Strangely, the contents proved to be chemically inert despite their pronounced effects on the human mind, whether Red, Orange, Yellow, or Green. He could not obtain a Blue or Purple considering his lifetime parole, but the odds said they all followed the same pattern.
His next test was to ingest the capsules' contents without the exterior gel container in an ethical side-step. Nothing happened. He waited twenty-four hours, then ingested the empty capsules and experienced the expected reactions, reduced, as expected, by his supposed genetic anomaly. His emotional responses were limited compared with statistical averages but were nonetheless present.
He reprogrammed the biochemical micro-sensors to explore the gel-cap coverings, and at first glance, the report made no sense. He expected the standard chemical gel to dissolve in stomach acid, which they did in part, but that accounted for only twenty percent of the physical structure. That left an eighty percent mystery.
Jake played with varying P.H. levels until he found the proper mix that thinned the gel but kept the caps intact so that he could map the delicate structure he found within the gel. He remained strictly professional, which meant that he avoided expectations to interpret the data without prejudice. The results were not random, and the polymers were far too structured to be biochemical.
~o0o~
His eyes burned from too many hours of intense concentration studying the capsule structure through a photon microscope. He closed his eyelids and rubbed them for relief, then stretched his back and happened to look straight at an empty white wall. The afterimage snapped him into focus as he realized he was looking at wiring schematics!
Once he realized the truth, it was well within his skill set to reverse-engineer the micro-components. The emoticon capsules were designed as tiny radio transmitters set to specific frequencies! They emitted at such low power that they influenced the brain by vibrational conduction along the nerves that connected the abdomen to the brain stem.
The camouflaged transmitters implied, in fact, required, a receiver. Jake smiled as he reprogrammed the bio-sensors to trace his own neural pathways to determine the composition and structure on a molecular level.
He discovered the receiver, an overlay that covered the cortex of his brain like a blanket. The receiver mimicked his natural neural structure with a webbing that was only a few molecules thick, undetectable by x-ray or visual inspection.
Jake analyzed the structure and found several ragged gaps in the webbing, obviously torn. He theorized that the micro-machines that had created the structure, most likely applied when he was an infant, must have malfunctioned. That meant his lack of proper responses to emoticons had nothing to do with his genetics. The Gubmint had ruined his life based on a lie, likely one to cover up their own incompetence!
This also meant that everyone’s emotional centers were intact, rather than chemically destroyed as the Gubmint claimed. In truth, the receiver web interfered with everyone's natural processes to force artificial psychology activated by emoticon capsules.
It did not matter to Jake whether the defect in his web was due to a malfunction or an accident, as there was no reason for him to be ostracized. Except, he realized, he now possessed a secret that might put him at mortal risk. He vowed to gain his life back. If that meant destroying the Gubmint and the social stability it fought so hard to maintain, so be it.
He designed and manufactured a portable, programmable broadcaster that mimicked the frequencies of every emoticon the Gubmint produced, or those he was aware of. Now that he could bypass his own compromised webbing, he boosted his productivity with feelings of Enthusiasm and Pleasure, along with a healthy dose of Rage. He was careful to stay away from Ecstasy and Euphoria, lest he wallowed in his feelings of vengeance and abandon his project with artificially induced contentment.
Jake’s first act was to program his micro-machines to dismantle the web receiver in his own brain, which not only protected him from external manipulation but unsuppressed his natural human emotions. He wondered at first if that decision had been a mistake but adjusted over time.
It took Jake a full year to gather a team of twenty experts in various fields, offering the reward of extreme Orange at the flick of a switch, backed by the threat of deepest Purple that he could apply remotely. Only he had access to the transmitter, which may have been akin to blackmail or even drug addiction, but he justified the means by comparing his actions to the ends.
Jake modified the emoticon controller so that it varied in intensity and frequency, surprised at the resulting addiction's speed and the lengths his “recruits” went to seek pleasure and avoid emotional pain.
Whatever flickers of moral compunction threatened to make him stumble along the way quickly fell at the turn of a transmitter knob. He swore that the Gubmint would not be allowed to continue in the exclusive control of people's emotions.
~o0o~
On what came to be known as Emotional Freedom Day, every organ of the worldwide communication network sprang into action. From personal to business and even Gubmint offices and every media, whether electronic or physical, received simple schematics and an explanation of the portable broadcast unit’s use. These included the real history of emoticons spread throughout society.
The ubiquitous home 3D printer appliances flooded the world with the units. Everyone now had the means to unshackle emotions from use and abuse by the Gubmint. The revolt succeeded by the end of the day.
People enjoyed control over their own emotional responses. Despite Gubmint fear-mongering, the greatest majority, after a period of experimentation and play, generally followed psychiatric guidelines for maximum wellness.
People came to treat their emotions much as they treated food and nutrition, realizing they must eat their vegetables if they wanted dessert and that a diet strictly of sweets led to unhealthy side-effects. The Gubmint grumbled but eventually accepted their new role as councilors rather than arbiters of their citizen’s lives.
Jake rejoined society without his previous stigma and was always a sought-after speaker every September tenth, Emotional Freedom Day. Otherwise, he was quickly forgotten, for which he was forever grateful. He had half expected the Gubmint to seek some sort of revenge, but there had been no point once their deceit had been brought to light.
~o0o~
After the initial panic and upheaval had died down, Jake brought a controller to Jenny, who had been involuntarily held at a Severe Psychotherapy facility, and offered to move her into his basement workshop/apartment. It did not take long to realize that interpersonal attachments followed their own logic when not artificially arranged, and they soon ended up going their separate ways.
Jake continued to find redheads attractive, preferring to allow his own hormones and psychological quirks to chart his romantic entanglements. There were countless highs and lows with many partners, but each was unique and without regret.
Despite many opportunities for marriage, he remained a bachelor unto death. As he often confided to his friends, one lifetime was not nearly enough to understand any emotionally self-directed partner.
~Epilogue~
Pablo smiled, well pleased with this first stage of his plan. All he had needed to do was install one moment of inspiration in one small individual, and humanity had taken the first steps towards control of its own evolution.
They had also learned the dangers of ceding that control to others, an invaluable lesson. Within a generation, the shackles of personal and social insanity disappeared, allowing diverse cultures to form communities and work in concert rather than in enmity. The world looked outwards, initiated a renascence of technologies (with only a small push here and there), and made the stars their playground.
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