By the time the Peloran showed up, organ banks were the way to live. Even the middle class could by them. And government banks granted access to those that couldn’t afford them in the politicians’ undying effort to buy more votes in the next election. And since they reserved the best of the organ banks for themselves, I really do mean undying. People don’t call them bloodsucking vampires for nothing after all. The politicians that is.
The first true Internet linked the world in a web of power and communication in the Twenty-First Century. Civilizations long separated by months of travel time sending letters back and forth could see each other in full video in real time. Movements seeking liberty from oppressive governments fed off each other, and got their message out to the world. The Arab Spring was but one example. Religious hardliners made it an Arab Winter, but Spring returned in time.
The United States of America joined the Great War with patriotic zeal. The news media and government reports united in claiming it was every red-blooded American’s duty to kill the Huns who sank Lusitania. It became a fight of good versus evil, and America was on the side of the angels, as always. Every German atrocity was shouted across the airwaves, reinforcing the rightness of our cause in standing against them. It was a masterful job of public propaganda.
In some ways, growing organ banks full of replacement organs unlocked immortality for us. Oh, we could die of disease or accidents, but healthy livers can filter out a lot of trash. And a healthy heart usually doesn’t stop beating one morning without warning. The remaining kings and queens of Europe were the first to do this, long before the procedures went public. Why do you think they reigned so long? They’re the reason for modern royal term limits.
The Twenty-First Century brought a revolution in computing technology. Primitive pointing devices morphed into touch displays, and voice recognition replaced keyboards for the average user. Fully functional portable computers became smaller tablets and then wearable technology similar to modern personal computers. For the first time, communications between two people walking down streets on opposite ends of the Earth occurred in real time. It was a true revolution.