The lead investigator of the Global Domination Corporation affair subsequently wrote into his final report a fairly accurate account of the official's involvement and the nature of his death, the details of which were obviously kept from the public. Despite this, by graciously publicly classifying his death as an accident, the authorities allowed the family to be eligible for the Accidental Death Payment, a once-off sum for officials' families, which nevertheless meant that his widow quickly had to look for work while still in mourning; being unqualified for a professional position or trade, and not having worked in nearly twelve years, she eventually found a job as a cleaner in a hotel and another washing dishes in a restaurant, the wages from which were barely enough for the family to survive on even after moving to a much cheaper apartment.
• • •
On the plane to Berlin, Sascha opens her eyes after napping for a while and looks at Ikaros. Barely able to concentrate on the film he's watching, he spots her moving and takes off his headphones. "You okay?" he asks softly, not wanting to wake up Samuel.
"What would you have done if the sign and so forth didn't get approved?"
Ikaros stays silent for a moment. "I don't know. I suppose I'd have gone someplace else and tried it there."
"Do you reckon you'd have gone ahead and done it, anyway … if you could have found a way?"
"Maybe … but we'd definitely be incarcerated right now if I had, not just forced onto a plane." He laughs quietly at the prospect. "Do you really think I'm that naїve?"
Sascha shuts her eyes again and grins. "I reckon you'd have done it."
"Maybe," he repeats softly, putting his headphones back on. "I hope I wouldn't have, though. It could have screwed us over for years to come … and we really don't have many more years to spare. I'm starting to get a little bit edgy. I wanna speed things up a bit."
"Yeah, why don't we just turn things up a notch?" Sascha smiles at the suggestion without opening her eyes.
"We need to. We really do."
"I know. I agree.”
Chapter 18
Sascha, Ikaros and Samuel quickly settled back into life in and around their apartment in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, enjoying the initial comfort and the familiarity of being home; Samuel was also allowed to play around the city for a week before starting back at his school.
At the same time, Ikaros took as many interviews as he could while contemplating his next strategic move; in one of the early interviews, when pressed for an answer about his future plans, he revealed that, in around three months' time, the Global Domination Corporation would release a report about the 'state of world affairs,' including the likelihood of meeting the many challenges over the coming decades given current trends. He was unwilling and also unable to provide any more information at that time as he hadn't done any formal research on the associated topics; it was merely the culmination of a basic idea he'd had several years earlier and had recently thought that it was probably about the right time to bring it off the back burner to make something of it. He also saw it as providing a convenient stopgap when faced with questions in interviews about the future of the corporation and its operations. His plan, however, was deservedly and widely scoffed at by the media and considered bizarre, presumptuous, arrogant and considerably left field since the area seemed already to be being well covered by various experts around the world, and there was thought to be little place for such an odd 'report' in the current context, especially when produced by an evidently farcical entity like the Global Domination Corporation; nevertheless, Ikaros maintained his course undeterred, happy that he had something to move forward with.
Around three weeks after returning to Berlin
By this stage, Ikaros had already started to think seriously about how to go about researching and writing this so-called report that he'd been talking about; on Tuesday evening, it struck him that it was probably a document that would take a considerable amount of time and effort to do the job justice, and would therefore require a team of researchers and writers if it were ever to get finished on time. So, being eager to get started, he got up early the next morning and began planning in earnest.
Just after breakfast, they started searching for likely candidates at the local universities, targeting potentially sympathetic members of already established student organisations and those studying socially and politically focused subjects. After ten days, they had a shortlist of nearly thirty students that they'd spoken to personally at university social events and elsewhere on campus while being careful not to mention the project at all. They formally approached those who best fit their agreed-upon profile and ended up with fourteen very well-paid employees, who all began work within a week.
In the apartment, the team worked shifts for most of each day, trying to coordinate the best they could around their study commitments. Sascha and Ikaros worked most of all, nearly twenty hours a day between them, but they made sure that someone was always available to take care of Samuel when he needed it. The living room became the office with five computers, which were all usually in constant use day and night. Ikaros sat amongst his staff writing up most of the document himself; he also edited and proofed substantial sections written by each of the others.
Close to four months after starting work on the report: February 22, 2053
Happy with the late-in-coming final draft of the report and having informed various media outlets of its impending release, Ikaros placed the document on the Global Domination Corporation's newly developed website, which was a considerable relief for everyone involved because they had missed three 'deadlines' over the previous two months.
By the end of the week, there had been nearly twenty thousand downloads of the report, a figure that climbed steadily to over one hundred thousand by the end of the first month and 2.2 million by the end of the second. This was spurred on by a moderate amount of media commentary and reviews, and an expensive international marketing campaign on many different Internet platforms, all of which was paid for by Ikaros's large cash reserves. Over the following months, the number of downloads from the website continued to climb as discussion of the document went moderately viral across a growing number of social networking platforms.
Predictably, the advertising campaign was severely hampered by the authorities and the advertising channels in many countries once the nature of the report's content and the public's reaction to it became known; however, it was allowed to continue for long enough in a relatively unimpeded manner that just about everyone who had access to some form of information technology was eventually made aware of it one way or another.
Disturbed and affronted by much of the content contained in the 'report,' the conservative mainstream media condemned it on the following grounds: being aggressively anti-establishment; condoning violence and civil disruption; encouraging susceptible members of society to be antisocial; and, particularly, attempting to 'legitimise' the actions of extremists, such as religious zealots, racists and terrorists, etc., by suggesting they have the potential of fostering positive social changes over the long-term. Some of these claims were fairly accurate, but much of the criticism missed the point, often deliberately. Moreover, before long, a long list of documents and articles emerged claiming to refute the arguments and many of the facts used in support of the main theses in the report.
Meanwhile, Ikaros again began another series of interviews — but this time without leaving home — with almost anyone who offered to interview him, be they friendly or hostile; on many occasions, these interviews predictably became quite heated encounters due to the overt hostility of the journalists themselves, but not least of all because of Ikaros's ever-shortening fuse and his unapologetic lack of sympathy and disdain for those he considered to be ignorant of, or complicit with, the complex of power institutions that were leading the world to ruin. Ikaros had become adamant.
Chapter 19
Nearly two weeks into the research of the report: 1:40 p.m.
A member of staff
, Heinrich, a science studies student, who at times appears to be more interested in science fiction than actual science, brings a digital tablet over to Ikaros's desk and hands it to him. "What do you know about what's going on in space?"
Ikaros looks at the tablet and starts scrolling through the open file on it. "Well, I'm pretty sure that whatever I think I know probably isn't the half of it. What have you got?"
Heinrich nods quickly, then launches into his speech. "I've been interested in this topic for some time, and even though a lot of people have been suspicious about it, there's barely any information on it, and it all kind of sounds the same because, I mean, they're usually just working with the official word on it, right? Anyway, some of what you find in the dark corners of the Internet and in the 'out-there' media is mainly this alarmist and conspiracy theory stuff, some of which even looks crazy to people like me who believe that something's going on. But this here," he says pointing vigorously at the tablet, "is something I've collected from a range of sources that I think paints a pretty interesting and damning picture that needs to be looked into further. I don't know how much we should put in the final report about this topic, but there's got to be more than just a mention of it … I reckon, anyway."
Ikaros nods as he continues skimming through the document, spotting lists of countries, corporation names, investment figures, international organisations, and pages of estimates of covertly channelled resources and raw materials, all interspersed with bullet-point descriptions and analyses. "Okay, can I have a look at this for a while before we have a talk and work out what we can do with it?"
"Yeah, okay," he replies, knowing it will be taken seriously.
Ikaros looks at him with curiosity. "You know, you took your time to mention it."
"I know. I just wanted to put something good together first."
"Fair enough." Ikaros stares at the ceiling and considers the implications. "This could prove to be, well … pivotal."
"It's proven to be for me."
"Apparently," replies Ikaros with a respectful grin.
Heinrich leaves him alone and goes back to his computer to continue researching a particular point about the topic that's still nagging him.
Ikaros proceeds to skim and scan through the fifty-odd pages for around fifteen minutes, reading a few sentences carefully here and there until he feels confident that he understands the main points and their significance to their programme. Then, feeling the hunger pangs of a delayed lunch, he gets up out of his chair and goes into the kitchen, where he finds Sascha reading a novel, a rare moment of relaxation in an otherwise work-obsessed life. She looks up to greet him. "Hey."
Ikaros sits down opposite her. "I think Heinrich's onto something." He smiles. "Actually, it could be what we've been looking for."
Sascha stops reading. "You're not talking about doing more research are you?"
"Kind of … but it's more than that."
"I hope so. Let's get on with writing the report and planning what to do next, then. To be honest, this research thing is driving me up the wall. We've gotta narrow it down and get productive."
"I know. It'll come together soon, but we've got a bit to go yet." Changing the subject he continues, "Do you want lunch? I'll cook. I'm starving."
"Yeah, sure, what are you gonna make?"
Ikaros considers this important question for a moment. "Rice noodles with, ah … something in here." He gets up and opens the fridge.
• • •
The fact that Ikaros was largely unaware of what was going on in space was typical of the times and was the result of a massive information-control effort that had been in effect and intensifying for the better part of the century. Throughout the history of space exploration, the whole enterprise, no matter which countries and organisations were involved, was shrouded in mystery, obfuscated by propaganda and dis- and misinformation, and, importantly, high levels of secrecy; nevertheless, although this basic fact was well known by many in the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first, the details remained largely hidden from view and could mainly just be guessed at by those interested in trying to put the few available pieces of the puzzle together.
This situation changed as the twenty-first century progressed: people became so ill-equipped by the distance that the mediated reality of propaganda put between them and what was actually going on that only an increasingly small number of people were either close enough to the events or had access to a rare piece of good information so as to be able to make the appropriate connections and inferences. Despite this, their ability to disseminate their findings and points of view were highly restricted, and often thwarted; thus, in the end, they had very limited success, even on the fringes.
Although the reporting of the plans, developments, and science of space exploration continued to be filtered through to the public as we entered the twenty-first century, the need for information control generally tended to intensify. The factors that led to such high levels of secrecy and protectiveness were the usual suspects of economic and political instability, and social unrest. However, it wasn't until several critical lines of R&D indicated particular capabilities would likely be achieved in the not-too-distant future that certain small, close-knit alliances of power holders took on a whole new era of secrecy and propaganda about space and its potential.
Propelled forward by the abundantly obvious threat of dramatic changes to the global climate system and the almost impotent science, technology and socio-political strategies, these often competing alliances made plans and timetables, and began steering space programmes towards populating and dominating orbital territories with a view to extending their reach to secure more regions within the solar system and, eventually, beyond.
Deeply aware of the global unrest, the fiercely competitive space alliances engaged in conflicts that were channelled through international corporations and the global institutions and governments and were played out on the surface of the planet in various theatres and using the full arsenal of techniques and technologies at their disposal, an instance of which included the Trans-Oceanic Sino-World War, its many battles and devastating consequences.
Behind the scenes, however, once technical limitations had been surpassed, the conflicts moved aggressively into space, resulting in a long series of assaults on space technology that often involved varying degrees of sabotage and occasional large-scale destruction in a self-defeating and short-sighted attempt to limit the progress of the opposing alliances in a vain and fearful struggle to achieve the lion's share of space power and territory. Ironically, such a protracted conflict could only slow down the attainment of underlying objectives for all parties concerned, which, therefore, caused much frustration and consternation in those quarters desperately hoping that space would bring some kind of relief and salvation from the unsettling and worsening circumstances found on Earth.
After years of negotiating terms , it was only after the ceasing of such overt and brazen planet-bound and orbital hostilities between China and the Allied forces in early January, 2053 — while the Global Domination Corporation's report was being written — that there was any hope that space would provide an answer for the elite minority. The peace treaty was made on pragmatic grounds due to the quantitative hindrance the war was having on the progress of the enemies' respective space programmes, which were becoming more significant priorities for both sides and had up until this point been severely undermined by the space-borne military activities of both sides; although tensions remained high and many subversive activities, including espionage, subterfuge and sabotage, continued to occur, years of political wrangling eventually resulted in a tenuously provisional agreement regarding the division of space into specific national and international territories and buffer zones, which were partly maintained with the assistance of heavy militarisation and political threats. With a shared narrative for public consumption, which was only semi-formalised yet respectfully maintained due to the ever-present fear of havin
g their own programmes exposed prematurely, this new-found 'stability' allowed space-aspiring independent nations and groups of allied nations to make the arrangements for the establishment of space-based communities, which were to be made up of powerful and wealthy members of networked secret societies and their families, all of whom were nevertheless required to pass a thorough selection and screening process before being allowed to participate.
NEW WORLD TRILOGY (Trilogy Title) Page 17
