December 4390Image: A CCTV camera monitors residents in the Commune of Ataraxia, the capital and hub of R&D in the Ataraxian Confederation.
Beneath Hutorian soil is a growing electronic police state - set to become the most advanced surveillance state in the world. In a setting that sounds something right out of a dystopian novel, the Ataraxian Confederation takes the spot for the most watched population in the world. Having at least one CCTV camera per person, it is said that there is not an inch of Ataraxian space that is not recorded. The only escape from the omnipresent surveillance residents have is when they are alone in their personal residences. Even that however is soon to change.
Ezra Holmes, an Ataraxian mechanical engineer, is heading a project to design "smart CCTV" with facial recognition capabilities. The new cameras will be designed and manufactured in-house. These cameras will replace outdated models that were imported from the outside. According to Holmes, Ataraxians plan to mass deploy this new model of CCTV camera across communes in the Ataraxian Confederation and even sell it to outside businesses, individuals, and governments (the schematics itself will be freely available).
Ezra Holmes wrote:Surveillance in popular culture tends to carry a negative connotation. Only spies and oppressive governments use surveillance. At least that's what popular wisdom may think. The reality is: without surveillance you cannot have accountability. Here, in the Ataraxian Confederation, we use surveillance on everyone, including members of our leadership. Nobody here is given exception. The result is inescapable transparency. Every single action, apart from those conducted by people alone in their residences, is recorded. Rather than being an agent of oppression, surveillance actually protects the innocent by providing evidence of their behaviour. We have in our history never had a case of a false conviction for the few crimes that are committed.
Holmes considers privacy concerns "irrelevant".
Holmes wrote:A rational argument in support of privacy is that it can prevent one from being harmed by criminal and or corrupt forces. This is irrelevant in the Ataraxian Confederation for the simple fact that corruption and most forms of crime is virtually non-existent. Privacy is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can help prevent problems such as identity theft and personal attacks. On the other hand it cripples law enforcement and effectively neuters any justice system that relies on solid evidence to make convictions. Ultimately if your society needs privacy, it is probably one that has low crime safety and high government corruption. Ironically surveillance can destroy both problems. When used on both civilians and government it can result in greater transparency and accurate convictions.
Holmes, among many Ataraxians, wants surveillance to be
increased.
Holmes wrote:Right now people are not being recorded while alone in their residences or using a public bathroom. These limitations are not necessary. We don't need live operators watching people sleep or relieve their bladder, but what's the harm in having it recorded? It's especially useful in unusual circumstances where an accident or some other occurrence cannot be explained through circumstantial evidence. Having a direct visual and auditory recording of everything makes for a smarter system. I and many others want total surveillance. We want everything recorded.
Recently, Holmes made a proposal to introduce visual and auditory surveillance of Ataraxians in the Commune of Ataraxia in all situations, including activity while alone in a personal residence and bathroom usage. The proposal noted however that surveillance of these private situations would not actually have a live human watching and recordings would only be accessible when necessary. The policy received some resistance.
Under Ataraxian law, proposals require that nobody actively objects in order to pass. However, for proposals of "scientific concern", the decision is up to "qualified experts" (scientists and engineers in an appropriate field) who must themselves make decisions according to scientific evidence. The Council of the Commune of Ataraxia considered Holmes' proposal to be a scientific one rather than a moral problem because it involves the effectiveness of information gathering. People who objected to the proposal were told that their opinions were "irrelevant" and "technophobic". They were asked instead of providing their opinion, they should instead provide evidence that contradicts that surveillance is the most effective tool at gathering information.
Pete Thompsett, Ataraxian Ambassador wrote:Scientific progress is not debatable. We either advance or we decline. Those who are not educated in the appropriate fields and who provide no evidence to their claims deserve no thought when making decisions on issues of scientific importance. Evidence has shown that surveillance is a necessary tool for data gathering. Access to accurate data improves decision-making and results. Surveillance improves individual behaviour and ensures accountability. We will not be held back by pessimism and technophobia. I agree with Holmes' bold proposal. Everything should indeed be recorded and restrictions on this were outdated.
The Ataraxian Confederation does have a point with its heavy surveillance use. Crime is extremely low throughout the communes, with no reports of any violent incidences that have resulted in substantial injuries. Corruption is also virtually unknown. Ataraxians are obsessive with transparency and voluntarily share their data with Hutorian authorities. Even members of the Hutorian public can access great quantities of Ataraxian information.
There is a notable downside to all this. In the case of an attack from the outside world, hostile forces would know virtually everything about the Ataraxians, including the layout of their communes and essential infrastructure systems. For the Ataraxians however, they have little fear of an outside attack and have enjoyed peace between them and Hutori since their founding.
Pete Thompsett wrote:We have no present security concerns on the outside world. We have an excellent relationship with the Hutorian authorities. The continued support of many Hutorians in elections despite our policy of keeping politics at a distance shows just how much Hutorians respect us. Besides, there would be nothing to gain from attacking us. We are an advanced society that produces and shares technology. Adelia has optical fibre connections and a state-owned low-cost high speed networking service because of our multi-billion funding efforts. To destroy our society would have a tremendous impact on the information technology sector in Adelia and destroy more than $5 billion HLR worth of the Hutori's GDP.
Need I say more?
Since its council communist origins as a collective group of communes under the Hutorian Proletarian Party (HPP - the Ataraxians' predecessors), the Ataraxian Confederation (founded in January 4290) has become a network of underground scientific societies ruled by the iron fist of an authoritative technocracy. Membership requirements are strict and often reserved for the highly educated. For those who leave they claim it is a type of "love or leave it" society.
Anonymous, former Ataraxian, worked as a janitor in the Commune of Ataraxia wrote:You either follow the rules or you're gone. They never leave this ambiguous. You do something as much as leave a drop of litter on the ground and they'll make it very clear they take conformity extremely seriously. I left because of love, something they don't really like if it involves romance. Ironically I found my soul mate in the very place I was never intended to. We both left and got married.
I don't think it as bad as some people may think. You never have to worry about finances and they always make sure you are comfortable. The work hours are also great. I worked on average 5 hours a day. No vacations, but plenty of free time after work. I worked as a janitor and honestly would say the working conditions are the best part of life there. I originally worked for 6 hours daily, which I would say is how long most people work there. They only let you work 4-6 hours unless in cases of emergencies. You are expected to work 6 hours though. After complaining about back pain and a medical exam, they told me to work only 5 hours a day and had me avoid any really strenuous work.
The people there are cold on the outside. Making friends can be difficult because most people operate either alone outside of work or in small social circles. I never was bullied or harassed, at least until I started expressing romantic interest in someone. I would say the people there are really compassionate, but find it hard to express their emotions. Anyone can participate in debates or council meetings, but the scientists and engineers always seem to hold the final say. I guess it's better than no say at all. The place I work now on the outside never asks me what I think of my job or orders me to work lesser hours because they want me more comfortable.
Some have described Ataraxia as some kind of utopia and they are right in some ways. There's no poverty, drug addiction, or really any crime. But it is an alien place. You have to keep your hair shaved for one. You have to consent to being sterilized before joining, which they make it known to you beforehand. Everything is controlled. What you watch, what you eat, what you wear. There's no pop or candy. No dance clubs or parties. You spend most of your time underground, but you can visit the surface any time of the day. They got pools, sport facilities. It's like living at your parents' home, except its large, clean, and there are surveillance cameras everywhere. I never really did mind the surveillance, you sort of just get used to the fact that anything you do in public is recorded. It's kind of nice and it is a real shock when you return to the outside world. You really realize that on the outside people can do things to you and get away with because there's no record of it. In Ataraxia, if someone pushes you or even insults you, they have evidence of it and have zero tolerance for mistreatment.
Apparently not all the communes are the same and there's been growing economic inequality between them. The Commune of Ataraxia, where I worked and lived for seven years was described as the best of them all. Major downsides for me were mandatory celibacy and not getting paid to work. You don't need money as an Ataraxian, but you do need it if you want to live on the outside. So most people feel like they couldn't really live outside, but some have saved up money before joining, which the Ataraxians tolerate, but freeze your accounts to prevent you from making any money while staying there. When I left, I didn't have much saved up, so life was a pretty big change. Suddenly I had to worry about paying for things you take for granted there, like food and even stuff like soap. I think their position on celibacy and reproduction is weird. I never wanted kids, but people need to breed in order to keep the species going. The policy on celibacy is especially weird. It doesn't really make sense for their ideology either. From what I've read, science does not regard sexuality as something harmful. A lot of people who would be very good Ataraxians can't become them because they are not willing to give up love or their fertility.
Once I started expressing romantic interest in someone there, who I knew beforehand was interested in me, security took note of it and said I was being carefully monitored. I would be reminded of the immorality and "social instability" of romantic relationships. I was told that my feelings were irrational and were not of my choosing. They're right. I don't choose to love someone, but I also can't choose not to love them. It was a catch-22 that lead me to leave. It's a shame really, the society has a real potential. As a janitor, I was probably pretty replaceable, but I know other scientists and engineers would want to join if they didn't have to leave their spouses to do so. And technically romantic relationships are not prohibited, but any kind of romantic behaviour, like holding hands or sexual activity of course is not tolerated and can get you deported.
Other former members have described the communes as "scientific dictatorships run by prudes". Others have described it as a "paternalistic state that acts in the name of scientific progress". A more positive description calls it an "idiosyncratic utopia run by compassionate scientific overseers".
Pete Thompsett wrote:Every movement has one primary focus, a non-negotiable objective. For liberals it is civil liberties. For capitalists, it is private property. For socialists, it is equality. For us, it's science.
Despite Ataraxians' communist origins, most insiders consider them effectively apolitical and having no particular loyalty to any side of the spectrum. Ataraxians themselves identify as "syncretic" and incorporate elements from both the left and right into their policies. In outside affairs, Ataraxians favour political parties that are friendly towards their goals, such as upgrading infrastructure and spreading technological adoption. They are willing to work with liberals, conservatives, socialists, communists, capitalists, monarchists, and even fascists as long as said parties respect their autonomy and have a mutual desire for scientific progress.