8 Dark Energy

“The discovery of Neuronal energy — and especially the ability to manipulate, store, and even create it — changed everything on Terra. It ushered in the era known in retrospect as the Dark Ages.”

“At first, inventions were remarkable and useful or entertaining. Devices such as Talent Enhancers — which allowed athletes and artists and others to hone and develop their skills and abilities like never before — were fashioned out of metals and cloth and crystals and other materials. Emotion Infusers allowed feelings to be conveyed and felt directly: A mother’s love for her child (and vice versa), a wistful longing for a distant lover, even the unconditional faith of a true believer — all were accessible. Extrapolators, or Alternate History Generators, let authors and historians and others investigate or embellish the past, and Universal Translators allowed instant and unfettered communication.”

“Over time inventions like these yielded to more dangerous applications. Impulse Infusers were used to incite often explicitly unwanted actions. Early Thought Infusers, often called Neuralysers, were used to erase memories, and later versions to create new ones.”

“Such manipulations, as well as many others, threw Terran societies into chaos for centuries, but the smoke that eventually cleared exposed a new social contract among them, and a new tool instrumental in its creation, acceptance and maintenance.”

“It was a library called the ConSci.”

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