The Synesis

The Fleet Of Stars, 6.

The Synesis is the name of the social setup where human beings hold public office but the conscious AI "cybercosm" wields real power because it controls all the technology.

Fenn asks his mother whether the Synesis is:

"'...so marvelous?'" (p. 88)

Her reply is threefold:

"'It's what we have.'" (ibid.)

True of any social system while it exists.

Secondly:

"'It means peace, health, well-being, long life, and, yes, freedom to do and be the best we can.'" (ibid.)

She is an artist.

Thirdly, the Synesis contrasts favourably with earlier history:

"'How free were men when governments squeezed half their earnings from them and sent them off to die in wars anytime it chose?'" (ibid.)

Peace, health, well-being, long life and freedom for individuals like artists to create and to fulfill themselves. However, human beings are both individual and social and their control of their social destiny has been lost. Human beings are in a much better state without governments taxing and conscripting them and waging wars. However, they, the whole human race, needs to exercise the kind of control over its own circumstances that governments had previously exercised for it. Information and communication technology and automatic production can be used to enhance this kind of control instead of to stifle it.

Lack of fulfillment generates discontent. Fenn's mother says that quiet revolutions with unguessable outcomes are happening. He himself realizes that overt discontent may be just "froth" whereas a deeper change might also be happening and this is suddenly exhilarating. 

He has yet to meet Guthrie.