Author's note: A Prologue and a brief glimpse into the initial draft of a 3 part story that I have been writing for quite some time...
Suggestions and Feedback are most welcome...
In the year 2019, as the human population increased manifold with advancements in medical science, while the resources became scarce, a civil war ensued throughout the world, with the world's poor up in the arms against the rich for their lavish lifestyles, while the poor slogged it out.
It was under these circumstances, that Altacruz, a pharmaceutical company came out of obscurity with a drug and a device that shaped a person's dreams to last longer, and become more believable, with the person dreaming them having better control on the events happening in their dream. Originally meant to help treat the people suffering from paralysis or those in a vegetative state, it fast became an outlet for the poor and the disgruntled for a better chance at life. Numerous underground facilities started operating in the Third world countries, and soon the wonder drug became more popular and elusive than the conventional ones. With no known side effects, there was nothing the government agencies could do to limit its use. However, it is widely believed that certain governments secretly flooded their markets with the drug in order to contain the civil war and pacify the protestors into silence.
However, there were concerns all around the world. Wouldn't everyone want to live like that? Where everyone could live the perfect life they craved, wouldn't people want to let go of reality altogether. If that were to happen, our society and technology had the danger of going into stagnation. A species that had developed and innovated consistently over 3000 years would have degenerated.
However, those in favor of the “Wonder Drug”, opined that such a drug would not only help end the civil unrest, but might also arrest the pace of depletion of Earth’s natural resources for a while. After all, if people spent more time sleeping, they would be conserving most of their energy, and will thus need not only less food, but less fuel and electricity.
In order to further publicize its usefulness, Altacuz financed certain experiments which ultimately went on to prove that prolonged exposure to the drug can lead to an increase in the usage of the sub-conscious mind, and thus, a person’s inherent ability to innovate and invent will overtime, increase drastically.
By the end of the year 2038, this new technology had become a way of life for many. What started off as an experiment into an alternate form of entertainment, became so popular among the people at large, that even the rich with supposedly everything one could ask for were ready to shell out large amounts of money for securing an alternate life in this exciting realm.
A number of side businesses flourished customized for the fantasies of the rich, where the dream machine offered one 30 day experience into the star wars, or the harry potter universes by partly controlling and manipulating your dreams.
And so, now, in the year 2042, only 500 million off the total population of 7 billion lives on in the reality. Carbon-di oxide levels are at an all time low, the human population has stabilized, even though most economies have effectively shut down because of the lack of consumer demand. Even then, poverty is non-existent.
National boundaries have become irrelevant as has been the prospect of war. All Weapon development programs throughout the world have been halted.
There is a deafening silence throughout the planet.
There hasn’t been a single scientific innovation in the past 4 years.
A thousand light years away, an alien civilization plans its next trip to the planet Earth...
To be continued...
