[The Perfect World Doctrine is a story idea that I came up with some time ago, and scribbled into something resembling an overview. I may or may not do something further with this at some point, but for now I'm letting the idea into the wild]
There is a theory that for each
decision made, another reality is created from the branch that
decision makes. Another world, very much like our own, but sideways.
One simple difference separates us from our own brethren on a very
similar world.
Going by this theory, there must,
then, exist one perfect world, where every single decision made by
every single being capable of making decisions chose the "correct"
option. In one such reality, some decision was made, now lost to the
annals of history, that resulted in the Many-worlds theory being
accepted as common belief. The natural pride and arrogance of man's
society clung to the irrational belief that they, in fact, were
existing in that reality.
As that belief spread, so did an
equally irrational fear that any perceived misstep in reality would
immediately result in that world no longer being considered perfect.
Ordered societies quickly formed, with laws formed to ensure
continued perfection and law enforcement dedicated entirely to
upholding the tenants of this perfect society. There was, initially,
resistance.
Nobody remembers that resistance
anymore, though. It was deemed as potentially disruptive to the
cherished idea of perfection, as some could argue that the mere idea
of resistance qualified as a decision made that threw that world out
of balance as the perfect world. Perfect World Doctrine became a
required subject at as early an age as it could be comprehended.
There were upsides, of course, as
there are to any decision. Poverty and sickness, were eliminated, as
it was decided they were not characteristics of a perfect society.
Construction projects were started in less developed parts of the
world, with people that would otherwise be unemployed building homes
and structures of aid, worship, and business for those in less
well-off areas. Within a few generations, the idea of "third
world countries" was completely eradicated. Everybody that could
be accounted for had a roof over their head, a full belly at the end
of the day, and a warm place to sleep at night. Technology was
implemented to harness the weather, redirecting heavy rains from
areas prone to flooding to areas prone to drought, increasing crops
and food supply.
Upsides, however, always have a dark
lining. Single-party political systems gave way to conglomerate
global governments. Free speech in general had less and less leeway
with each passing generation. Personal liberties were repealed in
favor of maintaining the Delicate Balance. The Ideal Enforcement
Division was also one of these dark linings. Initially, jokingly,
referred to as Men In Black, officers of the IED would investigate
'poor decisions' reported by other citizens. If you were found guilty
of making a poor decision, you were persuaded to change your
decision, with the justification that reversing a poor decision could
restore the delicate balance the Perfect Society hung upon. One such
officer, Anthony Clemens, was so persuasive, so determined, that he
rose to the top of the IED. As Chief Protector of the Balance, he put
those powers of persuasion to effective, if not necessarily
altruistic, use. The IED gained more and more power under Clemens,
eventually operating essentially unchecked, in the name of protecting
the Delicate Balance.
The IED began branching out from
investigation to Imbalance Prevention. Film and television production
houses were folded into their Balance Education wing, producing
cheery generic sitcoms glorifying the status quo, and terrifying
horror stories about the slippery slope that a Great Imbalance would
bring. Citizens that objected to the message of these productions
were often labeled dissidents, and at first simply disappeared. The
IED would soon find a more subtle way of preventing even this messy,
loud problem. Clemens argued successfully against the protests of the
GFDA that water supplies should be silently laced with chemicals
developed to make the population more pliant, and easier to persuade
should they make a poor decision. With the population pacified, there
were no more dissidents, no one that required 'disappearing,' and
nothing to cover up.
The IED had the ear of the world's
official leaders, but even they did not know everything that happened
in their perfect world. Despite the attempted pacification of their
populace, there were still people that were dissatisfied with what
their world had become, but unable to speak up either due to fear or
from having their spirits chemically castrated. In the massive
underground storm sewers of Tokyo, walled off by Japanese leaders
before the country was absorbed into the one-world government,
experiments with piercing the walls between realities had been taking
place for decades with little to no success. Founded by brilliant
misfits from the Perfect Society, scientists, engineers, and
civilians worked together to find a way to escape what their world
had become.
Nearly 100 years to the day after the
IED had implemented Imbalance Protection, a breakthrough had been
made. Quiet joy moved through the underground communities, as people
celebrated in a dozen languages the fact that they had found an
answer. Recon teams were sent through, scouting each reality and
gathering information, hoping to find a reality different enough that
they could resettle. The theoretical mathematicians calculated they
would need to find a reality approximately 1 billion decisions away
from their own before they could be safe.
Thus began the new underground
railroad. People that would have been human traffickers, smugglers,
criminals in a world not unlike our own now ferried people across the
world, skirting entire nations and sticking to international waters
and no-fly zones to bring people to Tokyo. Tunnels had been
constructed, burrowing out from the storm sewers to concealed docks
on the coasts of Japan, with the purpose of guiding in refugees from
more 'civilized' parts of the world. At first, this was a one-way
stream of people, inhabiting other dimensions that allowed them to
make their own decisions. As more and more people were appearing in
these alternate dimensions, their own officials started noticing.
Refugees were detained, questioned. Scientific inquiries were made.
Meetings were had, and important people made important decisions.
Then, one day, people started coming back through from the other side.
Then, one day, people started coming back through from the other side.
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