DOLLY'S PASTURE - scientifically based story set in future about evolution and personality change through new technologies - dissertation - Diplomarbeit
Dolly's pasture plays 200 years after the great rice disaster. Not long after transgenic rice had been introduced and quickly led to a monoculture, the impossible happened: the rice was infected by a virus. Everyone who ate the rice, died. At that time rice was a staple food for 80% of the world's population.
The story is set in the future that is shaped by bio-nanotechnologies: Everything is growing, like the houses with roots in the ground that host grease mushrooms that lubricate the tubes of peristaltic driven travelizers.
Evolution and natural reproduction only continue under cupolas in a small border society that separated themselves from the outer world after the big disaster.
In the new world people are addicted to psychotropics - thus gratifying their natural motivation factors artificially. At one time most people stopped working. Their only motivation became to fight for the psychotropics. However few people such as scientists and artist continued to work. They did not need any basic motivation, like fear or plesure
- they felt it was their call to what they were doing.
When the chaos became unbearable, people were forced to change their society:
The Assistent, a soft computer was developed in everybody’s brain. Features like the communication between each other or the surveillance of everybody’s health are public although people are not aware of its extend. They do not know that their mind is being controlled in order to conclude on their personality. This knowlegde is not only used to prevent crimes, but primarily to adjust people’s personality to suit their duties.
The government redefined work: If talented and upgraded enough, people received a
pre-programmed vocation. The rest of people were constantly involved in playing pervasive games. After finishing virtual games, people's secret dreams were automatically fulfilled in reality. At a price centre they can collect their needs, psychotropics and surprises.
Set in this world two father-son stories play in parrallel.
Both fathers are similar as far as they both dislike the idea of preset vocation. However, they differ a lot: one takes the idea even further, giving his son the ability to change his personality as he desires. The other wants to save his son from being modified at all.
The son of the affirmative father is trying to escape him and his beloved society in order
to find his true self. Will he find himself and a better life within the border society?
full story in German language