Only a few people know the real origin of Development, or Dev as it is called. According to conspiracy theories, it was created by the same infamous hackers behind the Dark Web Invasion. However, all indications from existing publications and recovered articles show it was created by the Ethiopian genius, Tariku Negasi. It was Negasi who created the first digital 3D world, mapped out to match Earth. I don’t know all the details in-between, but they are all properly chronicled in the ORIGIN. What I know about Dev is that it is now managed by the Union of Governments we call ‘The System’, and we are fine with that.

Tariku Negasi is everything the world celebrates: a young African kid who created a global solution to save humanity. Unlike what we had in the movies, the West did not save the world; Africa did. To some people, Negasi is the modern-day superhero, but to others, most notably Pastor Joshua Aremu, Negasi is the Antichrist. Whatever he turns out to be, I choose to celebrate his contribution to the world.

In the early 2000s, the world had already set the stage for Negasi. There were RPG (Role-playing Games) and strategy games where humans controlled characters that interacted online in real-time. Negasi simply adapted the Unreal gaming engine and integrated his 3D world.

I think it was the pandemic that gave his work real meaning. The news stories all point to about three years of a global pandemic. At that time, it took them quite a while to create vaccines, so there was a global lockdown. Somehow economies needed to thrive, so almost everyone jumped on Development 1.0 to continue social interactions like they would on a normal day. The only difference was that they needed uRetina VR gears.

Negasi pitched Dev as the future, for a more interwoven and sustainable global community. That’s the Dev I grew up to meet. We all accepted it, but Negasi was always on to the next thing. So, while regular billionaires were thinking of jetting out to space, Negasi was creating the next destination for the entire world—Development 2.0. This is where the conspiracy theories started.

I experienced life before the Wave of Desertion, so I can tell you all the problems we had with the old world and the initial promise of Dev. At that time, we had hunger; wars; genocides; pandemics; terrorism; human rights violations; unemployment; overpopulation; lack of basic amenities, a huge racial gap, a wealth gap, a gender gap and all types of problems you could imagine. So, when Negasi and The System announced a Parallel Universe of Existence (UoE), we had mixed feelings.

Dev 2.0 promised to be the end of most human problems, but we just couldn’t imagine leaving our physical bodies and existing in an entirely digital world. I guess the biggest breakthrough of the old world was not the internet. It was the Mass Decompactor that made it possible to visit Dev 2.0. It enabled mass-to-energy conversion. It changed everything; being able to convert mass to energy and digital signals that could be transmitted digitally was a window of opportunity for businesses and a convenience for consumers. It made things like teleportation, digital courier and express haulage services a reality.

I can’t write about these things and the new world without giving credit to some of the leaders of the old world like Mrs Scotland, Trudeau, Nana Kuti, Malema, and Robert Dembe of Uganda. These were the frontrunners in the race to bring a united, equal, and fair government to the world—a redesigned group of nations after the dissolution of the United Nations. They proposed all that has been implemented, stating that for the world’s resources to be utilised efficiently, the exploration, allocation, and distribution had to be planned from one table. It was at the UN General Assembly in 2048 that Nana famously said:

“The world cannot continue to pretend. The United Nations has failed to unite the nations! Unity is not just a word; it is positive action and a decision to share; to own each other’s burdens and seek solutions that benefit all.”

That was the trigger for the activities that brought an end to the UN and initiated the Union of Governments. This new Union of Governments —‘The System’— was crucial in the adoption of ‘Development’ as a parallel UoE.

That was the beginning of the exodus to Dev, a world that doesn’t know unemployment, power failure, hunger, crime, corruption, tribal and religious differences, national borders, race, gender, and all the other lines we used to divide ourselves on Earth.

When the idea of a universal government arose, countries like mine were sceptical. We felt the agenda of the more powerful countries would become the order of the day. We imagined a wider gap in terms of economic and military status. I was one of those who refused to believe this could be the way out. But Dev has resolved all those fears. What it offers is the closest thing to equality, equity, and fairness that humanity has ever experienced. It is paradise. Negasi has a livestream on Network 2.0 that allows us to see what’s happening on Dev in real-time. My father keeps calling it ‘The Truman Show’. He claims there was a movie that predicted this day; the only difference is that in the movie, people outside the show controlled everything. If this is a show, like my Dad believes, it must be an exciting never-ending adventure.

On Dev 2.0 there are places where people can chase their passions—music, faith, art, storytelling, etc. It’s the Utopian dream. There’s no discrimination because everyone is equal. There’s no basis for unfair treatment as there are no races, nationalities, genders, etc. We are all fluid—our only difference being our consciousness.

Nobody is judged by their appearance as we can assume any form we choose. One day a man, the next, an eagle, or even an object. We no longer have to ‘identify as’ when we can simply be and be accepted as whatever we choose. As for crime, it’s a thing of the past because everyone can have anything they want, and everything can be traced in a few seconds.

But Dev has its own challenges. Someone has to play God! Someone has to protect the data from attack and loss. Someone has to monitor the entire system. I imagine there would be a lot of people back on Earth, trying to hack The System and change everything. Thanks to artificial intelligence and Negasi’s team, the Mainframe is a self-aware system that learns faster than any individual. It can maintain the integrity of The System with little or no interference.

But the rumour-mongering among conspiracy theorists and Earth enthusiasts persists. There’s still a debate around who designed the rules for Dev. For instance, people on Dev are still inherently human; who decides what order and civility is? Who maintains law and order for them, knowing that humans are prone to resist authority? Opposition groups believe there has to be someone outside The System who keeps the balance – someone above the law.

Also, there are questions surrounding the actual location of the servers that Dev runs on. I may not be a tech genius, but I know the system has to be powered one way or the other with either a battery or electricity, or maybe I’m way behind technology. I’m just a journalist, you wouldn’t blame me. I strongly believe there’s something on Earth that keeps it running. The supporters of Dev claim these unanswered questions are based on old theories.

Despite these lingering doubts, The System runs quite transparently, and there has been peace for a few years. I honestly appreciate all the things taking place in Dev. I can’t imagine that I almost denied myself this serenity and freedom. I used to think I would feel less human if I had to be in Dev, but I was wrong.

Some people have remained in the old world. Those who have just joined keep us updated. Honestly, it’s not because we don’t have a way to find out what is happening on Earth. The fact is that people who believe they are in better societies don’t concern themselves with societies they believe are below theirs. That’s human nature! We’re on Dev…there’s no better place to be concerned about! I’ve had enough of being part of the ‘lower’ society. I remember growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. We barely knew the names of the other states in the country, let alone details of other African countries. However, we took strange and misplaced pride in knowing locations in Europe and America. It’s a human thing, and we’re still human here on Dev.

From the stories we’ve heard, the movies got something right about Earth’s future. They were spot on with the picture of dystopia; Earth’s ‘not-so-new’ reality. Some people are still there living their regular problem-filled lives. It couldn’t be me. Being the curious mind that I am, I decided to check Dev 2.0 out as soon as I could afford to. I’ve been here for three months. I don’t think I will ever go back. This place is paradise! It is man’s best idea since the internet. Those on Earth say Dev is a world without humanity, but I guess they’re mistaking humanity for human bodies.

We’ve taken our humanity and left the baggage that they hold on to so dearly. The very things that plagued us—sickness, death, tribes, nationalities, genders, and all. Earth people focus on these things till they close their eyes to real humanity. Ironically, it is this world without ‘human beings’ that brings out the best of our humanity.

Whether you agree with the vision of Dev or not, you can’t deny that it is a brilliant solution. At first, I also called it imperfect, flawed, and synthetic. Now, all I see is perfection and the future.

Imagine the end of education and experience; All the years we spend trying to acquire knowledge. Here you can just have any stack installed for you. We all have the knowledge we desire. It allows us to express our personalities in the way we use the same knowledge. That’s what adds colour to our world!

When the campaign began and I heard the lyrics of the theme song ‘Imagine’, I was blown away. It made me understand that people had seen the future. People wrote about it but didn’t fully know what it was meant to be. Just like in the Bible, people predicted the Messiah but expected a physical King, not a carpenter’s son. It’s the same way people had spoken about a perfect world in the future. A world where we are nothing but energy finding whatever expression we choose. I can confidently say it’s Dev – the city of light and love.

Alas, my friend, the ‘Wndrr’ was right; allow yourself to be driven by energy and you’ll be attracted to purpose. This is a world that calls all humanity to a place of peace, purpose and happiness!

Welcome to Dev 2.0, a perfect man-made haven for no man!

Footnote: 

[1] Joshua Aremu is a Nigerian Pastor. He was the leader of ‘New Life Assembly’. He came to the fore as Negasi’s opponent in the Great Debate. 

[2] Development 1.0 is the first virtual universe created by Tariku Negasi. This universe required a VR gear called uRetina to access it and experience the virtual world.

[3] uRetina – A VR eyewear that allowed interaction with a virtual world – Dev 1.0. It also had other capabilities like instant pictures, video recording and full mobile device control.

[4] Development 2.0 – The second virtual world. A more immersive experience, with people transitioning to this world as opposed to experiencing it with the uRetina.

[5] The Wave of Desertion – A period between 2077 and 2082 when there was a rush for Development 2.0. It had a massive economic and political toll on Nations on Earth. Leaders, rich and bale-bodied young people were leaving for Dev 2.0.

[6] Universe of Existence – An officially accepted alternate Universe for Humanity.

[7] Mass Decompactor – The device built by MaDe that enabled the transition to Dev.