FIRST | HOME | NEXT 7. Vero first sees the Immigration Center and the city

< This is Esperanza's Immigration Center. There is a direct path between here and Esperanza's Wall Hospital, since some newcomers require immediate medical attention as they arrive. Every new citizen, including those from foreign planets, must be registered here before they are allowed into the city. < Foreign planets? Do you mean actual aliens? < That's right. The Azulians were the first extraterrestrial species to arrive on Earth and, as part of their mission to create a universal scientific community, they put us in touch with several other species that happened to be compatible with the Earth environment and the human society. Here at the Immigration Center, we study their civilizations, languages, anatomical structures and human hybridation viability. < I don't buy it. About how many alien species can be even remotely compatible with us? < A very good question! Let me tell you about the Infinite Sample Theorem. Consider the following: Say x is the event that a planet hosts a form of intelligent life that is similar enough to the human kind to even allow some form of communication. Event x is almost impossible, so p(x) will be so small that it will be very close to zero. But not exactly zero! No event is absolutely impossible, only astoundingly improbable. The number of astral bodies that exist in the universe is, to all possible forms of measurement that human science can conceive, infinite. Since the probability of a very improbable event given an infinite amount of chances is lim n→∞ p(Un x) = 1, there necessarily exist intelligent life forms in the universe that are, in fact, compatible to some degree with the human species. We, of course, only know a few ones so far, but the Azulians keep searching for more. < Maths something something aliens, gotcha. < And here is the registration desk. Good morning, Kris. < Good morning, Dr. Rawhead. Good morning, madam. Don't worry, this will be quick. We gathered most of your physical data during your surgical intervention. < I don't want to know what data you gathered from my insides. < Would you tell me your name, please? < Verónica Falcata. < Welcome to Esperanza, miss Falcata. Here is your personal digital guide. This device will give you all the information you may need about the city, and you can use it to communicate with any other citizen you meet or to check their public information. < Oh, sweet. < You will also be assigned a human guide to help you find an occupation and a home within the city. Would you like to volunteer for that task, Dr. Rawhead? You're pretty much the only citizen Ms. Falcata knows so far. < Me? Uh, well, it'd do me good to take a break and clear my head for a while. If Ms. Falcata is ok with that. < Sure, I don't really give a shit. < Alright then, if you follow me I will show you around the city. < Wait, I can't go out like this. I don't know if you've noticed, but I am not wearing any pants. I sure as fuck noticed that neither are you. < Oh, right. I am sorry, I forgot to tell you. You see, all obsolete social rules that lacked a properly logical justification have been disabled in Esperanza. For instance, clothing is now entirely optional. < What, seriously? < Yes. You can get clothes in the city stores if you really want to, but it is purely a matter of personal preference. Although underwear is recommended for sports where running is required, in order to avoid torsions. < I think I'd rather not display my butt to ev- Woah...

< I'll give you a moment. < Quite impressive, isn't it? I helped building it, a bit. A project this ambitious required hiring way more maintenance personnel that the government could ever find. So my technology takes care of most of the tasks that could be automatized, such as street cleaning or surveillance. Even the artificial intelligence of your digital guide is part of my work. < Cool... < Wow, what is that? < That would be Esperanza's autonomous underground transportation network, which I invented. Citizens can request self-guided pods, which travel between all the important spots of the city. A central system computes the optimal collective routes, so collisions never happen. < There are entrances on every street, so at any time... < Wait, I just noticed something wrong here. < Hmm? What do you mean? < The mountains around the city. There were none when I saw it from outside. < Ah, those. They're just a projection. Citizens didn't like seeing a huge wall around them all the time, and the desert behind it also felt quite depressing. < It looks pretty real, the clouds floating around and all. How does it work? < It's... sort of an intelligent fluid that spreads evenly over a predetermined surface and lights up in different colors to form images. < That's bitchin'. Did you invent that too? < Eh... < So, about your clothes... < Oops, right! Are you sure it's safe to walk around buck naked? < Absolutely. I promise no one will bother you. < But won't I be giving people boners around? < In no way undervaluing your physical appeal, miss Falcata, that's unlikely. < The psychological link between nudity and arousal is the unfortunate backfiring of pointless sexual repression. By forbidding nudity in order to prevent sexual desire, the correlation between both is reinforced and taught to new generations. However, arousal does not naturally stem from the mere sight of genitals, but from the expectation of actual sex, as the observation of non-human creatures proves. < So you're positive no one will try to have their way with me? < Absolutely. You may, if anything, receive polite sex requests which you may just refuse, but any further attempt of coercion would be highly illegal and official measures would immediately be deployed for your protection. < Meaning? < If you say no and they don't take the hint, the police will come immediately, wherever you are. And they are very fast. < Oh. Nice. You know what, it's quite warm today anyway. I'd rather enjoy the breeze.

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