The Eternal Generation

The first generation to reach immortality did so with work, built on the backs of their father’s. The capstone in the towering achievement of man. No longer did the next generations have a chance to do better than their fathers, as their fathers now perpetually prospered. Time had always been the equalizing factor, a time limit for acquisition. Without expiration they continued their influential expansion into all aspects of life. Long ago forgotten were the times of the unowned. When land and resources were unclaimed and humble men could rise to become magnates. They quickly realized their sons could not be trusted to wield such power. They would be welcomed into paradise, not wanting to be lost, but not being peers either. Passengers on the ship of power and progress. Comfort and necessity became shackles. The next generations no longer sought to be better than their fathers, they sought to break even. Continually judged to the titan that came before them. They did not develop an inferiority complex, it was their lives. The first generation as they were to be called thrived as they ushered in a new era now built on the backs of their sons. An atmosphere of complacency arose to suffocate all those who would dissent against the status quo. Captivity brought with it the benefit of being cared for. Men quickly lost their way. Searching for their path in an endless sea of darkness. They struggled to grasp for meaning in their existence. Each generation attempted to subjugate the next, in an endless slavers market of emergence into the world.

Every facet of civilized living became a means of control. Since there was no unowned housing, everything was leased to those looking for shelter. Banks controlled inflation and loan rates to ensure the flow of wealth upwards. Controlling loans, they defined which businesses were formed and by whom. Taxes and debt working in symphony to form chains that bound men to jobs to create a steady supply or production. The first generation quickly switched to an oligarchy, in the name of safety and security, to safeguard their laws and systems of control entrusting them to the guardianship of those who stood to benefit from their continuation. The skewed ultimate representation of the unborn written in stone long before they were to come into being. Their autocracy was the foundation on which they built a smaller form of government. Offering an alluring appearance of choice to placate the masses, their representatives would settle trivial matters and allow for political parties to arise and divide their constituents. Political parties polarizing each side and continually fighting over the same result, differing only on the means of achievement. Both sides doomed to realize that their fight was not left versus right, but the top of society versus the bottom. Democracy was a threat to the minority who dominated the majority. A person’s status in life was determined from the time of conception. Laws restricting unconstrained growth from unregulated births were put into place allowing only the most affluent and elite the privilege to reproduce. Disregard of the laws carried a penalty of being cast from the garden of eternal life. At first dissenters arose to disagree with their lot in life, being quickly dealt with, time marched forward until a culled population was all that remained. Complacent in their duties, unquestioning, unwilling to sow discord. Paradises permanent residents began to coalesce. The prevalent socially acceptable stereotypes became based on when people came to be. Some rose through the ranks but only the most extraordinary, and doing so with their stigmata attached to them.

As mankind tread undiscovered territory, a new enemy in the form of boredom arose to taunt him. Entertainment rapidly became the most consumed resource. At first entertainment was a just another form of control, however before long the masses turned on it until even the generations who benefitted from it grew tired of their own message. The shackles began to release in search of creativity from the ever-impending approach of apathy. As entertainment transitioned from an industry to a facet of life, people now received constant feedback from others on an eternal basis while their entertainment was tailored to them. Uninterested in the loneliness that accompanies solo consummation of the new media, it became broadcast to everyone as everyone saw everyone who consumed, while they consumed. This appeased the majority of the masses. Content to work during the day and consume during the night. The elite of society found themselves spilt on the consumption. Those who didn’t found themselves sticking to the old forms of entertainment. Hosting parties and the like.