As I stepped out of the pod and onto the company grounds, I checked my wristwatch to see that it was exactly 9:59 am - I was right on schedule. But before I could even take a deep breath, my wrist started buzzing. It was time for assembly. I quickly hurried into the building.
The campus building was unlike any other. Its shape was strange - rounded on one side and pointed on the other. But it was inside where things got really weird. No matter where you walked, you could see the seven offices on the pointy side of the building. These were special rooms that belonged to the founders who started the institution. Even though they had glass walls, there was something about them that made you feel like you couldn't go in. When the founders came out of their offices, it was like they were following a script. The CEO stood in the middle, with three founders on each side of him. They moved together like they were dancing, and then stopped to form a V shape. The pointy part of the building seemed to reach up towards something important like it was trying to tap into some kind of power or wisdom from the founders. As you looked at this strange scene, you couldn't help but feel a little shiver run down your spine - like you were seeing something special and maybe even a little bit forbidden.
As I looked around, I saw that everyone else was gathered on the balcony, all staring at the founders. Everyone had their earbuds in, and so did I. The CEO started talking, and a hologram of his face zoomed into the middle of the building. But instead of being impressive, it felt weirdly invasive - like he was looking right into my eyes, thanks to that creepy eye-tracking technology.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” He makes a mild frown on this face and looks directly through my left eye's pupil as if he was looking for the soul in my head. I just stayed frozen, attentive.
This is my first day at Vuyos, and I've had experience with a few other immortality startups or cults as everyone calls them. Every year or so, another one claims to have cracked the code on eternal life. Each promises to solve the death problem once and for all. It's hard though not to be impressed by how far the innovations by these cults have come in extending the human lifespan. Take me for example - I'm one of the youngest employees here. If you count my years based on Earth's rotation around the sun, I've been alive for about 230 years. But according to my age, I'm only 25. The way we measure time is a bit complicated; it's based on the vibrations of something called quants, but I don't fully understand how it works. My watch tells me what time it is, and I trust it. My great-grandfather, who was one of the last members of my family to live and die on Earth, lived until he was 97 years old in Earth years.
My grandmother was one of the few people from Africa who were allowed to board the African Saviour, a ship that was migrating to Mpingula, a space station donated by Russia to Africa as a gesture of appreciation. The story goes that Russia had abandoned the station due to its collision trajectory with an asteroid and found it cheaper to relocate to its new space station. But what's more significant is that this donation came after Russia emerged victorious in the Last War on Earth.
As for my great-grandfather, he was arrested before the war after being caught with the keys to the Genesis coins. His trial was highly publicized, and the Ugandan government, with the help of Russian mathematicians, confiscated the keys. Rumors suggest that these coins played a significant role in Russia's victory in the Last War on Earth.
My great-grandfather was known for his thieving ways and was believed to have been hired by hackers who had discovered Satoshi Nakamoto's identity. They tricked him into attempting to steal the keys as part of a trap, hoping to catch the real Satoshi. However, he returned empty-handed, and soon after, the hackers received another clue leading them to another suspected Satoshi.
CMI, Uganda's Intelligence Agency, later found the keys with my great-grandfather. The trial sparked rumors that he was actually Satoshi Nakamoto, which is why his pregnant daughter - my grandmother - was allowed on the African Saviour as a gesture of goodwill from Russia. Some Russians believed she was the daughter of someone who had contributed majorly to humanity, not only helping Russia win the war but also possibly being the mysterious Satoshi himself, rumored to have invented the money we use today.
As an Insights Engineer, my title may seem impressive, but it's actually a natural talent for many people who have at least one Earthian parent. My job involves spending all day sitting in front of a screen and pointing without any intention or premeditation at any point on that screen. It's called Randomisation. With the advancements in mathematics and technology, it's become increasingly difficult to engineer true randomness without someone engineering a predictor - an algorithm that can accurately predict suspected randomness. But humans remain unpredictable, making us the only species capable of truly random actions.
As a result, this job is one of the easiest for any human to get, but it's also well-paying due to the scarcity of humans. You see, humans are the most prone to death among all other species. That's why most cults were founded by humans.
Outside of my job, randomness is more of a disability than an advantage because of the precision and order expected by everyone else. In everyday life, I struggle to fit in with the rest of society, where predictability and routine are valued above all else. Simple tasks like planning a day or following a recipe become daunting challenges for me, as my natural tendency towards randomness makes it difficult to stick to a plan.
It's not just me, though - all humans struggle with this issue. We're wired to be unpredictable. That's why we rely on devices like watches and calendars to help us stay in order. Other species don't need these crutches; they can easily follow routine without breaking a sweat.
For example, my 70% synthetic colleagues manufactured at the Silicon Station have a natural circadian rhythm that allows them to wake up at exactly 6:00 AM every day. They don't need alarm clocks or reminders - their bodies just know when it's time to start the day. It's like they're hardwired for routine, whereas humans are constantly fighting against our unpredictability.
Many of the founders of cults are inspired by ancient texts - some about prophets like Jesus the Christ and Mohamed, peace be upon him, others were teachers like the Buddha, and others were called Magicians like Aleister Crowley. They believe that humans possess a unique gift that can be harnessed to achieve immortality.
The hiring process for most other species was surprisingly straightforward: how fast they could calculate and which inclination towards old Earth stories they related to most. Humans, on the other hand, were mostly hired for their anti-calculability - how bad one was at calculations when in a subconscious state. This human attribute correlated well with randomness.
"Jesus has appointed the seven of us to lead life as we know it at this moment into immortality. But this is not all good news. Because he says he will separate those that do good from those that do bad. Now we may solve immortality tomorrow. Will you be the kind that lives in misery forever or will you share the Kingdom of heaven with the rest of us?" I looked back directly into his eyes in the hologram and nodded my head in agreement. There was an eruption of the word "Haven" and a thunderous handclap.
Read the next piece in the series here