The bygone era had filthy ghetto-like conditions making up three-fourth of these urban landscapes. Those were days when the mortals had to use their bodily appendages to function in the world. Several hapless generations of humans have passed by without having a taste of the technologically enhanced faculties of the present era that render the mortals the ability to toy with anything in the world with mere thoughts. 

Human beings have been benefitting from the brain-computer interface for about a hundred years now. It all started when Eon Rose, CEO of the Brainlink Corporation, brought out the concept of a brain-machine interfacing brain implant in the market in the 2050s to control gadgets like laptops, smartphones and smart watches through the impulses fired by the neurons in the brain in response to a specific motivation. Slight movement of fingers in a particular direction moved the cursor in that direction. Though very rudimentary in its initial stages, the implant referred to as the “link” received considerable universal acclaim as it helped people with various disabilities and neurological disorders to perform better in the world.  In the subsequent years, Rose’s massive investment in understanding the anatomy of thoughts led to the development of an interface that set the scene for seamless integration of brains with machines, where mere thoughts controlled the machines.

However, it required the development of a formal language with a specific syntax and semantics to communicate with the computers and gadgets. The syntax involved both texts and graphics. Texts are always prefixed with the contemplation of a unique image that specifies the context.  About a quarter of all people in the world quickly took to the new-born futuristic world of “mind over matter” offered by the Brainlink Corporation. No major innovations for another 100 years proved that the interface technology has hit a bottleneck. After the first batch of volunteers were sent to settle and populate Mars with an enormous number of resources to sustain at least four human generations, NASA decided to work in close association with the Brainlink to help the astronauts better cope up with the various stressors they must endure up in the space environment. The innovations that then ensued helped recalibrate the interiors of the spacecrafts in response to the various nerve impulses generated by stressors like the microgravity and the altered circadian rhythm, at an enhanced rate, making the lives of space-travellers safer and easy. That was the first time the subconscious brain was tapped to control the machines. 

Then came the years when people were assisted by the interface to make the right choices that covered the choice of movies, videos and music from their playlists, that best suited the emotions at the moment, to choose the right food that would be instantly ordered from a restaurant as soon as the unique graphical passkey is contemplated in the mind. The various patterns of nerve impulses associated with emotions were sifted for clues that could be capitalised on.  Numerous other innovations adorned the century that followed including the much controversial attempts at amalgamating human minds with machines involved in warfare like the fighter jets. An air demonstration by the Russian Knights in the 2360s put the world back on their heels as manned fighter jets were manoeuvred by highly experienced pilots straight from the treasure trove of their muscle memories forged through years of warcraft. Governments at the time were very successful in slapping down all the dissent that rose against the fringe inventions.

The World War three of the 2380s proved once again, that it’s the warmongers who are truly enamoured of technological advancements as they always see their vast potential in playing havoc with their enemy states. About a quarter of the world population was wiped clean by the war, a horrendous slash by around two billion.  All member nations of the United Nations convened in India to decide upon the future trajectory based on a zero-war tolerance policy. After a lot of deliberation and assurances, the member nations agreed upon the making of a single federation headed by a member nation elected to power every five years. The Coalition has been on a power trip since the 2422 elections. “Security at its best” was coalition’s campaign slogan. It clearly stood fast to the motto since its rise to power. The plain-sailing night life with zero crime rates bore testimony to the fact that instances of crime are to be found only in the history textbooks hereafter, a credit to the highly coherent law enforcement strategies bolstered by the advanced interfaces that let the law enforcement trickle down from the minds of enforcers straight to the automated firearms and missiles installed practically in every inch of space on the planet.   Let me present myself to you now as the scene is now all set for a draconian siege by the Coalition.

A Martian by birth, a human by heart, I have been called “M290” since my birth. None of the Martians are called by an alphabetic name like our relatives on earth were used to, two centuries ago. I’m the 290th human to be born on Mars. We have always been sceptic of the ways of the Earthborns. The very reason that motivated our forefathers to volunteer for the Home Mars Mission (HMM) of the 2200s is that they anticipated the rise of a new world order with the interface technology gaining ground.  Paulo, the head of the HMM 18-member crew convinced the rest of the team to invest heavily on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to do away with all research to further develop the interface technology.

The last 200 years saw great advancements in the field of solar powered AI and intelligent machines on Mars. There are machines that emulate real human beings with impeccable moral standards, known as Mbots. Every Mbot is assigned with a human companion. The morality in these machines works based on its perception of the well-being of its companion human. Mbots are thus technically forbidden to be “selfish”.  Our people upscaled the manufacturing of Mbots ever since we found huge metal reserves in the Toro crater. Some of the Mbots were then configured to be placed in specific orbits in the space between the earth and the Mars, with the purpose of spying on the affairs of Earthborns, making it possible for us to hear and watch everything broadcasted on the earth. Paulo and his crew orchestrated the explosion of their spacecraft an hour after their landing on the Mars, faking a failed mission. Earthborns are thus unaware of the existence of the Martians.

As soon as we received evidence of dodgy power-plays within the Coalition from one of our spies on the Earth, we had come up with a master plan to take the Coalition down. On June 26th, 2422, I set foot on Earth. I couldn’t find the “green” earth that has been abundantly fabled by my mom as she used to put me to sleep with her lovely stories when I was a child. All I saw before my eyes was a desert planet. It took a fortnight for my body to get adapted to earth’s atmosphere. I spent these days thoroughly plotting every move. My task was plain and simple: plant a bug in the interface system that would render the entire politicians in the Coalition brain dead, get away alive back to Mars in my Mbot as soon as the task is accomplished.  August 12th, 2422, as I was on my six-month long journey back to Mars, I tuned into the broadcasts from the earth. Mixed emotions overcame me.

While I was well elated to have successfully “helped” the innocent Earthborns from a massive tragedy, I knew, in my heart, that a terrible war has begun, a war between two sects of human race forced to part at the fork in the road of time, catalysed by inventions in science.