Part 2:

Sorry, folks, but this is only a partial answer. More like a historical basis for what is yet to come. I figured I'd best write something, while the ideas were still fresh in my head, and while I had some free time.

Feedback is welcome, as always.

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“You are absolutely correct” he replied, after a moment’s pause. “I am not sure where to begin. Perhaps a brief history lesson may be in order. History from the 2137 point of view, that is.”

“Sounds like a plan. Make it good, doc. Despite not having any weapons, and despite the fact that I don’t look like much of a scrapper, I will still do my damnedest to put the hurt on you if I feel you have surgically mauled me for no good reason.” My subtle threat lost some of its impact, due to my sounding like an eighteen year old girl.

He smiled at my warning. “Oh, I don’t think you will be harming me in any way, my dear. That little detail has been taken care of, as I have learned from my previous mistakes.” He momentarily rubbed his cheek, as if trying to ease a remembered pain in it.

“Whatever,” I snapped, being a little miffed at his brushing aside my warning, as if it came from a mere child. Being called ‘dear‘ wasn‘t helping my temper, either. “Just get on with your story.”

“Very well”, he responded. “Keep in mind that I will just try to keep this to the bare essentials - to go into any more detail would make the telling of this even more difficult than it already is."

"This century continued with decades of oppression, invasions, and warfare in all of its different flavours. It wasn’t until 2081 that a turning point had been reached. Whether it was the right people being elected at the right time, or that the people of Earth were just tired of fighting, we still don‘t know. What we do know is that change came rapidly, and it affected all aspects of our lives.”

“Most of the petty squabbles, territorial disagreements and small wars had been settled, and it truly looked like a global peace was within sight. Dictatorships and communist regimes fell quickly, and were replaced with much kinder and gentler governments.“

“The majority of nations, after ignoring the signs of climate change for much too long, were taking drastic steps to reverse the damage they had caused. Solar, wind and tidal power , along with radical changes in nuclear technology, had virtually removed the necessity for burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. The sea level had actually dropped! Not by much - just a couple of millimetres - but it was a step in the right direction.”

“Other positive changes had also occurred. There was less poverty and starvation all over the globe. Birth control was no longer considered a sin by any religion. The political and economic power of both corporations and the rich had been greatly reduced.”

“Our planet, while still far from being a utopia, was certainly improving in so many ways”, he faltered after that, unable to continue. A solitary tear streaked down his left cheek. “You would think that after telling this story a few dozen times, that it would become less painful. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work that way.”

I contemplated my host, and what he had told me so far. If he was delusional, it was a remarkably detailed delusion that he was experiencing. It was also compelling - like reading a novel that you couldn’t put down. I wanted to hear more, even if it turned out to be the fiction of a mad man. The doctor had fallen silent, though. He sat there, staring at the wall above my head, lost in thought.

“So, what happened then?”, I prompted.

He looked off into space for a few more seconds, then took a deep breath and returned his attention to me. Bringing himself back from wherever he was, he continued.

“As you are no doubt aware, anytime there is a challenge to the status quo, some will resist it. It does not matter how good that change may be, or how many will benefit from it - there will always be those that oppose it, especially if they stand to lose something in the process. It is a definitive law of people, just as gravity is a law in the world of physics.”

“Can you imagine the results of what I have just described to you?” He paused for a moment, allowing me to contemplate what those results would be. Corporations and small minded tyrants, suddenly with considerably less, or even no, power or wealth. What would all those people do to regain their previous ‘glory’. I pretty much knew what he was going to say, and it made me rather uneasy.

“Yes, I can tell by the look on your face that you have an idea of what happened next. All of those people and businesses that lost either large sums of money or political clout, or both, took action to regain it. The result was not pretty. And not only did they want what they had back, but some were determined to teach the rest of the world a lesson. They wanted us ‘ordinary folk’ to see what would happen if we ever challenged them again. Thus began a war like none had ever seen before.”

“I suppose we should all be thankful, in a way, that nuclear weapons were not used. Had they been, there would have been absolutely no hope at all, and all of humanity would have been lost.”

“What was used were biological weapons. Almost every nation had been doing research in that field, even if it only meant discovering a way to counteract what another country had developed. The multitude of ways that had been developed to kill one another was absolutely staggering.”

“There were gasses released that would kill livestock and render crops inedible. Other compounds were released that would selectively kill certain groups of people, based upon their blood types, or ethnic backgrounds. The planet’s population was dying off in numbers that boggled the mind. First millions, then tens and then hundreds of millions, and then into the billions. The horror of this world wide war was devastating.”

“The most devastating blow came at the turn of the 22nd century. We have no idea who released the virus that homed in on the XX chromosome, but may they burn in hell for all eternity. Within a year, this disease had killed off more than 95% of the women who had survived the war.”

“The only good that came of this is that it brought an end to the war, once and for all. The leaders of all the countries that had survived the war met, and signed a peace treaty. A hunt for the criminals that were responsible for the greatest destruction visited upon humanity was launched, and many thousands were put to death. It would not bring back the billions who had died, but it would help ensure that such a catastrophe would not be repeated.”

I felt shaken and nauseous, as if I had lived through many weeks worth of nightmares, all in the course of one evening’s sleep. Was any of this true? Could humanity sink so low? And, of course, there were the questions that related to the moment. Namely, what did all of this have to do with me? Why was I here? What plans did he have for me? I had to get a handle on this, and so I fixed my gaze on the doctor and began to speak.

“I can’t begin to imagine what it was like to see horrors like you have seen. You have my deepest, most sincere condolences. Still, I have to ask: What does all of that have to do with me? Why have you altered me, against my will? What do you have planned for me? No matter what has happened, or will happen, I have the right to know.” His answer didn’t help my state of mind in the least bit.

“I was getting to that. All in good time...”