Artificial Happiness

Author's notes: I had this story stuck in my head for month and it wouldn't leave me in peace until I wrote it down. It might be utter nonsense but maybe you will like it. This is a longer story (>58000 words), not part of a series and not related to my previous uploads. I find it hard to put a label on what kind of tale this is. It has a lot of sci-fi/cyberpunk elements. It's mainly about the personal journey of the protagonist and exploring the world he lives in. The setting is a rather simple version of a not so distant future without aliens or faster than light travel. Humans started mining asteroids, commercialized space travel, built space stations around multiple planets and established a moon base and two extraterrestrial colonies, but did not come close to spreading beyond the solar system yet. Humanity is split into two classes called Workers and Naturals. This class system is the main theme of the story. Sex plays an important role, but isn't the main focus of the plot. Most of the sex scenes happen later on, so some patience is required.

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1

The entire production facility erupted into thunderous applause when the space yacht slowly made its way out of the assembly dock. The completion of the first test model for the new XG3 was celebrated with exuberant enthusiasm all across the shipyard space station Zukunftsfabrik in orbit around Mars. Robert, a 28 year old engineer and software specialist was part of the crowd, clapping and cheering like all the others, while they watched the vessel venturing out into open space on large screens. Seeing the fruit of his work come into existence instilled a profound feeling of pride and accomplishment within the employee. He was happy.

After the countless hours of work he and his colleagues had invested into the vessel's development it was a natural reaction; or it could have been. The truth was more complicated. Robert was a Worker. In the context of his time that meant that while he looked like any other human being on the outside, his insides were outfitted with various bio-cybernetic implants which controlled almost every aspect of his life; including his emotions.

Like most positive feelings they experienced, the cheerfulness of the Workers was a product of the Cybernetic Emotion Regulation System (CERS for short). Consisting of a network of intercommunicating devices distributed throughout the body and brain of a human being, this system influenced what its host felt, thereby manipulating what the person thought and did. An artificial intelligence residing on a tiny computer within the Worker's skull constantly monitored all brain activity and gathered data from hundreds of connected sensors. Based on the acquired information it decided upon necessary measures and triggered the corresponding implants to execute them. Those implants could influence their host in various ways. They could increase or decrease the body's production of different neurotransmitters, hormones and enzymes, making a severe impact on the human bio-chemistry. Signals transmitted via the nervous system could be strengthened, weakened, intercepted or created artificially. The system even regulated basic body functions to some degree and was capable of releasing a broad range of potent substances into the bloodstream.

With the CERS it was possible to control what a person felt at any given time. The uses for this technology were manifold. Like most companies of their time, the spacecraft manufacturer Vereinigte Raumschiff Werke (VRW for short) used it to control its workforce. Due to this technology the motivation, diligence, industriousness and work ethic of the employees were extraordinary. Completing their tasks and whatever else was beneficial to the company brought happiness to the staff; anything which might harm it caused great displeasure; the vast range in between was met mostly with indifference. The Workers were conditioned to delight in their occupation and not care for much else.

Robert was an exemplary employee of VRW, as passionate about his occupation as any employer could ever hope for. Maybe he would have even liked his occupation without the CERS compelling him. He worked in quality assurance and currently focused especially on developing sophisticated simulation software for predicting what would happen to a spacecraft in different situations. With the first test version of the latest model available now, a lot of new data would come in soon, meaning a lot more work. He was already excited.

That would have to wait though. Right now it was time for his obligatory lunch break. The same applied to many of his colleagues. The CERS modules of all those employees automatically reduced the induction of positive feelings; the celebrating subsided quickly and the crowd dispersed. Breaks were always a dull event. Workers were not supposed to feel good about leaving their tasks, so the CERS made sure they remained in an unfulfilled, languid state throughout recess. Despite that fact, no Worker ever skipped a mandatory recreation time. The one thing which made everyone feel worse than interrupting their occupations was a breach of the given daily schedule. This kind of transgression was automatically punished with depressing sensations by the implants, making sure that nobody even dared to consider it.

Breaks were important for staying healthy and productive. Cases in which employees had worked themselves half to death during the early adoption phase of the CERS-Workforce had shown that it was more cost efficient for the company to enforce regular periods of rest. Besides, it was important to ensure that people's moods had their ups and downs throughout the day. Otherwise the emotion control could become ineffective over time.

Robert despised the breaks just like everyone else. With his elation diminished, he made his way to the canteen in order to collect his food ratio. This was done by using one of the automated dispensers. A Worker's implants kept track of the body's nutrient needs and a small chip embedded in the forearm could transmit this information to external devices. When the dispenser recognized such a chip in its reading area it put together a meal which provided exactly what the person needed from a biological point of view. Being well fed was important to stay productive, so the company made sure everyone ate properly. Due to the meddling with natural sensations of humans, the physical hunger was often not sufficient to keep Workers properly nourished. Therefore the CERS needed to create some additional incentives. This was done primarily by punishing a lack of ingestion with a feeling of discontent instead of rewarding the desired behavior. Through such an approach eating became more of a routine procedure than something to look forward to. The meals consisted mostly of an almost tasteless nutrient paste, so it wasn't really appetizing either.

Gaining no joy from it, Robert's main focus during breaks was rarely on eating. During lunch he usually occupied himself with something on the side which coerced his CERS to provide some pleasant feelings. He selected a relatively isolated area of the vast canteen hall, crammed with instances of the same set of tables and benches. Once he was sitting, he retrieved a small machine called a universal interface device (UID for short) from his pockets and placed it on the table. The UID was a small computer which was capable of connecting to all kinds of devices via physical ports as well as wireless connections. It was outfitted with various input capabilities, audio hardware and a screen which could be adapted in size. In terms of earlier technology the dimensions ranged from those of a common mobile phone to those of a smaller TV screen. Like everyone else Robert used it to operate all the different computers and other machines which he used during work and his everyday life.

Currently the UID was connected to the station network. Among many other things this network provided a collection of recent news about the corporation. Knowing that the XG3 model was approaching its release, Robert browsed for articles about VRW's latest creation. Just as he expected, the company was doing well in the light of its upcoming flagship product. Prizes on the stock market were up, experts praised the innovative design and promising specifications, consumers expressed their intense anticipation for the vessel.

Robert didn't really understand much of what he read. He didn't know how stock markets worked; raised to be an engineer from the very beginning, that knowledge was useless and boring to him. Employees working in the financial department, who were designated to know and understand the economic aspects of the company, took care of handling that stuff. He also had no idea about what was so special about the design. He hardly cared about the appearance of other spacecraft and had no idea why this one was supposed to be more or less aesthetic. The designers were the ones allowed to enjoy these things.

The whole concept of using a space yacht was utterly alien to Robert. Almost his entire experience with the vehicles was limited to testing purposes. The engineers who were responsible for the specifications could muster a lot more enthusiasm for the topic. They loved to try out and compare space faring vessel, arguing over trivial details among themselves. Allegedly it was a prerequisite for devising a proper concept, so their CERS encouraged this behavior.

His ignorance of these fields was of no importance though. Robert didn't read those articles because he was interested in the information they contained. What made them appealing was the simple fact that they held a positive notion about his employer and the product he had helped to create. He was conditioned to delight in any good news about the company, regardless of whether there was any rational thought behind it. Therefore he felt a pleasant rush of artificial excitement when he read about VRW's successful fiscal year, their ambitious advancements into new market segments in the logistics industry and the construction of new production facilities on Titan station, even though half of the words meant nothing to him.

"Good news?" someone asked from the side. Ripped from his perusal, Robert looked up into the familiar face of a woman standing to his right with a tray of food in her hand. "Do you have a seat for me?"

"Of course," Robert answered, making room for her. "It's really great news." He handed her the UID and pointed at the text passage he had just been contemplating.

"The number of preorders for the XG3 already exceeds that of the previous models in the series," she read aloud. "Great news indeed." She returned the UID to Robert, showing him a warm smile. He smiled back at her. The woman by the name of Lisa was a colleague from the quality assurance department and a good friend of his. They had been working together for years and made quite a good team. Productive collaboration caused pleasant common emotions and memories; an ideal basis for a solid friendship among Workers.

The company encouraged friendly relations between their employees. It had shown to improve cooperation in the workplace and increase the motivation of Workers. So the CERS did not only allow but boost sympathetic feelings towards colleagues. Not every employer was as generous. In some branches friendships were considered a distraction, so these companies kept their staff from feeling too amicable about each other.

It was a general rule applying to the majority of CERS-controlled Workers though, that interpersonal relationships were kept strictly platonic. In most cases all feelings associated with sexuality were completely inhibited. Sexual activity among Workers would only entail unnecessary complications. Due to the fact that Workers were created in laboratories, based on a large variety of genetic material collected throughout the human population, there was no need for them to procreate either. The easiest solution was to avoid the topic altogether. Sexual education was simply left out in the training programs for young Workers and the CERS took care of the rest: Keeping the offending hormones at bay and preventing any undesirable thoughts from an early age.

Accordingly, the relationship between Robert and Lisa was purely professional and innocent. They were completely unaware that it could be any other way.

"Have you read the report about the recent crash of one of the shuttles from our Model 5 line on earth?" she asked casually while eating.

Robert nodded. Every time there was some incident involving a VRW vessel, the information eventually arrived at the QA department for the purpose of learning from the case and figuring out whether there was some flaw in the ship's production process or design. In this particular case a shuttle entering earth orbit had been hit by space debris, a tiny piece of aluminum, at high velocity. The collision had caused serious damage to the ship's engine. Subsequently it could not produce enough thrust to ensure a stable descent to the surface for a controlled landing, leading to a fatal crash.

"The investigations concluded with high confidence that the accident happened due to a combination of very bad luck and inadequate safety measures by the operator," Robert summarized his takeaway of the report "No technical deficiencies or fault of the ship." In other words: not their problem.

"I know, but the gathered information is quite interesting," Lisa claimed "I ran some simulations with the data from the collision. In one of the scenarios I modified the shuttle by adding a reinforced hull layer, similar to that used in the XG3. According to the results there is a good chance the shuttle would not have sustained critical damage with this addition."

"That is interesting," Robert confirmed. "Unfortunately the additional layer will significantly elevate material and production cost; it also comes with more weight leading to a decrease in fuel efficiency. With a yacht that is acceptable, considering the steep market prices and demanding target clientele; but the mass-production shuttles need to be cheap and efficient or they will not be competitive. It is unlikely operators in this market segment are willing to accept the higher price; other shuttles wouldn't have survived such an incident either."

"That is the point," Lisa continued undeterred. "There are rumors that the Terrestrial Space Traffic Organization might soon increase safety standards around Earth due to the recent climb in accidents. This would force all shuttle manufacturers to revise. If we already have a working concept by the time the new regulations are established it will be an advantage over the competition."

Considering this point of view, Robert nodded. "If the TSTO is really working on new regulations it makes sense to prepare in advance. You should come up with a concept and present it to management. I wouldn't invest too much time in it as long as there is no affirmation from above though."

The pair continued chatting idly, mostly about work (what else was there to talk about?), while consuming their tasteless meals; until the break was over and they were allowed to return to their workstations.

"Will I see you in the exercise facility this evening?" Lisa asked while they made their way back to the QA department.

"No I will be working on my side project again," Robert informed her. For a moment he believed to recognize a brief expression of disappointment on her face, but it was gone immediately.

The rest of Robert's shift was uneventful and passed swiftly. The official workday had twelve hours. Most employees stayed longer. The actual time a worker spent on the job was an individual choice; which of course meant it was mostly dictated by the CERS, depending on factors such as concentration, stress, tiredness or urgency of their tasks. The system encouraged its host to do as much work as was justifiable while being careful not to over-strain mind or body. The objective was not only to maximize short term output but also to avoid mistakes, accidents, long-term health risks and maybe worst of all, a lasting decrease in productivity. When the CERS noticed a decline in the condition of its host, it gradually reduced the motivation and satisfaction gained from the occupation and steered towards desiring some rest. Concluding the workday was done simply by leaving. The implants took care of time tracking, which had mostly statistical purposes. There was hardly any need for monitoring the schedule of a Worker. The CERS made sure they arrived at their stations on time, fulfilled their duty with diligence and stayed as long as was reasonable; no additional enforcement necessary.

On this day Robert finished his regular duties early. Usually he would have kept working for a few more hours but he had other obligations. A few weeks ago he had been assigned to an additional project which required him to put in some more hours every now and then. He didn't mind at al. It was an interesting project and he had gained a lot of new knowledge through it.

For his assignment he was expected in the research labs. Robert left the QA department and walked out into the hallway. There were two types of corridors: The straight ones, leading from one end of the station to the other and the round ones, which curved upwards and went in a circle. The entire space station was basically a huge rotating cylinder. The outer layers of that cylinder contained all the offices, production halls, control rooms, canteens, laboratories, accommodations and other essential facilities. The rotation created a force pushing everything within those layers outwards, which served as a simulation of gravity. When upright, the passengers and inhabitants stood on the outer walls with their heads pointing towards the central axis of station. Other parts which were not commonly occupied by people, like the fusion reactor, storage rooms and much of the technical infrastructure were placed farther in the center. On both ends of the cylinder there were large docking areas, where space ships could be attached to the outside of the structure. One side was designated as the assembly dock, where larger ships were put together from the individual parts created deeper within the station. The other side was for incoming and outgoing traffic, such as transports delivering passengers, goods, parts or raw materials.

In cheerful anticipation Robert hurried down the hallway along the length of the station in direction of the traffic dock, with the research labs as his target.

2

A knock at the door broke David's concentration and shifted his focus from the screen in front of him. He took a look at the time. The Worker was punctual to the second as ever. He unlocked the door, let Robert in and locked it again. The project team was complete. It consisted of three people, who had been working together in this crammed lab for the past few weeks. Besides David, who was the project supervisor, there was Catharina, a female Worker currently sitting in a chair in the middle of the room and Robert, an engineer from the QA department.

Unlike the other two, David was not a Worker. He belonged to the second category of humans, the 'normal' ones, generally referred to as Naturals. Anyone conceived and born by conventional means, as the offspring of two parents, instead of being created artificially in a lab from a collection of genetic material was considered a Natural. In contrast to the Workers, those people were not outfitted with a CERS. Only they were eligible for owning property, earning money, signing contracts as well as citizenship from nations.

Workers basically existed purely for the purpose of performing labor for the Naturals. They were protected by certain laws, but were also strongly bound to their employers, received no monetary compensation for their services and did not have the same rights and freedoms as regular people.