CENTER OF SPECIAL NEUROLOGICAL RESEARCH, New York

Victor, a beautiful Alsation, 8 years old, stays quite an relaxed in the white and fresh floor in the training-area of the center.

VOICE IN OFF:

“Victor has an I.Q. similar to a human being. He was the first animal receiving a neuro-chip implantation, applying the technology of brain-stimulation. As well is pioneer in the training-program and development of its new I.Q. His only handy-cap is his long tongue. Its mouth structure makes it more difficult for him to speak. Anyway he speaks, pronouncing bad, so it is not easy to understand him.”

Suddenly Victor turns his head and lifts up his ears. He keeps quite just a moment, stand starts running as fast as if the devil will catch him. In the first turn his backfeet nearly pass the front ones, he tumbles, shocking a robot who was cleaning the floor. The cleaning-robot hits the wall, falls down and his display says “searching position, searching position,…” Victor keeps on running and barking. His barking alarms Mozart, a grey african parrot, as well animal of the training projekt. Mozart starts to fly in the same direction like Victor.

-Xabel is back. Let´s go, Alex, let´s say hello to him.- coments Cesar. Cesar i a peaceful orang-utan; he is the lider of the group of trained animals and he is the one who presents the best results of all. In intelligence-tests he reaches better results than 90 % of the humans.

-So glad to have him back again. I thought his holidays would never end!- Alex says to Cesar, leaving the instruments in its place, taking of the gloves and the laboratory-coat.

VOICE IN OFF:

“Alex is an excellent scientist with enormous talent and usually a very calm person. But in the holiday month of his collegue Xabel he had taken charge of the whole projekt and as well had been responsible for the three animals, both “jobs” were really a stressy combination.”

Alex an Cesar leave the laboratory to welcome its friend.

Victor, finishing his accidented race, finally is the first to welcome Xabel. Very dog-like he jumps up to Xabel who nearly does not stand the powerful “attack” of Victor.

-How are you, my friend?- Xabel punches him friendly while he tries to escape the long tongue. -I really missed you all.-

Mozart is the second in reaching Xabel, he waits for its turn, with patience, sitting on the entrance-chart of the center, with his head inclined and his eyes wide open. Meanwhile Victor still behaves very upset, unable to pronounce a word, jumping and licking.

-Mozart!- Xabel shouts out, touching friendly the parrot´s head.

-Welcome back, Xabel, how dark-skinned you are.- Mozart says.

-Yeah, a lot of beach, sun and fun, you know, we had marvellous holidays.- Xabel smiles.

A little later as well Alex and Cesar complete the group, coming together in the garden area of the center.

-Hi, glad to see you!- Xabel shouts out.

-Thank god you are back!!- Alex comments with a happy smile.

-How was Spain?- Cesar asks, embracing Xabel as well.

-Great, Cesar, great, really a very nice place.-

-And how about your brother?- Everything o.k.?- Cesar asks knowing very well that one of the main reasons of the trip of Xabel and Nice was to help Nic in his difficult moments and his troubled life.

-Everything o.k., Cesar, thank you for asking.- Xabel answers.

They all return into the center and Xabel puts his arm over the shoulder of Alex. -What has happened, my friend? These three were really stressy?-

-No, no, they have been great, don´t worry.-

-But? What´s on then?-

-I don´t know, Xabel, I think the STAT does not agree with our idea of the whole projekt.-

-What? But, refering to…?-

-I will tell you later, okay. First of all tell me: how were your Spain-trip?-

-Perfect, Alex, one day you have to travel that country. And Nic is much more motivated. Let´s hope that from now on he weill try to avoid problems. He still keeps his crazy ideas, I think, that seems to be impossible to change.-

-Wow as the ood?- Victor asks. The whole group looks at him, with eyes wide open, surprised faces. Cesar, who usually makes the “translator”, says

-I think he is asking about the food and how it was!-

-Ah, .., well, very good food, Victor, I´ll tell you, the spanish food is really delicious.-

Satisfied Victor keeps on his walk in the corridor next to Xabel.

Xabel whispers into the ear of Cesar -How did you know?-

-It´s very easy, he does not think about much more things than food!-

-Bad monkey!!- Xabel jokes with a smile.

On teir way to the training center the rest of the scientists welcome Xabel. Then Xabel and Alex look to find a quite place and finally enter in the meeting-room. It´s time to talk about all the things that happened in the last month.

-There are a lot of new people, am I right?-

-Yes, the last month we had a lot of movements- Alex answers -I will tell you. Just only a month ago the main target of our projekt was to improve technology, realize neuro-chip implantations in different species of animals, then observing and training them and finally break the limits of animal comunication.-

-Yes, correct, Alex, but, what has changed?-

-Yes, and I think that it is very important, that our results are used in the general human medicine. Remember, the month before you went on holiday, we realized a neuro-chip implantation with a young girl who suffered problems of global amnesia. And as well there was the implantation for a patient with Korsakoff-syndrome, another one was the old man with paranoid madness, then we had…-

-Yes, Alex, I do remember them very well, but what do you want to explain me?-

-And you know as I do that we control our patients for a long time, making stimulation tests, realizing rehabilitation, making training-programs.-

-Correct-

-Yes, okay, till this point everything o.k.! But listen! The last four weeks, the complete month, we did no operation or treatment for patients with health problems. It was another kind of patients. And each of them came into the center acompanied by STAT´s agents! Sometimes covered agents, sometimes without hiding it!!-

-And what happened with these people who were not ill?- Xabel is surprised.

-Remember, the average number of human patients has been usually less than 10% monthly, the main part of our work basically is with animals. And now, Xabel, now it´s the wrong way round, we are operating more than 10 patients daily!-

-But,… but who ist realizing that high number of operations?- Xabel can´t believe.

-There are about thirty now persons more in the center, surgeons, assistens, and they use our technology, i suppose, but then they don´t colaborate with us, that means, we have no contact with them, they work alone,… and later, you won´t believe it, Xabel, later these patients leave the center as covered as they entered. They do not stay here, there are neither control, neither training, treatment, rehabilitation … anything.-

-But, that´s crazy!- Xabel gets outrageously. -There is no control of their development?-

-Xabel, I don´t know at all what is happening in our center! And I tried to find it out; I asked them, but they avoid to give straight answrs.-

The following morning the virtual decoration of its RES appears with a tropical look.

“Good morning, your breakfast is already served.” the panel informs.

Nic and Xabel take their tablets with the continental breakfast.

-It´s quite early- Nic comments -What a pity! As much as I like to have breakfast in the terrace. But it´s still dark outside.-

Xabel smiles, taking the orange-juice. -What a great month of holidays we had here in Spain, I will remember a lot of nice moments. But - now it´s time to return to real life!!-

-Imagine, in the past people travelled with their clothes, shoes, t-shirts, they put even their tooth brushes in their hugh suitcases. Crazy. And calculate the costs for the STAT, if each one of us would travel with completeand heavy luggage around the world. Unbelievable, isn´t it?- Nic says.

-I think in the past the people did not analyze these facts, they were not prepared to think about saving energy this way. They travelled, for example, from New York to Spain with the whole golf-equipment.-

-Well, Xabel, let´s take a TRANS and go to the airport.-

They leave the RES. “No personal objects left in the RES.” the panel informs.

-Bye Bye!- Nic answers.

And downstairs in the hall another panel advices “Outside temperature: 15º C.”

-Thanks, thank you very much!- Nic says.

Outside in the street a lot of empty TRANS are parked. Xabel touches one of them in the roof and the doors open automatically. Both brother sit down in the car.

-Let´s go! Airport of Málaga!- Xabel orders.

“7 minutes to International Airport Málaga” is the automatic information of the TRANS.

On their way they observe the dark and cloudy sky.

-Seems to be a very rainy “good-bye” of the Costa del Sol!!- Nic smiles. -But even with the rain I would prefer to stay one more month.-

-Well, but the holidays are over, what shall we do. And I am really looking forward to return and be again with the guys!-

-Ah, there it is! Departure F, return of TRANS.- Nic finds the indication.

They leave the TRANS, pass the check-in and walk to the boarding gate. Finally they reach the airplane, take their seats and have a look out of the window, both of them with sad faces.

-Puh, there is really a heavy storm starting again. I don´t like it. Xabel, have you heard about the problem that we will reach a saturation in the ionsphere? They say that the magnetic field in the magnetic atmosphere is  becoming a dangerous risk for us, instead of protecting us.-

-Nice subject to talk about, Nic, right before the take off!- Xabel answers ironically.

-What happens? Are you afraid? Huhh, huhh!! Don´t be childish! Walter says that never before there had been such a clear reflect of the radio waves in the ionsphere like in these last months. And he thinks it´s because of the saturation of charge.-

-Radio waves? What about your are talking, Nic?- Xabel asks without understanding.

-Walter has still some radio systems of the 20th century…-

-Ah, better shut up, Nic! Walter, with all his stuff, will be in trouble soon. And you have got enough with your things.-

The airplane realizes the take off without any problems although a tropical storm and heavy rain is happening.

-Uff, makes me fear!- Xabel says.

-Ah, come on Xabel! Don´t worry!- Nic takes its headphones to listen to the music.

The flight continues and while reaching the travel height suddenly they fell that there are strange things happening and the faces of the cabin crew does not reallly express calmness!

-What´s going on?- Xabel asks anxiously.

-I don´t know, the music as well is failing a lot.-

-Ah, that doesn´t matter!- Xabel is getting upset.

-Yes, it does, because if the music fails and the airplane control as well . . . ; Walter was right with his ideas!- Nic says.

-Don´t start again!-

-Do we have a metalic thing with us? . . .  Ah, yeah, my keys!- Nic takes them out of its jacket.

-What´s that?- Xabel asks surprised.

-That´s the key of the shelter in the house of Walter. He is keeping the old key-system to close his doors, you know. Wait a moment.-

And Nic goes to the back part of the airplane searching another metalic object. A few minutes later he comes back to his seat - obviously very upset and nervous, and trying to keep calm he nearly shouts out

-It is magnetized, Xabel, the key is magnetized!!-

-Shut up, calm down, Nic, the people are looking at us-

Xabel is looking around to the other passengers and with a forced smile he explains

-Ah, sometimes my brother behaves a little strangly, sorry..!-

-Xabel, they are crazy, they are playing with our lifes, the key is magnetized!!-

-Shut up now, Nic, don´t be paranoid, We´ll going to have a lot of trouble.-

Members of the cabin crew finally go around to tranquilize the passengers and at the same time sounds the comunication-system

“Dear passengers, it´s your pilot speaking. We had some problems with the navigation-system, we solved them completly. Sorry for causing a little bit of trouble. The cabin crew will serve you in a moment a drink. The arrival time at New York will be at 14.00 local time. Enjoy your flight.”

-Scoundred!!- Nic wispers altered.

-Will you shut up once and forever!!- Xabel is really angry with his brother.

-Xabel, look out of the window! Look, and tell me what you see!-

-I can see the sky, the ocean, … but…-

-Well, what I told you, we passed the storm, and now there is no magnetic field anymore!-

-Ah, stop it, please, Nic, forget about it, and please, for the rest of the flight, okay!-

-Have to tell it to Walter, will be interesting what he will think about it.-

The flight continues without any problem, but Nic keeps its anger about all the things that happened.

VOICE IN OFF:

“Nic always tried to find out the reason of several problems and nearly always finished analyzing the things with arguments against the current system of the STAT. He only changed to a positiv opinion in case of things or situations related with the 20th century.

To be honest, I don´t know why he adored that age as much as he did, seemed to have been a funny time.

Till the end of the 21st century people were living in their own houses. It was usual priority of life to become property owner in spite of the high energy-costs and enormous traffic problems caused of the daily movements of each person. In that age millions of persons were moving daily just going to work and returning at home!! They were spending so much energy without having in mind the enormous pollution and destruction of the environment.

On the other hand getting owner of a property like a house, a flat or apartment was not as easy as it sounds. Needed to be adult with a fix job and a stable income. A high number of marriages were made to assure the financial base to receive the mortgage for a property. And naturally this fact caused on one side the increasing number of divorces or on the other side put the family or couple together for ever just to keep the financial security.

Furtheron in that age people were not open to share things. To explain this the following example maybe helps.. Yes, they were sharing the big parkings, but each one with its own car. That means that they always had to look and very often to wait for a free place to park and later only were leaving the parking with its own car. There did not exist a transport-unit like today our TRANS, everybody used its own car.

I don´t know, Nic loves that age and I think it is not because he feels pain for it, he really admires the past. For me it´s difficult to understand, I think it was a complicated society.”

Finally they land in New York and landing happens without any problem. The brothers go directly to a RES, take diner and relax.

 

Voz en off

En el SXX la humanidad se preocupaba, sobremanera, por el calentamiento climático del planeta y las consecuencias que podría tener sobre el nivel del mar y los ecosistemas Ártico y Antártico.

Pero a mediados del SXXI, el impacto de un gran meteoro sobre la Rusia siberiana incidió en ángulo del eje de rotación de la tierra.

Este impacto aceleró el deshielo de los polos, pero no afectó al resto del planeta tanto como los científicos afirmaban.

Fue el disparatado consumo energético y la contaminación generada por éste, lo que desencadenó la mayor crisis de salud pública de la historia de la humanidad.

Esta crisis favoreció la unificación mundial de poderes y el nacimiento del Stat, con un nuevo esquema de vida, vivienda, consumo, etc. mucho menos agresivo con el medio ambiente.  

- Y qué, Walter, ¿alguna lectura positiva?.

- ¿Quien sabe?, se suele decir que la naturaleza es sabia. Posiblemente el aumento se densidad de partículas ionizadas ejerza de filtro solar, frenando el calentamiento del planeta.

- Pero Walter, ¿el Stat tiene que estar al día de todo esto, no?.

- Pues claro, eso es lo que más me preocupa. Es extraño, el Stat se constituyó precisamente con la prioridad del desarrollo sostenible y la finalidad de garantizar un control ecológico del planeta.

- Pero entonces, si esto puede favorecer el equilibrio climático, ¿porqué tanto secretismo?.

- Pues creo que por las consecuencias negativas de esa burbuja que afectan, tan negativamente, a la tecnología digital, eso debilita al Stat, Nic, es un imperio mundial basado principalmente en esa tecnología, ¡como no se van a callar!.

- Tiene que haber algo más   afirma Nic  .

- Claro que si Nic, sin ir más lejos, la economía mundial se basa en un 50% en el movimiento turístico, si existiera la alarma social de que subiendo a un avión te juegas la vida, el equilibrio del sistema se resentiría, y esto no parece que se pueda solucionar en unos meses.

- Entonces el Stat está poniendo en peligro diariamente, a sabiendas, a millones de personas.

- Eso parece, Nic.