Eternal Youth turned out to be the best and most expensive product in the history of mankind, which was in incredible demand.
Ivanov soon became the richest man in the world, which attracted increased attention to his person. Attempts were made on him several times, which were prevented by his guards. Because of this, he had to increase the security staff and show off as little as possible.
He bought a private jet to travel around the world. He hired a personal chef and from now on he ate only the food he cooked, only occasionally allowing himself meals in the restaurant.
Gene therapy has begun to spread around the world. Clinics providing similar services appeared with enviable regularity in many countries. But the Astramedic clinic was still the best.
Nanotechnology improved and became more advanced every year. Along with them, nanorobots improved, which allowed not only to prolong life, but also to improve physical parameters and increase survival. The military couldn't help but take advantage of this. And where the military is, there are government orders and a lot of money. AstraMedica made super profits from the supply of nanobots to create super soldiers.
The creation of artificial intelligence and a quantum computer has seriously contributed to the acceleration of technological progress. The field of virtual reality was developing rapidly. And since Ivanov invested well in these areas, he became seriously rich and stayed at the top of the Forbes rating for a long time.
At the legislative level, ordinary citizens of all countries were prohibited from installing combat nanites. But besides them, there are more advanced modifications for the upper elite that ordinary people did not get.
At the same time, genetic therapy, rejuvenation and the introduction of nanites have become available to everyone. Two factors contributed to this: long-term lending and lower prices.
This usually happens with any technology. At the time of launch, new products and unique services are very expensive, but over time, competition appears, uniqueness disappears, and prices fall. As a result, goods and services become available to the general public. In the beginning, only very wealthy people could afford cell phones. Now it is very difficult to find a person who does not have a compact and portable means of communication.
All people are equal, but some are more equal. What is not allowed to the plebs is available to Caesar. Ivan had access to all the achievements of a global pharmaceutical giant. He and his family constantly went through the procedure of replacing nanites with the most perfect ones. Their software was not neutered. Only the top fat, the most relish, all the best with an individual fit.
Over time, the first-generation nanites began to malfunction. Several patients died because of this. Most of the patients managed to go to the clinic, where the problem was quickly solved by replacing nanites. Ivan and his relatives did not encounter this for quite objective reasons - there were no old nanobots left in their bodies for a long time.
But several dozen ships from the heirs of billionaires shook the corporation. I barely managed to fight back. Nevertheless, the company's legal department is not staffed by idiots, they provided for such a development and initially indicated in the contract that the patient, if he does not undergo a preventive examination and maintenance of nanites, takes full responsibility.
A super soldier is a hard-to-kill death machine. Nanites transform a person into a powerful combat unit, accelerating reaction, thinking speed, increasing speed, regeneration, agility, strength. The super soldier is able to withstand dozens of cyborg modifications, which are much cheaper to create.
The modern army is staffed by ordinary people, cyborg paratroopers and infantrymen, as well as elite super-soldier modifiers.
But the abilities of super soldiers pale in comparison to individual modifications, which are available only to presidents, ministers, senators and ... owners of pharmaceutical giants who develop modifications using nanites and genetic engineering.
Apart from the fact that Ivanov became difficult to kill, he was guarded by super-soldier modifiers. Under normal conditions, these people would never have been able to get a loan to install even basic civilian nanites, but they received them for life after a hundred years of service.
Hackers became the scourge of the late twenty-first and early twenty-second centuries. Mass embezzlement of funds from bank accounts and theft of classified information are not uncommon. The berries start when it comes to hacking nanites.
To put it mildly, it's bad when a hacker hacks nanobots and takes control of a person. It can kill, cause serious harm to health, erase or change memory, make a person move and perform actions against his will. Yes, this is possible, but such cases are rare. They are punished for this all over the planet with the same severity - the death penalty. The largest number of hacks occur for the purpose of advertising distribution. In order to launch viral advertising spam into the human brain!
It is clear that mostly civilian models of nanites were hacked. The military is well protected. The elitist ones have a paranoid degree of protection. But the fact is that the lion's share of the resources of all corporations that modify nanites for implantation into the human body is spent not on developing something new, but on protecting against hackers, from hacking nanites.
***
In May 2000, Ivanov flew to the Cannes Virtual Film Festival.
All that's left of the movie is the essence. In fact, modern films differ from the cinematography of Vanya's youth, like black-and-white silent films from color films with computer graphics.
A full-immersion movie that can be watched using virtual reality as a participant in events or even as a hero. There are films with a strict storyline that cannot be influenced, remaining only a viewer who feels the taste, smells and sees the 'real' world. There are films in which the plot depends on the actions of the "viewer". It's not really a movie anymore, but more of a full-immersion virtual game. There are fans of both. But the festival of the first category of films with an unchanging plot, classic cinema, so to speak, is taking place in Cannes.
On May 12, Vanya and his companion settled into a luxurious restaurant with three Michelin stars. An efficient and helpful live waiter, which is very rare in the modern world, where robots are engaged in service, brought the order.
Ivan was just about to start the tasting when he suddenly discovered a familiar face. Waving his hand affably, he called out:
- Artyom!
Opening his eyes in surprise, the billionaire, who had just entered the restaurant, recognized an old acquaintance and went to Ivanov's table. He looked young and athletic, moved with predatory grace, and overall looked perfect. Radiant snow-white smile, not a single flaw of the skin. Only people who are particularly gifted by nature or modifiers can look like this. Considering who Artyom was and how Ivan had last seen him, there was no doubt about who he was.
- Vanek! Hi. How many winters, how many years?
- hello.
Artyom sat down opposite Vanya and looked curiously at his companion's face. His face fell in amazement.
"Really?" Saule?! Didn't you die about eighty years ago?!!!
The girl, who looked like a young improved version of the famous comedian in the past, looked up from her fascinating occupation of devouring her companion with a loving gaze.
"Hello," she said politely to Artyom. - Nice to meet you. I'm sorry, I haven't met you before. I am always glad to see Vanyusha's friends.
"Saule, go for a walk..." Ivan told her in a commanding tone.
"Of course, my love," she gave her companion a warm smile. - Boys, don't be bored. I understand you need to keep it confidential... And I need to powder my nose.
The girl flew off towards the bathroom, followed by Artyom's uncomprehending gaze.
- Tem, don't pay attention. It's a sex clone, programmed to fall in love.
"A sex clone?" Artyom's eyebrows shot up in amazement. "Isn't human cloning banned?"
- How would a lazy and pampered modern society reproduce if it weren't for clones? Ivanov narrowed his eyes slyly.
- Yes, I'm not talking about child clones, but about cloning for the use of slave labor. Indeed, at the level of the government of the Earth, several decades ago, a law was passed on equating the rights of clones with the rights of ordinary people.
"Oh, my friend, don't be silly," Ivanov rolled his eyes. - You should know that there are people for whom laws are written, and there are those who write them or twist them in the right direction.
- Well, well, - the billionaire from Chelyabinsk eagerly leaned forward. - Vanya, I'm interested in you. Where can I order something like this? And most importantly, how can this be done legally?
- There is nothing easier, - Ivanov lifted the corners of his lips. - My corporation, like several competitors, is engaged in commercial cloning. You just order a "free" clone according to your appearance parameters. In order for the clone to become a full-fledged citizen with a profession that is useful to him for life, you order accelerated virtual learning according to a special program. Hypnotic devices are used to speed up and stimulate the learning process... An adult clone, who has grown up and trained at an accelerated pace in a couple of years, receives citizenship and leaves the clonarium. As a kind and responsible person, you hire him. Well, isn't it natural that a clone can develop feelings for his benefactor, who gave him life and provided him with a job?
Artyom's lips parted in a predatory smile at the realization of the blatant hints.
A jigsaw puzzle immediately formed in his mind. For a lot of money, you can get a clone with any appearance, like an inexpensive and publicly available sex android made to order. But a robot is not like a living person. Learning in a virtual reality capsule can happen ten to twenty times faster than in normal life. The clone is socialized by simulating reality like a virtual game. If the clone immediately starts making mental bookmarks, introducing behavioral triggers, then at the exit you can get an obedient willing sex slave or a slave. And no one can prove anything. All citizens have the right to keep personal information confidential. Voluntarily, such a clone, without the permission of the "owner", is unlikely to give permission to count all its memory, allowing the AI to sort it out and put it on display. It is impossible to find bookmarks without it. And if you find them, try to prove that they were not formed independently, but were implemented. After all, the human brain is not a book from a library that is easy to open on any page and find the right text. It is a complex interweaving of associations and thoughts.
- Clever! - He gave me a thumbs up. - And what a 'respected' profession yours is... Girls?
- Personal assistant...
Artyom laughed loudly. Wiping away a tear of laughter, he said ironically:
- It's hard to think of a better position for such a valuable employee... And does it help well?
— yeah... Personally!
Having finished laughing again, Artyom continued:
- Can I order a lolly from you?
- Easily. I've seen all kinds of customer requests... Lolis are very popular among the Japanese establishment. Naturally, the clone will only look like a little girl, but in reality," Ivanov said ironically, "it is an independent adult clone with full civil rights. By the way, I remembered a funny story about this.
- Vanek, you intrigue me. You can't bully an old man like that! Once you've started, don't make dramatic pauses, don't strain your nerves.
"What kind of old man are you?" You and I are still that fresh yogurt!
"It's more like a reconstituted product," Artyom grinned. "But don't get off the subject. What's the story?
- Have you watched anime?
- In my youth, I was into it, why? - the former programmer was filled with curiosity.
- Then you should understand, because it was a story in the style of the etty anime genre... One Japanese pervert ordered a harem of lolos of different ages from us, including a pair of androgynous gangplank girls. A run-up in appearance from flat eight-year-olds to boobby thirteen-year-olds.
- The Japanese have long been famous for their abundance of perverts... Artyom rolled his eyes for a moment, as if to say, "Oh, these Japanese." - But nothing is clear yet. He ordered a harem, so what?
- They have a little stricter internal laws there, in Japan. He ordered not a standard trigger for a specific person, but for the clones to fall in love with the first person they saw, so that no AI would get to the bottom of it. Love at first sight and all that... This is a common situation, celebrated in the fiction of mankind and in many films.
- Okay, wait a minute... Artyom covered his eyes with his palm and sat there for a couple of seconds. "Let me guess. Lolek's harem was accidentally found by an ordinary Japanese schoolboy, and the clones fell in love with him?
"You're right. Almost...
"Almost?" Kuznetsov raised his eyebrows expressively.
- They were indeed found by an ordinary Japanese schoolboy, but not by chance. The customer has offended a person in some way, not one of the last in Japan. As you know, it's not customary to mix personal things with business, so they have peace and quiet in this regard. But the offended friend strongly wanted to annoy the customer...
- So it was no coincidence that the student found the harem?
- What do you think? Ivanov snorted. - Is it possible to accidentally enter a protected area and, having timed it precisely, log into an automatic password-protected flyer, as if to your home? Naturally, the student was simply used and pointed at the flyer. A team of hackers hacked his access and led him to the goal, like a donkey with a carrot on a rope. But for the public, an ordinary Japanese schoolboy accidentally discovered a flyer with adult clones of the original appearance, who flew from the clonarium by taxi to Japan and fell in love with this OYASHA at first sight.
"Yeah!" Artyom drawled admiringly. - It really looks more like an anime. That's really a schoolboy's luck!
- Yeah! Ivan started to sound sarcastic. - Feed and water the whole shobla, give them a roof over their heads, get them to get a job and keep their ass off the love traps... And you'll get rid of the clones! They have such a mess in their psyche that they would rather commit suicide than leave their master or betray him... Oyash probably still has his pants full of happiness. By the way, they made a comedy virtual series based on his life. I recommend it for viewing. Everything is according to the canons of the old anime of the early two thousandth, when they had not yet been put on the production line, making them indistinguishably similar. As they used to say: filmed based on real events.
- I'll definitely take a look, Vanya. I'm intrigued by you. It's been a long time since I've heard such excellent game. So how do you say you can place an order?
- I'll send you the contacts of the VIP customer service department and provide you with the password for the "special service".
- Thank you, Vanya, from the bottom of my heart! How are your children and grandchildren?
- Great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren already... In different ways. I have daughters, so all the descendants live under different surnames. I keep an eye on them, I help them to the best of my ability. The only thing I don't understand is the fascination of modern youth with virtual reality. Reality is somehow closer to me. Of course, sometimes it's fun to play or watch a movie, but don't go live in a virtual world! What about yours?
"It's the same thing," Artyom curled his lips a little. - One great-grandson does not get out of the virtual capsule. His parents can't influence him in any way. I'm afraid that this generation of Kuznetsovs will not be the last.
"He won't. Someday the kid will come to his senses and have a clone child. Virtual worlds will get boring someday, and he will want to settle down in real life.
"And if it doesn't?"
"You're still young and you can have new children," Ivanov said cynically. - You will bring them up in the right way.
"That's true. By the way, Vanya, do you remember a hundred years ago when we discussed investments?
- I remember something like that.
"Just don't give me any bullshit about sclerosis," Artyom grinned. - I can't believe that a modifier can forget something.
- Yes, I remember, I remember! You won't be fooled by the yogurt variety...
"I was right!
Ivanov raised his right eyebrow questioningly.
Artyom, answering his silent question, continued:
- My investments in the Mars program will be fired soon! Finally, the large hadron collider was built on Mars.
"They've been dragging their feet for a long time.
"Expensive and difficult," Kuznetsov shrugged. - America's lunar program in the middle of the twentieth century cost almost a tenth of its GDP (gross domestic product). Do you understand? Over the course of several years, one tenth of the economy of a rich capitalist state was spent on throwing three people six times onto the surface of the Earth's satellite, covered with rocks and dust.
"It was a matter of prestige," Ivanov retorted. - At that time, the countries played too much into the war, not realizing that global cooperation was much more beneficial. The Soviet Union was the first to send a man into space. The States needed to respond with something more meaningful. As a result, a base was built on the moon.
"They did," Kuznetsov agreed. - But in order to place a base on the moon, we had to invest in this business as much money as the whole world did not have at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Americans spent four years spending a tenth of their economy so that only eighteen people could travel back and forth for a couple of days. Can you imagine how much money it took to create a colony on Mars so that people could live, breathe, and eat there? And this is the Big Fucking Hadron Collider! A hundred-kilometer-long horseradish with a powerful infrastructure... On MARS! You know what that means, right?
"That someone is spending insane amounts of money on the Martian program..." stated Ivan indifferently.
- The Earth government has indeed allocated a large budget for this, but investors will also get their piece of the pie. Vanek, cheap antimatter-based energy is just around the corner! It will soon become an everyday reality from fiction. I believe that it is high time to switch from thermonuclear energy to more advanced power sources. So think about it... It's not too late to hop on this financial train.
- Thanks for the advice, Artem. I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I feel that the development of medicine, although promising, cannot continue forever at the same pace. Everyone has already entered this industry, and AstraMedica is no longer the first in the world, but one of many.
- I also invested in the extraction of space minerals, - said the former programmer. - I think this is a promising industry.
"Not yet," Ivan shook his head. - Spaceships are not yet perfect enough to extract ore from asteroids cheaply.
- Unlike you, I'm looking at the long term.
"My resources are not infinite enough to be scattered over all areas," Ivanov shrugged. - When the prospects become more realistic, I'll think about it.
- Okay, what are we all about? Artyom looked to his right, with a barely perceptible nod indicating Ivan's returning companion. "Yours has powdered her nose."..
- I see it.
- If you see... - he decided to change the subject. - Vanek, what are you doing?
- You know my hobby. I was in love with cars, and I still love them. I collect gasoline cars, sometimes I ride them, I fix them myself.
- Where do you get spare parts? - Artyom was really interested in this, because the production of spare parts for long-obsolete and decommissioned cars with internal combustion engines has long been stopped.
- I print on a 3D printer. But there is also a disadvantage.
"What's that?" - Kuznetsov did not expect such a banal answer. He was counting on a story about buying rare cars from collectors for spare parts, but everything turned out to be too banal.
- AVTOVAZ products with high-quality spare parts are not the same... There is no soul in the bustling Zhiguli. They don't break! After replacing the spare parts with the ones I printed on the printer, I have nothing to fix!
Laughing, Kuznetsov continued:
- Aren't you afraid of draconian taxes on environmentally polluting equipment?
- Yogurt is not afraid of fruits!
- Yes, though... Who am I asking? Kuznetsov chuckled. - It's pennies for us.
"Hello, boys," Ivanov's companion sat down in her place. - Didn't you miss it?
"We were sad without the company of a beautiful lady," Artyom said, his eyes twinkling slyly.
- Nice to meet you... - she cooed, looking warmly at Vanya. - What is it about?
"Well," Artyom continued, "we're discussing your boyfriend's hobbies.
- Vanechka is doing well! The clone's voice purred pleasantly. "He's a very smart guy. He is constantly learning.
- Vanya, are you studying? Kuznetsov raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I have to," he shrugged calmly. - In the age of AI and universal access to education, you have to keep your mind on top and keep up to date with modern achievements in order to compete.
- If it's not a secret, what are you learning? Artyom showed interest.
"An ordinary tower," Ivan said in a bored tone. - The standard set of top managers: economics, management, psychology, law. These areas of knowledge are expanding every year. I periodically take advanced training courses, studying accelerated virtual courses.
- Artyom drawled, losing interest in this topic. - I also studied in these programs a couple of times. Accelerated virtual learning is power! I wish I had a cheat like that when I was young, instead of going to college for a few years.
"You have to learn anyway," Ivan smoothly removed his companion's head from his shoulder. - I remember that at one time in the old space fiction there was a popular theme of neural networks that poured skills directly into the brain. It's a pity that nothing like this was invented.
- No, Vanya, they probably won't invent it. More precisely, it is possible to do this, but at least on the basis of existing augmented reality and virtual neural interfaces. But no one will allow this technology to spread. You don't know how to separate people from virtual reality. No one needs the problems that will arise when people forget how to study on their own, having become accustomed to receiving free knowledge...
- I agree.
Artyom thought about something for a while, sighed sadly, looked at Ivanov and said:
- Oh, thank you, Vanya, for eternal youth! Being young is good.
- Being young is wonderful! It's just great! It's only when you feel the breath of entropy on you that you begin to truly appreciate youth. I just don't understand, Artyom, why are you thanking me? I just invested in bitcoins in time and got rid of them before this bubble burst. Thanks should be given to scientists and the achievements of humanity that have allowed people to live longer than measured by nature. I'm sure eternal youth would have appeared the same way without me.
"Thank you anyway," Kuznetsov said sincerely from the bottom of his heart, which you would not expect from a man of his age and social status. - If it wasn't for you, I would have learned about bitcoins too late and would hardly have become who I am. The only thing that really pisses me off is the need to visit a therapist in order not to go crazy. Still, nature does not provide that a person will last that long.
- Subject, you can call me paranoid, but I don't trust people.
- And how do you maintain mental health? Kuznetsov showed sincere curiosity.
- I ordered an autonomous AI psychotherapist without access to the Internet, whose access is set up at the hardware level only for me.
Kuznetsov drummed his fingers on the tabletop with a thoughtful look. - And this is an interesting option. I have not considered this. You will also need to buy such an AI. Although ais infuriate me!
"What's that?" - Ivanov did not share his attitude towards intelligent computers. - They are impersonal, initiative-free and entangled in a bunch of restrictions.
- They just infuriate me! Artyom grimaced, as if he'd had a bite of tequila and a bite of salt and lime. - There are too many of them in our lives. Every step is monitored. There is no freedom like there was in our youth. And it all started so innocently. First, surveillance cameras began to appear on the streets and roads, then a face recognition system. Before we know it, the AI controls all areas of life, from agriculture, economics, and traffic to flushing the toilet.
"There is no escape from progress except a return to the Middle Ages," Ivanov's tone was calm and reasonable. - And this is easily achievable. It's enough for some idiot to use thermonuclear weapons. But somehow I don't want to live on nuclear ashes.
"Nevertheless, there are benefits from nuclear weapons," Kuznetsov continued. - It holds back global military conflicts.
"AI is also very useful," Ivanov continued to defend artificial intelligence. - Unlike humans, they are not susceptible to emotions. As long as they regulate many areas of human life, we don't have to worry about a global conflict, unless the little green men come to us.
Saule the clone gently patted Ivan's shoulder and said to him:
"You're such an experienced man." And you have a good friend.
"Yes, yes, Saule," he replied with slight irritation. - We'll talk at home.
- By the way, Vanya, - Artem looked at his companion with a slight envy, - do you still live in the Chelyabinsk region?
Ivanov pursed his lips in displeasure and stretched them out like a duck's beak.
- The main house is there, yes...
"You don't look happy," Kuznetsov said, glancing at his companion.
- Why would that be? You don't like AI, but globalization freezes me out. Previously, the Badgers were almost a hundred kilometers from Chelyabinsk, but now the city has grown so much that now I live on its outskirts.
- Has that changed anything?
- Yes, indeed! Ivanov couldn't contain his irritation. - They came, you know, they forced the barriers to be removed and part of the fences to be demolished. Previously, the whole village was mine, now I own several separate large plots, between which these yogurt electric wagons travel along the roads!
"Ha ha ha! Kuznetsov was amused, sarcastically continuing: - What a grief...
- What else! I used to have my own pier, a sauna on the water, and no one else around, just guards and servants. And now what?
- what?
- Some hippies have built communes around the houses. They've invaded the whole neighborhood. And it would be fine if they all rotted in virtual capsules for months... But no way! They lead an active lifestyle, may they choke on yogurt! If it weren't for my large areas, I would be furious at all. And there's nothing you can do about them. Not my level. I'm afraid that in another hundred years I won't be living on the outskirts at all, but near the city center - just a few hundred kilometers away...