Return to Paradise: Prologue
1
“This is it Roberts!” Sid shouted, jumping out of his chair. “The codes! Murphy’s finally done it. Now we can access and override all communications systems within a quarter of an hour!”
“That fast? Jeezu!” marveled Ed triumphantly. “In the twinkling of an eye, we’ll have the world at our fingertips!” he said, holding up his hands to high five with Sid Lawler and Jerry Roberts. They slapped hands and Edward Blitz sang and danced around the room. “We’ll have the whole world in our hands, we’ll have the preachers and the teachers in our hands, we’ll have the mothers and the fathers in our hands, we’ll have the sisters and the brothers in our hands, we’ve got the whole world in our hands!” The three men smiled smugly, feeling good about themselves and their new success.
“Genius is so precious and so powerful. Such a rare commodity, and one that we possess to an incredible degree,” gloated the 50ish bald hulk of a man referred to by his associates as Sly Sid. He was lauded among his colleagues for the successful development and implantation of Central Headquarters’ Implants Pins, aka CHIP. The plan was to use this new technology–a tiny microchip the size of a pinhead–and implant it into every man, woman and child across the Earth. Central Headquarters would then have access to any information and transactions involving that CHIP, and through the implant, could also control its host’s actions, attitudes and even thoughts by transmitting electromagnetic radio waves picked up by the CHIP.
The phenomenal popularity of CHIP with the public was a definite surprise among Sid’s associates. Its success was owed in part to the campaign headed by Ed Blitz III, and funded by Sid & Co. The hook was convenience. With the average person working 40-plus hours per week, time and convenience were of utmost importance. Why not help people save precious time by eliminating the hassle of dealing with money and cash–always having to stop at the bank to put it in or out–and the change! Scraping for that last dime was a waste of time for the scraper and for those waiting behind him.
The solution? CHIP. This device would serve as a scanner that would automatically subtract the purchase price of a product or service from one’s “account,” thus saving people the time and inefficiency of carrying cash.
Implanted pins could also interface with Central Headquarters via lasers located around the city or with a personal computer. People could even collect their paychecks through the CHIP. It only had to be inserted once with a tiny needle into one’s right hand, and life became so much easier.
Realizing the implications of such technology, the authorities wholeheartedly supported the implant and even offered free implantation (for a limited time) to citizens.
President of Lasertech Jerry Roberts secured a private grant to install CHIP lasers in every grocery and department store nationwide, free of charge to the merchants.
It seemed almost too simple–as such it raised little suspicion or concern among the often hostile, questioning sea of citizens collectively called “the public.”
If there was any squeak of opposition from the public regarding CHIP’s use, it was deafened by pointing out the CHIP’s additional merits as an identification and tracking device. Containing all the vitals: name, identification number, parents, blood type and on down the list, one quick scan of the tiny microchip would reveal just about everything about a person. Gone went the filling out of forms, as one swipe of the CHIP could instantly transfer such information into a company’s data bank or computer. People’s time was spared in doctor’s offices, federal offices, DMV and the like.
Not to mention an even greater virtue of CHIP–finding missing persons. Any parent whose child has a CHIP will worry less about kidnapping, knowing their children can be found no matter where they stray (or are taken) by simply activating CHIP’s honing system. The lost sheep are located in minutes. In fact, the initial testing of the identification tracking system was done on animals, as is very often the case. “Vaccinate your pet against loss with Infopet microchip ID,” read the earlier propaganda. The product’s success in pets made it all the more attractive to humans.
Fueled by the media hype regarding the CHIP’s merits, people lined up in droves to get their own implants. Those stubborn few who clung to carrying cash soon had a hard time buying food and clothing in stores which now only accepted the CHIP laser payment method, as a matter of convenience.
As the United States’ and its allies’ citizens became modernized, Sly Sid Lawler and a handful of close associates (friends would be stretching reality) became billionaires. But money was not the final objective.
To read more, contact tracy.marcy@yahoo.com
NaturaLawes 