New Earth

Chronicles of Corruption and the Birth of Nomadia

By Robert A. Jackson & Telia Griffin

© 2025 All rights reserved.

Chapter 2   

     Leah Black is an advanced AI3 with enhancements that include pleasure and combat. By 2524 the normal machine driven augmentation rate is 25%. Most people integrate cybernetics merely to improve survivability or lengthen their lifespan. However, the Naturalists expanded the AI3 modifications by an additional 15% on some models because they wanted a stronger and distinct security team in case there was a glitch. Leah is one of the most advanced AI hybrids to date.  Thus, she has been assigned to protect the Naturalist Society’s interests.

     While sunbathing her protruding nipples suddenly retract. She receives mission instructions across her AI augmented psy-verse cognitive display. E-SUN –her handler comes on her screen and says, “Directive 231 commencing star date 2524. Mr. Buster is your priority target. Further instructions are pending.” The transmission ends. Leah sighs and says to herself with a smirk, “couldn’t you have at least let me finish getting tan.” Leah stands up, tilts her head and winks at herself in the mirror, seemingly admiring herself.    

Intercepted Message

     Edison, team leader for the Empirical Guard’s security division, detects a scrambled message moving across the NextGen surveillance platform. The signal flags one name before it vanished: Mr. Buster. Encryption Analysts managed to extract one additional detail- Directive 231 commencing.

     Empirical Guard Analysts reviewed case files on Mr. Buster and then delivered a briefing to Edison. To protect Nomadia’s governance maintained by the Universal Council and with Mr. Buster’s safety in mind, his immediate extraction is recommended.

     With Chairperson E-Tom’s health declining his position is soon opening. The intercepted message implies with high certainty that an attempt to prevent succession is being activated by the opposition party – the Naturals. Due to Mr. Buster’s direct bloodline status, he is next in line for the Chairperson’s position, although he is fully unaware of those facts. This observation prompts need to know and extraction protocols.

  Chairman E-Tom on his death bed.

     Chairman E-Tom:  “Edison, prepare the communication to summon my son, Mr. Buster, it is time.”  Edison replies: “Of course, I’ll dispatched it immediately sir.”

Narrator II:

     Once delivered, the message will reveal Mr. Buster’s true identity and birthright, along with the details about the post he is meant to be appointed to upon Chairman E-Tom’s death. The message will also disclose the true story of Earth’s collapse. This version of history contradicts the one Mr. Buster and most Nomadian’s were raised to believe. As a history teacher, Mr. Buster himself highlighted an overly simplified tale that earth was destroyed by a catastrophic windstorm.

     During the mass exodus event, the Universal Council agreed to conceal the reasons of Earth’s demise. Those reasons expose the truth about how human made errors and mostly illegal wars tipped earth’s balance. Incompetence, corruption and greed driven activities peaked causing the crash of basic supply chains.

     Corruption through tolerated loopholes, special exemptions, and past shelters that attempted to indemnify violators were destroyed during the revolution of 2048, which gave birth to the Nomadian egalitarian civilization just prior to mass exodus in 2050.

     The cover-up of Earth’s dark history was agreed by the Universal Council (UC). The UC consisted of the Empirical Guard – those AI augmented and the Naturals. They thought to help instill trust in the newly formed Council’s ability to direct survival in space and to prevent further rebellions this alternative history was the best to portray. By erasing history they hoped the trends of retribution, the need for retaliation, and even the many ideological stories that were previously used to divide people would be removed from the culture. Nomadia, like many new civilizations before ours, was born from the necessity of survival.  

     From 2050 forward, orbital life was viewed with hypersensitivity due to the delicate hi-risk existence status. Maximum cooperation and harmony was needed among the survivors. Mutual concern and respect for nature became essential values. New standards were established to secure cleaner air, toxin-free food, clean water, decent shelter, clothing, safe medicine and less violent relations.  Safely fulfilling basic needs depended on the strategies, commitments, and cooperation of all Nomadian’s. To survive, monitoring and containment of all deviations of rules required swift and firm actions.

     Recent advancements in elective bio-machined cognitive augmentation helped humans reduce distortion, lesson memory faults, and corrected other information mental processing errors. Those electing this brain surgery showed increases in using evidence-based mental functions and nearly extinguished all forms of bias and harm. 

     Post earth, nearly everyone became monitored for nutritional needs, stress, and overall functioning. Built in bio-medical systems operated behind the scenes just beside our natural autonomic systems. This resulted in highly tuned and produced optimal functioning people.

     Nomadia, by many accounts became a near flawless culture. However, the Naturalist class, who insisted to not be augmented, observed problems concerning identity and human spirit. The expression of creativity and imagination appeared to be on the decline since 2500 (the last 24 years). Creativity and imagination are key characteristics that separate humans from other species and machines.

     The common problems found among people of all ages included; peak sameness, monotony, rising reports of boredom, and low enthusiasm trends. AI concluded life was becoming less challenging and was arguably highly predictable for modern Nomadian’s. AI3 detected energy levels suffered in people generally with an unexplained net loss in productivity and lower measures of joy compared with previous generations.

     Naturals argue that reducing AI on New Earth should dramatically reinforce the development and use of human intelligence (Humit).  They argue this shift back to nature will cause the human will to exert itself once more in the realm of creativity and imagination. They also suggest reducing AI will address the problems of identity and once again increase joy for the human spirit.

     The problems with imagination and spirit expressed as “the dimming”, were suggested by the Naturalists to have resulted from the overreliance on AI.  They also speculated that survival requires more flexible reliance on mystery and acceptance of the unknown. 

     AI’s role has been deemed as being undeniably necessary in orbital living scenarios, but far less relevant for the upcoming return to earth. Therefore, the Universal Council is considering a much smaller ratio level for augmented people and robots as the first class of earth dwelling residents now being selected.  News that the toxic clean-up on earth is nearly completed is being announced. 

     The possibility of conflict threatens to disrupt over 500 years of peace. The near sentient machines and humans that served one another in different ways are trying to hold unto a way of life they have become accustomed to and mutually reliant on. Likewise, identity and purpose are fast arriving challenges for those being selected as a part of the first resettlements on Earth. Uncertainty is a phenomenon our culture has no recent major experience dealing with due to our relative stability and success in space. While exciting, the tension of resettling earth is also introducing a sort of primal fear. People, especially the Natural’s are reporting nightmares leading up to the announcements of whom is being selected to return to Earth.  

     Directors Note: Credits rolling dream-like sequence begins as camera slowly zooms into Mr. Buster’s space station living quarters. The scene shows satellites in orbit and intercepted spy communication with indistinct chatter, clipped codes, and static is layering the audio.  Camedra-cuts to the Coup resistance base of the Naturalist Rebels (NR).

The Return

     While Agent Arcon observes a tactical feed he states target locked and the droid is deployed.”

Narration: The camera drifts further into the building using thermal and infra-red scanners mapping the corridor. The Naturalist Rebels dispatched a droid fly that slips into Mr. Busters quarters.  Mr. Buster’s cat Ahlo launches midair and swats the drone fly quickly pinning it on the ground. It sputters, sparks and goes still. 

     In bed, Mr. Buster is tossing and turning trapped in fractured dream flashes.  Buster sees a house on fire. He appears to be age 2 or 3 in his dream, crying and strangers are pulling him away as obviously wants to run back into the burning house. Suddenly in the dream he older, about 5 and is given a photo of family he does not recognize, but he is being held as a baby affectionately in the photo. An alarm goes off jerking him awake.

     Mr. Buster sits up, catches his breath, then calls out, “Sarah can you make me….” Sarah, his live-in assistant droid completes his sentence…. “your usual black coffee sir and one morning bun coming right up. Shower is set to 81 degrees and wardrobe if prepared sir.” Mr. Buster says, “Thanks Sarah, I keep forgetting you’re an advanced series with the superior predictive algorithms. Sarah replies, “No bother sir, humans are creatures of habit. I rather enjoy our morning banter. It helps me analyze your mental activity to adjust any medications I see may be necessary to optimize your function.” 

    Buster laughs and says, “good luck finding the right combination”.

Sarah: “Sorry sir, I’m not understanding are you asking me to reset the door security code.”

Buster: “Close- I was trying to be funny, go ahead an optimize me, this nightmare of me losing my family is impacting my sleep again.”