The 2010s – 2030s

In the late 2010s the kid-genius, Tariku Negasi, launched Development (Dev) as a 3D real-time virtual world. At that time, people plugged in and out using a virtual reality device called – uRetina. Global Health Organizations warned against prolonged use of the uRetina and invariably Dev. However, during the infamous COVID pandemic businesses and corporate bodies moved their interactions to Dev because of the global lockdown.

In 2033, Negasi presented at the World Climate Change Summit, where he introduced the design for the Mass Decompactor (MaDe). He also shared plans for an upgraded version of Dev, which he called ‘the answer to humanity’s greatest challenges’. Negasi promised that Dev will be the answer to climate change, resource scarcity, wars, and human/social/national and cultural differences. He promised to donate half of the revenue from Dev to the creation of ‘MaDe’.

He claimed MaDe would reduce the global carbon footprint by over 80 per cent. It would also speed up business and infrastructure development globally without the attendant environmental challenges.

The Green Community bought the idea and supported Negasi’s vision for a clean new world.

The 2040s

The world experienced The Great ‘Energy Clog’ that sped up the ban on fossil fuels. This was the beginning of the Eastern Revolution led by OPEC Countries. At the 2048 UN General Assembly, China and Russia were on opposing sides of the bill to ban fossil fuels. The US was meant to be the deciding factor, as the next most powerful nation after China and Russia.

The US proposed a more radical option – a dissolution of the United Nations. It was a smart way to walk away from the China-Russia dominance without a war. The United Nations was dissolved and a Union of Governments was proposed. This Union was to drive equity and justice among only member nations. The Union was backed by the military and technological strength of China and Russia.

The 2050s

Without the UN, there was chaos. Nations rose to fight, plunder and take over weaker resource-rich countries who were not members of the Union of Governments. Every other day there was a new war or group of insurgents fighting to seize power. There were trade sanctions, and secession talks in almost every African state. Nations were uniting to fight foreign enemies but also trying to squash internal revolutions and insurgency. This chaotic scene set the perfect stage for The Dark Web Invasion. Before the Dark Web Invasion, governments of different countries had social media blackouts and bans of different degrees. These were political tools used to either control a narrative or to break apart any rising revolution.

In 2052, the Dark Web Invasion (DI) took place. It was a prolonged global internet blackout. Nobody has been able to confirm who was behind it or why it happened. We just know it was a huge loss to the entire world – everyone except Negasi and his team. All the data and information that was stored in the cloud went offline; all gone in a blink.

There were rumours that the DI was the work of The Invaders. We all waited for a terrorist group to demand a ransom but nothing of that nature ever surfaced. We were not sure how they would share their demands. TV and radio were limited by geography and the only option with global reach was the internet, which was down. 

There were rumours that Negasi was behind the Dark Web Invasion. He and his team rebuilt and launched Dev with a ready-to-use network as early as 2053. He also extended his new network globally, to start rebuilding all the systems we lost to the Dark Invasion. Conspiracy theorists believe he had used the information he stole from the dark invasion to blackmail world leaders. They argue that this is the reason why his entry into the political space was easy and fast. In addition, the fact that Negasi made a quick recovery and sudden breakthrough after the Invasion alluded to his involvement.

In 2054, Negasi’s company completed the first mass-to-energy converter – the Mass Decompactor (MaDe) and rolled out several services. MaDe changed the trajectory of recovery for the world’s largest economies. From energy to haulage, transportation and tourism, MaDe was an integral part of the climate change solution for the world. The MaDe device would become one of the most ubiquitous devices in organizations around the world. 

The 2060s

2062 – Negasi, took the world by storm. He introduced the upgraded MaDe, the first human Decompactor – a fully functional digital teleportation machine for humans. This machine was different because it took humans from Earth to a digital world – Development. The inaugural trip was meant to be with Willie, a Labrador retriever. Animal Rights groups protested the decision to use a dog, simply because the dog could not express any concerns.

After the backlash, Negasi decided to embark on the inaugural trip to Dev himself. He spent about 12 hours in the digital world before he sent a live broadcast signal to communicate with Earth. Again, the propaganda spun the narrative. They claimed Negasi’s confidence in the technology led him to volunteer on this trip to Dev. But conspiracies were bound to rise. There were claims that the machine failed and that what was broadcast was a doctored video by the Invaders. However, when Dev opened up the volunteer programme, that rumour of failure fizzled away.

The 2070s

In preparation for the 2076 New Delhi Summit, Negasi began to position Dev as the future for humanity.

He was a global sensation, the first man to fully cross over to the digital dimension. He talked about Dev and shared his endless creations on the platform. He described Dev as a place where we could all live peacefully, for as long as we chose. Negasi and his team launched the famous ‘Heaven is a Click Away’ campaign and it swept across the globe. He got Nigeria’s pop sensation, Kytz, to release a reworked version of John Lennon’s Imagine. The launch event went viral and the re-imagined version of the song topped the charts for weeks. Later that year, Kytz revealed some unsavoury details about the project in an interview. Everything faded away after he mysteriously went under the radar. There were rumours about how he changed his identity and went to Dev but nothing was ever confirmed.

At the 2077 Summit, the Council of the Union of Governments accepted Dev as a parallel Universe of Existence (UoE).

The 2080s

The System accepted Dev as a UoE. The option of going to Dev created a loop in the time continuum for people. There was a misalignment in the timeline between Dev and Earth. Dev paused the natural aging process and old age became a sign of poverty. Time was fast becoming a measure of wealth or the lack of it, not value.

The calendar also became a relic of the old world, although it was still very important on earth. The purpose of life on Dev was leisure, entertainment, and fun. There were no jobs, just places to plug your passions and interests. Nobody depended on it to make life better, so the ‘jobs’ came with no pressure. 

Dev was the retirement plan for people who had worked all their lives to raise enough money to leave Earth.

Between the late 2070s and early 2080s, the world experienced the Wave of Desertion. The wealthy, including leaders of many nations, deserted their positions on earth and made the switch to Dev. A timeline was drawn for the transfer of power to voluntary leaders who had chosen to stay on earth. Most of the volunteers were either leaders of religious bodies or NGOs. These people dedicated themselves to the needs of children and older citizens who could not afford to make the switch. Right Place International (RPI), was the foremost pro-Earth NGO. They helped to stabilize power and order in countries where leaders had joined the Wave of Desertion. Africa was hit the hardest. Almost all the leaders and wealthy people made the switch, even before their counterparts in the western world.

While the world was excited about moving to Dev, there was a growing dissatisfaction on Dev. While people create experience the most amazing things instantly, the human consciousness at the centre wanted more. People wanted stronger connections and a deeper meaning to existence. Also, the lack of urgency, as there was no time frame, gave things less value. It left people feeling less excited about all the ‘amazing’ things available. As the numbers grew, the emotional complications and dissatisfaction also increased.

By 2087, about 20% of humans had made the switch to full Dev. In July 2087, there was a televised Debate between Kwadwo Boamah and the ageless Tariku Negasi. That debate was one of the biggest turning points and sparked the mass exodus to Dev.

After the Big Debate, companies realized there was no need to amass wealth on earth. There was another round of donations to save humanity, like it happened in 1922 and 2021, for Vaccines. This time companies sponsored people’s transition to Dev.

One of the biggest paradigm shifts of Dev was the fact that nobody needed money on Dev. One of the default stacks installed for every avatar was the ‘Expert Proficiency Coding’ stack. With this stack, people on Dev had the ability to code and create whatever they wanted. However, some lines of code were blacklisted on the Stack so people could not get access to the mainframe. The lines of code for Exit were also blacklisted so nobody could leave. The explanation given was that an exit would create more chaos on earth and disrupt the balance of both worlds. In response to this, people were allowed to retire their Sleeves for those who wanted to leave. Simply put, the consciousness would be permanently deleted.

The 2090s

Behind the scenes MaDe was still generating revenue on earth. It seemed a bit ironic, seeing that Negasi had convinced the world to forget about money. Kwadwo Boamah had raised this during the debate but somehow the moderator did not pick it up.

Negasi’s propaganda explained it away. They claimed the creation of Sleeves needed resources. Since they had to be created on Earth, they had to continue working within the rules of that world. MaDe generated income to support the transition of people to Dev. He claimed that some people had chosen to remain and work on earth for as long as they could. He needed money to make sure they compensated those who chose mortality to save the rest of us. It’s a huge sacrifice.