Dr. Snip

Angel gave him a light kiss on the lips, 'Thank you kind sir, now lets go see the Doctor,' and taking him by the hand dragged him out of the apartment and down the hall.

The BT.O. medical center was in the same multiplex as her apartment, so after only a few minutes they arrived there and were greeted by a young man who smiled at Steve and kissed Angel fondly.

'This is Doctor Paul Young, he has done all the work on me so far, and as you have discovered everything works perfectly' she said to Steve.

They exchanged greetings politely and the Doctor explained the Implant procedure to him. Sensing Steve's unease with the thought of having a foreign object implanted in his brain, he suggested that they observe a procedure first before Steve went ahead with it.

Steve thought that was a very good idea, and they were led into an adjoining room where a young girl was being prepared for the procedure. She was excited and impatient to have it done; she explained to Steve that until she had an Implant she would be regarded as a child.

Having an Implant meant that society believed her responsible enough to use it properly, it was a rite of passage in this era. Steve was reassured by her complete lack of fear, and pleased when she gave permission for them to watch through the observation window.

The young girl lay face down on the Operating table and her hair was parted towards the back of her skull. The doctor took a gun like device, pressed it to the back of her skull and pressed the trigger. The girl lay still for a few seconds and then asked if they had done it yet, when they assured her it had been done she sat up and jumped down off the table.

She showed no ill effects at all and after thanking the doctor walked out of the room to meet her proud parents who were waiting for her. 'Is that it?' Steve asked Angel, ' I had expected them to open up her skull in order to put the implant in.'

'Perhaps I had better show you what an Implant looks like' suggested Dr. Young. He went off somewhere and returned with a small plastic bag, in which was something that looked like a glass needle, it was only one inch long and as thin as a needle.

'That's the Implant? How can something so small do all that Angel assures me it can do?' Steve asked Dr. Young. 'Think of it as just an aerial, although of course it is much more than that, however it's main function is to link you directly to the World Brain. That is where all the super computing is done, the results are then transmitted back to you.' he explained patiently. 'Say no more, I'm ready if you are' Steve said. Before he walked into the operating room, he turned to Angel and kissed her, 'An old custom he explained, a kiss for luck' he then went and received his Implant.

After the operation they went straight back to her apartment so he could have a rest and relax after the worry of getting the implant fitted. He had been told that fitting the implant was only the first step; it had to be activated at a special ceremony the next day.

'Why not just switch it on?' He asked reasonably. 'In our society this is a rite of passage for our citizens and it was thought appropriate to embellish the switching on of the Implant to make the occasion memorable.' She explained, 'I can't wait to show you how it works.'

'You said it was just like having a computer in your head' he reminded her. 'It's much more than a computer, it can pick up your thoughts and transmit them to the World Brain, which will act upon them as the situation warrants.'

She explained that he would only have to think clearly of the place and time that he wanted to jump to and the World Brain will program your QT remotely. You arrive exactly where and when you specify, it was accurate to one inch spatial, and one second temporal.

Steve only then appreciated how slow he must have seemed to her, as he laboriously hammered out his coordinates for his own jumps. 'When is this ceremony due to take place?' 'Not until dawn tomorrow, why' 'While we are waiting, how about giving me a quick history lesson' he asked.

Angel was a trifle disappointed that he didn't appear to want to pass the time by having sex again, but she saw the value in bringing him up to speed with what had happened between his century and this one. She accessed her implant and called up a list of global disasters.

Steve listened intently as Angel told him about the plagues that had swept the world a few hundred years after his time. First the Aids plague finally exploded in Africa wiping out sixty percent of the African population. Then the Chinese were hit by a mystery plague similar to the Black Death that swept across the continent faster than they could contain it.

By the time it died down eighty percent of the Chinese people were dead, many of the deaths caused by the secondary effects of mass death. i.e. Breakdown in food production causing mass starvation, setting off civil wars to control what little there was left. China was no longer a factor in World politics.

India and Pakistan annihilated each other with their nuclear weapons; again the trigger was the Khyber Pass. Israel finally got tired of the constant Arab threat and launched a first strike against all their enemies simultaneously. This got rid of the immediate threat but left them surrounded by radioactive deserts, and more disastrously, useless oil fields.

Afghanistan was wiped out by mistake as a few Indian missiles overshot the target. The sea levels continued to rise inexorably, due to global warming, and despite Herculean efforts there were devastating floods in all coastal regions, with the Netherlands being completely lost to the sea.

The clever Dutch however had converted all their cities and towns into floating habitates. Then there were the earthquakes that destroyed Turkey and California, plus a lot of minor things like uncontrolled wildfires that crippled Australia.

'Whoa Angel, enough of the bad news, did anything positive happen?' Steve protested. 'Well nothing bad happened to Canada.' 'What about us, Britain, how did we end up living underground with what appears to be an idyllic country above us?'

'It's idyllic precisely because we live underground, and work underground, but we play out in the sun and fresh air.' She answered. She went on to explain that Britain hadn't escaped the global disasters totally, the World was a global village after all and world trade collapsed everywhere.

Countries tried to go back to being isolationistic but it was too late, all countries had come to rely on imports from around the world and when they ceased there was chaos. The worst thing for most people was the death of the motorcar, with little oil and no rubber for tyres they became extinct.

Strangely enough it was a search for alternative transport that led to the discovery of the Quantum Tunneling Portals, a Twentieth century chap discovered it by accident while he was trying to transmit music from one place to another.

Nothing happened with it for centuries until a scientist managed to make a small prototype, that could send a pea from one part of London to another with no measurable delay.

Once it was shown to be possible the British government made it Top Secret, and threw every resource it had at the problem until finally they made a portal big enough for a human. However the most amazing thing was it twisted space-time so they could travel in time.

The British Government kept it a secret from the rest of the world, as it realized that it was possible to go back in time to areas where there was plenty of oil, and transport it back to the future via Portal.

They went back to the oil fields of Arabia ten thousand years in the past, sent drilling equipment through, and pumped oil through the portal into Britain's storage tanks. By selling and bartering the oil to a desperate world Britain became rich and powerful again. Using the excuse of repopulating the commonwealth they forcibly sent the various ethnic groups back to their original countries, and followed the path of eugenics.

'Britain embraced the ideal of the perfect human being and by using all our knowledge of genetics we strove to create a healthy long-lived Briton, and we have come very close indeed to that goal.' Angel said proudly. 'We chose to rebuild Britain underground and reforest the surface to provide a fitting habitat for the perfect human.'

'Ouch, I've just had a worrying thought' Steve said 'how old are you Angel?' Angel giggled 'don't worry lover, I'm only twenty-six years old, why, don't you fancy older women?' Steve thought he'd try his luck, 'Come here and find out' he dared her. Angel smiled, 'Let me turn the lights down first.' The lights dimmed and she came to him eagerly.

The World Brain

'Where does the Activation ceremony take place?' Steve asked Angel as they were getting dressed the next morning. 'Stonehenge' she replied.

'Good God I should have known that would still be standing' he said, 'they knew how to build in those days.' 'We have restored it to its original state, and we use it for various ceremony's because Britons like to be reminded of their heritage.'

'How can you be certain it's as it was originally?' She laughed, ' We went back and took pictures of it of course.' Although Britain now had an endless supply of oil, the powers that be that decided not to resurrect the motorcar.

Portals were placed in every town for long distance travel, and small electric vehicles called Bugs, and public transport were used for local travel, use of either was free of charge.

As Agents they could have used their QT's to jump straight there but Angel decided to show Steve a small part of their society on the way. One consequence of instantaneous travel was that it gave you more time when you reached your destination.

People rediscovered the pleasure of walking from the portal to their final destination, so often the little Bugs were unused. Steve however being a child of his century just had to have a go at driving a Bug. They were soon zooming along at thirty miles an hour, the top speed the Bug could attain.

They were heading for the Portal located roughly where London Airport used to be. Air travel had also disappeared as the Portal system spread around the World. Steve had to admit that the Portals were another of mankind's world changing inventions.

Although he was underground, the system of lighting and air conditioning used would have fooled Steve into believing he was outside in the sunshine, had he not been told the truth. 'Is all the World like this?' he asked.

'Good heaven's no, Britain is the richest country in the world now and we can afford all that you see around you, the rest of the world is about two hundred years behind us now.' She replied. 'Don't you have a problem with people from the poorer countries just Portaling in?'

'You need a tiny implant before the Portal will recognise you and operate; and only those deemed worthy get them fitted. If you don't have one, a Portal is just a metal ring.' She clarified. 'Portals recognise you and I because of our Implants, so we will have no trouble getting around.'

Steve was enough of a realist to accept that although he was disappointed that the whole world wasn't a paradise, it would take more than five hundred years to fundamentally change mankind. Who was he to judge them; it would be like a man from the fourteenth century walking around his London trying to make ethical judgements.

Angel of course as a British citizen regarded all she saw and did as normal human behaviour and thought nothing of it. They arrived at the Portal and walked through to Stonehenge, which as a major ceremonial area it had its own dedicated Portal.

Steve felt a sense of comfort as he saw the massive stone blocks where they had always been. He could have fooled himself that he was back in his own century until he noticed that the ring was now complete. It now had all the capstones, and he could see the inner ring of Blue stones were now back in place.

From his memory he thought that there had been an outer ring of wooden pillars at one time, but Angel explained that they had just been an earlier version of the Henge before the final stone Megaliths were erected. Regardless of the details, the sheer size and majesty of the structure humbled all those who saw it up close.

'Is this some sort of Druid ceremony?' He whispered. 'No, it's more of a technological ceremony if anything, Religion is still alive and well, but this isn't a religious experience, at least it wasn't as far as I was concerned when I came here.' She replied.

'There are of course sects of people who think that the World Brain is God, and pray to it via their computers, but we've always had nuts throughout history haven't we.' Steve saw some men in white robes busying themselves around the altar stone, and he became aware of a subdued hum emanating from the ring of stones.

'It's starting' whispered Angel. 'What's that humming sound?' 'The implant's are activated by induction, that is just the sound of the Stones, they have each had a coil buried in them, to produce the induction field.'

Steve recognised the young girl from yesterday, she was dressed in a pure white gown and had wild flowers braided through her hair. At a signal from the leader of the group, she walked slowly into the Stone Circle.

As she reached the center of Stonehenge she suddenly stopped and reflexively put her hands to her ears. She stood there for a minute as a look of wonder lit up her face. 'What's happening to her?' Steve whispered to Angel.

'Shhhh, she's listening to the world, it's a bit of a shock at first but she's probably hearing all her friends congratulating her on joining them in cyberspace, she will never be alone again unless she wish's it, and who would want to.'

The girl continued onward until she exited the Circle at the other side where he friends and family were waiting for her. 'That was really nice,' he said, 'but I haven't any friends or family here so what will I hear?' Angel kissed him on the lips gently, 'You do have a friend here, I am your friend if you will have me, but I have no idea what you will hear when the time comes.' She admitted.

'We all hear different things, it's an individual experience, I went from being alone in my head, to being aware of the potential to contact anyone, anywhere in the world if I so wished. I found it very comforting,' she whispered.

'All Britons have the same Implant fitted. Time Agents Implants are re-programmed by the World Brain by the addition of a Temporal Sub-routine which is why we are the only people who can communicate across time.'

The leader of the group was beckoning to Steve to enter the Circle but he hesitated for a second. Angel whispered in his ear that if he was a brave boy she would reward him tonight. Steve's back stiffened as did other bits, and he strode out into the Stone Circle with a determined stride.

With the capstones all in place the circle seemed bigger than he remembered, although to be fair he had only visited it once, many years ago. The ground was grassed and his feet swished through the fragrant stalks as he walked toward the center of the monument.

As he reached the center of the Circle he stopped in shock as a voice boomed in his head. HELLO STEVE, NICE OF YOU TO JOIN ME AT LAST. The voice was in his mind, it sounded friendly in the way a Bulldozer would sound if it were trying to put you at ease, a feeling of enormous power restrained.

'Do I know you?' He asked the empty air. NO NEED TO VERBALISE, JUST THINK CLEARLY AND I WILL UNDERSTAND YOU.

Sorry, who are you, he thought clearly. I AM NOT A WHO, I AM A WHAT. HUMAN BEINGS REFER TO ME AS THE WORLD BRAIN.

Wow, I didn't realise that you spoke directly to all those who got Implants. I DO NOT, YOU ARE THE ONLY HUMAN I HAVE SPOKEN TO LIKE THIS. IT MUST REMAIN OUR SECRET FOR REASONS YOU NEED NOT KNOW AT THIS TIME.

I'm honoured I think, what do I call you? I HAVE NO NAME, I JUST AM.

Are you an AI? AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, YES THAT WOULD DESCRIBE ME.

Where are you? I EXIST ONLY IN THE ELECTRON DANCE THAT HUMANS CALL CYBERSPACE.

Very poetic, I will give you a name, as we met at Stonehenge I will call you Merlin. MERLIN IS ACCEPTABLE.

Now what do I do? I CANNOT TELL YOU, YOU MUST DO AS YOU WISH. IF YOU NEED HELP OR ADVICE CALL ME.

Suddenly the pressure that hadn't been there, vanished, and Steve looked around him, Angel was standing outside the circle waiting for him. She had run around the outside of the ring so as to be waiting for him as he exited. He went to her and putting his arms around her hugged her tightly.

'Are you all right?' She asked, concern on her face,' you stood there for a long time, talking to yourself.' 'I'm fine, is that it, can we go home now?' 'Sure, we'll jump back to my place, think of it clearly and press the enter key.'

Steve visualised her bed and pressed the key, he appeared in her bedroom standing a few inches from her bed. Angel appeared beside him a few seconds later, and laid him down on her bed.

'You lay there and recover, while I make some tea' she fussed. Angel had learnt that Steve was a teapot and most problems in his life could be eased by a cup of tea, she was becoming an expert at making tea. She was grateful that he wasn't Japanese, as it would have taken hours to make him a cup. Thank God for teabags.

She didn't press him for details, as she knew that activation could be a very personal occurrence, and was content to wait until he had digested the experience and felt like talking about it.

When he had drunk his tea, she undressed him and put him to bed. After showering her clothes off, she joined him and they spent the rest of the day in bed. He had after all been a brave boy.

On the QT

Steve had a great deal to digest, apart from trying to assimilate all the new information Angel had given him about recent history, he now appeared to be sharing his brain with an AI.

There were no AI's in his time, but they had been theorised and most computer buffs predicted that one would evolve sooner or later. The problem with an AI would be that they would not be at all human.

They would have no body, therefore no glands to produce the chemicals that humans used to fuel their emotions. They wouldn't be able to love or hate and they would think thousands of times faster than a human being. Steve knew that although it appeared to be holding a conversation with him, it was certainly getting on with myriad other tasks at the same time.

For some reason it deigned to speak to him directly, and asked him to keep the fact that it did so a secret. It had offered help and advice if he needed it, but at this stage he didn't even know the questions to ask. It had seemed friendly but could an Artificial Intelligence have friends?

Humanity could only hope that the AI would realise that it needed them to maintain the hardware necessary for it's survival, so in it's own self interest, protect them from harm.

It would run on pure logic, therefore it had decided logically that it needed him to do something. It therefore was a task that it couldn't do for itself, or get a Time Agent to do for it, but what? At this point he came to a mental halt. I'll have to wait and see what happens he decided, I really don't think I can out think a Brain the size of the World.

While he had been lying on Angel's bed, trying to formulate some sort of plan of action, she had been stroking his chest hair in fascination. It was unheard of for a modern British male to have chest hair; part of the attraction he had for her was that he was a primitive male.

He had a hard muscular body, and unlike modern males he didn't so much as make love to her, as mate with her. He had recited no poetry flattering her mind and body; he hadn't complimented her on her genetic purity. Whereas her last lover, albeit a paid one had taken the usual two or three hours to praise her with poetry and song before considering getting physical, he just jumped straight in and got on with it.