Page 19 - An Evening with Maxwell's Daemons

Shangri-la South

the spurious idea that the physical breakdown of aging is simply a
disease—rather than the verifiable evolutionary advantage of
generations dying off in order to allow for adaptive change. To
contravene that is the fantasy of the wealthy: to live forever, and
live in the full bloom of youth learning whatever is new, thereby
defeating Darwin and Lamarck in one blow.”
“Now I will blend fact and fiction, producing a reasonable
exaggeration. The plutocrats already spend vast sums on health
resorts, plastic surgery and exotic serums and extracts. They need to
associate with each other; this has always been the case, but now
they can isolate themselves to an unparalleled degree with electronic
security and encrypted communications. The perception of the rich
living in their own little world has never been more accurate. Some
of them seek an off-world existence, abandoning a planet they have
desecrated for an illusory colonization of other planets: a staple of
science-fiction well-known to you all. But that is really a waste of
time and resources, neither of which will suffice to save anyone
from life and death down here.”
“Rather, a group of these multi-billionaires will use their money
to create Shangri-la, in a hidden mountain valley in the Andes. My
fantasy will be that they can afford whatever they think is necessary
to weather the coming ecological and political disaster; their fantasy
will be the hubris of setting themselves up like gods on Mount
Olympus. They will believe that their isolated utopia is justifiable as
an ark, weathering the storm on Gaia and landing safely on Ararat
when the waters recede.”
“I have a cast of characters lined up. Hierarchy is inevitable; so
are all the petty problems of people on a ship of fools. Once sealed
off from the outside world, they will have to keep their society and
technology from running aground. This is not a new plot; only the
circumstances, reflecting our current crises, can claim novelty. I can
think of a few ways for Shangri-la South to come undone, any or all
of them satisfying to a readership coming to the story with plenty of
resentment as well as envy of the high and mighty. Yes, I believe
schadenfreude sells!”
“Well, what have you in mind?” asked Perversity Tinderstack.

18