Back in 2000, I got an e-mail from a guy named Andrew Kasson, who was developing a web site called The Orbital. It was to be a monthly online publication ... not a science-fiction magazine, exactly, but rather a news magazine from the far future.
Kasson said he sought me out because of my dual background as a journalist and SF writer, and I agreed to contribute even before he mentioned that he planned to pay. He'd tapped into one of my frustrations: Bogus newspaper stories that read nothing like the genuine article, and journalists portrayed in fiction who bear little resemblance to the folks I've worked with. (Every newspaper serf's favorite howler is the Drew Barrymore character in "Never Been Kissed," a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times who has her own office and secretary.)
So this was my chance to write a science-fictional news story with the structure, approach and feel of a real news story ... my way of saying, "Look, it ain't all that hard. Before you turn to 'Garfield,' just take a couple minutes to look over that piece on Page One and you'll see how it's put together."
I sketched out three or four possible topics for an article, Kasson picked one, and I wrote a first draft. Kasson asked for one major change: My piece was about the Catholic Church and a future Pope, but The Orbital would steer clear of Earth. Enter the Fordex.
Alas, Kasson's idea never achieved orbit. The story I wrote for it appears here, and now that I've seen it in virtual print, there's a dozen changes I'd like to make. So in that respect, at least, it's just like a real news story.
— mjm
©
copyright
2005
Mark
J. McGarry
IMMORTALITY
SPARKS CHURCH SCHISM
by Mark J. McGarry
The announcement that the leader of the dominant religious denomination
of Fordex has become effectively immortal has opened a deep divide within
the 12,000-year-old church.
Such treatments are common among other star-faring species, but had been unprecedented among the Fordex. Leaders of orthodox factions, who consider life extension, including many cyborg implants, to be a violation of their precepts, have universally condemned Dr'wahn Z'lahn's decision to submit to the procedure.
"This is an affront to all we hold holy," said the Revered Rn'whaz Z'lahn, an orthodox leader. "Immortality is reserved for the one, true God."
Rn'whaz Z'lahn called for an inquisition in order to determine whether the Matriarch has been subverted by "foreign influences or perhaps the Anti-God himself."
Thousands of protesters crowded the streets around the Prelacy Tower again today. The Fordex are generally non-aggressive, and there have been no reports of violence during the demonstrations. However, incidents of public humiliation are on the rise. These include spraying opponents with dyes and odiferous chemicals.
Demonstrators rallying in support of the Matriarch and those protesting the life-extension treatments appear to be equally numerous. However, there are reports that parties loyal to the Matriarch have brought in demonstrators from across the region. Orthodox leaders have also charged that hundreds of individuals have been paid to take part in counter-demonstrations. The Prelacy has categorically denied such accusations.
While assuming responsibility for the disruption of Fordex society, Dr'wahn Z'lahn has defended her decision to undergo telomeric enhancement. She said she first considered taking the treatments after receiving a vision during a period of limbic fugue. She said she decided to proceed only after consulting with trusted advisers within the Prelacy.
The Matriarch said the Fordex's god -- most often referred to simply as "God," but also known as "the Shepherdess of All Souls" and "the All-Seeing Mother" -- had instructed her to submit to life extension to further the dissemination of the Fordex's religious precepts to other races.
"A teacher must be an elder, received not only of knowledge but of the wisdom that comes with age," Dr'wahn Z'lahn said in a statement released yesterday by the Prelacy. "We cannot lead other species to enlightenment if they look on us as children."
The Matriarch said she hoped that in time other Fordex would follow her example and undergo telomeric enhancement. The Prelacy has announced plans to open a series of enhancement clinics in major population centers. Each clinic would be staffed by offworld medical experts, working under the supervision of a tribune appointed by the Prelacy.
MATRIARCH WAS IN SECLUSION
Although the Prelacy is forbidden by its scripture from involving itself
in "earthly affairs," in the statement released yesterday the
Matriarch seemed to suggest that extending the life span of the Fordex
would bring about economic and cultural benefits, in addition to helping
the Prelacy in its missionary efforts.
The Prelacy made the announcement three months ago. At that time, the Matriarch had not made a public appearance in nearly a year, fueling speculation that she was either gravely ill or had actually discorporated. Telomeric specialists contacted by The Orbital suggested that the Matriarch might have been under medical care for the entire 15-month period during which she was on seclusion. While the enhancement regimen usually lasts only three to six months, the additional time may have been needed to adapt the treatments to Fordex physiology and to rectify any complications that may have arisen, these specialists said.
Attempts to identify the medical team that administered the treatments to the Matriarch have been unsuccessful. Evidence suggests, however, that they have been sequestered within the Prelacy Tower since Dr'wahn Z'lahn's treatment began.
The Revered Rn'whaz Z'lahn said a primary objective of any inquisition into the Matriarch's life-extension treatments should be to identify the species of the medical team. He said it was "imperative" that the Fordex have no further contact with this species, whom he said are "surely emissaries of the Anti-God."
SOCIETY IN TRANSITION
The Fordex were a largely agrarian society until just a few thousand
years ago, when their world was visited by probe ships from several advanced
races. These species, chief among them the Salarn and the Preeb, which
at the time were seeking to expand their hegemonies, are accused of contaminating
the pre-industrial Fordex culture. (The Preeb and the Salarn are now extinct,
and records of their visits to Fordex are incomplete.)
However, Fordex is poor in metals and radioactives, so industrialization has been slow and sporadic. The planet's exports have been limited largely to Type III cultural artifacts, including poetry, music and dung constructions. Just two imported singularity stations provide most of the planet's power, and a fledgling space program was soon abandoned. The Fordex contract for all their off-planet transportation.
While membership in the orthodox sects is on the rise, this growth has been chiefly among Fordex in the last quarter of their lives. In contrast, the young have been most vocal in their dissatisfaction with their way of life.
"We see what's going on out there in the universe," said a Fordex of 8 years taking part in a pro-Matriarch demonstration in the shadow of the Prelacy Tower. Switching his tail in a sign of agitation, he endorsed Dr'wahn Z'lahn's efforts to introduce telomeric extension among the Fordex.
"All the outworlders who come here, in the time it takes them to get through adolescence, our span is over," said the Fordex, who did not wish to be identified. "They have flying machines, robot servants, whatever they want.
"That's what this is about," said the Fordex. "Long life. Life and toys."