Everyday Connection

The good news: In 2231, twenty-five billion people walk the Earth. Most of them have basic food and shelter, and a few have much, much more. Among them are the SuperOld, who believe the promise of immortality will soon be within reach. Energy is cheap and abundant, most who are willing to work can find it, and a vast army of ‘bots serves man’s needs. The bad news: The Earth is depleted of key resources, which are now harvested on or around Mars. We are ruled from above by corrupt, bloated governments funded by enormously wealthy transnationals, and from below by powerful, ruthless street gangs. About a fifth of the world’s population has withdrawn into the drug Nirvana, while millions more have chosen the legal purgatory of Martian exile. Emerging mysteries abound: Some of the SuperOld are ending their lives, while in China millions starve to death despite massive foreign aid. Overseeing the world’s affairs and managing its systems is the omnipresent, manmade sentient entity called MOM. And MOM is not happy.