the back of the seats switched on again. An artificial voice announced, ‘The accident has been repaired. The damage was caused by an electro-magnet that had caught fire. The light smoke will be cleared by the air conditioning. We will be running eight minutes late. Trans Kontinent Ultrarapid apologises for the inconvenience caused. The connecting airships will be waiting for all passengers. Thank you.’
‘You see, Mr. Councillor. I told you everything was going to be OK.’
Nafissa withdrew her hand. The train took off again, sliding along at a reduced speed (450 kilometres per hour) down the tunnel before coming to a halt in Novosibirsk station.
Novosibirsk-Irkutsk
The bullet-train stopped for three minutes. It then departed again in the direction of Lake Baikal. The screen said, ‘13,000 kilometres per hour. We are reducing our delay to two minutes.’
Nafissa went on, ‘Why did the United States not intervene as they seem to have done with other invasions in the past, such as when they freed Europe from those merciless German dictators?’
The Indian girl had a naive attitude. The Russian councillor smiled and answered in a professorial tone, ‘The reason is very simple: the United States no longer had any means at its disposal. And besides, it had no wish to free Europe from the Islamic yoke. It had other things to worry about! Following the huge global economic crisis I mentioned, the United States imploded. It had been the leading world economic power, but its unity was only based on widespread economic wealth and financial investments. From 2020, people in the United States started fleeing from the cities, as was happening in Europe, but for other reasons: the increasingly impotent federal state disintegrated, the economy came to a halt and famines and epidemics broke out, as well as ethnic conflicts – such as the terrible clash that took place between Hispanics, Blacks and Asians in October 2020 in Los Angeles. The same scenario occurred as in Europe: 35% of the population disappeared, as states proclaimed their independence and withdrew into themselves. Blacks regrouped in the South and Whites fled the areas in which they were a minority. A new ethnic map was drawn in this vast area. Only two regions managed to keep their industries and economies running, if only at 20% of their former capacity: the American Republic of the Pacific, situated on the coast between San Francisco and Vancouver, and which became a sort of Sino-Japanese protectorate (and remains such to this day), and the Old American State (OAS), which stretched from Michigan to New England and included south-eastern Canada, with Chicago as it capital...’
‘And what about New York, this legendary ancient city?’
‘All that remains of it today are huge ruins that can be visited...’
‘I know,’ the Indian girl replied. ‘My father, like all high-ranking officers in our Empire, received an advertisement on his video-programme that said: “Don’t miss the fantastic view of New York’s ruins.” It was an offer from the Indian Tourist System to get a view of the remains of the city from an airship.’
‘I see... Right from the onset of the economic crisis, New York turned into a living hell. With the rise of the sea level, at each great tide it was devastated by floods. Riots, fires and famine did the rest. New York lost all its population in a very short time. As you know, there is no such thing as a “short-acting catastrophe”. Catastrophe theory speaks of a “final acceleration”. This is the famous law of 80-20: 20% of a system will collapse in 80 units of time and the remaining 80% will collapse in 20. New York, a symbol of modernity worldwide, could not survive its brutal end. I should add that Los Angeles, as you know, met the same fate as New York...’
‘Yes, I’m aware of this. But apparently the ruins of Los Angeles are far less striking when seen from an airship.’
‘Well, that’s because they were mostly knocked down by a huge earthquake in 2043. There were hardly any victims, though: the area had already been abandoned.’
Dimitri’s computer made a beeping sound. He typed ‘18’ on his keyboard, to enable the flow of information. Suddenly, Vega showed up on the screen. She had changed her dress and was now wearing an ancient Greek peplum.[17] In the background, a Greek pipe was playing a languid song from the 1970s, ‘Millisé mou hos agape mou’[18] – an incessant, ternary motif from ancient Thessaly.
Nafissa broke out in a laugh. ‘You certainly did a good job in designing your virtual secretary! It really matches your fantasies, Mr. Councillor! I hope your wife doesn’t know about her...’
Dimitri mumbled, ‘Of course not. This super-powerful quantic computer is for high-ranking officials only. Surely someone my age has the right to a little fun?...What’s going on, Vega?’
‘Master, the Supreme Inter-State Court of St. Petersburg wishes to inform you that the Kingdom of Albania is asking for a two-year delay in the repayment of the debt it contracted with the Federal Bank and the Republic of Kamchatka in 2070. They are anxiously waiting your verdict.’
Dimitri typed on his laptop, ‘Grant them a 16-month delay – no more than that. If the Albanians don’t accept these terms, the Federation will consider revoking its funding for the wide canal between Tirana and Sofia. I’m fed up with these good-for-nothings.’
The computer remained silent for a moment. Then there was a hiss. Vega’s image remained motionless, before coming to life again.
‘Should I write “good-for-nothings” in my answer to the Court, Master?’
‘No. Delete the last sentence and rewrite the whole thing in administrative jargon.’
Dimitri typed ‘81’ and the image of his virtual secretary disappeared. The Indian girl had witnessed the whole scene.
‘You make decisions fast...’
Dimitri felt flattered and answered, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I have to. The Federation includes 125 autonomous states, each of which has its own egoistical demands. The rule of general consensus can no longer be applied, as it was in the Twentieth century. Decisions must be made, in the name of the Imperial Government and the common interest.’
‘What if a state does not agree with your decisions?’
‘It can hold a referendum and leave the Federation. This is what happened with the tiny state of Corsica, with Euzkadi or ‘Basque Country’, with Sicily, Estonia and others, too. Some of these have now made their way back into the Federation, while others are begging us to accept them. This is quite natural, as they no longer benefit from our federal solidarity and military protection.’
‘We’ve faced exactly the same difficulties in the Indian Empire. Nepal first left the Union but then joined it again out of fear of China...’
‘With the states of Brittany, Bavaria, Flanders, the Ile-de-France and Sweden, we’ve had the opposite problem: they are highly dynamic and are trying to get their hands on everything. They make their presence felt in all the ministries and commissions. The worst of all are the Bretons. They’re everywhere. They would make you believe it’s they who are governing the Empire. Not that this is far from the truth... The current President of the Imperial Government, our head of state, is a Breton.’
Nafissa stared at Dimitri in amazement. He added, ‘Well, despite superficial disagreements, there is an understanding between us, as we’ve all realised that we’re part of the same folk – although there are over 20,000 kilometres between us. Disputes about selfish economic interests are part of life. What ultimately matters is agreeing about the important issues.’
‘And what are the “important issues”, then?’ Nafissa asked in a mischievous voice.
‘Identifying our common enemies – and our common friends.’
‘Oh, I see. I pretty much agree with you.’
The girl then changed subject. ‘You were saying that the ‘Reconquista’ which took place between 2025 and 2028 was a very brutal one... Would you tell me more about it?’
Irkutsk-Komsomolsk Terminal
Dimitri could detect a taste for tragic stories in the Indian girl’s eyes. She fastened her seatbelt.
The deceleration was very sudden. The screen said ‘3.2 G’. The train stopped in Irkutsk for less than two minutes. A man with long hair and a vermillion uniform took a seat near them, at the other end of their row. Along with his travel bag, he was carrying a pinewood easel. Dimitri realised this man was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Imperial Artists’ Battalion. His collar badges – silver ones on a mauve background – were adorned with a crossed paintbrush and hammer. The train set off again.
Dimitri gave a belated answer to Nafissa’s question. ‘Yes, it was very brutal. After the Great Catastrophe, as is always the case in history, people’s system of values had crumbled. It was General Dukachevsky who took things into his hands. The remnants of the Muslim army and the ethnic gangs were captured and assembled in the south of what had once been France, and then forcibly shipped to North Africa, which had no military means to oppose this operation. But something even more serious happened: because of the traumas they experienced and the radical changes in their outlook, all the descendants of the great waves of extra-European immigration that had hit western Europe, in particular since the 1960s, were unfortunately... well, deported. We are talking here of several tens of millions of people. You can well imagine how this operation carried out by the “European Liberation Army” was no gentle business... This is what historians call the “Reconquista”.’
Beautiful Nafissa looked at Dimitri in surprise. ‘Why did you say “unfortunately”, Mr. Councillor?’
‘I find all these events rather shocking from the point of view of my own conscience and my old Christian upbringing – but so it was...’
‘As a Hindu, I’m not at all shocked. Well, please continue: what happened then? Did massacres take place? Is this what you deplore?’
‘No, there were no massacres. These rootless people without a homeland were transferred en masse from Europe to the island of Madagascar by boat. There were 23 million of them. Many were legally ‘French’, ‘Belgian’, ‘Dutch’ and ‘British’. But this meant nothing now. The nationality rights of the old world had completely disappeared... Archaic criteria had come to prevail.’
Nafissa gave a wide-eyed look of amazement. ‘In India they never told us anything about this....’
‘The Government financed the whole operation. The Federation is currently paying the Kingdom of Madagascar 10 billion Eurosesterces. Integration has worked very well down there. ‘
The Indian girl posed a new question. ‘How did Twentieth century science and technology survive the “Great Catastrophe”? How did humanity manage not to plunge into primitivism again?’
‘As was the case after the end of the Roman Empire, “pockets of survival” had endured, as if by a neo-medieval reflex. And besides, India, China and Japan all resisted far better than the West. The collapse was contained. Most of the technologies that had been acquired were not lost. Technological expertise was “frozen”, not abandoned. Innovation came to a halt, but minorities spared from the general chaos somehow ensured the transmission of knowledge in just about every corner of the world. This made the Second Renaissance possible, which took place around 2030.’
‘Tell me about it...’ Nafissa changed the audiocassette in her recorder.
‘Between 2030 and 2038, the various “baronies” established mutual contacts, as communication had become possible again and peace had been brought to their lands. A spontaneous regrouping into “autonomous states” then took place in Europe and the continent restored its old capital, Brussels, yet this time on the basis of principles utterly different from those of the former European Union. Nation-states, such as France or Germany, were never re-established, as they no longer inspired any trust in the people. This new form of organisation, which was at first called the Community of European States, included the ancient regions of Western Europe – Bavaria, Wallonia, Padania, etc. – which were largely autonomous.’
‘So how did you go about creating this huge “Eurosiberian Federation” you also refer to as “The Empire”?’
‘By 2038, the economic system had been restored, although it only produced 10% of the goods and revenues it had been churning out before 2014 – and no one wished to produce more. Everywhere the countryside was repopulated. A minority living in small cities took up an ultra-scientific way of life and soon improved upon Twentieth century discoveries. Still, great international problems soon surfaced again, with the risk of nuclear and bacteriological warfare. The Islamic Republics, your own country (the Empire of India), China and Japan, among other states, were involved. Russia and its central European satellites then invited the Community of European States to simply merge with them, in order to ensure the unity and defence of their ‘kin peoples’. This took place with the Pact of Prague, signed in December2038, which solemnly signalled the establishment of the Eurosiberian Federation. This union immediately resolved these international tensions... After two years of difficult negotiations, in 2040 the institutions of what we now refer to as our ‘Great Homeland’ were defined. In this same year, work began on the first line of the planetrain we are riding on...’
The train suddenly decelerated and started shaking as it slowed down. On the screens a red light started flashing.
‘Fasten your seatbelt, Nafissa!’
‘What’s going on? Is it an accident?’
The girl didn’t look at all afraid, although she acted as if she was. Dimitri lightly touched her hand on the arm-rest. Nafissa withdrew it immediately.
‘No, don’t be afraid. Between Magocha and Skovorodino the planetrain track is no longer underground. So the train must slow down, and it does so suddenly. We’re no longer in the vacuum of a tunnel, but in the open air.’
An icon popped up on the upper part of their screens for a few seconds that read: ‘Train slowing down. Above-ground track. Speed reduced to 420 kilometres per hour.’
Dimitri cleared his throat and explained, ‘In this region the nature of the soil prevents the digging of tunnels. The planetrain is losing speed because of air resistance. Look...’
With a buzz, a panel slid up electronically, revealing the window. Daylight flooded into the cabin and the electric lights went off. The young Indian girl leaned over towards Dimitri to get a better view of the landscape beyond the small Plexiglas opening.
Magnetically suspended on its large, elevated monorail, the train rolled on across a landscape of forests, misty mountains and boundless horizons – the landscape of eastern Siberia, straight out of a Tarkovsky[19] movie...
‘Look!’
The forest had disappeared. The train was now crossing a huge city made of wooden houses, huts and izbas. A brick Orthodox church could be seen, surmounted by a golden dome, followed by a cattle fair and a laundry-house crowded with women. Despite the train’s speed, passengers could make out markets full of people, horse-drawn vehicles, fields ploughed by oxen, farms, the banks of a great river dotted with watermills...
This sight lasted several minutes. In the distance, huge ruins could be glimpsed covered in vegetation – the remains of industries and carcasses of buildings: the old mining town of Magocha, a vestige of the Twentieth century. Beyond it was virgin nature with its endless forests of pines and birches.
Dimitri went on, ‘This is one of the largest neo-traditional communities in our Federation. There is one airship a week connecting it to either Ulan-Ude or Irkutsk. My wife, Olivia, visited the place last month to buy some smoked yak meat and vodschkaia, a wonderful liquor made from birch bark which cannot be found anywhere else. This community has at least 50,000 inhabitants. They have more or less the same standard and way of life as the people of Thirteenth century Europe. They are very happy as they are...’
‘Is it true,’ the Indian girl asked Dimitri, ‘that before the Great Catastrophe they had tried to make all of humanity adopt a form of economy based on technology?’
‘Yes, that was the great utopia of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. It originated in Europe and America, but it was not at all viable. It
contributed to the collapse of the old civilisation and to the migration of people from South to North. Today only 19% of the inhabitants of the Eurosiberian Federation partake in the techno-scientific economy and way of life. I believe it’s even fewer people in India...’
‘In my country only the caste of the Abishamis,[20] to which I belong, lives that way. I think we make up about 5% of the population, which still means tens of millions of people. And in any case, according to what my father the Maharaja of Gopal says, society is far more just and balanced today than it was in the old world. India has rediscovered its traditions.’
Dimitri smiled. ‘Clearly, it’s no longer a “democracy”...’
Nafissa raised her eyebrows.
‘What’s “democracy”? I’ve already heard this word...’
This was the sort of question that disturbed Dimitri, so he tried to give an evasive answer...
‘Initially democracy wasn’t a bad idea. In ancient Greece it meant power to the demes, or townships. But then it spread to all peoples, including in very populous countries, and this cultural grafting proved disastrous. Democracy only fits the European mind-set. It cannot be exported: each folk has a specific mode of government to which it has adapted itself. When badly applied, democracy can lead to injustice and disaster or become a front for tyranny.’
‘I really cannot understand how Westerners could have believed that the whole of humanity was meant to live according to the same regime. What lack of common sense and what pride!... In India we’re not “democratic”, but ours is not an unjust or tyrannical system and all works well as it is...’
Archeofuturism Page 28
